Expert congenital heart disease care.
With advances in medicine and technology, children born with congenital heart disease are living longer than ever, but often need continued care and follow-up treatments as adults.
The Adult Congenital Heart Disease program at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital provides expert care to adults with congenital heart disease, whether their case is simple or complex.
Our multidisciplinary program is staffed by specialists in numerous fields, including congenital heart surgeons, heart imaging specialists, electrophysiologists and more, and our congenital heart surgery program has been recognized as one of the best in the nation.
Collaborative care
Adults with congenital heart disease were once infants, children and adolescents with congenital heart disease. Many of our patients began treatments at Children’s Hospital Colorado, and our doctors, who were specifically trained in adult congenital heart disease, care for patients at both University of Colorado Hospital as well as at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Our team can use resources from both hospitals to provide care that neither facility could provide alone.
Comprehensive solutions
Our Adult Congenital Heart Disease program offers diagnostic services as well as numerous minimally invasive treatment options. Because our team is involved in trials of new minimally invasive devices and procedures, our patients have access to the latest and best equipment and techniques.
If an adult patient with congenital heart disease needs surgery, cardiologists and congenital heart surgeons work together to create the best plan for the patient. If the patient had surgery as a child or infant, any complexities regarding his or her heart can be more readily addressed by the specially trained congenital heart disease surgeon, which results in better outcomes.
Electrophysiology in adult congenital heart disease
Because many patients with congenital heart disease have heart-rhythm problems, our team collaborates with the electrophysiology program for comprehensive, innovative care for heart-rhythm issues, including:
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atrial flutter
- Supraventricular tachycardia
- Ventricular tachycardia
- Sudden cardiac death
Genetics
To help inform diagnostics for personalized medical care or targeted patient follow-up, genetic information can be key. In addition, it can help predict recurrence risk, define inheritance within a family and determine need for further family screening.
The UCHealth Adult Genetics Clinic – Anschutz Medical Campus provides numerous genetic services including:
- Genetic counseling.
- Diagnostic genetic testing.
- Family history risk assessment.
- Directed management of specific genetic conditions.
Family planning
In most cases, women with congenital heart disease can enjoy a safe pregnancy. However, because pregnancy can increase stress—emotionally and physically—we work to help patients through their pregnancies and deliveries to help ensure the best outcome for both the mother and the baby.
Our program offers comprehensive care alongside high-risk obstetricians, maternal fetal medicine doctors, anesthesiologists and geneticists, who develop the right plan for each expectant mother so she can deliver safely.