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CHOC Heart Institute

Technican monitoring the heart of boy patient

At the CHOC Heart Institute, we understand it may be overwhelming to learn your child has been referred to a heart specialist, a pediatric heart surgeon or has been newly diagnosed with a heart condition. That is why we have assembled a mighty brigade of experts dedicated to caring for children and teens, whether they may be healthy or seriously ill.

Our highly specialized and board-certified pediatric cardiology team and cardiothoracic surgeons provide patients and families with comprehensive care for congenital and acquired heart disease, new symptoms that may be related to the heart, pediatric heart surgery and advanced cardiac services.

Our pediatric cardiac specialists not only see patients during office hours Monday through Friday, but are always on-call in our emergency department.

CHOC is the only facility in Orange County that performs open-heart surgery on newborns and children.

The hospital’s impressive offering of surgical services includes dedicated, cardiovascular operating rooms with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life-saving technology not found anywhere else in the county. We offer a full range of surgical procedures to correct congenital heart defects including arterial switch for transposition of the great vessels and the Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome and have operated on infants weighing as little at 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds 1 ounce). Learn more about heart surgery at CHOC.

What We Treat

Children are not small adults and their health care needs, especially cardiac concerns, should be diagnosed and treated by specialists who understand the needs of children. We are dedicated to providing the least invasive, most advanced treatment for heart-related problems in children.

Each patient’s care team includes physicians with specialized cardiac training, pediatric cardiac nurse practitioners, bedside nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers and child life specialists who together provide seamless care, patient education and family support, as well as opportunities for the child to play, discover and create. Our nationally recognized cardiac experts were trained at some of the top programs in the nation and exclusively evaluate and treat newborns, infants, children, teens and young adults with all types of congenital heart defects, acquired heart disease and vascular problems, including:

What We Treat

Aortic stenosis
Arrhythmias
Atrial septal defect
Atrioventricular canal defect
Cardiomyopathy
Chest pain
Coarctation of the aorta
Dyslipidemia
Heart failure
Heart murmurs
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Kawasaki disease
Patent ductus arteriosus
Pulmonary artery stenosis
Pulmonary atresia
Pulmonary hypertension
Syncope (fainting)
Palpitations
Tetralogy of Fallot
Transposition of the great arteries (vessels)
Truncus arteriosus
Vascular anomalies
Ventricular septal defect.

Innovative Cardiodiagnostics

Color 3D image of a cardiac MRI The CHOC Heart Institute is dedicated to providing the least invasive, most advanced cardiodiagnostic services available for heart-related problems in children. We offer traditional and highly specialized echocardiograms and electrocardiograms, Holter monitoring and cardiac event recording and advanced 3D imaging. In our state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab, we offer minimally invasive diagnostic catheterization techniques and electrophysiology studies. Learn more about the cardiodiagnostics available at CHOC.

Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Services

Three happy smiling boys playing

As advances in medicine help more children with complex congenital heart conditions survive and live productive lives, some children treated for these conditions are at a higher risk for delays in development and learning. Children who are on track when they are young, can still be at risk for developmental delays. These delays can show up when they start school or as they get older and expectation increase.

We understand the uncertainty parents face when their child has a cardiac condition that can contribute to developmental delays. That’s why we offer our cardiac developmental services to identify children who are at risk for having problems with learning, thinking or behaviors and help them get the support they need.

Innovative Programs, Specialized Expertise

At CHOC we are dedicated to providing the life-saving equipment, technology, expertise and healing environment pediatric patients need. Our specialized programs go beyond traditional cardiac care to provide even the most fragile children and their families with personalized treatment plans and the peace of mind that comes with working with some of the country’s most renowned pediatric cardiology experts.

Pacemaker and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Program

With one of the largest pediatric pacemaker and internal cardiac defibrillator clinics in the region, we work with patients and families throughout Southern California and beyond to treat and monitor children who need a pacemaker or implantable cardiac defibrillators. Once a device has been inserted, our specialists are able to monitor each patient’s defibrillator, battery supply, wire integrity and much more without the patient ever having to leave the comfort of home by using a special wireless connection and the Internet. Learn more about the Pacemaker and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Program at CHOC.

Electrophysiology Program

CHOC is a leader in the detection and treatment of arrhythmias in children with comprehensive noninvasive and invasive electrophysiological services. When a child is diagnosed with an arrhythmia, our electrophysiology team offers a variety of research-based diagnostic and treatment options for children of all ages—from babies still in the womb to young adults. As a leader in this field, CHOC was the first hospital in the United States to perform radiation-free electrophysiological studies and cardiac catheter ablation. Learn more about the Electrophysiology Program at CHOC.

Extracorporeal Life Support Program

CHOC is the only institution in Orange County to offer extracorporeal life support (ECLS), or ECMO, a complex machine that supports the heart and lungs by taking over the heart’s pumping function and the lung’s oxygen exchange until a patient can recover from injury or illness. Learn more about ECLS.

