Comprehensive Expertise From Our Pediatric Cardiologists

Our team of pediatric heart and vascular experts regularly diagnose and treat a wide range of heart conditions, such as congenital and acquired heart disease in pediatric patients from before birth to young adulthood. Our team of board-certified and pediatric fellowship-trained cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, heart surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons offers comprehensive care for children for all cardiovascular diseases and heart conditions, from common conditions to very complex surgical procedures. Working together, the Willson Heart Center team and Valley Childrens other specialty trained physicians, nurses, technologists and staff focuses on one goal – getting your child well.

Heart Center Programs:

• Pediatric Cardiology: Cardiology services are provided on both an inpatient and outpatient basis for pediatric heart care. Emergency cardiac services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 
• Cardiac Surgery: Valley Children’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Program provides the highest quality comprehensive intraoperative and postoperative care. The heart surgery program, whose surgeons are from Stanford University School of Medicine, partners with Stanford in the Northern California Regional Congenital Heart Program. Each year, surgeons in the regional program perform about 1,000 cardiothoracic operations that include the full spectrum of pediatric surgical care. Valley Children's pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons complete about one-fourth of this annual total. 
• Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory:  The Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory offers all currently available pediatric diagnostic and interventional procedures for children with congenital and acquired heart disease. With advanced endovascular therapeutics, the physicians in the “cath lab” can close a hole in a child’s heart through a 1/8-inch skin puncture. 
• Cardiology Testing Center: The Cardiac Testing Center provides noninvasive diagnostic services for children and expectant mothers. With a goal of ensuring that all infants and children with heart disease have access to effective, compassionate and innovative cardiac testing services, we provide echocardiography (transthoracic, transesophageal and fetal), electrocardiography (EKG or ECG), holter and multi-event EKG monitoring, pacemaker analysis and reprogramming. 
• Cardiopulmonary Exercise Laboratory: The Cardiopulmonary Exercise Laboratory provides diagnostic testing for pediatric patients with suspected or known cardiac and/or pulmonary disease. The staff of physicians, ECG technicians and registered respiratory therapists performs pulmonary function testing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing and metabolic studies, along with treatment, education and evaluation.
• Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic: The Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic provides comprehensive support for adolescents and young adults, ranging from a tailored education plan for each patient’s condition, to a transition plan to ensure they receive the appropriate care throughout their lifetime to prevent complications and ensure the best quality of life.
• Clinical Education and Lifestyle Management Clinic: The Clinical Education and Lifestyle Management Clinic provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary services for the evaluation and care of patients diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, including the transitioning adolescent and adult with congenital heart disease. The staff of cardiologists and nurses has the experience and expertise to support this population of patients who require ongoing, specialized, cardiovascular care and lifestyle management counseling.

Expert Cardiovascular Services

Specific services provided by our team of pediatric heart and vascular experts includes the full range of cardiovascular conditions and diseases. Our multidisciplinary team works together to provide advanced cardiac treatments in children of all ages, both at Valley Children’s Hospital and our regional offices, including:

Programs Affiliated with the Heart Center

• Prenatal Diagnostic Center: Valley Children’s offers an unparalleled approach to prenatal diagnosis through our Prenatal Diagnostic Center. We provide a full range of diagnostic testing, from amniocentesis and genetic testing, to 3-D and 4-D sonograms and fetal echocardiograms. Our multidisciplinary team of highly trained medical professionals — with access to state-of-the-art diagnostic technology and comprehensive screenings over the course of a pregnancy — is unmatched in its ability to determine the health and condition of a mother’s baby before birth. 
   
• Minimal Blood Loss Surgery: Minimal blood loss options are available for those who wish to minimize the use of donor blood during medical and surgical procedures. The Willson Heart Center works closely with the staff at the Valley Children’s Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery. Our physicians are committed to upholding the personal, religious and medical wishes of those who desire the use of alternatives to blood transfusion.