The VII Kardio-Prenatal Conference, held on 19-20 June 2026, for the first time at the Mazovian University in Płock, Poland (previous editions took place in Łódź), provided an international and interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of current knowledge and clinical experience in fetal cardiology, prenatal diagnosis, perinatology, neonatology, paediatric cardiology, and cardiac surgery. The scientific program reflected the increasingly multidisciplinary character of contemporary care for fetuses and newborns with congenital heart disease (CHD), emphasising not only accurate prenatal diagnosis but also risk stratification, perinatal management, neonatal treatment, and continuity of care from fetal to postnatal life.

The distinguished character of the VII Kardio-Prenatal Conference was further highlighted by the presence of Prof. Krzysztof J. Filipiak, Rector of the Medical University of Maria Skłodowska-Curie in , who is also the director of the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education (CMKP) in . Prof. Filipiak attended the meeting as one of its honorary guests and presented his speech, which further emphasised the academic and interdisciplinary character of the conference.

The first day began with an international plenary session devoted to risk stratification and the clinical consequences of prenatal diagnosis of CHD. Prof. Maciej Słodki, representing the Polish Mother’s – Research Institute in Łódź and the in , opened the scientific program with a presentation on different approaches to prenatal risk stratification of CHD and the common principles underlying these classifications. The subject was particularly relevant to the overall theme of the meeting because prenatal classification of cardiac defects has important implications for counselling, delivery planning, and neonatal management.

The prenatal perspective was subsequently extended to postnatal outcomes. Prof. Jay Pruetz from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine of the discussed outcomes in neonates with critical CHD requiring urgent cardiac intervention. Prof. Maria Respondek-Liberska from the Polish Mother’s – Research Institute in Łódź addressed congenital heart defects of particular importance from the perspectives of both prenatal cardiologists and neonatologists. The importance of coordinated multidisciplinary management was further emphasised by Dr Alyssa Thomas, affiliated with...


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