Learn more about the conditions we treat and the services we provide below.
Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that keeps the muscle from pumping enough blood to meet the body's needs. Each of the four types of cardiomyopathy can cause the heart muscle to get larger, thicken or become stiff. Cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of the need for heart transplants.
This congenital heart defect results from abnormalities in blood vessels that supply blood to the child’s heart muscle. Texas Children’s Coronary Artery Anomalies Program includes evaluation and management of anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA), which occurs when one of the coronary arteries branches off from the aorta in an unusual place. Because the affected coronary artery is at risk of becoming blocked, AAOCA is the second leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.
Dysautonomia is a term for problems of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates numerous functions that are automatic in nature. Cardiac patients can be affected by impaired blood flow, heart rate abnormalities and fluctuations in blood pressure.
Heart transplants are recommended for children with serious heart problems that would result in them being unable to live unless their heart is replaced. These problems include complex heart diseases present at birth (congenital) and cardiomyopathy. The heart is surgically replaced with a healthy heart from an organ donor.
A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is surgically placed in the patient to help maintain the pumping ability of a heart that can’t pump well by itself. An LVAD can help children who are waiting for a suitable heart for transplant or possibly remove the need for one. Patients with an LVAD can leave the hospital and have an acceptable quality of life until a heart becomes available.
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