Diseases We Treat

Congenital Heart Disease

One in every 100 babies begins life with a congenital heart defect - a flaw or abnormality present at birth. Ranging from relatively minor to life-threatening, congenital heart defects currently afflict about 32,000 American newborns yearly. Unlike heart disease in adults, which usually follows predictable patterns, congenital disease in children ranges across a wide spectrum, with no two defects exactly the same. Surgical treatment requires unusual expertise and specialized skill.
 
Please visit our Health Library to learn more about the various types of congenital heart disease.
 

Acquired Heart Disease

Some children’s heart diseases appear not at birth, but as the child grows. The most common acquired diseases of the heart in children are:

• Rheumatic heart disease: damage to the heart by the same bacterium that causes strep throat.
  
  
• Kawasaki disease: an inflammatory disease that affects much of the body and can damage the heart and the coronary arteries.