Pastora Gallego (editor) - Multimodality Imaging Innovations In Adult Congenital Heart Disease : Emerging Technologies and Novel Applications

Endorsed by

The ESC Working Group on Grown-up Congenital Heart Disease

AEPC Adult with Congenital Heart Disease Working Group

The aim of this series is to cast light on the most significant aspects whether still debated or already established of congenital heart disease in adolescents and adults and its management. Advances in the medical and surgical management of congenital heart disease have revolutionized the prognosis of infants and children with cardiac defects, so that an increasing number of patients, including those with complex problems, can reach adolescence and adult life. The profile of the adult population with congenital heart disease (ACHD) is consequently changing, and in future many adult patients will present different hemodynamic and cardiac problems from those currently seen. A cure is rarely achieved, and provision of optimal care is therefore dependent on ongoing surveillance and management in conjunction with experts in this highly specialized field. Specialists in ACHD management need to have a deep knowledge not only of congenital cardiac malformations and their treatment in infancy and childhood, but of general medicine, too. A training in adult cardiology, including coronary artery disease, is also essential. Similarly, surgeons need to acquire expertise and good training in both adult and pediatric cardiosurgery. Readers will find this series to be a rich source of information highly relevant to daily clinical practice.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13454

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

In Europe, we are currently faced with an estimated ACHD population of 4.2 million; adults with congenital heart disease now outnumber children (approximately 2.3 million). The vast majority cannot be considered cured but rather having a chronic heart condition that requires further surveillance and timely re-intervention for residual or consequent anatomical and/or functional abnormalities. ACHD patients have very special needs, and the physicians taking care of them need expert training. Special health care organization and training programs for those involved in ACHD care are therefore required to meet the needs of this special population.

ACHD problems remain a small part of general cardiology training curricula around the world, and pediatric cardiologists are trained to manage children with CHD and may, out of necessity, continue to look after these patients when they outgrow pediatric age.

There are clearly other health issues concerning the adult with CHD, beyond the scope of pediatric medicine, that our patients now routinely face. Adult physicians with a non-CHD background are therefore increasingly involved in the day-to-day management of patients with CHD.

Experts in congenital heart disease should work to improve the health care system, so that teens and young adults have an easier time making the transition from receiving health care in pediatric cardiology centers to receiving care from specialists in adult cardiology.

The aim of this series is to cast light on the most significant aspects of congenital heart disease in adolescents and adults and its management, such as transition from pediatric to adulthood, pregnancy and contraception, sport and physical activities, pulmonary hypertension, burning issues related to surgery, interventional catheterization, electrophysiology, intensive care management, and heart failure.

This series wishes to attract the interest of cardiologists, anesthesiologists, cardiac surgeons, electrophysiologists, psychologists, GPs, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and residents, and would like to become relevant for courses of cardiology, pediatric cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and anesthesiology.

We thank both the wonderful groups of leading cardiovascular experts from around the world for donating their precious time, producing excellent textbooks, and making this book series a reality, and the members of the two Working Groups (ESC and AEPC ACHD/GUCH Working Group) for the invaluable suggestions and support without which this work would not be possible.

Innovations and emerging technologies for diagnosis, evaluation and treatment in congenital heart defects are continually evolving. Thanks to these advancements in non-invasive diagnosis there has been an improvement in the survival of patients born with a congenital heart disease and most of them are now reaching adulthood.

Novel approaches to transcatheter interventions and advances in echocardiography, MRI and CT imaging are being developed. This is now possible because novel imaging techniques have overcome traditional trade-offs such as low spatial and temporal resolution and because multimodality imaging fusion is now a reality. Even more, non-medical technologies used in the field of engineering and aeronautical industry such as computational fluid dynamics and 3D printing are now being incorporated into clinical practice. All these emerging technologies are profoundly transforming our clinical practice guidelines, research, trainee education and interactions among multidisciplinary teams. Now we hoard a tremendous amount of physiological data unimaginable long time ago which will help us to better understand complex congenital cardiac defect pathophysiology and will provide new treatment options for this unique population. Patient management will continue evolving towards patient-specific strategies such as individualized virtual design and testing technologies. All these advancements warrant a dedicated textbook to cover congenital heart disease and emerging imaging technologies.