At a glance
Congenital heart defects are lifelong conditions. Adults who were born with heart defects need to see a congenital cardiologist regularly to stay healthy, but many do not. As a primary care physician, you play an important role in connecting people with heart defects to the care they need.
Overview
Take these steps to connect adults with congenital heart defects to congenital cardiac care:
- Ask patients if they have a history of heart problems; you might have patients with heart defects who've never mentioned they have one.
- Ask patients with heart defects if they're seeing a congenital cardiologist. If they're not, explain why lifelong congenital cardiac care is important.
- Talk to young patients with heart defects about transitioning from a pediatric cardiologist to an adult congenital cardiologist.
- Refer patients who aren't getting the care they need to a congenital cardiologist. If you need help finding congenital cardiologists in your area, check out the ACHD Clinic Directory.
Did you know?
About 1.4 million adults in the United States are living with a congenital heart defect.
Resources
Social media graphics and messaging about lifelong cardiac care for internal medicine providers
These talking points can help primary care physicians and internal medicine doctors talk to patients...
This infographic describes how internal medicine and primary care physicians can help connect adults...