The Natural and Unnatural History of Congenital Heart Disease

Every day, cardiologists have to make decisions about how to treat a congenital heart disease, despite the lack of definitive information about outcomes. In this important volume, Dr. Julien Hoffman analyzes a vast body of literature and, in some cases, uncovers information that belies conventional beliefs.

By searching the early literature as well as more recent reports and data that have previously been unavailable or difficult to obtain, he presents evidence that can help you decide on a course of treatment and more accurately anticipate results. The conditions are grouped into five main sections: Surgical Procedures, Left-to-Right Shunts, Obstructive Lesions, Miscellaneous Aortic Root Lesions, and Right-to-Left Shunts. For each lesion discussed, Dr. Hoffman:

• Defines the lesion and gives information about its frequency, familial or syndromic associations and associated congenital heart lesions
• Reviews the pathological anatomy and physiology in relation to outcomes
• Summarizes what is known of the natural history, mainly in terms of survival; where applicable, he compares the results of surgery to the results of interventional catheter-based treatment

This scrupulously objective examination of what is likely to happen to patients with or without treatment will help cardiologists and cardiac surgeons achieve better outcomes from currently available treatments and encourage the development of better treatments for CHD.