Stanford Medicine Children’s Heart Center

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Stanford Medicine Children’s Heart Center

From performing our first pediatric heart transplant 35+ years ago, to pioneering lifesaving surgery. and the world, our outcomes are outstanding.

Our world-renowned physicians at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health’s Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center have performed more than 2x the number of pediatric heart surgeries in recent years, when compared with the national average. When it comes to heart transplantation, we have performed our first successful pediatric heart transplant more than 35 years ago, and since then we have performed over 440 heart transplants in children of all ages. We’ve been the highest pediatric heart transplant volume center in California for nine consecutive years. And despite treating some of the most complex young patients in the U.S. Specialties:

• Pediatric cardiology
• Pediatric heart surgery
• Fetal cardiology
• Pulmonary artery reconstruction
• Heart transplantation
• Cardiovascular tissue disorders care
• Single ventricle care
• Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries care
• Pulmonary hypertension care
• Alagille syndrome care
• Congenital heart disease care
• Coronary anomalies care
• Bloodless cardiac surgery

To learn more or schedule an appointment, visit heart.stanfordchildrens.org. You can also reach our Heart Center by calling (650)-721-2121. Pediatric Cardiology - (650)-721-2121

Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery - (650)-724-2925

Heart Failure/Heart Transplant Care (PACT)- (650)-721 2598

International Referrals - (650)-709-3546

Please get involved by sharing your inspiring patient milestones with us. Submit your story ideas to social@stanfordchildrens.org. Digital Media Policy: http://bit.ly/digitalpolicy

Notice of Nondiscrimination: http://bit.ly/2e3UkCb

09/29/2025

Twenty-five years ago, World Heart Day was created to raise awareness on heart disease around the world. Understanding risk factors, recognizing warning signs, and learning preventive measures are key steps in safeguarding heart health. At Stanford Medicine Children's Health, our deeply experienced Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center teams are deeply committed to keeping children’s hearts as healthy as possible. ❤️

09/25/2025

Marcus Li was only about 1 day old when he was diagnosed with a rare form of congenital heart disease. After he failed a standard newborn congenital heart disease test, Nikola Tede, MD, a Stanford Medicine Children's Health pediatric cardiologist, ordered an echocardiogram, which revealed that Marcus had total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR). With TAPVR, the pulmonary veins that carry blood to the heart from the lungs do not connect in the right spot during fetal development. The only treatment is urgent neonatal heart surgery.

Marcus was transported by the Stanford Children’s Critical Care Transport team to Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center for urgent heart surgery. Dr. Tede had put in a call to Michael Ma, MD, chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at Stanford Children’s, and the two had discussed Marcus and the heart surgery, which involves moving the pulmonary veins to their correct location in the back of the heart.

The heart surgery went just as planned. “The first hour after the heart surgery, Marcus was on a bunch of wires, but each day he overcame another obstacle,” Lena says. “It was pretty magical for a baby to have open-heart surgery and be back home within 10 days.”

Learn more about Marcus’s surgery and recovery: https://bit.ly/4gJURIz

09/17/2025

Meet George Lui, MD, medical director of the Adult Congenital Heart Program at Stanford Medicine. Thanks to heart care advancements in the last 20 years, children with congenital heart disease are growing up, reaching adulthood, and leading fulfilling lives. This amazing medical achievement has created a need for a new medical specialty called adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) care.

The Adult Congenital Heart Program is a partnership between Stanford Medicine Children's Health and Stanford Health Care (our adult hospital) and extends to children of all ages, as well as adults with congenital heart disease. The aim of our collaborative program is to ensure a smooth transition to adult congenital heart care and continuity of care for the highest possible quality of life.

“One of the amazing parts about coming to Stanford is the collaboration that we have amongst all our providers,” says Dr. Lui.

Learn more about the Adult Congenital Heart Program: https://bit.ly/45NxsAQ

09/08/2025

Beth Kaufman, MD, is a highly specialized cardiologist at Stanford Medicine Children's Health who leads the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Program for children with cardiomyopathy (where the heart becomes unusually weak or stiff, making it hard for it to pump blood efficiently to the rest of the body). A small group of children with cardiomyopathy may have symptoms of advanced heart failure or serious arrhythmias, or abnormal heartbeats. Childhood cardiomyopathy can occur at any age, but it’s most likely to present itself in a child’s first year of life or during the teen years.

