The challenge is great; the rewards are enormous. For me there have been few things in life which have been more satisfying than to face a small child, struggling for his very existence, to perform some corrective surgical maneuver, and later to see the youngster, thriving and healthy, starting out in life, sound in body and mind.Robert Edward Gross 'father of cardiac surgery'
| INTRODUC TI ONThe diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common inborn and global defect, has been a tremendous success story of modern medicine. Back in the 1950s, survival of children born with CHD was only approximately 15%. Thanks to remarkable advances in paediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery and catheter interventions, including radical and innovative procedures such as atrial/arterial switch for transposition of great arteries (TGA), the Fontan operation for "single ventricle", percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation and others, more than 90% of children survive now well into adulthood ( Figure 1). 1 Residual and progressive haemodynamic lesions, exercise intolerance, arrhythmias, heart failure (HF) and premature death, however, afflict many patients. 2 Beyond CHD, adult patients face additional opportunities and/or challenges such as pregnancy, acquired heart disease, non-cardiac pathology, necessitating integrated care and most if not all medical disciplines. Furthermore, there is a pressing need to understand better the late pathophysiology of CHD and provide evidence regarding drug therapy, devices and transplantation. 3 We are truly faced with a "tsunami" in terms of adult CHD numbers, disease heterogeneity and complexity of work and intervention/s needed. We must work together, beyond age and geographic boundaries to provide