Children's New Cardiovascular Center

A national leader in pediatric cardiovascular care. Now with world-class facilities. Our commitment to providing the best pediatric cardiac care is enhanced with the opening of our world-class cardiovascular center, the only one of its kind in the Upper Midwest, in April 2010, offering patients and their families the highest level of pediatric cardiac care.

Children’s pediatric cardiovascular program is one of the largest in the region with some of the most impressive outcomes in the U.S. Team members care for thousands of the region’s sickest children with heart conditions, including fetuses, newborns, infants, children, adolescents, and adult, long-term patients with pediatric cardiovascular conditions.

At Children's families experience coordinated, next-generation care, delivered by a compassionate, multidisciplinary team of leaders in the pediatric cardiology field.

Children’s has designated its cardiovascular program as a “cornerstone program.” These are major Children’s programs which meet rigorous criteria for excellence, including outstanding use of evidence-based practices, clinical research, and advanced technologies. This means you'll find:

	One of the largest pediatric cardiovascular programs in the region. Studies have shown that high volumes are associated with high quality and better outcomes, because experience is a major factor in quality of care. At Children’s, more than 10,000 pediatric heart surgeries have been performed since the program’s inception.
	The only dedicated pediatric cardiac catheterization lab in the Upper Midwest. Increasingly, heart catheterization is an appropriate, less invasive option that can help children avoid open-heart surgery and prolonged hospital stays.
	High-quality EKG and echocardiography services. Children's echocardiography laboratories are the first in Minnesota to receive national accreditation in pediatric transthoracic echocardiography from the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL). Children’s sonographers and respiratory care practitioners are solely dedicated to pediatrics and highly experienced in pediatric cardiovascular problems. Working with pediatric cardiologists, they interpret more than 10,000 echocardiograms and 9,000 EKGs each year.
	An environment of teamwork and excellence. Children’s has been awarded “Magnet” designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, putting it in the top 4 percent of hospitals in the U.S. in nursing excellence. In 2007 and 2008, Children’s ranked among America's Best Children’s Hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report's ranking of pediatric hospitals.

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Locations

Inpatient care is provided to Children’s cardiovascular patients in the following locations:

	The 31-bed pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s – Minneapolis.
	The 19-bed cardiovascular care center at Children’s – Minneapolis.
	The 12-bed pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s – St. Paul.

Cardiac surgeries are performed at Children’s – Minneapolis. See our Locations page for directions to Children’s – Minneapolis.

Outpatient care, such as diagnostic testing, may be provided at different locations depending on the specific needs of your child and family. Care may be provided at Children’s – Minneapolis, Children’s – St. Paul, and/or through Children’s Heart Clinic locations in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Brainerd, Coon Rapids, Duluth, Shakopee, and Virginia, MN, as well as Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks, ND