Pediatric Heart Function, VAD & Heart Transplant Program

Advanced care for your child's heart

Early evaluation and expert medical intervention help support your child's health and quality of life. Our approach may include:

• Heart function monitoring and medications. We track your child's heart function over time and adjust treatment as their needs change.

• Ventricular assist devices. When needed, a mechanical pump helps your child's heart circulate blood. We offer the latest devices based on your child's medical needs.

• Heart transplant evaluation and care. Our team provides comprehensive care throughout the heart transplant journey. We guide your family through evaluation, surgery coordination, recovery and lifelong follow-up care to support your child's health and well-being.

• Personalized transplant planning. Specialized compatibility testing helps us guide transplant care before and after surgery.

Connected expertise for complex heart care

Children with heart failure and other complex heart conditions may need advanced care from several specialists. We coordinate efficiently with UCSF experts during office visits and inpatient admissions.

Your child's team may include specialists in:

• Electrophysiology (heart rhythm)

• Cardiac imaging

• Cardiac surgery

• Interventional cardiology

• Transplant immunology

• Infectious diseases

• Oncology

• Critical care

• Pain, palliative and integrative medicine

Collaborative inpatient and transplant care

Children who need hospital care, advanced therapies or transplant evaluation may require highly specialized support. Our Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit provides round-the-clock care for critically ill newborns, babies and children with complex cardiac conditions.

Inpatient and transplant collaboration may include:

• Advanced imaging. Specialists create 3D heart models to guide personalized treatment planning for complex procedures, including VAD implantation and heart transplantation.

• Kidney and liver expertise. We consult pediatric transplant specialists when your child may need a combined organ transplant evaluation, such as a kidney and liver transplant.

• Transplant infection care. Infectious disease specialists evaluate infection risks before transplant and help manage risks afterward.

Coordinated outpatient care

When possible, your child sees multiple specialists in one visit. This approach reduces hospital trips and helps your family receive coordinated recommendations.

Outpatient collaboration may include:

• Cardiac cancer care. We coordinate with oncology specialists when chemotherapy or other cancer treatments affect your child's heart function.

• Care for rare genetic conditions. We provide specialized care for children with RASopathies and other rare genetic conditions. We collaborate with genetics and other specialists to offer personalized treatment approaches, including targeted therapies when appropriate.

• Heart rhythm care. Cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia specialists offer joint visits for children with heart muscle and rhythm abnormalities.

• Care for rare diseases. Children with rare genetic cardiomyopathies require specialized expertise and a multispecialty approach. Our team cares for children with conditions such as Barth syndrome and Danon disease, working closely with geneticists and other specialists to provide individualized, comprehensive care.