'There are now more
adults with congenital heart disease than children, and to give
them the best chances of living a full life, we need to gradually
empower teenagers and introduce them to the issues around their
condition.'
Dr Graham Stuart, consultant
cardiologist
There was a time when children were told almost nothing about
their heart conditions until they suddenly became adults, at which
point they went through a complete change of clinicians, hospital
and status. Now, we place great emphasis on gradually introducing
children and teenagers to the nature of their condition, their
likely future care, and to the fact that they, not their parents,
will assume responsibility for their health. The paediatric cardiac
unit and the adult congenital heart disease service work closely
together to inform and educate patients to this end.
Dr Graham Stuart is a Consultant Cardiologist specialising in
congenital heart disease. He works with children and adults, he
fitted a 15 year-old with the country's first-ever lead-free
defibrillator in 2012.
There are now more adults with congenital heart disease than
children and to give them the best chances of living a full life,
we need to gradually empower teenagers and introduce them to the
issues around their condition. It is a process that can start at
around 12 or 13 and is largely a matter of how you talk to the
young people. Many of the boundaries between paediatric and adult
services are, when it comes to teenagers, confusing.
Most children with heart disease will require some sort of
follow-up treatment as adults. It may not need to be frequent, but
it will need to be expert. One of the big benefits of Bristol is
that this can all take place on one campus.
View the Bristol Heart Institute home page
