Adult Congenital Heart Disease.
A female patient had heart surgery at the age of three, in a hospital on another continent, and was told afterwards that everything had been fixed. Thirty years later, living and working in Dubai, she starts to feel her heart racing on the stairs. It is a common story, and it explains why a whole branch of cardiology now exists for adults who were born with heart defects.
Congenital heart disease, a structural problem present from birth, affects roughly one baby in every hundred. A few decades ago, many of those children did not reach adulthood. Today, thanks to better surgery and care, the large majority do.
The catch is that repair is not the same as cure. A heart that has been operated on in childhood still has its own anatomy, scar tissue and wiring, and it can develop new problems decades later. Many young adults drift out of follow-up once they leave paediatric care, often because they feel well. That gap is where preventable problems start.
The spectrum is wide. At the simpler end are holes between the heart's chambers, known as atrial or ventricular septal defects, and a bicuspid aortic valve, which has two leaflets instead of three.
At the complex end are conditions such as tetralogy of Fallot (a combination of four defects that lowers oxygen in the blood) or transposition of the great arteries (where the two main arteries leave the heart the wrong way round), which usually require major surgery in childhood. Coarctation, a narrowing of the aorta, sits in between and can leave people with high blood pressure for life.
Late problems tend to fall into a few groups. Heart rhythm disturbances are common, particularly around old surgical scars, and may show up as palpitations or dizziness. Valves repaired in childhood can leak or narrow over time. Some patients develop heart failure or raised pressure in the lungs. There is also a higher risk of endocarditis, an infection of the heart lining, which is why dental hygiene and prompt treatment of infections matter.
Crucially, many of these changes happen before symptoms appear. The heart is good at compensating, so regular monitoring is the only reliable way to catch them early.
Routine review usually includes an ECG, an echocardiogram and, for more complex anatomy, cardiac MRI, which shows blood flow and chamber size in detail without radiation. Holter monitoring, exercise testing and blood tests are added as needed. How often you are seen depends on the complexity of your condition, from every few years to every few months.
Lifestyle advice is individual too. Most people with congenital heart disease can work, travel and exercise normally, but some conditions call for limits on very intense or competitive sport. Long-haul flights home are usually fine, though it is worth asking before booking. Your cardiologist at the top cardiology hospital in Dubai should give you specific guidance rather than blanket restrictions.
For many women with congenital heart disease, pregnancy is entirely possible. It does, however, place extra demands on the heart, and the level of risk varies hugely between conditions. The right time to discuss it is before conception, with a cardiologist and an obstetric team who will work together throughout.
Dubai's population means many adults were operated on abroad, sometimes in another language. Track down the operation notes and discharge letters if you can; knowing exactly what was done in childhood shapes every decision now. Bring any previous scans or reports to your first appointment.
Type "congenital cardiology hospital Dubai" into a search engine and you will find several options. Whether you are assessing a specialist clinic, ask whether it offers detailed cardiac imaging, rhythm assessment, catheter-based treatment, and joint care with obstetricians, and whether it will coordinate your paediatric history rather than starting from scratch.
Among them is Aster Hospitals, which operates in Dubai from sites that include Jebel Ali (Aster Cedars Hospital), Mankhool, Al Qusais and Muhaisnah. Its adult congenital cardiology service manages conditions from septal defects to complex repaired anatomy.
Assessment uses cardiac MRI and 3D echocardiography, rhythm problems are handled by electrophysiology (heart rhythm) specialists, and some repairs that once needed open surgery are done by catheter. Pregnancy is planned jointly with the hospital's maternity team.
If you had heart surgery as a child and have not seen a cardiologist in years, that appointment is worth booking, even if you feel perfectly well.
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