As the director of the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Program, Dr. Kaufman works diligently to catch and treat cardiomyopathy early, control her patients’ symptoms, slow or stop its progress, and avoid complications. The program’s ultimate goal is to help children live well with cardiomyopathy, and under Dr. Kaufman’s leadership, our multidisciplinary team of experts are able to provide care for children with all types of cardiomyopathies, from infancy to age 18 and into early adulthood.

Dr. Kaufman also lends her extensive knowledge to the Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Therapies (PACT) program to help pediatric patients who are experiencing heart failure and would be candidates for a heart transplant. In the PACT program, which is one of the first heart centers in the nation to innovatively combine heart failure and heart transplantation into a single program, we provide world-class, highly individualized care to children of all ages with heart failure and heart transplantation needs.

Discover more about Dr. Kaufman and the programs in which she’s providing expert care at Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center: https://bit.ly/4kujmdR

08/26/2025

In Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center’s Fetal Cardiology Program, we’re helping parents understand exactly how their baby’s heart is developing. Our expert team of fetal cardiologists uses advanced diagnostic procedures and technology—including fetal echocardiograms and fetal MRIs—to accurately diagnose heart disease and works closely with other specialists at Stanford Medicine Children's Health, including obstetricians, to ensure the best possible care plan for babies with congenital heart disease.

Learn more about the Fetal Cardiology Program at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and how we can help provide the best care before, during, and after the baby’s arrival: https://bit.ly/44Bytvc

08/21/2025

Join us Saturday, Aug. 23, for the Williams Syndrome Family Social, hosted by our Cardiovascular Connective Tissue Disorders Program at Stanford Medicine Children's Health.

No one faces Williams syndrome alone, so join us as we connect with and celebrate our heart warriors and their families.

Learn more and register for the Williams Syndrome Family Social by emailing CCTD@StanfordChildrens.org.

Our Cardiovascular Connective Tissue Disorders Program at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health includes top pediatric specialists in the nation, such as deeply skilled heart surgeons like Michael Ma, MD, our chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery; Arvind Bishnoi, MD, a new Stanford Children’s surgeon who has performed 3,000+ congenital heart surgeries to date; and Frank Hanley, MD, who has garnered a strong international reputation over his many decades of experience. The various specialists on our team work closely together and coordinate at each step, under the leadership of Claudia Algaze, MD, to offer seamless and holistic care to all children with Marfan, Williams, or Loeys-Dietz syndrome and other connective tissue disorders who are seen in our internationally renowned program.

Register for our Williams syndrome patient and family event today!

08/19/2025

Thank you to our patients who have attended Connecting 2025!

During our 10th annual event, we created a platform for networking and provided support and education to children, adolescents, and young adults with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and their families. Attendees enjoyed games, music, fun giveaways, a photo booth, and getting to connect with other families of children with ICDs.

08/12/2025

Recently, our Stanford Medicine Children's Health medical director of Heart Transplantation, Seth Hollander, MD, was featured on a panel for the U.S. News & World Report Pediatric series, “Customizing Care for Complex Pediatric Cardiology Patients,” to discuss how cardiology providers are striving to better personalize cardiac care for children with ailments ranging from cancer to diabetes. The panel also touched on how specialists are working to expand treatment programs to address other highly specialized and challenging health care needs. At Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Dr. Hollander is part of the Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Therapies (PACT) program, which helps patients who are experiencing heart failure and need a heart transplant. The PACT program is one of the first heart centers in the nation to combine heart failure and heart transplantation into a single program, a feat Dr. Hollander discussed in detail during the panel.

Watch the full panel: https://bit.ly/43Fri61

08/05/2025

On Aug. 9, we will participate in the San Francisco Congenital Heart Walk at the San Francisco Zoo. This meaningful one-mile walk is where patients with congenital heart disease, their families, supporters, and providers unite for creating awareness and making a positive impact.

