ACR Appropriateness Criteria® on Suspected Congenital Heart Disease in Adults

The number of adults with congenital heart disease is increasing in North America. This is attributable to a variety of factors, including improvements in surgical techniques and increases in immigration. Cardiac imaging is critical for the initial assessment of adults with newly suspected congenital heart disease as well as for the serial assessment of adults with known congenital heart disease. Chest radiography and echocardiography continue to be the initial tools used to evaluate adult congenital heart disease. However, cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have significantly improved over the years and have become integral to the evaluation of adult congenital heart disease, often precluding the necessity for invasive cardiac catheterization. Noninvasive imaging is particularly useful for the surveillance of patients with surgically corrected congenital heart disease, who often require 2 or more additional operations.