Quality of life of adult Fontan patients

{Background: Progress in the management of complex congenital heart disease (CHD) led to an improvement in survival rates of adults with a Fontan-like circulation. The objective of this study was to assess the subjective health status and quality of life of this population. Methods and results: Patients aged more than 18 years at the time of the study, who underwent a Fontan-like procedure. Subjective health status was assessed by the SF-36 questionnaire and a linear analog scale was used to score patients' self-perception of their quality of life; cardiac and demographic parameters were collected. Results: Among 65 eligible patients, 60 (23 females; mean +/- SD age: 25.7 +/- 7.2 years) answered the SF-36 questionnaire and 46 of these were interviewed to evaluate their perceived quality of life. Among them, 20 (33.3%) were working full-time and 21 (35%) experienced arrhythmias. The physical SF-36 scores were lower in patients than in the general population (p <= 0.05). The New York Hear Association (NYHA) class and occupation were correlated with SF-36 scores of physical activity (respectively