Heather Giacone, MD, a pediatric cardiologist who treats many of our pediatric electrophysiology and arrhythmia patients at Stanford Medicine Children's Health, will be speaking at the event. Dr. Giacone will cover topics such as research studies, innovations, and evidence-based care practices that we use at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health to ensure the best possible outcome for children with the full range of congenital heart disease.

Say “Hi” to our Stanford Children’s walk team if you plan on attending this event, and be sure not to miss Dr. Giacone’s speech.

Find out the details about the San Francisco Congenital Heart Walk here: https://bit.ly/43MF5pV

07/23/2025

Dr. Rachel Hopper, a pediatric cardiologist at Stanford Medicine Children's Health, is deeply committed to advancing clinical care and improving outcomes. Her dedication shines through her clinical practice, involvement in national organizations, and conferences where she shares her expertise. As the medical director of the Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program, Dr. Hopper focuses on helping children with pulmonary vascular disease and pulmonary hypertension.

Our Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program was established over 20 years ago as part of the Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease at Stanford. It, is one of the nation's longest-standing and largest, providing care for hundreds of children from across the country and around the world.

With her extensive knowledge, Dr. Hopper also serves as co-director for the Cardiac and Respiratory Care for Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (CRIB) Program and the Center for Advanced Lung (CEAL) Therapies. Our highly specialized CRIB Program gives premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia their best chance at a lifetime of healthy breathing, even if they develop pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs) or have a congenital heart disease. CEAL offers hope to children with severe pulmonary hypertension or advanced lung disease, giving them the best chance at survival and an improved quality of life while awaiting lung transplants or other critical procedures.

Discover more about Dr. Hopper and the programs she’s most involved with at the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center: https://bit.ly/4dAAjAI

07/17/2025

Michael Ma, MD, division chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at Stanford Medicine Children's Health, is renowned for his leadership and exceptional surgical skills in tackling some of the most intricate and rare heart conditions.

Whether in the operating room or conducting research, Dr. Ma is deeply committed to providing children with heart disease the best opportunities for recovery, even when other institutions have deemed their cases untreatable. Beyond spearheading the heart surgery team at Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center, Dr. Ma is very involved in three pivotal programs for children with complex heart conditions: the Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction (PAR) Program—this flagship program is celebrated globally for significantly improving outcomes for patients with intricate pulmonary artery anomalies including patients with Williams Syndrome, Alagille Syndrome and others; the Complex Biventricular Reconstruction Program—offering pioneering surgical solutions, this program aims to restore normal circulation by performing biventricular reconstruction, thereby enhancing the quality of life for patients of all ages; and the Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Therapies (PACT) program—this program aids patients with advanced heart disease/heart failure, often requiring heart transplantation. The Stanford Medicine Children’s Health PACT program is pioneering in its integration of heart failure and transplantation care, offering comprehensive and individualized care from diagnosis to transplantation.

Dr. Ma takes immense pride in the groundbreaking work and the remarkable outcomes achieved by the heart team at Stanford Children’s. His guiding thought in every complex surgery is the commitment, “I will operate on your child as if they were my own,” a thought he often shares with parents.

Get to know Dr. Ma! https://bit.ly/4eL23my

07/15/2025

Having a child who has a complex heart condition or requires heart surgery is often overwhelming for parents and families. Receiving this type of care from our Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center team at Stanford Medicine Children's Health can involve multiple appointments, various specialists with expertise in your child’s specific heart condition, and ongoing tests and imaging.

That’s where our Heart Center Coordination Program comes in. Our coordination team provides you and your family with a cardiac nurse navigator to guide you every step of the way through your child’s care journey and provide an enhanced and convenient heart care experience for your child with complex heart procedure needs.

Our Heart Center Coordination team provides support to pediatric patients who are receiving a complicated heart surgery or an interventional cardiology procedure within several of our programs, including our Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction Program, Center for Advanced Lung Therapies, Alagille Syndrome Program, Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, and more.

Learn more about our Heart Center Coordination Program with the link in the bio.

Address

725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, CA
94304

Telephone

+16507212121

Website

http://heart.stanfordchildrens.org/

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