Grown ups with congenital heart defects | GUCH

GUCH stands for Grown Up with Congenital Heart defect. Congenital heart defects are the most common organ defects in new-borns. About 700 children are born with a congenital heart defect in Austria every year. The spectrum of heart defects ranges from simple defects that have little effect on the cardiovascular system to very severe heart diseases that are life-threatening.

Thanks to medical progress, more and more patients are reaching adulthood. In Austria, an estimated 25,000 adults live with a congenital heart defect.

Through one or more heart operations, many of those affected can lead a largely normal life.

However, a repaired heart is not cured and accompanies you throughout your life.

As a grown up with congenital heard defecct | GUCH, new problems such as cardiac arrhythmia or valve insufficiencies can occur that require medication, surgery or (re)operation. It is therefore vital to carry out regular check-ups as this is the only way to detect and treat any problems in time. These check-ups should take place in a GUCH outpatient clinic or at a cardiologist who specializes in GUCHs, since a regular cardiologist is often not familiar with the particularities of the repaired heart of a grown up with congenital heart defect.