[Congenital heart disease. Transition from adolescence to adulthood]

There is a increasing clinical and scientific interest in adults with congenital heart disease. Germany is among, if not the first country worldwide, with a structured care of adults with congenital heart disease. Due to the advances in cardiology and in heart surgery, the primarily high mortality rate of relevant congenital heart disease has declined from 80% to less than 20% during the recent decades. Currently, in Europe the estimated number of adults with congenital heart disease is between 1.2 and 2.7 Mio., and the number in Germany exceeds 180,000. Almost all congenital heart defects, either native or interventionally or surgically treated, need regular control, since even after successful primary treatment significant residua or sequels have to be expected. Optimal care of these patients begins in the childhood and must be continued down to the high adulthood. The complexity of congenital heart defects makes a multidisciplinary approach necessary. A specialized, interdisciplinary cooperation between cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and other specialists is mandatory.