Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program
The littlest hearts demand the most advanced care.
Heart failure is a serious condition that requires an experienced team performing advanced heart therapies. Our comprehensive Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program is dedicated to managing children and adolescents with heart failure. We use the latest treatments, including ventricular assist devices (VADs) and, in certain situations, heart transplantation.
Our Providers
Our pediatric specialists provide personalized care for your child’s physical, mental and emotional health needs.
Contact Information
For appointments, please call 1-888-884-BEAR (2327) and for information, call 202-476-2020.
Conditions We Treat
Understanding your child's condition is an important step on your treatment journey. Learn more about causes, symptoms and diagnosis for a variety of conditions, as well as unique treatments and research being performed at Children's National.
Causes of Heart Failure
Having heart failure does not mean your child’s heart has "failed." Heart failure is usually the result of heart disease. Common causes of heart failure include:
Cardiomyopathies
These are abnormalities of the heart muscle.
Complex congenital heart disease
Heart failure can occur with complex congenital heart disease when surgery is either unavailable or unsuccessful.
Viral myocarditis
This condition can cause heart failure if the heart muscle is not strong enough to pump blood.
Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program at Children’s National
Each child in our Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program benefits from the experience and expertise of our cardiologists and heart team, many of whom are nationally renowned heart failure specialists.
Personalized Care
Full Range of Treatment
Washington Adult Congenital Heart (WACH) program
Dedicated Heart Failure Team
Reputable Heart Transplant Program
Care for All of Your Childs Need's
NEWs - Good Morning America
Historic Partial Heart Transplant Replaces Pre-Teen’s Artificial Valve with a Living One
Preston is the first child to have his artificial heart valve replaced with a living valve from a donated heart, thanks to a groundbreaking partial heart transplant performed by our cardiac team.
Understanding Treatment Options
We are constantly improving our techniques and pioneering newer and more effective ways to treat children with heart failure. Through VADs and other heart technology, we are able to stabilize children and even reverse some of the effects of heart disease.
A ventricular assist device (VAD) supports your child’s heart function, maintaining blood flow to the organs as your child awaits heart transplantation. VADs, routinely used in adult patients, have only recently been used for pediatric heart failure patients.
We are among a small number of elite heart failure centers in the country that are using VADs for children. Our team continues to pioneer new and more effective VAD techniques. In fact, in the future, VADs may ultimately replace heart transplantation.
Referring Providers
For more information or to refer a patient to the Advanced Cardiac Therapies team, please email or call us.
Heart Transplant Outcomes
When other treatments are not successful, our team provides heart transplantation as an option. To get a better understanding, take a look at our outcomes data, broken down by age and treatments per year.
Locations
Division of Cardiac Surgery
If a child needs heart surgery, our Division of Cardiac Surgery at Children’s National Hospital is there to provide compassionate, world-class expertise. Our dedicated team of heart surgeons uses groundbreaking innovation and state-of-the-art technology to make sure your child gets the best possible care.
Learn more about the Division of Cardiac Surgery
