This large-scale, international study found that overall QOL in adults with CHD was generally good. Variation in QOL was related to patient characteristics but not country-specific characteristics. Hence, patients at risk for poorer QOL can be identified using uniform criteria. General principles for designing interventions to improve QOL can be developed.

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02150603.

This international collaboration allowed us to determine that PROs in ConHD vary as a function of patient-related factors as well as the countries in which patients live.

This study emphasizes that, in order to gain a deeper understanding of patients' functioning, health-care providers should focus not only on objective indicators of illness severity such as the complexity of the heart defect, but also on subjective illness experiences.

Religiosity/spirituality is an independent predictor for some PROs, but has differential impact across countries.