The corona pandemic has drastically changed our everyday life. Protecting the health of particularly vulnerable risk groups is the priority now. The current exceptional situation presents particular challenges to those who have children with congenital or acquired heart disease or who are affected themselves. This first nationwide patient survey was initiated by a research team at the Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects. Based on its results the researchers are now investigating how the pandemic with the novel coronavirus personally affects children and adolescents with congenital and acquired heart disease, as well as adults with congenital heart disease.

Life with the Pandemic

The participants answered questions regarding matters such as the impact the current situation has on their medical care, their feeling of being well informed and protected, coping strategies that help them to deal with this exceptional situation and the impact on their own quality of life. The evaluation of the collected data has started now. On the basis of the survey’s findings, the state of information, medical care and prevention for patients is aimed to be improved further.