Previous studies investigating behavioural health screening processes have focused on selected diagnoses within paediatric cardiology and focused on a smaller number of potential concerns. We developed and administered a brief survey in our paediatric heart centre to assess the presence of a wider variety of behavioural health concerns and to connect patients with resources. A cohort of 305 patients aged 2–29 years (M = 11.97 years; SD = 6.00 years; 50.49% female), representing a variety of indications for a cardiology clinic visit, or a parent, completed a survey of 14 common behavioural health concerns. Behavioural health concerns were included based on practice patterns within paediatric psychology. Respondents indicated if they were currently receiving behavioural health services and if they were interested in behavioural health follow-up. Surveys were administered during check in and collected by clinic staff. A behavioural health provider attempted to reach all those who indicated interest by phone. Approximately 45% of the sample endorsed one or more behavioural health concerns and 30.16% of the sample endorsed at least one concern but were not already connected to services. Only 27.17% of this group requested follow-up. Most commonly endorsed concerns were anxiety, sleep problems, depressed/irritable mood, and somatic complaints. Survey results converge with existing literature to indicate that behavioural health concerns are common among youth seen in a paediatric cardiology clinic but most patients are not connected to appropriate services. Screening programmes can help meet this need but challenges remain. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Kounis syndrome is the concurrence of acute coronary syndrome or coronary vasospasm with conditions associated with the release of inflammatory cytokines through mast cell activation in the setting of allergic or anaphylactic reactions. Many identified triggers have been identified in paediatric patients including exposures, drugs, and immunisations; however, to our knowledge this is the first case report of Kounis syndrome linked to immunotherapy. We present a case of a 9-year-old with seasonal allergies presenting with clinical symptoms of Kounis syndrome following her weekly subcutaneous injection of allergens. Clinicians need a high index of suspicion for Kounis syndrome in patients who develop systemic signs of anaphylaxis with clinical, laboratory, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic findings of acute coronary syndrome to help direct therapy and improve outcomes.

During the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and summer of 2020, paediatric heart centres were forced to rapidly alter the way patient care was provided to minimise interruption to patient care as well as exposure to the virus. In this survey-based descriptive study, we characterise changes that occurred within paediatric cardiology practices across the United States and described provider experience and attitudes towards these changes during the pandemic. Common changes that were implemented included decreased numbers of procedures, limiting visitors and shifting towards telemedicine encounters. The information obtained from this survey may be useful in guiding and standardising responses to future public health crises.

The 1st World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology was held in London, United Kingdom, in 1980, organised by Dr Jane Somerville and Prof. Fergus Macartney. The idea was that of Jane Somerville, who worked with enormous energy and enthusiasm to bring together paediatric cardiologists and surgeons from around the world. The 2nd World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology took place in New York in 1985, organised by Bill Rashkind, Mary Ellen Engle, and Eugene Doyle. The 3rd World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1989, organised by Chompol Vongraprateep. Although cardiac surgeons were heavily involved in these early meetings, a separate World Congress of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery was held in Bergamo, Italy, in 1988, organised by Lucio Parenzan. Thereafter, it was recognised that surgeons and cardiologists working on the same problems and driven by a desire to help children would really rather meet together. A momentous decision was taken to initiate a Joint World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. A steering committee was established with membership comprising the main organisers of the four separate previous Congresses and additional members were recruited in an effort to achieve numerical equality of cardiologists and surgeons and a broad geographical representation. The historic 1st “World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery” took place in Paris in June, 1993, organised by Jean Kachaner. The next was to be held in Japan, but the catastrophic Kobe earthquake in 1995 forced relocation to Hawaii in 1997. Then followed Toronto, Canada, 2001, organised by Bill Williams and Lee Benson; Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005, organised by Horatio Capelli and Guillermo Kreutzer; Cairns, Australia, 2009, organised by Jim Wilkinson; Cape Town, South Africa, 2013, organised by Christopher Hugo-Hamman; and Barcelona, Spain, 2017, organised by Sertac Cicek. With stops in Europe (1993), Asia-Pacific (1997), North America (2001), South America (2005), Australia (2009), Africa (2013), and Europe again (2017), in 2021, The World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery will be held for the first time in the continental United States.1 The 8th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery will be held in Washington DC, United States of America, 19–24 September, 2021, and will be organised by Jeffrey P. Jacobs and Gil Wernovsky. Mitchell I. Cohen served as the Scientific Program Co-Chair for the 2017 World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, and he will again serve as the Scientific Program Co-Chair for the 2021 World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery along with Kathyrn Dodds RN, MSN, CRNP. Information about the upcoming 8th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery can be found at www.WCPCCS2021.org

In this report, the authors prepared an opinion poll regarding the most important people, events, technologies, concepts, discoveries, and therapies in paediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery. The results were presented in continuous slide show format at the 2017 Seventh World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery (WCPCCS 2017), Barcelona, Spain. The presentation (under international copyright) is made available herein for educational purposes.

