Programs and Services - Children's Heart Center for Pediatric Cardiology

The Children's Heart Center for Pediatric Cardiology provides a continuum of care to individuals from before birth through adulthood. The medical services and programs provided include clinical services for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease in infants, children and young adults. We believe in the team approach, and bring together diverse pediatric specialists to provide children with the best care.

Maternal-fetal care begins with prenatal diagnosis by an integrated team of devoted perinatologists and pediatric cardiologists and continues through the entire pregnancy. Pediatric cardiac surgeons, pediatric cardiac intensivists, neonatologists, and pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists are also available for prenatal consultation. After birth, the team provides tailored medical and surgical therapy for the individual child. The Center also provides a comprehensive care plan for adults with childhood congenital heart disease that includes medical follow-up, interventions and surgery.

Medical Services

The medical services provided within Children's Heart Center include clinical services for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease in infants, children and young adults. We believe in the team approach, and bring together diverse pediatric specialists to provide children with the best care.

Phoenix Children's is becoming a regional leader in catheter-based treatment of congenital heart disease. Percutaneous closure of atrial septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus and ventricular septal defects are now available. Coarctation repair without surgery, angioplasty and valvuloplasty of aortic and pulmonic valves are standard procedures with excellent results.

Novel pediatric electrophysiology (EP) services for infants, children and adults are performed by nationally recognized specialists. Pacemaker, automatic implantable defibrillators (AICDs), and bi-ventricular pacing systems are implanted in hybrid catheterization labs.

Surgical Services

The center's surgical team has expertise in all aspects of surgical care for children and adults with congenital heart and lung defects. The team manages a full range of surgical services from infants to adulthood including surgery involving single ventricle or other complex anomalies that require early, complicated reconstructive surgery. The Center has continued to demonstrate excellent results in terms of mortality and complication rates through the collaborative efforts of a multidisciplinary team.

Our surgeons also have the depth and breadth of experience that enables state-of-the-art approaches to surgery, providing patients with a safe and efficient pathway to recovery and rehabilitation.

Children's Heart Center Programs

Our programs include Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Transplant, Fetal Cardiology and Echocardiography, Electrophysiology, Non-Invasive Imaging and Telemedicine, and Pediatric Radiology. State-of-the-art MRI and 3-dimensional CT minimizes invasive testing and unnecessary procedures. Pediatric cardiologists and radiologists with expertise in congenital heart disease collaborate to pioneer new imaging modalities for complex heart disease. We strive for excellence in education and research to enhance our patient care efforts.

Pediatric Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit 

The pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit at Phoenix Children's is a new innovative concept for pediatric cardiac care. With the primary goal of providing the best medical care for patients with heart disease, the care unit will incorporate four fundamental principles into its design and operations:

1. Continuity of care
2. Dedicated specialized care
3. Family-centered care 
4. Patient safety

This concept and structure will be the first of its kind in the region. All neonates, infants, children, adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease will be admitted and cared for in this unit. These patients will be triaged to several designated areas in the care unit based on their acuity and need for additional critical or non-critical medical and nursing services. Throughout their entire hospitalization, all patients and their families will have the comfort and security of being cared for in one physical unit from the time of admission through the time of discharge. This model of specialized care will provide enhanced patient safety and improve patient outcomes.

Program Highlights/Past Accomplishments

Here are a few Children's Heart Center program highlights we are very proud of.

Interventional Cardiac Catheterization Program:

• Phoenix Children's has the only pediatric-dedicated cardiac catheterization suite in the state and the only laboratory for "hybrid" procedures in the Southwest.
• More than 300 cardiac catheterization procedures were performed in 2008.  Fifty percent of these were interventional procedures, allowing many patients to avoid open-heart surgery.

Cardiothoracic Surgery

• More than 375 pediatric heart surgeries, including 270 open-heart surgeries, took place at Phoenix Children's Hospital in 2008.
• Fifteen percent of those surgeries were in babies less than four weeks of age.

Electrophysiology Program

• Dr. Edward Rhee, a pediatric cardiologist and electrophysiologist who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of heart rhythm abnormalities in children and in teenagers with congenital heart disease, joined the Cardiology team at Phoenix Children's Hospital in 2011.  See his profile and be sure to click on the "Publications" button to learn more about his impressive accomplishments.
• In 2008, more than 100 electrophysiologic studies were performed for a variety of electrical conditions.
• 95 percent of our ablations result in a "cure," avoiding the need for life-long antiarrhythmic medication therapy.
• Drs. Andrew Papez and Mitchell Cohen evaluate children at risk for sudden cardiac death and offer comprehensive evaluation for families at risk.
• Dr. Cohen has implanted more than 250 pacemaker/defibrillators and currently follows nearly 500 patients in a pacemaker clinic, providing comprehensive outpatient care for these patients. Patients can also be followed with the latest remote home monitors to minimize outpatient visits and hospitalizations. 

Cardiac Imaging

• The cardiac imaging team, led by Dr. Bryan Sandweiss, performed 8,600 inpatient and 1,300 outpatient echocardiograms in 2005.
• Phoenix Children's has the only pediatric cardiologist trained in cardiac MRI in Arizona, completing more than 200 cases in 2005.
• State-of-the-art imaging using 3-D, 4-D, and tissue Doppler/velocity mapping were implemented in 2006.

Fetal Program

• In 2008, Drs. Roy Jedeikin and Chris Lindblade evaluated 350 fetuses with complex congenital heart disease and suspected fetal arrhythmias.
• Early identification has allowed for establishing coordinated care with cardiology, perinatology, neonatology, and cardiothoracic surgery.

Research and Education

• Between 2007 and 2008, the Heart Center team have participated in national research studies to continue advancing the field as well as bring the latest technology and expertise to Phoenix Children's.
• Many members of the Heart Center team have lectured extensively and local and national meetings.

Contact

Cardiology / Cardiothoracic Surgery  (602) 933-3366

Fax: 602-933-4166