Children's Medical Specialties
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Children's Heart Care
Heart problems don't just affect adults - many heart and circulatory system problems affect babies, children and teens, too. Heart and circulatory problems are grouped into two categories: congenital (present at birth) and acquired (developed as a child or teen).
MeritCare Children's heart experts diagnose and treat children with problems of the heart, lungs and blood vessels. Treatments available include:
- Newborn premature and infant cardiology (heart)
- Fetal heart and arrhythmia management
- Evaluation of children with heart murmurs, chest pain or fainting
- Management of complex heart disease
- Management of complex arrhythmias including supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, bradycardia, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, Long QT syndrome, heart block and conduction system disease
- Evaluation of families affected by an individual with sudden death
- Cardiac Catheterization procedures including interventional catheterizations with placement of intravascular stents, balloon valvuloplasties, occlusion of abnormal vessels such as PDAs and occlusion of atrial septal defects
- Pacemaker management including implantation of pacemakers as well as internal cardiodefibrillators and office follow-up
- Heart testing including echocardiograms, stress echocardiograms, stress tests, transesophageal echocardiograms, EKGs, tilt table tests, fetal echocardiograms and nuclear cardiology
- Electrophysiology study and radiofrequency catheter ablations for a variety of arrhythmias using state-of-the-art equipment
- Telemedicine programs providing long distance services such as reviewing echocardiograms performed throughout the northwest and having them sent to us via telephone, as well as the use of long distance arrhythmia management
- Coordination of heart surgery and other advanced heart care services with other medical center partners
Adult Congenital Heart Disease
MeritCare also offers an Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic, where together, a board-certified adult cardiologist and a board-certified pediatric cardiologist offer a comprehensive, team approach to adults with congenital (present since birth) heart disease — a population of patients that didn't exist a half-century ago because children with significant heart defects seldom lived to be adults. Today's surgical advances and expert care offer a brighter outlook for patients with adult congential heart disease.