title: Cyanotic congenital heart disease and atherosclerosis.
abstract: Improved treatment options in paediatric cardiology and congenital heart surgery have resulted in an ageing population of patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD). The risk of acquired heart disease such as atherosclerosis increases with age.Previous studies have speculated whether patients with CCHD are protected against atherosclerosis. Results have shown that the coronary arteries of patients with CCHD are free from plaques and stenosis. Decreased carotid intima-media thickness and low total plasma cholesterol may indicate a reduced risk of later development of atherosclerosis. However, the evidence is still sparse and questionable, and a reasonable explanation for the decreased risk of developing atherosclerosis in patients with CCHD is still missing.This review provides an overview of what is known about the prevalence and potential causes of the reduced risk of atherosclerosis in patients with CCHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Julie Bjerre
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Tarp
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Annette Schophuus
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Engstrøm
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Niels-Henrik
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Holstein-Rathlou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Søndergaard
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014943:Global Health; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Complex congenital heart disease; Congenital heart disease; Coronary artery disease; Lipoproteins and hyperlipidemia; Statistics and study design