Congenital heart disease in adults. First of two parts.

Cyanotic Conditions Patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease have arterial oxygen desaturation resulting from the shunting of systemic venous blood to the arterial circulation. The magnitude of shunting determines the severity of desaturation. Most children with cyanotic heart disease do not survive to adulthood without surgical intervention. In adults, the most common causes of cyanotic congenital heart disease are tetralogy of Fallot61 and Eisenmenger's syndrome. Tetralogy of Fallot Tetralogy of Fallot, the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect after infancy, is characterized by a large ventricular septal defect, an aorta that overrides the left and right ventricles, obstruction of the . . .