Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program

When a child’s heart needs extra help, families deserve care that is both advanced and compassionate. Heart failure means the heart isn’t pumping blood as well as it should, and while this can be serious, your child is not alone. Our Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program is here to support children and adolescents with heart failure every step of the way. We offer the most up-to-date treatments, including ventricular assist devices (VADs) and, when needed, heart transplantation—always with a focus on your child’s well-being and your family’s peace of mind.

Our Providers

Our pediatric specialists provide personalized care for your child’s physical, mental and emotional health needs.

Meet the Team

Contact Information

For appointments, please call 202-476-2090, and for information, call 202-476-1518.

Appointments Information

What conditions are treated by the Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program?

Our Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program cares for children and adolescents with many different heart problems, including those that can cause or come from heart failure. Each child’s situation is unique, and our team provides expert, personalized care no matter the cause.

Conditions we commonly treat include:

Heart muscle abnormalities, known as pediatric cardiomyopathy – a leading cause of heart failure in children
Heart failure
Congenital heart disease – certain defects can affect heart function over time
Valve disease
Infection, such as viral myocarditis – this condition can cause heart failure if the heart muscle is not strong enough to pump blood
Genetic defects
Abnormal heartbeat, known as arrythmia

Some of these problems can cause heart failure, while others need special care because they affect how the heart works. No matter the diagnosis, our team is here with advanced treatments and caring support for your child and family.

Frequently Asked Questions About Heart Failure

What are symptoms of heart failure in babies or children?

Stomach pain, not wanting to eat, nausea and vomiting
Fast breathing, heavy breathing or shortness of breath
Cough or congestion in the lungs
Fatigue and weakness
Needing lots of breaks to rest
Falling asleep during feedings
Poor growth
Edema (weight gain from fluid retention)
Swelling of the legs, ankles, eyelids, face or abdomen
Sweating during normal activity

How is pediatric heart failure diagnosed?

The Advanced Cardiac Therapies Team at Children’s National is experienced in finding and diagnosing heart failure in children. At your clinic visit, you’ll meet people from many areas, including doctors, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists, social workers and psychologists.

A typical clinic visit will include:

A physical exam
Talking about your child’s health history
Laboratory tests
Heart ultrasound, known as an echocardiogram
Heart rhythm test, known as an electrocardiogram (EKG)

If necessary, more advanced diagnostic testing will include:

Cardiac stress test
Cardiac MRI
Cardiac catheterization
Radiographs or x-rays
Ultrasounds

Why Families Choose Children's National for Advanced Cardiac Care

Every child in our Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program gets care from experts who specialize in heart failure and heart transplants. Many of our doctors are known across the country for their experience. Here's what that means for your child and your family:

Personalized Care

Full Range of Treatment

We use the most up‑to‑date, proven treatments to care for children with heart failure.

This includes:

Medical management: Our specialists prescribe medicines to help the heart pump better, reduce fluid buildup, ease congestion and control blood pressure and heart rate. These can be taken by mouth or through an IV.
Interventional therapy: Our team can fix some heart problems caused by birth defects, like closing or opening blood vessels or repairing heart valves.
Pacemaker placement: A pacemaker can help the heart beat normally if your child has an irregular heartbeat. Learn more about cardiac electrophysiology at Children’s National.
Surgery: Surgery may repair or replace leaking valves or remove scar tissue.
Mechanical circulatory support: For patients who are very sick and unable to pump blood to their body, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a lifesaving emergency treatment. The ECMO machine can keep blood flowing to the body when the patient’s heart cannot.
Ventricular assist devices (VADs): These devices help the heart pump blood and are placed during surgery. They can be used short-term or long-term.
Heart transplantation: If other treatments don’t work, replacing the heart with a healthy donor heart may be an option.

Dedicated Heart Failure Team

Our team focuses only on caring for children with heart failure. Each member brings special skills to help your child. Your child’s care team may include:

Physicians
Nurses and nurse practitioners
Social workers
Pharmacists
Speech, occupational and physical therapists
Child life specialists
Dieticians
Psychologists
Palliative care team
Respiratory therapists

Renowned Heart Transplant Program

Care for All of Your Child's Needs

Washington Adult Congenital Heart (WACH) program

Referring Providers

For more information or to refer a patient to the Advanced Cardiac Therapies team, please email us.

Email us

Heart Transplant Outcomes

When other treatments are no longer effective, a heart transplant may become the next step. Families often want clear, straightforward information during this time. Our outcomes data can help you understand what heart transplantation looks like in our program and how we care for children of all ages throughout the process.

View Outcomes Data

Locations

Main Hospital

111 Michigan Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20010

1-888-884-2327

Emergency Department Info

Specialty Care
Emergency Care

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

Patient Stories

Nadia's Story
Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a rare heart condition in which the heart muscles are too stiff and can't relax to fill and pump the correct amount of blood to other parts of the body. For Nadia, this not only meant that her intestine function was compromised, causing nausea and vomiting, but her lungs also had to work in overdrive.