The cardiovascular risk in children with congenital heart disease

We aimed to study the prevalence of risk factors of atherosclerosis as defined in the INTERHEART study, in children with congenital heart disease. PATIENTS AND METHOD: a cross-sectional study performed in 262 children aged from 3 to 18 years old, with an operated or non-operated congenital heart disease. They all responded to a standardized questionnaire on their lifestyle and family history of atherosclerotic disease. RESULTS: A majority of patients presented risk factors: insufficient physical activity (89.0%), lack of daily intake of fruits and vegetables (43.1%), stress (31.3%), familial risk of hypercholesterolemia (14.1%), overweight (7.6%), active smoking (20.6% in teenagers after 14 years old), hypertension (2.3%). These children had a mean of 1.9 + 1.0 risk factors. CONCLUSION: A majority of children with congenital heart disease have risk factors of atherosclerosis. The results of this study highlight the importance of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases prevention in these young patients.