The incidence of CHD in our society is approximately 8 in every 1000 live births.
Over the past 60 years however there have been major advances in the early diagnosis of congenital heart disease, as well as significant advances in medical and surgical treatments, the result is that around 80% of children affected with a significant cardiac anomaly now survive through to adulthood.
The long term outcome for these young adults is greatly dependent on optimal medical and surgical management.
To provide high quality data for the clinician to base management decisions on, the sonographer must have a good understanding of congenital heart disease, the palliative and surgical procedures used and the implications of such procedures on the evolution of cardiac structures over time. It is important to recognize that in order to fully understand abnormal anatomical relationships we must approach the study using a systematic segmental approach.
The concept of sequential segmental analysis underpins the accurate assessment of congenital heart disease, both in the paediatric and in the adult patient.
The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, the European Society of Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography have produced rigorous guidelines for paediatric echocardiography.
The adults with congenital heart disease are no less complex than they were in the paediatric period, as such practitioners performing echocardiograms on Adults with Congenital Heart Disease should be required to have similarly high quality specialist training.