[Adult patients with congenital heart abnormalities: present and future].

The incidence of congenital heart disease is 8 to 10 per 1000 newborn. Due to the advances of heart surgery, medical treatment and interventional cardiology the primarily high mortality rate of relevant congenital heart disease has declined from 80 % to 20 %. Nowadays more than 80 % of children with relevant congenital heart disease reach adulthood. Currently approx. 150 000 adults with significant congenital heart anomalies live in Germany presently. Their number is rising continuously. With the exception of an patent Ductus Botalli and a small atrial septal defect, which could be operated in early childhood curatively, all other congenital heart defects need regular control, since even after successful primary interventional or operative treatment significant residue or sequelae have to be expected. Optimal care of these patients begins in the childhood and must be continued down to the high adulthood. Almost all of them need a careful follow-up in order to recognize residue or sequelae and to treat them in time. The complexity of many congenital heart defects makes a multidisciplinary approach necessary. A specialized, interdisciplinary cooperation between cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and other specialists is mandatory.