John Jairo Araujo,
Adults with Congenital Heart Disease in the Americas - Where we are today and where we are heading: A General View of the Inter-American Adult Congenital Heart Disease Council
Journal of Integrative Cardiology Open Access
2020
2674-2489
http://dx.doi.org/10.31487/j.JICOA.2020.03.02
https://www.sciencerepository.org/adults-with-congenital-heart-disease-in-the-americas-where-we_JICOA-2020-3-102 
Abstract: Congenital heart disease (CHD) in America has a global prevalence of 8-13 cases per 1,000 live
births, with close to 45% being of medium and high complexity. Mortality continues to be high in
Latin America and the Caribbean, with wide disparities in care, compared to North American
countries. Fifty years ago, only 15% of children with CHD survived to age 18. Today, survival is
greater than 90% in most countries worldwide. Currently, there are 2.2 million adults with congenital
heart disease in the United States, with more than 1.8 million in South America. According to the
Adult Congenital Heart Association, fewer than 10% of adults with congenital heart disease are
estimated to be under specialized care, and more than 200 regional centers would be needed in the
United States to meet the needs of this rapidly growing population. However, there are only 35
accredited programs in a total of 23 states. The scenario for Latin America and the Caribbean is
bleaker and more distant, needing at least 249 programs, but lacking a formal census of centers and
having few cardiologists who are experts in adult congenital heart disease. At the same time, there
are insufficient paediatric cardiovascular centers. Thus, these countries have a double problem
(children and adults with congenital heart disease, at the same time). In 2018, the Inter-American
Society of Cardiology´s Inter-American Congenital Heart Disease Council was founded, which is
working on various inter-American projects seeking to improve health care for adults with congenital
heart disease.Keywords: Adult congenital heart disease, inter-american society of cardiology, latin america congenital heart disease