in this population. [4][5][6] Because of ongoing improvement of care, survival prospects of adults with congenital heart disease are likely to have changed over recent decades. Khairy et al 7 demonstrated that mortality in patients with congenital heart disease has shifted away from infants and toward adults, with a steady increase in age at death. The current study was designed to evaluate a contemporary ACHD cohort from a single tertiary center and attempt comparison with data from Background-Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patients have ongoing morbidity and reduced long-term survival.Recently, the importance of specialized follow-up at tertiary ACHD centers has been highlighted. We aimed to assess survival prospects and clarify causes of death in a large cohort of patients at a single, tertiary center. Methods and Results-We included 6969 adult patients (age 29.9±15.4 years) under follow-up at our institution between 1991 and 2013. Causes of death were ascertained from official death certificates. Survival was compared with the expected survival in the general age-and sex-matched population, and standardized mortality rates were calculated. Over a median follow-up time of 9.1 years (interquartile range, 5.2-14.5), 524 patients died. Leading causes of death were chronic heart failure (42%), pneumonia (10%), sudden-cardiac death (7%), cancer (6%), and hemorrhage (5%), whereas perioperative mortality was comparatively low. Isolated simple defects exhibited mortality rates similar to those in the general population, whereas patients with Eisenmenger syndrome, complex congenital heart disease, and Fontan physiology had much poorer long-term survival (P<0.0001 for all). The probability of cardiac death decreased with increasing patient's age, whereas the proportion of patients dying from noncardiac causes, such as cancer, increased. Conclusions-ACHD patients continue to be afflicted by increased mortality in comparision with the general population as they grow older. Highest mortality rates were observed among patients with complex ACHD, Fontan physiology, and Eisenmenger syndrome. Our data provide an overview over causes of mortality and especially the spectrum of noncardiac causes of death in contemporary ACHD patients. Key words: heart defects, congenital ◼ heart failure ◼ mortality ◼ sudden cardiac death ◼ survival © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.Circulation is available at http://circ.ahajournals.org DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.017202Received April 23, 2015; accepted September 8, 2015. From Adult Congenital Heart Centre and National Centre for Pulmonary Hypertension, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom (G. previous studies. In addition, we provide herewith mortality data in relationship to the general population, adjusted for age and sex, and propose a novel approach for presenting these data to health professionals, health policy makers, and patients alike.- Patients and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed data on all adult patients with congenital heart disease under active foll...

Background-Parameters of cardiopulmonary exercise testing were recently identified as strong predictors of mortality in adults with congenital heart disease. We hypothesized that combinations of cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters may provide optimal prognostic information on midterm survival in this population. Methods and Results-A total of 1375 consecutive adult patients with congenital heart disease (age, 33Ϯ13 years) underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing at a single center over a period of 10 years. Peak oxygen consumption (peak V O 2 ), ventilation per unit of carbon dioxide production (V E/V CO 2 slope), and heart rate reserve were measured. During a median follow-up of 5.8 years, 117 patients died. Peak V O 2 , heart rate reserve, and V E/V CO 2 slope were related to midterm survival in adult patients with congenital heart disease. Risk of death increased with lower peak V O 2 and heart rate reserve. A higher V E/V CO 2 slope was also related to increased risk of death in noncyanotic patients, whereas the V E/V CO 2 slope was not predictive of mortality in cyanotic patients. The combination of peak V O 2 and heart rate reserve provided the greatest predictive information after adjustment for clinical parameters such as negative chronotropic agents, age, and presence of cyanosis. However, the incremental value of these exercise parameters was reduced in patients with peak respiratory exchange ratio Ͻ1.0. Conclusions-Cardiopulmonary exercise testing provides strong prognostic information in adult patients with congenital heart disease. Prognostication should be approached differently, depending on the presence of cyanosis, use of rate-lowering medications, and achieved level of exercise. We provide 5-year survival prospects based on cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters in this growing population. (Circulation. 2012;125:250-259.)