Why Choose Us for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Care?

Internationally Recognized Experts Provide Comprehensive, Coordinated Care

Our team includes internationally recognized experts who have pioneered many of the latest techniques in pediatric and congenital heart care. These physicians are changing the way pediatric cardiac care is delivered--using new treatment methods that offer several advantages, such as reduced hospital stay, faster recovery, and less pain and scarring. Patients from around the world travel to the University of Chicago to receive care from our congenital heart disease experts.

In addition to pediatric cardiac care physicians, our team includes highly skilled nurses, medical imaging specialists, echocardiography technicians, genetics experts, and other staff who specialize in caring for children with heart disease. Our nurses are certified in pediatric advanced life support, and many have obtained additional critical care nurse training. Child life specialists, social workers, and chaplains provide additional support to help children and families cope.

University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital pediatric heart care physicians are sought-after speakers for medical conferences, sharing their expertise with physicians from around the world.

At the Forefront of Heart Research

Here, the same specialists who provide heart care are also actively researching new and better methods to evaluate and treat heart disease. Whether it's clinical trials of new medicines or medical instruments to treat heart problems, or laboratory research to study the genetics of heart disease, our scientists are truly at the forefront of heart research. Many medicines, experimental devices, and surgical techniques are accessible to our patients long before they're widely available at other hospitals.

State-of-the-Art Facilities and Equipment

Several areas of the new University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital are dedicated to the care of children with heart disease. These modern facilities were specially designed to include the latest medical equipment, including high-definition imaging machines, precision patient monitoring equipment, and advanced robotic operating tools. These amenities provide added benefits--making treatment safer, less invasive, and easier for our patients. The new hospital includes a 10-bed specialized pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, fully equipped cardiac catheterization labs and operating rooms, and comfortable patient rooms with reclining chairs and pullout beds for family members.

Caring for Patients at Several Locations

In addition to caring for patients at our main location in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, many of our cardiologists see patients at off-site outpatient locations throughout Chicago, the suburbs, and northwest Indiana. Some physicians are available for inpatient consultation at select local hospitals.

Sharing Our Expertise with Physicians Many Miles Away

Our specialists are reaching out to physicians and patients at far-off hospitals through a state-of-the-art telemedicine conference facility. This facility gives us the ability to provide real-time consults on patient cases sent from physicians hundreds of miles away. Advanced technology allows us to view echocardiograms, video, and X-rays while we discuss cases with the patient's primary physician. This enhanced consultation service helps confirm diagnoses and speeds patient care. By reducing the time it takes to assess a case, physicians can better plan for care and families can quickly prepare for travel if it's determined patients should be treated at Chicago Comer Children's Hospital.

Teaming Up with Other Pediatric Specialists

Our pediatric heart experts work side-by-side with many of the nation's best physicians in other pediatric specialties, including developmental medicine, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology, and neurology. So if your child also has a non-heart-related problem, there are always other University of Chicago specialists available to consult and assist with your child's care.

Congenital Heart Care for Adults

At the University of Chicago, our pediatric and adult heart experts teamed up to form the University of Chicago Center for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease. This special program provides personalized care for adults 18 years and older with any type of congenital heart problem. This multidisciplinary approach affords us the ability to care for adults with repaired and unrepaired defects who also may have co-existing heart disease.