Cor Vasa 2024, 66(5):488-494 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2024.068

(The role of the catchment cardiologist - adults with congenital heart disease)

Radka Hazuková^{a, b}

^a Kardiologická a Interní ambulance, Profi-Kardio, s.r.o., Hořice, Česká republika

^b I. interní klinika - kardiologická, Lékařská fakulta Univerzity Palackého v Olomouci a Fakultní nemocnice Olomouc, Olomouc, Česká republika

Aim: To describe the role of the catchment cardiologist and to map the real practice in his catchment outpatient clinic related to adults with congenital heart diseases (CHD).

Material and methods: A cohort of adults with CHD was selected by a retrospective analysis of the electronic database of adults in the catchment cardiologist's outpatient clinic for a 7-year period. Unambiguous cases were included. Uncertain cases and cases not meeting the criteria of CHD (valvular abnormalities without haemodynamic defects, persistent foramen ovale, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy) were excluded.

Results: Of the total number of examined adults (N = 2338, age 63.7±16.2 years; first examination by a cardiologist 73.3%, women 50.3%), the cohort of adults with CHD reached 5% (N = 119; age 58.4±18.4 years, men 52.9%). Part of CHD was found in our outpatient room (45.4%), the rest elsewhere (55.6%). Cardiological examination was usually indicated by a general practitioner (77%). The main indication was manifestation (69%), only 57% attended the simple follow-up of known CHD. Isolated CHD constituted the majority (92%). Baseline, 35.4% were after the CHD correction. In our follow-up, 31.5% of newly detected and 3.1% of known CHD were indicated for CHD correction, non-CHD mechanical intervention was indicated in 22.2%, respectively 5.4% in CHD adults.

Conclusion: The catchment cardiologist plays the important role in the care of adults with CHD, which is likely to increase in the coming years. This is for both the primary detection of CHD and the continuity of dispensary care of CHD adults who have dropped out of the dispensary care of cardiac centres.

Keywords: Adults with a congenital heart defect, Arrhythmia, Catchment specialist, Congenital heart diseases, Follow-up, Gliflozins, Primary, secondary and tertiary care, Primocapture

Received: September 9, 2024; Revised: September 9, 2024; Accepted: September 13, 2024; Prepublished online: June 2, 2012; Published: October 25, 2024  Show citation