Evaluation of Adult Patients with Congenital Heart Disease: Awareness Level Concerning Their Disease

Abstract

Congenital heart diseases are in many cases chronic disorders. To minimize the risk of complications and improve quality of life, patients are expected to adhere to a prescribed regimen of drug treatment and comply with endocarditis prophylaxis recommendations. This study is intended to assess adult patients' awareness level concerning their heart disease. Fifty-eight patients with congenital heart disease who were literate, mentally normal and older than 18 years, and had been diagnosed in the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at Ondokuz Mayis University and had at least one check-up visit between January 2002 and 2012 were included in the study. The percentage of patients who knew the correct diagnosis of their illness was 62.1%; only 13.8% could show the anatomic location on a diagram., and only 3.4% knew the definition of "endocarditis." We concluded that patients have insufficient information about their heart disease.