UCLA Pediatric Cardiology Programs and Services: A Comprehensive Overview

UCLA Health offers extensive pediatric cardiology programs and services, dedicated to providing comprehensive care for children with congenital and acquired heart diseases. These programs encompass a wide spectrum of services, from prenatal diagnosis to the treatment of adults with congenital heart disease, ensuring that patients receive the right care in a location close to home.

A Collaborative Approach: UCLA Health and CHOC

UCLA Health and Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) have established a unique collaboration to enhance access to world-class pediatric congenital cardiac care for children and their families across Southern California. This joint pediatric heart program aims to be a leading destination for diagnosing and treating the full spectrum of congenital and acquired heart disease.

Dr. Glen Van Arsdell, chief of the joint program and UCLA Health chief of congenital cardiovascular surgery, stated that the shared vision is one program offered at two sites. Both institutions are nationally recognized for clinical excellence, quality, and safety, with strong pediatric heart programs that provide a broad range of treatments and surgical interventions. UCLA Health and CHOC surgeons, pediatric cardiologists, and intensivists already provide care and support at each other’s hospitals, collaborating on medical training programs.

This partnership complements the outstanding care CHOC and UCI Health already provide in Orange County and the region, transforming the way cardiac care is delivered in Southern California.

Comprehensive Cardiac Care Services

UCLA pediatric cardiology programs offer a wide array of services, ensuring that children with heart conditions receive the best possible care. These services include:

Children’s Heart Center

The Children’s Heart Center at UCLA cares for children of all ages with any kind of heart disease. Initial appointments are offered within 24 hours of referral, and all services are conveniently located under one roof. The Center includes a warm and inviting waiting room and play area, five exam rooms, a dedicated counseling room, a state-of-the-art maternal-fetal suite, and an exercise testing and device area. The Children’s Heart Center is conveniently located next to the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center and steps away from UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Congenital Heart Program

UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and CHOC have teamed up to enhance access to world-class pediatric congenital cardiac care for children and their families across Southern California. Building on their strengths, both institutions have created a joint pediatric heart program that will become a leading destination for diagnosing and treating the full spectrum of congenital and acquired heart disease. UCLA Health, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, and CHOC are nationally recognized for clinical excellence, quality, and safety and have strong pediatric heart programs that provide a broad range of treatments and surgical interventions. UCLA Health and CHOC surgeons, pediatric cardiologists, and intensivists already provide care and support at each other’s hospitals.

Fetal Cardiology Program

The Fetal Cardiology Program provides care from a multispecialty team, including experts in pediatric cardiology, pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, neonatal ICU (NICU), genetic counseling, and maternal-fetal medicine. Patients come from all over California and beyond. The program uses advanced imaging technology for fetal evaluation, such as fetal echocardiography, a high-resolution ultrasound that screens for fetal heart problems. The program is accredited by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine for fetal echocardiography. Specialists educate and counsel parents regarding their child’s care. Using 2D, 3D, and 4D imaging technologies, congenital heart disease can be diagnosed as early as the 12th week of pregnancy. Babies expected to need heart catheterization or surgery soon after birth can be delivered at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where complex heart surgeries and transcatheter procedures are performed.

Heart Transplant and Heart Failure Program

UCLA Health is a major referral center in the western United States for pediatric heart transplants. The first pediatric heart transplant was performed in 1984, and hundreds have been performed since. The success and survival rates in the Pediatric Heart Transplant Program exceed the national average. The Heart Failure/Cardiomyopathy Program is dedicated to pediatric heart failure and offers the latest techniques and technologies through research involvement, helping prepare patients who may eventually require a heart transplant.

Pediatric Marfan and Aortopathy Clinic

This clinic evaluates and treats children and young adults with suspected or diagnosed Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects connective tissues. Experts work with specialists in ophthalmology, pediatric surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, and orthopedics to provide comprehensive care.

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Pediatric Lipid/Cholesterol Clinic

Through this specialized clinic, children with elevated fat and cholesterol (lipid) levels in their blood are evaluated and treated. High lipid levels can cause fat deposits (plaque) to build up in the arteries, increasing the risk for heart disease. Treatment may include exercise, dietary changes, or cholesterol-lowering medications, with personalized care plans to meet each child’s needs.