Interventional Cardiology Program

Interventional cardiologists do not diagnose or treat patients using conventional surgery; they specialize in performing minimally invasive cardiac catheterization procedures in our state-of-the-art catheterization laboratories. Learn more about the minimally invasive diagnostics and treatment procedures offered by our interventional cardiologists.

Lipid Clinic

The Lipid Clinic uses a multidisciplinary approach that includes an exercise educator, dietitian and cardiologist to care for children who are at risk for developing heart disease because of genetic or acquired dyslipidemias. Learn more about the Lipid Clinic.

Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic

Our Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic provides families with the opportunity to undergo tests like echocardiograms, electrocardiograms and pulmonary function tests, and meet with their pulmonologist and cardiologist, all in one clinic visit. Learn more about the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic.

Sports Cardiology Program

The Heart Institute collaborates with the Orange County Department of Education to provide a sports cardiology program called Life-Threatening Events Associated with Pediatric Sports (LEAPS) program. CHOC’s pediatric cardiologists work one-on-one with local high school coaches, staff and students to educate them on heart conditions and offer electrocardiogram screenings to identify athletes at risk. Learn more about LEAPS.

Cardiac NICU

The Cardiac NICU is a special unit of the neonatal intensive care unit at CHOC that provides comprehensive care for babies with congenital heart defects, including those complicated by prematurity, low birth weight or multi-organ disease. CHOC is the only hospital in Orange County that performs open heart surgery on newborns. Led by physicians who are dual-trained in both neonatal intensive care and cardiac intensive care, the eight-bed Cardiac NICU features the latest technology, including full ECMO support and the capability to perform emergency bedside surgery if needed. The Cardiac NICU promotes multidisciplinary collaboration with daily rounds between cardiac-neonatologists, pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and neonatal-cardiac nurses, and the unit is actively researching techniques to maximize neuro-developmental outcomes and minimize long-term complications.

Big Innovations for Tiny Hearts: Research at the CHOC Heart Institute

The Heart Institute’s participation in research allows us to continue advancing the future of pediatric cardiac care and find treatment options for children for whom standard therapies have failed or are not an option. Our studies continue to lead to major advancements in hybrid congenital heart surgery and neonatal and pediatric open-heart surgery, postoperative care following pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and the treatment of arrhythmias. Ongoing projects have included the evaluation of new treatments for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children with cardiac disease and newer noninvasive methodologies in monitoring children after cardiac surgery. The Heart Institute has also participated in a national study to evaluate newer inotropic agents following heart surgery as well as management strategies for hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Learn about our key roles in the development of:
Safer surgeries for neonates younger than 30 days old
Extracorporeal life support
Radiation-free electrophysiology

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Contact the Heart Institute

To make an appointment at the CHOC Heart Institute, please call 888-770-2462. For general questions and information about the Heart Institute, please call 714-509-9319.

If you are pregnant and would like to schedule a prenatal consultation or a fetal echocardiogram with our fetal cardiologists, please call 714-509-3960.

Exterior view of CHOC Children's Commerce Tower

The CHOC Difference

The only Orange County hospital to perform neonatal and pediatric open-heart surgery and catheterization.
CHOC provides the least invasive, most advanced cardiodiagnostic services available for heart-related problems in children.
A dedicated cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) with the most advanced bedside monitoring equipment available.
A cardiac NICU for newborns with congenital heart disease, including those complicated by prematurity, low birth weight or multi-organ disease.
The only Orange County hospital to offer 24/7 extracorporeal life support (ECLS), or ECMO, for patients who have sudden cardiac arrest.
Our cardiac specialists are always on-call in our emergency department.
CHOC offers the only comprehensive fetal cardiology services in Orange County.
CHOC uses only specially trained and board-certified pediatric cardiac intensivists, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, interventionalists and anesthesiologists to care for your child.
Our team of board-certified physicians, as well as our perfusionists, cardiovascular nurse practitioners and nurses, respiratory therapists, dietitians, social workers, child life specialists and case managers all have specialized training and expertise.
We offer numerous specialized programs, including pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator, electrophysiology, extracorporeal life support, interventional cardiology, lipid, pulmonary hypertension, sports cardiology, cardiac NICU, and neurodevelopmental services.
CHOC offers one of the few dedicated pediatric electrophysiology (EP) programs in the region.
Our state-of-the-art catheterization lab is one of the largest in Southern California and offers minimally invasive diagnostic catheterization techniques and electrophysiology studies.
CHOC has one of the largest pediatric pacemaker and internal cardiac defibrillator programs in the region, and work with patients and families throughout Southern California and beyond.
CHOC was the first hospital in the United States to perform radiation-free electrophysiological studies and cardiac catheter ablation.
We offer a specialized lipid program that uses a multidisciplinary approach for children who are at risk for developing heart disease because of genetic or acquired dyslipidemias.