Bonita F. Stanton, MD, Consulting Editor

Given the epidemiology of the appearance of cardiac disease, an emphasis on the cardiac examination early in life remains appropriate. However, over the last few decades, pediatric health care providers have become more concerned with the cardiac function of adolescents and young adults. The awareness among both the lay audience and the health care practitioner of serious cardiac-related morbidity among adolescents and young adults has risen; in some cases, the actual incidence appears also to have increased. While some of these deaths and near-deaths are occurring in children with previously identified cardiac lesions, many are occurring in children who were (or seemed to have been) healthy, including elite athletes. Whether as part of an adolescent preventative care physical examination or as an adolescent sports physical examination, the pediatrician must assess the heart and determine whether there is any cause for concern and, if so, what additional diagnostic steps must be undertaken. Given the range of underlying conditions and the relative low frequency of any single condition, many pediatric care providers feel uncomfortable assessing the heart among adolescents.

Accordingly, this volume of Pediatric Clinics of North America , targeting primary care providers of adolescents, focuses on the adolescent heart and reviews the possible causes of cardiac disease among adolescents as well as their recognition and treatment approaches.