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Treatment Strategies in Congenital Heart Disease: Current Practices and Future Directions

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Cardiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2026 | Viewed by 543

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Congenital Heart Disease–Pediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité (DHZC), Berlin, Germany
Interests: interventional pediatric cardiology; univentricular heart disease; Fontan circulation; Fontan-associated liver disease

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Guest Editor
Department of Congenital Heart Disease–Pediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité (DHZC), Berlin, Germany
Interests: univentricular heart disease and Fontan circulation; protein-losing enteropathy; interventional pediatric cardiology; pediatric cardiac intensive care

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Guest Editor
Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
Interests: congenital cardiac surgery; ccTGA; Ebstein anomaly; minimally invasive surgery; 3D reconstruction; AI in health care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, advances in medical management, surgical techniques, and interventional procedures have fundamentally reshaped the care of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). The focus has progressively evolved from improving survival to enhancing long-term quility of life and reducing morbidity. At the same time, rapid technological developments, including advanced imaging modalities, hybrid and minimally invasive surgical procedures, transcatheter valve therapies and mechanical circulatory support, have broadened therapeutic possibilities and enabled the treatment of increasingly complex cardiac defects across all age groups. These achievements have transformed the demographic landscape of CHD with adults now outnumbering children in many countries, emphasizing the need for lifelong models of care.

Nevertheless, CHD remains a condition with substantial long-term risks. Many patients require repeated reinterventions and face complications such as ventricular dysfunction, heart failure, arrhythmia, pulmonary hypertension, and neurodevelopmental impairment. As therapeutic options continue to expand, clinical decision-making has become more complex, requiring individualized strategies and a multidisciplinary approach.

Contemporary management must therefore integrate innovative surgical and interventional techniques, optimized medical therapy, precision imaging and coordinated multidisciplinary follow-up.

This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in surgical, interventional, and medical treatment strategies for CHD. By bringing together original research and state-of-the-art reviews, this Special Issue seeks to provide a multidisciplinary perspective on contemporary management concepts and future directions in this evolving field.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • State-of-the-art surgical techniques;
  • Cardiovascular anesthesiology and perioperative management;
  • Advanced transcatheter interventions;
  • Modern medical heart failure management;
  • Mechanical circulatory support and heart transplantation;
  • Precision imaging and image-guided therapies;
  • Long-term outcome optimization and morbidity reduction;
  • Personalized and multidisciplinary treatment strategies;
  • Neurodevelopmental outcomes and long-term cognitive development;
  • Transition of care and modern strategies in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD);
  • Prevention and reduction in non-cardiac comorbidities;
  • Fetal diagnosis and perinatal management of CHD.

Dr. Anastasia Schleiger
Dr. Julia Moosmann
Dr. Antonia Schulz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • congenital heart disease
  • transcatheter management of congenital heart defects
  • surgical strategies for congenital heart defects
  • medical heart failure treatment
  • mechanical circulatory support
  • hybrid procedures
  • pulmonary hypertension
  • heart teams
  • multidisciplinary management
  • quality of life

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 722 KB  
Article
Congenital Heart Defects and Mental Health: Stress, Psychological Treatment Use, and COVID-19-Related Burden in Young Patients—Lessons from the P-BAHn Study
by Paul C. Helm, Jule Josephine Oster, Claudia Niessner, Ann-Kathrin Napp, Franziska Reiß, Anne Kaman, Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer, Julia Remmele, Daniel T. Marggrander, Kim Sarah Fritz, Anna-Lena Ehmann, Jannos Siaplaouras, Constanze Pfitzer and Christian Apitz
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(11), 4342; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15114342 - 4 Jun 2026
Viewed by 340
Abstract
Background: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are prevalent, affecting 1% of live births globally. Despite improved survival rates, adults with CHD face increased risks of psychological distress and neurocognitive deficits. The P-BAHn study (P-BAHn = “Psyche Bei Angeborenen Herzfehlern”, Psyche for congenital heart defects) [...] Read more.
Background: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are prevalent, affecting 1% of live births globally. Despite improved survival rates, adults with CHD face increased risks of psychological distress and neurocognitive deficits. The P-BAHn study (P-BAHn = “Psyche Bei Angeborenen Herzfehlern”, Psyche for congenital heart defects) evaluates the mental health status and psychosocial challenges of German children and adolescents with CHD, focusing on retrospectively assessed COVID-19-related burden and patient-/parent-rated experiences with psychological, psychotherapeutic, or psychiatric treatment (PST). Methods: A cross-sectional, online-based survey was conducted using the National Register for Congenital Heart Defects (NRCHD). The final dataset comprised 1567 respondent-level records from 1310 families, including 992 parent reports and 575 self-reports from children/adolescents aged 6 to <18 years. The survey assessed mental health, emotional well-being, psychosocial status, demographics, medical history, and psychological treatment. Data were analyzed descriptively using chi-square tests and t-tests for exploratory unadjusted group comparisons. In addition, exploratory multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed for selected key outcomes. Results: School-related stress was common in young CHD patients (45.3%) and was associated with older age and female sex (51.5% female vs. 35.6% male) in adjusted analyses. Overall, 17.0% of patients reported having a mental illness, most commonly anxiety (6.8%), eating disorders (5.6%), and depression (4.7%); neither sex nor CHD severity was significantly associated with self-reported mental illness in adjusted analyses. Less good/poor self-rated health was associated with older age and complex CHD in both patient and parent reports. Retrospectively assessed pandemic-related changes were perceived as quite or extremely stressful by 23.9% of patients. High COVID-19-related burden was associated with female sex, whereas CHD severity was not significant after adjustment. Among patients with previous or current PST, patient- and parent-rated treatment benefit varied by patient sex and CHD complexity. Previous/current PST was reported by 25.9% of patients and 23.8% of parents and was associated with older age in both respondent groups and with complex CHD in parent reports. Among patients with previous/current PST, 56.4% reported high perceived support. Conclusions: The P-BAHn study highlights the need for targeted psychosocial support for children and adolescents with CHD, including female patients, those with complex conditions, and patients reporting school- or crisis-related burden. Retrospectively reported pandemic-related burden underscores the importance of integrating crisis-sensitive strategies into psychosocial care frameworks. Longitudinal studies are essential to understand mental health trajectories and to evaluate the sustained patient- and parent-perceived benefit as well as clinical effectiveness of PST use. Enhancing support services and refining intervention models will improve the well-being and quality of life for young CHD patients. Full article
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