[The best of 2001. Pediatric cardiology]

During this last year, paediatric cardiology has gone through significant changes, although no capital evolution is to be pointed out. Foetal cardiology, initiated some years ago has been remarkably developed. The rate of cardiac anomalies detected is increasing, which leads to very difficult discussions regarding therapeutic abortion and even increasing legal responsibility as evidenced by "arrêt Perruche". Interventional cardiology is more and more resorted to and a reliable, safe and efficient procedure which improved atrial septal defect (ASD) occlusion devices. Data on occlusion of ASD and patent foramen ovale confirm the reliability of these methods. In the field of imaging. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance angiography which gadolinium can, in some cases, replace fluoroscopy with clearer pictures. Reinforced interest is given to Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) due to genetic studies and new therapies. The rate of familial PPH is about 6%. It is an autosomic dominant disorder located on chromosome 2q31-32. New treatment use various prostacyclines administrated by different ways: subcutaneously, orally or by inhalation. It is too early to assess their impact on the prognosis. Finally, we may note the paradoxical importance of congenital heart disease in adult as an outcome of interventional cardiology and follow-up of operated children becoming adults. As the beginning of the 21st century, the definition of paediatric cardiology has considerably evolved.