Pediatric Heart Care | Cardiology | MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children's Hospital

There are two types of heart disease in children, congenital and acquired. Congenital heart disease is a heart defect or structural problem that is present at birth. Congenital defects can range from holes between chambers of the heart to the absence of one or more heart chambers or valves. Types of congenital heart defects we treat include:

• Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
• Atrial septal defect (ASD)
• Ventricular septal defect (VSD)
• Atrioventricular (AV) canal defect
• Valvular defects – The valves control the heart’s blood flow and can have the following types 
  of defects:
  • Stenosis (thickening or narrowing) which prevents the valve from fully opening (pulmonary valve stenosis is the most common valve defect)
  • Atresia which occurs when a valve doesn’t form correctly and lacks a hole for blood to pass through
  • Regurgitation which occurs when a valve doesn’t close completely so blood leaks back through the valve
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Transposition of the Great Vessels
• Truncus Arteriosus
• Single ventricle heart defects including hypoplastic left heart syndrome and tricuspid atresia
• Arrhythmias
• Cardiomyopathy
• Coronary artery fistulas (CAF)
• Pulmonary hypertension

Acquired heart disease is a condition that develops sometime during childhood. Types of acquired heart disease include:

• Kawasaki disease
• Rheumatic heart disease
• Infective endocarditis
• Cardiomyopathy

Planning heart surgery for your child is stressful, so we have a dedicated care team who are designed to give your child the best quality of care of care during their stay at MHBBCH. Your child’s heart care team may include:

• Pediatric cardiologist: Heart doctor that specializes in caring for children with heart conditions
• Cardiothoracic surgeon: Fellowship-trained surgeon will repair your child’s heart in the operating room and coordinate care after surgery.
• Pediatric intensivist: Doctor that cares for children in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after the surgery
• Pediatric anesthesiologist: Doctor that gives anesthesia so your child will sleep and not feel pain during surgery
• Resident physician: Doctor that helps to coordinate the care between all members of the treatment team
• Registered nurse: Nurse who cares for your child at their bedside in the hospital
• Respiratory therapist: Therapist that helps with breathing treatments and machines after surgery
• Pharmacist: Pharmacist that coordinates medicines given to your child with other care team members
• Child life specialist: Trained professionals who help children cope with the stress and uncertainty of illness, injury, disability and hospitalization

Our pediatric heart specialists conduct outreach clinics at community hospitals throughout Maine and in parts of New Hampshire.

We offer a full range of pediatric cardiac diagnostic services, including:

• Non-invasive imaging
• Diagnostic catheterization
• Testing for arrhythmias (heart rhythm abnormalities)

Treatment of congenital heart disease is based on the severity of the condition. Some mild heart defects require no treatment at all. Others can be treated with medications, minimally invasive procedures or surgery – all of which are available at MHBBCH.

Complex congenital conditions often require open-heart surgery to repair the defect, and we offer all the latest procedures and devices used to surgically treat children with congenital heart disease except for cardiac transplantation. In fact, ours is the only pediatric cardiac surgery program north of Boston, led by Maine’s only board-certified, fellowship-trained pediatric cardiac surgeon.

Today, interventional cardiologists can repair many congenital heart defects without surgically opening the chest by using a procedure called cardiac catheterization. This procedure is less invasive and allows for faster recovery time than traditional open-heart surgery. As home to the only pediatric catheterization lab in the state, MHBBCH sees a sizeable volume of patients and performs a range of procedures – a depth of experience that translates into high-quality care and consistently excellent patient outcomes.

For children who require a heart transplant, MHBBCH has forged a partnership with Children’s Hospital Boston. Through this integrated program, patients can be comprehensively assessed by cardiac experts here in Maine, travel to Boston for the transplant surgery, and then come back for comprehensive follow-up care. It’s a seamless system with exceptional continuity of care – and convenience – for patients and their families who live in Maine.