Mending Kids’ Hearts

February is American Heart Month, and Children’s of Alabama has one of the largest pediatric cardiovascular programs in the Southeast. For children in need of specialized cardiovascular care, families can turn to the experts at the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama at Children’s.

The team provides pediatric cardiac care for more than 14,000 patients a year. In 2021, staff performed more than 800 cardiac catheterizations and electrophysiology procedures and 400 cardiovascular surgeries. The center includes 20 private cardiovascular intensive care (CVICU) rooms, 16 private critical care unit (CCU) rooms, two cardiovascular operating rooms and two catheterization labs.

“We are proud of the collaborative, multidisciplinary partnership that has developed among the cardiologists, cardiac intensivists, cardiovascular anesthesiologists and cardiovascular surgeons in the delivery of patient and family-centered care,” says division director Yung Lau M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Children’s and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). “Our team of more than 350 dedicated professionals who work at the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama are committed to providing world-class cardiac care for our patients.”

This “heart hospital within a hospital” represents a five-decade tradition of superior cardiovascular clinical care and research dedicated solely to children. This single platform of care includes surgeons, intensivists, cardiologists and many others, including nurses, social workers, child life specialists, counselors, nutritionists, occupational and physical therapists and chaplains.

Heart defects are the most common birth defects, and most heart defects have no known cause. Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects about 40,000 births per year in the United States, or about 1% of all births. CHD kills more children each year than all the cancers combined and is the top killer of children born with developmental abnormalities. Survival of infants with CHD and other congenital defects depends on how severe the defect is, when it is diagnosed and how it is treated.

In addition to the medical costs, families of children with congenital heart disease can face other costs, such as lifestyle changes, emotional stress, family uncertainty and being unable to return to work in order to care for their child.

Children’s is a leader in the treatment of CHD. In July 2021, Children’s of Alabama cardiologists William McMahon M.D. and Mark Law M.D. became the first doctors in a 10-state region of the Southeast to perform a procedure involving a device called the Harmony Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve. The valve, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last spring, is used to treat patients with Tetralogy of Fallot. It can be inserted through a vein in the patient’s leg, which prevents the need for open-heart surgery. This reduces recovery time and the possibility of scarring for the patient.

Whatever type of heart surgery a child needs, Children’s of Alabama is a great place to have it. And 2021 was a great year for the hospital’s surgical patients.

“So far, all patients that we operated on in 2021 have been able to recover, and nearly all are either home or on the step-down unit. Our complication rate continues to be lower than the average complication rates of other units who participate in the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4),” says Dr. Santiago Borasino M.D., medical director of the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Children’s of Alabama. “Unfortunately, cardiac surgery is a serious intervention. Patients can still have serious complications. We are working hard to decrease them, and prevention is the goal. But when those complications happened in our unit, the CVICU team was able to rapidly respond. Our ability to rescue patients form serious complications is one of the best in the PC4 Consortium.”

Throughout February, Children’s is raising awareness about CHD and promoting the work done by the medical professionals at the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama. For anyone interested in supporting the center, there are opportunities throughout this month and beyond.

Events and Promotions

• Kendra Scott necklace sales – Shop at Kendra Scott at the Summit during February to purchase a limited edition, patient-designed necklace. This month, 20% of all sales of this special necklace will benefit the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama.
• Castin’ N’ Catchin’ (April 23) – This annual fishing tournament raises money for the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama. It started as a small idea among four families and has grown into the largest charity bass fishing tournament in the nation. The tournament has raised more than $800,000 since its inception in 2016, and it’s still growing and giving more each year to drive life-saving heart research and connect young heart patients with resources to stay healthy after surgery through Camp Wired Together.
• The Mending Kids’ Hearts specialty car tag – When Alabama residents purchase or renew a Mending Kids’ Hearts specialty car tag, they are providing valuable funds for patient care, research and specialized physician training for the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama. The tag can be purchased at any Alabama Department of Motor Vehicle location for a cost of $50 in addition to your normal tag cost. Of that $50, $41.25 will go to Children’s. For more information about the Mending Kids’ Hearts specialty tag, visit childrensal.org/tags.
• Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market Charity in Bloom – This month, Children’s will benefit from purchases of a flower arrangement at Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market. As part of its Charity in Bloom program, the florist will donate 20  percent from purchases of the “Cheerful Heart” arrangement to the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama.

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient, outpatient and primary care throughout central Alabama. Ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s serves patients from every county in Alabama and nearly every state. Children’s is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the teaching hospital for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs. The medical staff consists of UAB faculty and Children’s full-time physicians as well as private practicing community physicians.