Program for Pediatric Cardiomyopathy, Heart Failure, and Transplantation

Heart failure—or the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs—is a frightening diagnosis. In infants and children, it is most often caused by cardiomyopathy, a disease that affects the muscle of the heart. It can also occur in children with congenital heart disease. Complicated cases deserve the most experienced guidance and specialized care. 

We have been successfully treating children with these diagnoses for over 36 years. The Program for Pediatric Cardiomyopathy, Heart Failure, and Transplantation, located in NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, is widely considered to be a world-wide pioneer in innovative techniques and treatments as well as outstanding outcomes.

Our program is a Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) Accredited Center of Care. We bring together the extensive expertise of pediatric heart specialists and surgeons to provide your child with the most up-to-date treatments—including state-of-the-art medical therapies, ventricular assist devices, and heart transplant—so that he or she can return to normal activities and thrive. 

Whether your child has been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, is experiencing heart failure, or you have been told that he or she may eventually need a heart transplant, we provide the highest level of comprehensive, family-centered care for children with the most complex heart problems. 

Heart Failure Treatment at Columbia

Our Approach to Care

Every child in our program has a unique care plan tailored to his or her individual needs. With specialists in cardiomyopathy, complex congenital heart disease, heart failure, genetics, and heart transplantation all working together in one program, we can make sure your child gets the right care at the right time. 

We work with each child’s entire family, employing the principles of confidentiality, honesty, patience, and above all frequent and forthright communication. We aim not only to treat the underlying condition, but to do so in a manner that takes into account all the consequences of intensive medical intervention on a child and family. We encourage families to maintain their relationship with their referring physician, who is considered an integral part of a child’s healthcare team. 

Cardiomyopathy and heart failure can be a progressive disease. While medical therapy can help manage the condition, some children need or develop the need for a heart transplant over time despite the best medical treatments. Our physicians and surgeons are among the most experienced in the world in pediatric heart transplantation and we have the best outcomes, even with extraordinarily high-risk patients with complex anatomy or associated medical conditions.

What to Expect When You Visit

When a family is referred to the Program for Pediatric Cardiomyopathy, Heart Failure, and Transplantation, we arrange for an initial evaluation, which usually lasts about three hours. Prior to your visit, our clinic coordinator will gather important information from you and your referring physician to help determine which tests will be recommended on the day of the visit.

You may be given preliminary information and treatment guidelines at the end of your first visit. However, the full diagnostic evaluation is not complete until all the test results have been compiled and the entire medical team has met to determine treatment recommendations. After this careful review, your cardiologist will discuss results of the evaluation and treatment plan with you and your referring physician. 

We are always available to explain treatment plans and to reevaluate your child as necessary. Some patients may see us only for an evaluation; others may return for further therapy, including surgery or transplantation. We will work with you and your physician to provide the most comprehensive and specialized care available.

A Team of Experts

Under a director with extensive expertise in research and treatment of pediatric heart failure and cardiomyopathy, our team of specialists draws upon the combined knowledge and expertise of practitioners across the full spectrum of medical disciplines that includes pediatric cardiologists, heart surgeons, nurse practitioners, geneticists, psychiatrists, neurologists, pharmacists, nutritionists, social workers and child life specialists. We are committed to helping you and your physicians find the very best care for your child and family. 

If you need an evaluation for your child, or a second opinion, please do not hesitate to call our office to schedule a visit. We are available for phone, video. and in person consultations.

Meet Our Team

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