Heart defects linked to more complications in artery disease
An observational study of 35,064 adults born with heart defects and diagnosed with artery disease found more complications despite fewer conventional risk factors.
Limit: The heart defect code included patent foramen ovale, diagnosed only in cases of stroke
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study examined 35,064 adults with heart defects present at birth who also had atherosclerosis, a buildup of fatty deposits in arteries. Researchers used German health insurance claims from 2012–2021. They compared this group with adults with atherosclerosis matched by age, gender and outpatient healthcare use.
Obesity, high blood fat levels, smoking and diabetes were less common across nearly all age groups among those with heart defects. Yet this group, especially people with more complex defects, had a greater burden of serious medical events, particularly stroke, and other conditions at younger ages. These conditions included infections of the heart’s inner lining and abnormal heart rhythms.
Why it matters
As adults born with heart defects live longer, acquired artery disease becomes a growing concern. Whether serious complications develop prematurely when these conditions coexist remains a question for future studies.
Caveats
The claims analysis had detection bias because one heart-defect code also covered a different heart opening diagnosed only in certain stroke cases. This conference abstract concerned adults who already had atherosclerosis, not people with heart defects generally.
