Treatments for Heart Problems

Depending on your child’s specific heart problem, the experts at The Children’s Hospital will tailor a treatment plan and follow up specific to your needs. No two heart problems are the same, so children with the same diagnosis might undergo different treatment plans, depending on their situation. Not all heart problems are treated by surgery, but some are. The following is a general explanation of the types of treatments that might be used to treat your child. Please talk with your doctor about a plan tailored just for your child’s and family’s needs.

Special Cardiology Programs at The Children's Hospital

• Since 1993, The Children's Hospital Arrhythmia Center has been an internationally recognized program for the treatment of children with cardiac arrhythmias. 
• For those patients with pulmonary hypertension or other heart and lung diseases, The Pulmonary Hypertension Program and The Pediatric Heart Lung Center (PHLC) at The Children’s Hospital are leaders in providing consultation, ongoing care, evaluation and involvement in clinical trials.
• The Marfan Clinic at The Children’s Hospital has been deemed the regional referral center for the Rocky Mountain region by the National Marfan Foundation.
• The Adult Congenital Clinic at The Children’s Hospital is staffed by pediatric and adult cardiologists with expertise in the area of adult congenital heart disease.
• For those children with congenital hyperlipidemia, The Lipid Clinic provides support for patients who have high-risk families for heart disease or adoptive children with unknown family histories.
• The Shapedown Clinic at The Children’s Hospital is the nation's leading weight loss program for adolescents and children, providing a family approach to childhood and adolescent obesity.

Medicine

Medication is many times used to treat a cardiac problem, but they do not cure an underlying condition. Medications can improve your child’s heart function and also curtail the progression of a heart condition. Please consult with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist about any questions you have about your child’s medications or over the counter medications your child is taking. Never stop a medication unless this has been discussed with your physician. There are several categories of medications used for heart conditions, that include:

• ACE Inhibitors: medications that expand blood vessels and help to increase blood flow

• Anticoagulants: medications used to reduce the formation of clots in the blood
• Antiarrhythmics: medications used to treat irregular heartbeats
• Beta Blockers: medications used to treat a variety of problems ranging from hypertension, angina, arrhythmias and heart failure.
• Diuretics: medications used to stimulate the kidneys and remove excess water and salt from the body by increasing the urine output.
• Inotropic Drugs: medications used to strengthen muscles for the treatment of heart failure or artrial fibrillation.
• Potassium Supplements: medications sometimes prescribed for use with diuretics to ensure a balance of potassium is maintained.

Interventional Catheterization

Catheterization can be used for diagnostic purposes, to help diagnose a heart problem. But, it can also be used to treat heart problems. The Children's Hospital Cardiac Catheterization Lab provides a state-of-the-art cardiac diagnostic and treatment facility. Equipment is specially designed to diagnose congenital heart disease in infants, children and adolescents.

Heart Surgery

Surgery can be a solution for children who need for their heart structures to be repaired or for their blood circulations to be corrected. These repairs can range from the simple, such as closing a hole, to the complex, which can involve rerouting blood streams. Learn more about Heart Surgery at The Children’s Hospital.

Heart Transplant

For some children, there is no repair that can be provided to help their failing heart. In these cases, a heart transplant can be an option. A transplant occurs when a failing heart is replaced by a healthy heart from a recently deceased donor. The Children's Hospital has been the top pediatric heart transplant center in the nation for over five years, performing more pediatric heart transplants than any other hospital. Learn more about Heart Transplants at The Children’s Hospital.