Long-Term Results of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in Finland: Education, Employment, Marital Status, and Parenthood

Abstract

Objective. This population-based study was designed to examine the psychosocial outcome of Finnish patients who had been operated on for congenital heart disease during childhood. Methods. A questionnaire was mailed to 3789 adult patients who had been operated on for congenital heart defects in Finland. Of these, 2896 (76%) answered the questionnaire. The mean age of patients was 33 years (range: 18–59 years), and they had had their first operation 9 to 46 years earlier. Results. The patients had coped well with their defects when compared with the general Finnish population. The educational level of patients was comparable to and employment level was higher than expected (70% vs 66%, respectively). They were living in a steady relationship as often as the general population, but the number of parents among the patients was lower than that expected (47% vs 49%, respectively). The incidence of congenital heart disease among the 2697 children of the patients was 2.4%. Conclusion. Our results confirm that in addition to high survival rate, the long-term psychosocial outcome of patients with surgically treated congenital heart defects is good if they do not have any additional syndromes that cause mental retardation.