I Was Born With An Abnormal Heart. Does This Put Me At Risk For Heart Rhythm Problems?

— -- Question: I was born with an abnormal heart. Does this put me at risk for heart rhythm problems?

Answer :If you have an abnormal heart and you were born with congenital heart disease or a structurally abnormality you may be at increased risk for developing arrhythmias as you get older. Even if the heart problem is corrected surgically there's still a risk of either the heart rhythm being too slow or too fast and there's also a risk for life threatening arrhythmias. It's very dependent on the type of congenital heart disease you have. So if you're an adult it's important for you to be seen by a specialist in adult congenital heart disease or somebody who has expertise in this area because the arrhythmias that you may have are very different from those of an adult with coronary artery disease.