title: [Diminishing borders between cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery: quo vadis?].
abstract: Increasingly complex techniques in cardiovascular medicine lead to a competitive partnership between cardiology and cardiac surgery. Common challenges will arise in the fields of coronary heart disease, heart valves, heart failure and rhythm therapy. For instance, coronary revascularization in acute myocardial infarction is no longer considered to exclusively be an interventional option. In comparison, the implantation of heart valves is increasingly carried out by cardiologists using interventional techniques. The latest designs of sutureless valves try to combine the benefits of conventional and transcatheter heart valves. Heart failure is the most common reason for hospital admission and thus an important therapeutic target for cardiology and cardiac surgery. New approaches in diagnostics, heart assist devices and cellular therapy meet this challenge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the future only a sensitive and transparent collaboration across transsectoral borders will offer optimal therapy in cardiovascular medicine.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Herz-, Thorax-, Transplantations- und Gefässchirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Deutschland. schilling.tobias@mh-hannover.de
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schilling
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bekeredjian
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haverich
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Katus
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000628:therapy; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000639:trends; D002309:Cardiology / Q000639:trends*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000628:therapy; D004465:Economic Competition / Q000639:trends; D005544:Forecasting; D005858:Germany; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000639:trends; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends*; D013038:Specialization / Q000639:trends; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000639:trends*