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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffTo help coordinate your child's care, you may wish to prepare a brief note with your child's diagnosis, medications, surgeries and their dates, and your cardiologist's name and number. This note will provide necessary information to others who may care for your child and will help any new doctor understand your child's health history.
If you change health insurance plans, be sure your new plan will cover your child's care, as some plans may not allow coverage for pre-existing conditions or may require a waiting period.
If you're an adult with congenital heart disease, you may have concerns, such as:
- Employment. Having a congenital heart defect won't limit a person's career options in many cases. If an adult has serious heart rhythm problems or the potential for life-threatening complications, careers that may put others at risk may be discouraged, such as flying a plane or driving a bus.
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Pregnancy. Most women with congenital heart disease can tolerate pregnancy without any problems. However, having a severe defect or complications such as chronic pulmonary regurgitation or arrhythmias can increase your risk of complications during pregnancy.
The risk of congenital heart disease in the general population is less than 1 percent. For children of parents with congenital heart disease, whether father or mother, this risk increases to between 2 percent and 20 percent, according to the American Heart Association. Experts recommend that anyone with congenital heart disease who is considering starting a family, carefully discuss it beforehand with his or her doctor.
In some cases, preconception consultations with doctors who specialize in cardiology, genetics and high-risk obstetric care are needed. Some heart medications can cause serious problems for a fetus and may need to be stopped or adjusted before you become pregnant.