The Seventh World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology was held in Barcelona in July, 2017. The central philosophy of the congress was “bridging together” all major specialties in the field. This article summarises the highlights of the meeting as it relates to ambulatory paediatric cardiology. There is a now a more unified approach to children with CHD, including assessment of neuro-developmental outcomes. The new World Heart Foundation criteria for the diagnosis of rheumatic fever remain controversial.

Pediatric cardiology fellowship is a very busy time, with new responsibilities, new knowledge, new technology and fast pace. Above and beyond the science and art of pediatric cardiology, we emphasize that our cardiology fellows are in the middle of the “people business”, with additional roles and responsibilities as they serve their patients and communities. This manuscript provides insight into these opportunities for our pediatric cardiac professionals.

Decades ago, mass-scale epidemiologic studies were undertaken to accurately describe the prevalence of congenital heart disease and associated malformations, and to identify inheritance patterns, teratogenic influence and aetiologic underpinnings. Despite phenomenal breakthroughs in molecular diagnosis of congenital heart disease, original population-based studies for detailed knowledge of prevalence, associated malformations, and appropriate patient and family counselling remain invaluable to the armamentarium and knowledge base of paediatric cardiologists. No modern-era studies have supplanted the importance of the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study undertaken from 1981 to 1989. In this article, we reprise the findings of the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study in tetralogy of Fallot, as well as to review current molecular diagnosis.

The purposes of our study were, first, to determine the prevalence of dental caries in young patients with congenital cardiac disease, second, to determine the effect of oral health in their quality of life, third, to examine parental knowledge about associations between oral health and cardiac health, and fourth, to examine parental perceptions regarding access to dental care. A standardized questionnaire was given to a convenience sample of parents of 43 children with cardiac disease and 43 healthy controls from 12 to 71 months of age. In every patient, we performed a dental examination. Descriptive statistics, the two-tailed t-test, and Fisher’s exact test were used for statistical analysis. Of the children with cardiac disease, 17% had caries, compared to 13% of the control group. Almost half of those with cardiac disease had never seen a dentist, compared to 35% of the control subjects. Of the parents of those with cardiac disease, one-fifth did not know whether oral health was important for the heart, compared to one-tenth of controls. Insurance and access to care were not barriers to obtain dental treatment. Statistically significant differences were, first, parents of children with congenitally malformed hearts felt more guilt about their child’s oral health than control parents (p = 0.026), second, they were more upset about the dental problems and/or treatments of their children (p = 0.012), and third, they thought that dental problems and/or dental treatment made their children more irritable (p = 0.012). Our findings indicate that it is of paramount importance that cardiologists and their associated staff educate patients and families about oral health and other issues associated with congenital cardiac disease.

Professionals working in the arena of health care face a variety of challenges as their careers evolve and develop. In this review, we analyze the role of mentorship, learning curves, and balance in overcoming challenges that all such professionals are likely to encounter. These challenges can exist both in professional and personal life.

As any professional involved in health care matures, complex professional skills must be mastered, and new professional skills must be acquired. These skills are both technical and judgmental. In most circumstances, these skills must be learned. In 2007, despite the continued need for obtaining new knowledge and learning new skills, the professional and public tolerance for a “learning curve” is much less than in previous decades. Mentorship is the key to success in these endeavours. The success of mentorship is two-sided, with responsibilities for both the mentor and the mentee. The benefits of this relationship must be bidirectional. It is the responsibility of both the student and the mentor to assure this bidirectional exchange of benefit. This relationship requires time, patience, dedication, and to some degree selflessness. This mentorship will ultimately be the best tool for mastering complex professional skills and maturing through various learning curves. Professional mentorship also requires that mentors identify and explicitly teach their mentees the relational skills and abilities inherent in learning the management of the triad of self, relationships with others, and professional responsibilities.

Up to two decades ago, a learning curve was tolerated, and even expected, while professionals involved in healthcare developed the techniques that allowed for the treatment of previously untreatable diseases. Outcomes have now improved to the point that this type of learning curve is no longer acceptable to the public. Still, professionals must learn to perform and develop independence and confidence. The responsibility to meet this challenge without a painful learning curve belongs to both the younger professionals, who must progress through the learning curve, and the more mature professionals who must create an appropriate environment for learning.

In addition to mentorship, the detailed tracking of outcomes is an essential tool for mastering any learning curve. It is crucial to utilize a detailed database to track outcomes, to learn, and to protect both yourself and your patients. It is our professional responsibility to engage in self-evaluation, in part employing voluntary sharing of data. For cardiac surgical subspecialties, the databases now existing for The European Association for CardioThoracic Surgery and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons represent the ideal tool for monitoring outcomes. Evolving initiatives in the fields of paediatric cardiology, paediatric critical care, and paediatric cardiac anaesthesia will play similar roles.

A variety of professional and personal challenges must be met by all those working in health care. The acquisition of learned skills, and the use of special tools, will facilitate the process of conquering these challenges. Choosing appropriate role models and mentors can help progression through any learning curve in a controlled and protected fashion. Professional and personal satisfaction are both necessities. Finding the satisfactory balance between work and home life is difficult, but possible with the right tools, organization skills, and support system at work and at home. The concepts of mentorship, learning curves and balance cannot be underappreciated.