About 1 in every 100 newborns in the United States is born with a congenital heart defect. Unlike acquired heart disease, which affects people in adulthood, congenital heart disease is present at birth. It is important that congenital heart disease is diagnosed and treated using cutting-edge diagnostics and repaired using the most effective surgical techniques.
Congenital heart disease can have a number of symptoms, particularly in babies and children, which include: rapid heartbeat; rapid breathing; swelling of the legs, tummy, or around the eyes; extreme tiredness and fatigue; a blue tinge to the skin (cyanosis); tiredness; and rapid breathing when a baby is feeding. In older children and adolescents, congenital heart defects may affect growth and development and produce weakness, fatigue, and shortness of breath during normal activities and exercise.
Dr. Frank Scholl, Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital – part of the Memorial Healthcare System in South Florida – says that 30 percent of the time we can treat a congenital defect with a non-surgical cardiac catheterization procedure. In most cases, your child can go home within a day or two afterward. In some instances, we may treat an infant via a cardiac catheterization procedure early on, followed by heart surgery when the child is older and stronger.
For patients with end-stage heart failure, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital offers a broad array of devices that support failing hearts and is one of Florida’s most active pediatric heart transplant centers. A multidisciplinary team offers patients a second chance at life by providing extraordinary care and support for children and their families as they navigate the lifelong journey of heart transplantation.
“As physicians, our focus is on the health, well-being, and healing of all patients. We are very fortunate to have an experienced team of doctors who work together to provide advanced treatments while delivering compassionate care to our patients,” stated Dr. Frank Scholl.
With today’s advancements in surgical and nonsurgical techniques, congenital heart disease is very treatable. With the right interventions and follow-ups, the majority of children with congenital heart disease will thrive and live full lives.
About Memorial Global Health:
Memorial Global Health provides personalized coordination of specialized and emergency medical services for adult and pediatric international patients. Memorial Healthcare System offers premier clinical expertise throughout their six hospitals including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, exclusively dedicated to the care of children. For more than 60 years, the physicians, nurses, specialists and healthcare professionals at Memorial have placed patients and their families at the heart of everything they do. The skilled team at Memorial offers patient-and-family-centered care by partnering with patients and their families.
About Memorial Healthcare System:
Memorial Healthcare System is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the United States and has served South Florida since 1953. Since, the South Florida community has benefited from compassionate healthcare delivered according to the service vision of Deeper Caring, Smarter Healthcare. Memorial has six hospitals and more than 150 employed physicians, who compose the Memorial Physician Group, a nursing home, home health services, research, and primary and urgent care centers and the South Broward Community Health Services. In 2013, Memorial Health Network led the way in putting the clinically integrated healthcare delivery model into action. By expanding on this new framework, Memorial will continue to improve the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the services they proudly provide.
