Survival trends of adults with congenital heart disease after heart surgery in Sweden

Patients with congenital heart disease surviving childhood heart surgery had a 5-fold higher mortality risk compared with controls, particularly the complex lesion groups. Even though being noncomplex, ventricular septal defects showed a 5-fold higher mortality risk than controls. These patients were repaired but not cured and in need of lifelong follow-up. However, survival has significantly improved for those born in the 1990s, now comparable to matched controls up to 10 years.