Abstract: | In the diagnosis of congenital heart disease, the cardiologist was formerly concerned with distinguishing the operable from the inoperable cases. With the development of "open" heart operations under hypothermia and extracorporeal circulation, the majority of congenital heart lesions have become correctable. It is now necessary to make an exact anatomic diagnosis preoperatively. The present discussion reviews the diagnostic methods employed by the cardiac team in investigating a patient with congenital heart disease. |