Heart Care

For more than 30 years, the pediatric cardiac program at UCSF Children's Hospital has been recognized as a world leader in basic research and therapeutic discoveries that  advanced the care for children with acquired and congenital heart disease.

The UCSF Pediatric Heart Center is an integrated group of doctors, nurses and other health professionals working together to offer comprehensive, single-point-of-access, patient-centered care to infants, children and adolescents with heart disease.

Our surgery program for congenital heart disease is one of the most expert in the country, specializing in repairing the hearts of infants with complex disorders such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Our Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is a leader in diagnosing and repairing heart problems without open-chest surgery, using miniature instruments to open blood vessels and close holes in tiny hearts. In fact, our Pediatric Electrophysiology Program pioneered the use of radiofrequency ablation to treat heart rhythm problems in children.

Experts at the heart center are world-renowned for echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose complex heart defects before and after birth and to guide catheter and surgical procedures.

The center includes:

• Outpatient Center — Our state-of-the-art Outpatient Pediatric Heart Center, which opened in May 2002, provides a single location for evaluation and preparation for heart surgery, outpatient heart check-ups and non-invasive testing. Services at this site include pacemaker monitoring, treadmill tests, electrocardiography and echocardiography.

• Hospital Care — Infants, children and even adults with congenital heart disease receive coordinated care and the full range of treatments at UCSF Children's Hospital, from minimally invasive repairs to heart surgery, medical supervision to critical care. Our youngest heart patients are diagnosed pre-natally. From the moment of birth, they receive life support in our Intensive Care Nursury (ICU), one of the world's leading centers for care of critically ill newborns. We also provide the highest level of care in our Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit for children who are being treated for heart disease or who are recovering from surgery.

In addition, the UCSF Fetal Cardiovascular Program performs sophisticated imaging as early as the late first trimester to assess and manage fetal and pediatric heart disease .

Using knowledge acquired at UCSF and throughout the world, the UCSF Pediatric Heart Center provides the highest quality and most compassionate care.
	Parents, children and doctors share their UCSF experiences.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated November 19, 2007