Congenital Heart Disease in the General Population

BACKGROUND: Empirical data on the changing epidemiology of congenital heart disease (CHD) are scant. We determined the prevalence, age distribution, and proportion of adults and children with severe and other forms of CHD in the general population from 1985 to 2000. METHODS AND RESULTS: Where healthcare access is universal, we used administrative databases that systematically recorded all diagnoses and claims. Diagnostic codes conformed to the International Classification of Disease, ninth revision. Severe CHD was defined as tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus, transposition complexes, endocardial cushion defects, and univentricular heart. Prevalence of severe and other CHD lesions was determined in 1985,…