Children’s Hospital of Georgia Heart Center offers a truly comprehensive Pediatric Heart Program to treat children and young adults
with heart disease. Our team also provides the highest level of care for babies with
heart conditions detected in utero. No matter when your child’s heart condition is
found, we are here to help every step of the way.
Children’s Hospital of Georgia Heart Center offers a truly comprehensive Pediatric Heart Program to treat children and young adults
with heart disease. Our team also provides the highest level of care for babies with
heart conditions detected in utero. No matter when your child’s heart condition is
found, we are here to help every step of the way.
About
Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, affecting 40,000
babies born in the U.S. every year. The Children’s Hospital of Georgia Heart Center provides specialized care centered around our pediatric heart patients. We are one
of only three health systems across Georgia and South Carolina with a dedicated Pediatric Heart Program. Our team of cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons offer a wide range of clinical
services to treat heart disease in infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
Why Choose Us
As the only children’s hospital serving Augusta’s River Region, we have dedicated
ourselves to providing specialized care to our pediatric heart patients and their
loved ones through:
- Collaboration: Our doctors partner with other specialists across multiple fields of medicine, because
heart problems in children can begin before they are born and continue into adulthood.
Pediatric cardiologists work together with obstetricians, maternal fetal medicine
specialists, neonatologists, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatric intensivists,
and pediatric anesthesiologists to design the best care plan for your child.
- Hybrid Approach Intervention: This approach uses a unique combination of both the interventional pediatric cardiologist’s
skills and the cardiothoracic surgeon’s surgical technique. We have the region’s only
Pediatric Hybrid Cardiac Catheterization Lab where these procedures can take place.
- Lifelong Cardiovascular Care: Some of our patients continue to follow-up with their pediatric cardiologist well
into adulthood, which is absolutely fine! They may also decide to continue on to the
Augusta University Cardiovascular Center where we provide them with the same high-level care they have always received.
Our Cardiac Care Programs and Labs
- Fetal Heart Program: Providing early diagnosis and intervention if your doctor suspects a problem with
your child’s heart while you are pregnant.
- Hybrid Cardiac Catheterization Lab: We perform diagnosis and interventional treatments on children and adults with congenital
heart conditions.
- Electrophysiology Lab: Where pediatric patients have the electrical activity in their heart recorded and
analyzed for diagnosis and treatment.
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU): We have a level I PICU, where we care for critically ill pediatric patients.
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), We provide the highest level of acute care for your baby in our level IV NICU .
Our Echocardiography/Fetal Echocardiography Lab is accredited by the IAC (Intersocietal
Accreditation Commission).
Conditions We Treat
We treat all types of pediatric heart problems. If your child has shortness of breath,
chest pain, feels dizzy, faints or feels extreme fatigue, these sometimes may be signs
of trouble with their heart. We are trained to diagnose and treat many different
heart conditions. Common reasons for referral to a Pediatric cardiologist include:
Acquired Heart Diseases
- Aortic Disease (Aortic Aneurysms and Dissections)
- Cardiomyopathy
- Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
- Heart Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances and Irregular Heartbeat)
- Heart Failure
- High Blood Pressure, Triglycerides (Fats in the Blood) and High Cholesterol
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
- Myocarditis
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Pulmonary Insufficiency (Pulmonary Valve Regurgitation)
- Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (RCM)
|
Congenital Heart Diseases
- Anomalous Coronary Artery
- Anomalous Origin of the Right or Left Pulmonary Artery Off the Aorta
- Aortic Stenosis
- Aortopulmonary (AP) Window
- Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
- Atrioventricular Canal Defect
- Coarctation of the Aorta
- Congenital Mitral Valve Disease (Mitral Insufficiency & Mitral Stenosis)
- Congenital Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm/Aortico-Left Ventricular Tunnel
- Cor Triatriatum
- Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV)
- Ebstein’s Anomaly
- Heterotaxy Syndrome
- Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
- Interrupted Aortic Arch
- Levo-Transposition of the Great Arteries (LTGA) & Atrioventricular (AV) Discordant
Connections
- Partially Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (PAPVR)
- Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
- Pulmonary Artery Sling
- Pulmonary Atresia With Intact Ventricular Septum (PAIVS)
- Pulmonary Stenosis
- Single Ventricle Physiology & Palliation
- Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
- Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection or Return (TAPVC or TAPVR)
- Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)
- Tricuspid Atresia
- Truncus Arteriosus
- Unroofed Coronary Sinus Syndrome
- Vascular Ring Anomaly and Vascular Sling
- Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
|
Heart Murmur
- Atrial septal defect
- Cardiomyopathy
- Ebstein anomaly
|
Hypertension
- High blood pressure
- Hypercholesterolemia
- Familial hypercholesterolemia
- Elevated LDL
- Elevated triglycerides
|
Diagnostic Tests
Getting your child tested as soon as possible is key when you are dealing with cardiovascular
disease. We use a full range of the latest diagnostic testing technology so that our
cardiologists and surgeons can get you answers you need about your child’s heart health.
Cardiac imaging tests
Imaging tests allow us to visualize the organs in the chest, such as the heart and
lungs, and surrounding blood vessels to look for abnormalities in the heart. We offer:
- Pediatric echocardiography
- Chest X-ray
- Pediatric cardiac catheterization
- Pediatric computerized tomographic scans (CT)
- Pediatric cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI)
Additional types of diagnostic tests include:
- Blood testing
- Pediatric electrocardiograms (EKG)
- Exercise treadmill test
- Holter monitoring and event recorders
Pediatric Sedation Services are offered to children who might feel anxiety about tests and procedures. Sedation
helps your child to feel calmer, and remain still, during these procedures so that
doctors can get more accurate test readings.
Treatments
We offer a wide range of treatment options using the latest technologies and procedures.
We also monitor your child’s treatment through management Whenever possible, we explore
using noninvasive or minimally invasive treatment options first. We offer:
Managed Care
Part of a child's ongoing care can include:
- Medical management for heart failure
- Arrhythmia evaluation and management
- Pacemaker management
Support for pediatric patients
When your child is living with cardiovascular disease or recovering from a procedure,
we want you to know that we will be there to give continued support with things like:
- Certified dietitians, give nutritional counseling to children, helping them learn
how to make good food choices throughout their life.
Patient Resources
- Camp Strong Heart, a special camp for pediatric heart patients.
- Child life specialists, will help children understand and cope with their diagnosis and treatment.
- Ronald McDonald House, a place for out-of-town patients and their families. You don’t have to worry about
finding an affordable place to stay. The Ronald McDonald House, located steps away from our front entrance, provides a home away from home for our
pediatric heart patients and their families coming from long distances.
