Congenital heart disease (CHD) means you are born with a heart condition. It could be a malformation of the central big vessels or a problem with one or more areas of the heart or other blood vessels. Congenital heart disease includes all kinds of defects, from very simple to extremely complex ones. 
Patients with simple defects or perfectly balanced defects that are more complex may survive into adulthood without having a procedure to correct the problem. Once symptoms begin, it is possible that the problem is still simple and curable. However, it is also possible that the condition has caused complications and other health problems. In these cases, treatment can be difficult and complicated. 
Because of advances in congenital heart surgery, most newborn with CHD now survive into adulthood. Many patients develop new problems and complications that may or may not be related to their CHD and previous surgeries. For example, the first effective surgery available to children born with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) was an atrial switch operation (Mustard or Senning). The blood was redirected at the top chambers of the heart so the right ventricle (built to pump blood at low pressure through the lung circulation) became the main pumping chamber instead of the left ventricle.  Patients who had this procedure eventually have problems with the right ventricle because it isn’t meant to do handle systemic blood pressure, and their tricuspid valve may also become leaky (see below under Congenitally Corrected Transposition). Today, babies born with TGA have an arterial switch operation, which moves the aorta and coronary arteries to the left ventricle. The procedure is done shortly after birth, and outcomes are excellent with much fewer problems later in life. However, the arterial switch procedure became the standard treatment fairly recently (1991), so the long-term outcomes are still being studied. The same is true for many other updated treatments. There are risks and benefits, some unknown but many still unknown, with every procedure.  
We do know that there are a growing number of patients born with CHD who, regardless of whether they have had treatment, develop new problems as adults and need surgery. Treatment of these patients is a sub-speciality in both cardiology and cardiac surgery. It is important for all patients with CHD patients to choose experts in CHD for their care. 
Surgeons and cardiologists who specialize in treatment of adults with CHD care for patients who have:
Conditions first diagnosed as an adult, such as Atrial Septal Defect (ASD); Bicuspid aortic valve; Coarctation of the Aorta; Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (CCTGA); Coronary fistula; Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA); Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO); Pulmonary Stenosis; Tetralogy of Fallot; Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).
CHD repaired in childhood, but in adulthood:
·         It is found the treatment was not completely successful and surgery is needed to correct the problem
·         They have secondary problems related to the original heart defect
·         Complications occur and require another repair or surgery
·         Treatment is needed for a new, unrelated heart condition, such as coronary artery disease