I Was Born With An Abnormal Heart. Does This Put Me At Risk For Heart Rhythm Problems?

Kathleen Maginot, M.D., Director, Pediatric Electrophysiology, University of Wisconsin Hospital
February 7, 2008

Post a Comment

Question: I was born with an abnormal heart. Does this put me at risk for heart rhythm problems?

Dr Maginot answers the question: 'Abnormal Heart And Future Rhythm Risks?'

Answer :If you have an abnormal heart and you were born with congenital heart disease or a structurally abnormality you may be at increased risk for developing arrhythmias as you get older. Even if the heart problem is corrected surgically there's still a risk of either the heart rhythm being too slow or too fast and there's also a risk for life threatening arrhythmias. It's very dependent on the type of congenital heart disease you have. So if you're an adult it's important for you to be seen by a specialist in adult congenital heart disease or somebody who has expertise in this area because the arrhythmias that you may have are very different from those of an adult with coronary artery disease.

Birth Problems And Heart Rhythm Risk?

ABC News OnCall+ Heart Health Center Home Page

Congenital Heart Disease & Rhythm Risks?

Comment & Contribute

Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.

Welcome to ABCNews.com.

Javascript is not enabled on your browser. Please enable javascript to use the community features on this page. If your browser does not support javascript, please visit our browser upgrade page for a list of supported web browsers.