Pulmonary Hypertension Program

Since 2005, specialists in this program have offered care for children with high blood pressure in the lung arteries (pulmonary hypertension), using a range of techniques to diagnose and treat heart disease in children. UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital features a state-of-the-art pediatric noninvasive cardiology laboratory and pediatric echocardiography lab.

Echocardiography Laboratory

The echocardiography laboratory is a full-service, modern imaging lab that performs thousands of heart ultrasounds (echocardiograms) on newborns, children, and young adults each year. Specialists also conduct research to advance imaging services and technology.

Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU)

The pediatric cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CTICU) is a state-of-the-art critical care unit for infants and children with heart disease. It cares for patients who have just had heart surgery, as well as those with nonsurgical conditions who need intensive care. The CTICU also treats patients who need a heart-lung machine called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or a mechanical pump to improve blood flow (ventricular assist device).

Adolescent Transitional Cardiology Care Program

This program helps children transition from children’s cardiology to adult care to ensure they don’t experience a lapse in care. The goal is to empower adolescents and young adults to take charge of their own care.

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Electrophysiology Service

Electrophysiologists diagnose and treat hundreds of children each year with irregular heart rhythms, performing minimally invasive catheter ablation procedures and implanting pacemakers and cardioverter defibrillators. These treatments offer optimal outcomes for many children and adolescents. Specialists devise innovative approaches to specific procedures, such as a new way to implant pacemakers through an incision in a child’s armpit, which leaves a less visible scar.

Exercise Testing

Two cardiopulmonary exercise testing laboratories are an important tool in assessing heart disease, helping evaluate a child’s heart both before and after surgery and determining if it’s safe for a child to participate in competitive sports. Children as young as 6 can participate in exercise testing.

Minimally Invasive Procedures

UCLA pediatric cardiologists use minimally invasive procedures to treat a range of pediatric heart conditions, including:

Angioplasty and stenting: This technique treats pulmonary artery stenosis and coarctation of the aorta. A balloon is used to widen the pulmonary artery or aorta, and a stent is placed to keep the artery open.
Balloon atrial septostomy: This procedure treats congenital heart conditions such as transposition of the great arteries (TGA), atrial septal defect (ASD), or patent foramen ovale (PFO). A balloon is used to widen a natural hole between the left and right side of the heart (foramen ovale) or to widen an ASD or PFO and restore blood flow.
Closures: Holes in the heart can be closed using a minimally invasive procedure.
Valvuloplasty: This procedure treats congenital heart problems such as aortic valve stenosis and pulmonary valve stenosis. A balloon is used to open a narrowed heart valve.
Transcatheter valve replacement: This procedure is typically done to replace the pulmonary or aortic valve in children with congenital heart disease. A catheter is used to insert a replacement heart valve without removing the old one.

Advanced Technology and Research

UCLA Health is committed to innovation and utilizes advanced technology to provide the best possible care for its patients. For example, the UCLA Children's Heart Center includes a maternal-fetal suite where fetal-cardiology specialists use advanced technology to evaluate and monitor unborn children with known or suspected heart disease.

UCLA Health is also an active site for Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved, multicenter clinical trials, innovating and improving upon many congenital heart disease devices and techniques. For example, UCLA is one of the largest sites in the world that replaces heart valves using minimally invasive techniques.

Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery

UCLA Health is a regional referral center in the southwestern United States for pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, providing care for children with congenital heart disease. Surgeons perform hundreds of congenital heart surgeries each year, half of which are within a child’s first month of life. Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons perform complex open-heart procedures for severe heart defects and work with interventional cardiologists to perform hybrid procedures for certain patients.

Training and Education

UCLA Health is committed to training future leaders in pediatric cardiology. The training program includes a continuity clinic (3 years, one half day a week) and rotations on the consult service, cardiac care unit, catheterization laboratory, nuclear and echocardiography training, and advanced imaging (involving both cardiac CT and MR). A busy cardiac Cardiothoracic surgery service allows fellows exposure to pre-operative and post-operative care issues, and the cardiac catheterization laboratories allow training in all types of peripheral and cardiac interventions.

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