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Children's Heart Center

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Care at 11 Locations

Lurie Children's Specialties & Conditions Heart Center

Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery

The Heart Center at Lurie Children’s, ranked 8th in the nation for child cardiology and heart surgery by U.S.News & World Report, brings the spectrum of cardiac specialists together to care for patients with the most complex and serious heart conditions throughout their lifespans — from before birth, through childhood and into adulthood. We use the most comprehensive heart tests and treatments to deliver the highest quality care from admission, to discharge, to follow-up, and our services range from fetal cardiology to cardiac disease prevention to pediatric interventional cardiology to heart transplantation. As the region's largest children's heart center, our experienced, multidisciplinary teams of pediatric cardiologists and surgeons make it easier for patients to see every specialist they may need under one roof and often in the same visit.


Lurie Children's experts have a wide range of experience, treating more patients with cardiac conditions than any other hospital in Illinois. 

  • Each year, our cardiologists see more than 17,000 pediatric patients in outpatient diagnostic visits and more than 700 inpatient admissions. 
  • Lurie Children's is home to the Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit, which was built to ensure the continuity of care from admit to discharge, and is staffed by a team of specialists that meet the unique needs of its patients.
  • Our interventional cardiologists perform nearly 1,000 cardiac catheterization procedures each year. 
  • On average, our heart surgeons perform more than 450 heart surgeries each year, with one of the best survival rates for congenital heart surgery among the nation’s 40 largest and most advanced children’s hospitals. 
  • We offer the only pediatric heart transplant program in Illinois and successfully pioneered the total artificial heart transplantation in the world’s smallest patient.
  • Lurie Children's Heart Center is committed to training the leaders of tomorrow through a number of educational opportunities. 

 

New Division Head of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery

Sunjay Kaushal, MD, PhD, recently joined Lurie Children’s as the new Division Head of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery to help expand our Heart Center programs even further. Dr. Kaushal served as an attending Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgeon at Children’s Memorial Hospital from 2007-2011, and we are thrilled to welcome him back. Dr. Kaushal brings 13 years of complex surgical, clinical translational expertise and leadership experience to our team. Since 2011, Dr. Kaushal developed an expertise in neonatal cardiac surgery, particularly the Norwood Operation. At the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he grew the clinical program by 5-fold establishing excellent outcomes with complex congenital heart surgeries, including complex neonatal surgeries, adult congenital surgeries, and heart transplantation, by maintaining mortality rates and length of stay lower than the national average.

We are particularly excited to partner with him in his ground-breaking work to prevent myocardial injury after cardiopulmonary bypass and to participate in his ongoing hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) stem cell trials. He is the national principle investigator for a Phase II clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Health to determine the efficacy of using  stem cells in these complex congenital heart disease patients involving HLHS. This area of research is something we have hoped to bring to Lurie Children’s to further set us apart as a premier national heart center that not only provides excellent care for children with complex heart disease, but leads the field with regards to scientific innovation and cutting-edge therapies.

Dr. Kaushal joins alongside our current talented team of Cardiovascular-Thoracic surgeons which includes Drs. Michael Monge and Osama Eltayeb.

For any questions about this transition, please speak with your primary cardiologist or reach out to our Administrative Supervisor Silvana Illescas at 312.227.4520 to arrange a time to speak with another member of our team.

Volumes & Outcomes

We have performed more pediatric heart transplants since 1988 than any other healthcare provider in Illinois. Our first-year survival rate for heart transplant patients is 100%, far exceeding the national average of 93%, and our long-term survival rates are also exceptional.

Heart Transplants in 2020 29
Patients Treated Annually 17,000+
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Make an Appointment

If you’d like to request a first-time appointment with one of our specialists, call 1.800.543.7362 (1.800.KIDS DOC®) or visit our Appointments page for more information. 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.

To cancel or reschedule and make return appointments, contact us at:

In-Person Visits 

Lurie Children's is an environment where your family’s safety and health is our priority. Visit our COVID-19 Resources page to learn more about the measures in place at our main hospital as well as our outpatient centers to ensure your safety. 

Information for Telemedicine Visits

Please refer to the documents below to prepare for your child's telemedicine visit. 

Learn more about what to expect during a telemedicine visit. 

Heart Center Family Resource Guide

To help prepare families for their care with our Heart Center, we have compiled a list of resources that may be of use throughout treatment — whether it's preparing for an inpatient stay or outpatient visit, or learning more about the support services available to patients and families.

Learn More

Conditions We Treat

Our pediatric cardiologists evaluate and treat both congenital and acquired heart diseases. Learn more about the wide range of conditions we treat. 

View a list of conditions

Our Programs

Our Heart Center offers many specialized programs, from fetal cardiology to adult congenital heart disease. We are nationally and internationally renowned for the diagnosis and treatment of irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia) and for helping pioneer the treatment of pediatric congenital heart disease through procedures like the Fontan conversion.

We also offer a Priority Second Opinion Program which provides parents and referring providers the second or third opinion they're looking for in one manageable visit. 

View our programs

Our Specialists

Our pediatric heart team includes:

Meet Our Team

Tests & Evaluations

Our specialists use various heart tests and evaluation methods to diagnose and monitor children's heart conditions.

Learn More

Research

Lurie Children’s Heart Center is making a tremendous drive in research to identify safer, more effective ways to diagnose, treat and prevent complex cardiac conditions. Better diagnostic methods and therapies will save lives and guide us to the best medical treatments for each child. 

Learn more about our research studies

Heart Center Fellowships

The Heart Center supports various opportunities for students and physicians to continue to expand their expertise and knowledge in pediatric cardiolog​y.

Learn More

Follow the Heart Center on Facebook

To stay up-to-date on the latest news, patient stories and health resources from our specialists, "like" the Lurie Children's Heart Center Facebook page.

Visit the Heart Center Page

Philanthropy

Your support is vital in helping us continue to make a difference in the lives of patients and families. Lurie Children's relies on philanthropic funding to enhance its programs, services and research for children. To learn more, please e-mail the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation at foundation@luriechildrens.org or call 312.227.7500. 

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