Structural heart disease is an ambiguous umbrella term for any condition related to the heart and major arteries, rather than the smaller blood vessels. Conditions that fall within this category range from congenital defects that may be of immediate concern to those that can become a problem later in life. Structural heart disease also can be acquired, due to aging, injury or infection, for instance, valve disease. Some can be congenital or a result of a disease process, for instance, ventricular septal defects can be congenital or become a problem post-myocardial infarction. Additionally, various structural abnormalities arising from co-existing conditions or disease processes, e.g., diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy or fibrosis, left ventricular dilatation or hypocontractility, asymptomatic valvular disease, are strongly associated with the development of heart failure. Topics in "Structural Heart Disease" is intended to help physicians' knowledge about these issues grow, and as the quality of diagnostic tools improves, assist them in recognizing issues of structural heart disease long before the patients become critically symptomatic.