Heart failure program

If your child has been diagnosed with heart failure, our experienced team is here to help the entire family navigate this complicated disease.

We’ll work with you on developing the best treatment plan to meet your child’s unique needs.

What is pediatric heart failure?

Heart failure occurs when the heart's function is reduced and is unable to pump enough blood and oxygen to meet the normal needs of the body, known as systolic heart failure.

Heart failure may also occur when the heart muscle is stiffer than normal and unable to relax to allow the heart to fill with blood, such that less blood is available to be pumped out to the body. This is known as diastolic heart failure.

In infants, children and adolescents, heart failure can occur due to a variety of causes. The most common causes are:

• Inherited or acquired diseases of the heart muscle, known as cardiomyopathy
• Complex congenital heart disease
• Neuromuscular disorders
• Infections
• Chemotherapy

Heart failure may be a progressive condition, meaning it may get worse over time. While your child’s heart will continue to beat, the amount of blood it delivers the body may not be able to sustain a number of normal body functions.

Heart failure treatment

Our team of heart failure experts uses a multidisciplinary approach to prevent, diagnose and manage pediatric heart failure to ensure your child gets the best care. At the heart of this team is you and your child making sure the treatment plan best meets the family's physical, emotional and intellectual needs.

In addition to assessing your child’s health and medical history, we’ll also run diagnostic tests which may include:

• Cardiac catheterization
• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram
• Laboratory testing
• Exercise stress test
• Chest and abdominal X-ray
• Cardiac MRI and CT scan
• Physical, occupational and speech therapy assessment
• Nutritional assessment

Because heart failure in children has a number of possible causes, the approach to treatment may vary. The management of pediatric heart failure depends on the cause and severity of your child’s disease.

We’ll work with you to explore all available options that could improve your child’s health by treating reversible causes of heart failure, using medication therapy, cardiac rehabilitation and in some cases extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist devices (VAD).

Our goal is to provide the best care for your child by relieving symptoms, decreasing morbidity, slowing the progression of disease, and improving your child’s quality of life.

Meet our heart failure team.