Follow-up studies on patients operated on for congenital heart defects have shown good anatomical results and long-term survival. To date, there have been few studies on such patients with regard to long-term psychosocial outcome and quality of life. In this study, two cohorts of patients operated on before the age of 15 years, one for tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and the other for atrial septal defect (ASD), were investigated 20 and 30 years after operation regarding quality of life. The combined cohort had a higher educational level than average. There was no connection between quality of life and physical health as judged from the New York Heart Association classification. The TOF group rated their quality of life higher than the ASD group, but both groups had lower figures at the 30-year than at the 20-year follow-up. Fewer patients in the TOF than in the ASD group considered that their lives were affected by the heart disease. It is concluded that the severity of the heart disease is not necessarily congruent with estimated quality of live and that mild heart defects, such as ASD, can have a considerable impact on later life quality. Surprisingly few TOF patients were affected negatively, a finding which might reflect development of a specific coping strategy in these patients during childhood.

The accessory pathway was important for the development of atrial fibrillation. Frequent tachycardias seem to promote an electrical remodelling and an increased atrial vulnerability to atrial fibrillation, whereas after successful ablation the majority of patients remain free of atrial fibrillation.

No abstract

94% patients with a long history of tachyarrhythmias due to the WPW syndrome reported improved physical well-being after ablation, but palpitations were common during a 2-year follow-up period; 8% continued to use pharmacological antiarrhythmic treatment. Five percent had symptomatic relapses and in 6% atrial fibrillation episodes reoccurred, i.e., in half of those who had atrial fibrillation before ablation.