Chest Radiography Pearls in Select Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract

Congenital heart disease in adult patients (ACHD) includes individuals with native anatomic deformities and those who have benefited from corrective, ameliorative, or interventional heart and vascular interventions. Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect, although with interventions most survive into adulthood. Newborns and children with complex congenital heart diseases that feature cyanosis fail to thrive, and once this is identified, heart failure can promptly undergo diagnostic evaluations and treatment. However, patients with simple congenital heart disease and subtle clinical signs and symptoms may escape diagnosis until adulthood or experience changes in their cardiac hemodynamics and physiology in settings such as pregnancy or newly diagnosed arrhythmias. The chest X-ray (CXR) is the most common X-ray among all radiological procedures. Individual features or a constellation of features on a CXR are often present in patients who have congenital heart disease. The ability to recognize these CXR features is a valuable skill for making the diagnosis of ACHD and for following these patients as they age, and can complement echocardiographic findings. When used well to diagnose ACHD, the CXR will be the sharpest arrow in the quiver.