Valvular operations in patients with congenital heart disease: increasing rates from 1988 to 2005

Background: The congenital heart disease population is aging. We hypothesized that changes in rates of congenital, valvular, and noncongenital surgical operations in congenital heart patients varied with age and disease severity over the last two decades.

Methods: We performed time trend analysis using a Quebec congenital heart disease database constructed from administrative data. We included congenital heart patients of all ages having cardiac surgical operations. Heart lesions were classified as "severe" and "other." Cardiac surgical operations were grouped as congenital, valvular (including aortic), and noncongenital (arrhythmia surgery, coronary artery bypass grafting, and cardiac transplants). An adapted Aristotle score was developed to classify procedures based on surgical risk. Yearly surgical rates were measured as surgical operations per 1,000 person-years and analyzed over time using Poisson regression models stratified by age, lesion severity, and cardiac surgery category.

Results: From 1988 to 2005 we followed 71,979 patients for 1,009,430 person-years. We identified 17,444 cardiac surgical operations. There was a 31% increase in volumes and a 5% increase in surgical rates over time. In children, congenital surgical operations remained constant, accounting for 80% of all surgical operations. In adults, valvular operations were the most common type of surgical operations, increasing from 42% to 63% of all procedures over time. Rates of valvular operations increased significantly in all adult subgroups and in children with severe lesions.

Conclusions: The need for valvular interventions has increased in the last two decades in congenital heart disease patients. These findings should be taken into account when allocating resources that will optimize outcomes for this growing population.