If you’re living with congenital heart disease (CHD), you can take comfort in knowing that advanced treatment options and services are available at Emory.
As the only adult congenital heart program in Georgia and one of the country's most extensive programs, we're able to identify any problems related to your congenital heart disease and provide the most effective treatment and management options. Including many treatments developed or tested right here at Emory. We're also an Adult Congenital Heart Association accredited comprehensive care clinic.
No matter your diagnosis, we will work with you to create a treatment plan that meets your specific needs.
Congenital Heart Disease Treatments
Specialized Care for the Most Complex Heart Conditions
Treatment Options for Congenital Heart Disease
Our heart surgeons perform hundreds of adult CHD surgeries each year. And our survival outcomes rank among the best in the nation. We also offer medications to treat many forms of congenital heart disease.
Fontan Procedure and Fontan Conversion
Your heart has a left and right ventricle. If you are born with one working heart ventricle, you need surgery to correct blood flow patterns. During a Fontan procedure, surgeons use different techniques to divert blood coming from your veins to the pulmonary arteries.
Fontan conversion is an improved version of the Fontan procedure. This version of the Fontan procedure prevents some of the original procedure’s side effects, including abnormal heart rhythms and abnormal blood flow patterns. If you had the original Fontan procedure as a child, you may need Fontan conversion as an adult.
Heart Transplantation
If your CHD has progressed to advanced heart failure, you may need a new heart. Emory Heart & Vascular is home to one of the nation’s top-ranked heart transplant programs.
Heart Valve Repair and Replacement
If you were born with heart valves that don’t open or close completely, you probably had them replaced in childhood. But replacement valves often weaken with age. You may need valve repair or replacement again as an adult.
Pulmonary Hypertension Treatments
If you have CHD, you may also have high blood pressure in your lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Most surgical repairs for CHD improve pulmonary hypertension. Emory Heart & Vascular also offers medication therapy for pulmonary hypertension.
Pulmonary Valve Replacement
If you were born with narrowed pulmonary valves (pulmonary valve stenosis), you may have surgery as a child to remove your pulmonary valves. This allows blood to flow into the lungs more freely. But, without these valves, some blood flows backward (regurgitation). Over time, regurgitation can cause other complications. As an adult, you may need a pulmonary valve replacement to prevent further damage.
Septal Defect Closure
The left and right side of the heart are separated by a wall called the septum. A hole in the upper septum is called an atrial septal defect, and a hole in the lower septum is called a ventricular septal defect. If left untreated, a septal defect can lead to serious conditions, including pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs).
Ventricular Assist Device
If your heart is weak, you may need a ventricular assist device (VAD) to help it pump. Emory Heart & Vascular surgeons offer VAD implantation to people awaiting heart transplant and as an alternative to heart transplant.
About Congenital Heart Disease
Some people are born with a heart problem. If there was a problem with your heart’s structure at birth, you have congenital heart disease.
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