The Best Heart Care to Live Longer and Feel Better
If you are an adult born with a heart condition, you are in the right place. At Cincinnati Children’s, we understand your heart best. In fact, studies prove that adult congenital heart surgeries have better outcomes at children’s hospitals versus an adult heart center.
That’s why cardiologists from our Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Program see patients at more than 10 locations across the region–from Louisville, Kentucky, to Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. Our specialists understand how to treat all types of congenital heart defects in adults. That's also why our center was the first in the region to be nationally accredited for ACHD care.
The ONE that Understands Your Heart
Hearts affected by congenital heart disease are different from other adult heart conditions. These unique hearts need unique treatments. For adults with CHD, the gold standard of care is treatment from specialists trained in adult congenital heart disease, the ones who truly understand your condition.
Cincinnati Children's offers the gold standard of care for patients just like you.
The future can be bright for people living with congenital heart disease (CHD). But medical problems can happen years or decades after a heart condition is repaired during childhood. Every adult with CHD should see a specialist trained in adult congenital heart disease at least once in their adulthood. Most patients should regularly see an ACHD specialist to monitor potential medical problems.
Routine check-ups are essential, even when you don’t have symptoms. When a repaired heart grows and adapts through life, negative changes can occur. This includes heart rhythm disturbances, leaky valves, strokes, obstruction or even heart failure.
Globally Recognized CHD Specialists
Our international leaders have a broad range of expertise in identifying and treating issues related to CHD in adults. They have experience in the complex procedures adult patients may have had as a child. They have the best expertise to review scans, understand the physiology, determine proper tests, and conduct specialized procedures based on surgeries and repairs done in childhood. Our team also has experience in pulmonary hypertension, cardiovascular genetics and electrophysiology—all of which play a part in care for an adult with CHD.
That's why our one-year survival rate for adult congenital heart surgery is 98%.*
We have expertise in consulting and treating women with CHD who are pregnant or considering pregnancy. We also treat teens and adults with all forms of CHD as well as other related conditions. This includes those born with single ventricular physiology who had a Fontan operation.
Our Heart and Mind Wellbeing Center provides individualized emotional support and mental health care our patients and their families and caregivers throughout their journey with heart disease.
Proven Treatments and Services to Feel Better and Live Longer
Our ACHD Program ensures you receive the care you need including:
- Ongoing, lifelong surveillance for patients with even the most complex congenital heart defects in order to prevent complications
- Tailored education for your specific condition; this includes family planning and pregnancy, exercise goals, symptom identification, infection prevention and genetic counseling
- Care that is coordinated with your other physicians, including primary care physicians and other specialists you may see
- A transition plan to help teens move smoothly from pediatric cardiology care to our outstanding adult program that will follow them throughout adulthood
We’re also available to provide second opinions, offering you the opportunity to hear more than one expert’s perspective.
