Appointments 1.866.338.2524
Specialties & Conditions Fetal & Neonatal Cardiology
The Fetal and Neonatal Cardiology Program, headed by Sheetal Patel, MD, ensures that families expecting a new baby with heart concerns receive the best diagnostic and counseling care available.
Our fetal heart care team, which includes specialists from the Heart Center and The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health, evaluates fetuses of mothers with health conditions such as diabetes, lupus and Sjögren syndrome, which can affect heart development. We also treat a wide range of fetal and neonatal heart conditions, including:
The Heart Center provides specialized ultrasound imaging of the fetal heart during pregnancy (fetal echocardiography). Each year, our pediatric cardiologists perform more than 2,000 fetal echocardiograms at multiple sites in the greater Chicago area, with a diagnostic accuracy that exceeds 95%. The pediatric cardiologist is able to provide immediate results and counseling at the time of the scan.
Our partnership with Prentice Women's Hospital allows Lurie Children’s to offer comprehensive heart care for expectant mothers’ babies, as well as their newborn infants. Prentice is connected to Lurie Children's by a bridged walkway, enabling rapid intervention by our cardiology team in cases of complex heart disease. It also provides seamless transition of the newborn’s care to the state-of-the-art Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit at Lurie Children’s.
Our cardiac surgical team at Lurie Children’s is supported by neonatologists, dedicated cardiac anesthesiologists and our team of cardiac intensivists and dedicated cardiac nurses. We participate in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database, and our surgical outcomes are in the top 5% of 111 participating programs in the United States and Canada.
Our Fetal Cardiac Nurse Coordinator Nicole Heilemann ensures that families have access to the cardiac team throughout the pregnancy, and the support and resoures needed. To contact Nicole, please email fetalhealth@luriechildrens.org.
The Heart Center at Lurie Children’s offer services that are not widely available elsewhere, including:
At your first appointment, you can expect to receive a fetal echocardiogram. A pediatric cardiologist will perform this heart ultrasound and will discuss the findings and treatment options with you immediately after the scan. The pediatric cardiologist also will discuss the test results with your obstetrician and coordinate any needed treatment.
If an abnormality is identified on prenatal screening, a comprehensive fetal care consultation to discuss anticipated surgery or other care after birth can be arranged at Lurie Children's through The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health. This consultation will be arranged with the cardiac specialists who will be involved in your child’s care after birth. In addition to a cardiologist, this team may include a cardiac surgeon, cardiac critical care specialist and neonatologist. The specialists will discuss and coordinate the best treatment plan for your baby after birth, and may review anticipated procedures, expected length of stay and anticipated surgical results. Our specialty programs offer a multi-disciplinary team of specialists committed to the best outcomes. For an example of what this care journey could include, please refer to the Comprehensive Single Ventricle Fetal Roadmap.
All are board-certified pediatric cardiologists with extensive experience in fetal and neonatal imaging and care.
Interim Program Director, Fetal/Neonatal Cardiology; Attending Physician, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology; Fellowship Program Director
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology; Cardiology Lead, Clinical-Translational Cardiac MRI/CT
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics-Cardiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics-Cardiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Director, Non-Critical Care Inpatient Cardiology, Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit; Attending Physician, Cardiology
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology; Medical Director, Echocardiography Lab
Director, Advanced Cardiac Non-Invasive Imaging Fellowship; Director, McGaw Bioethics Clinical Scholars Program; Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Medical Education, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Fetal Cardiology Nurse Coordinator
Division Head, Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery; Member, Lurie Children's Surgical Foundation
Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Director, Vascular Rings Program; Attending Physician, Cardiovascular-thoracic Surgery; Member, Lurie Children's Surgical Foundation
Assistant Professor of Surgery (Cardiac Surgery), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Surgical Director, Heart Failure/Heart Transplant Program; Attending Physician, Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery; Member, Lurie Children's Surgical Foundation
Assistant Professor of Surgery (Cardiac Surgery), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology; Interim Medical Director, Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit; Medical Director, Single Ventricle Center of Excellence; Associate Medical Director, NICU-Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Cardiac Intensivist, Cardiology
Instructor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Pediatrics (Critical Care), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Cardiac Intensivist, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Critical Care
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Cardiology; Associate Fellowship Program Director
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Cardiac Intensivist, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Cardiac Intensivist, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Cardiac Intensivist, Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Critical Care
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Critical Care), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Neonatology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Genetic Counselor
Lurie Children's Heart Center is home to the only anesthesia program in Illinois where each anesthesiologist is board-certified and fellowship-trained in pediatric anesthesia. Learn more.
Our team routinely collaborates with pediatric experts at Lurie Children’s in areas such as:
In addition to in-person visits, we now offer telemedicine visits via video or phone. Some appointments will still require you to be seen in-person, but your physician and care team will let you know if a telemedicine appointment is available.
For Fetal Patients
To make an appointment with The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health or for a second opinion about in utero heart defects, please call 1.866.338.2524 (1.866.FETAL24) or e-mail fetalhealth@luriechildrens.org.
For Physicians
For urgent consultations, MFMs or pediatric cardiologists can reach our specialists by calling 1.866.338.2524 (1.866.FETAL24) or emailing fetalhealth@luriechildrens.org.
For Infants/Children
For families or providers seeking a second opinion about treating infants and children with heart defects, we offer a Priority Second Opinion Clinic.
225 E. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60611
250 E. Superior Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611
25 N. Winfield Road
East Entrance
Winfield, Illinois 60190
Busse Center for Specialty Medicine
880 W. Central Rd, Ste 6400
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005
Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital Campus
900 N. Westmoreland, Suite 110 (Bays Medical Office Building, 1st Floor)
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
1870 N. Silver Cross Blvd. (formerly Clinton Street)
Suite 100
New Lenox, Illinois 60451
We work one-on-one with families to be able to safely provide breast milk for their babies – whether through direct breastfeeding, bottle feeding expressed breast milk or expressed milk through a feeding tube.
Learn more in our breastfeeding video series >
Every patient who is diagnosed with single ventricle in infancy will be provided with additional telehealth support until their second surgery as part of the Interstage Home Monitoring Program.
To help prepare families for their care with Lurie Children's Heart Center, we have compiled a list of resources that may be of use throughout treatment — whether it's getting ready for an inpatient stay or outpatient visit, or learning more about the support services available to patients and families.
Our team is dedicated to improving education for obstetricians and maternal fetal medicine specialists to increase prenatal detection of congenital heart defects. To help achieve this goal, we offer regional and national CME events to train other providers in fetal echocardiography. Learn more about our past Fetal Echocardiography Workshop.
Each year, we also host Fetology Chicago: Practice & Discovery, an educational program focused on the multi-disciplinary approach to evaluation, care and intervention for a spectrum of congenital diseases, including congenital heart disease. Learn more.
