“Does having congenital heart disease mean I am at high risk of getting COVID?”

Congenital heart disease is a very broad term, specifics can only be answered after reviewing the case. COVID-19 affects people with comorbid conditions like obesity and hypertension, heart failure, lung diseases, and, if congenital heart disease is causing any active heart issues, this puts the patient at an increased risk of complications from Covid 19.

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“Heart disease” is a risk factor for severity of Covid illness. However, it was unclear whether congenital heart disease was or not. In a retrospective study published is the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 12/2020, 1044 patients who had various forms of congenital heart disease and contracted Covid. The study concluded that patients who were the most symptomatic (shortness of breath and exercise intolerance) and those that had cyanosis (shunting of blood from the right side to the left because of high pulmonary pressures) had the highest mortality of 2.3%. This is in comparison to an overall US mortality of about 0.7%. Hope this was helpful!