Programs & Services

The pediatric cardiology specialists at Phoenix Children’s Center for Heart Care are experts when it comes to caring for patients with congenital heart disease. We offer a full spectrum of evaluation, diagnosis and management services to ensure patients have access to the care they need.

Our nationally recognized team of pediatric cardiologists includes a large range of pediatric and fetal subspecialties – from noninvasive imaging to interventional cardiology. The consultation services we offer include:

• General pediatric cardiology
• Diagnosis and management of arrhythmias
• Comprehensive programs like CHAMPION, designed to monitor infants born with complex heart defects that require a series of heart surgeries
• Consultation for pregnancies with fetuses at risk for cardiac defects
• Nurses, therapists and support staff in respiratory therapy, Child Life, social work and nutrition who are specially trained to care for complex heart disease patients
• Consultation with other staff at the Center for Heart Care for services like cardiothoracic surgery, maternal-fetal medicine, neonatology and genetics

Diagnosing heart disease is complicated and accuracy is vital when developing an effective treatment plan. Our cardiodiagnostics team uses state-of-the-art equipment and thorough testing to make sure our patients get the right diagnosis and the best care for their unique health needs.

Cardiodiagnostics is a non-invasive ultrasound diagnostic service. Once a cardiologist makes the diagnosis of acquired heart disease, the experts in cardiodiagnostics play an in-depth role in developing a treatment plan tailored to each patient.

Diagnosing Heart Disease in Children

The pediatric medical team at the Center for Heart Care uses the latest equipment to offer highly accurate and effective cardiac diagnostic services, including: 

• Blood tests help a doctor evaluate illness or monitor health after surgery. Examples of blood tests may include blood count, electrolytes, total protein and albumin, an evaluation of the effectiveness of anticoagulant drugs, blood gas and genetic tests.
• Echocardiography (ECHO) is a procedure that assesses the heart’s structure and function. This test is also called ECHO, cardiac ultrasound, cardiac ultrasonography, or cardiac Doppler.
• Exercise (EKG/ECG) testing provides one of the easiest and quickest ways to evaluate the heart. Small, plastic patches called electrodes are placed at certain locations on a patient’s chest, arms and legs. Once the electrodes are connected to the EKG/ECG machine, the electrical activity can be measured, interpreted and printed out for a physician’s evaluation. When an EKG/ECG is monitored while a patient exercises on a treadmill or stationary bike, it can assess the heart’s response to stress or exercise.
• Fetal stress testing monitors the rate and rhythm of the fetal heartbeat to evaluate your fetus’ well-being.
• Holter monitoring is a prolonged type of EKG/ECG tracing that captures any abnormal heartbeat or rhythms that may be causing a patient’s symptoms, especially if they occur frequently. The Holter monitor test records EKG/ECG tracing continuously for 24 or more hours.
• Physical exams may include a head-to-toe assessment to help detect possible heart disease or determine how well a patient is coping with existing heart problems.

Cardiac catheterization is both a test and a treatment. As diagnostic catheterization, the procedure may be used to learn vital information about a patient's condition and guide their treatment plan.

Cardiac catheterization tells a doctor a lot about the heart, including:

• How well the heart muscle is pumping
• How well blood is moving
• If there are narrow vessels, thick muscles, holes or other problems with the heart
• How well the heart valves are working

As a treatment, the procedure is called interventional catheterization. It can open narrow valves and blood vessels or fix blood vessels or holes in the heart.