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

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

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