**Collaboration between Interventional Cardiologists and Cardiac Surgeons in the Era of Heart Team Approach**

Takashi Murashita

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/67788

#### **Abstract**

Along with the rapid evolution of transcatheter interventions, interventional cardiologists are playing more and more important role in the care of cardiovascular disease. The consequence of rapid change in the landscape has been fostering new and improved relationships between interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons and the formulation of Heart Team to facilitate patient management. A hybrid strategy is a combination of tools available only in the catheterization laboratory with those available only in the operative room in order to gain maximum profit from both of them. In the current era, the continuous development in transcatheter procedures along with the adoption of minimally invasive surgical approaches makes hybrid strategy an attractive alternative to conventional surgical or transcatheter techniques for any given set of cardiovascular diseases. In the areas of coronary revascularization, valve repair or replacement, and ablation for atrial fibrillation, hybrid approaches have shown great benefit especially in high-risk cases. With the technological evolutions in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, the Heart Team approach utilizing the expertise of all relevant specialties will be more and more invaluable in facilitating optimal patient selection, procedural planning, complication management, postprocedural care, and patient outcomes.

**Keywords:** interventional cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, hybrid, heart team
