Conditions

Allison Kimmes is a mother of two, Kashton and Annistyn. In this blog, she outlines her family’s experience with the congenital heart defect Kasthon was born with.

Jack F. Price, MD

In the normal heart, there are two atria and two ventricles. Blood comes back from the body from the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) to the right atrium through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. The ventricle contracts and blood is pumped through the pulmonary valve to the pulmonary arteries out to the lungs where the blood is oxygenated. Blood returns from the lungs by the pulmonary veins to the left atrium. It then travels from the left atrium through the mitral valve to the left ventricle. The left ventricle contracts, sending blood through the aortic valve through the aorta and out to the body.

Ninety percent of children born with heart defects are now expected to live to adulthood and beyond, thanks to surgical and medical breakthroughs. The Midwest Adult Congenital Cardiac Center (MACC) Program was created to treat these adult and adolescent survivors.

Among the leading U.S. pediatric hospitals that submit data to a large, national comparative database called the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS), Children's ranks in the top 20 in the U.S. in pediatric cardiac surgery volumes and treatment outcomes. Children's performs the most pediatric cardiac procedures in Minnesota and provides surgical care to patients from the five-state region and beyond. To see diagrams that help explain each surgical procedure listed below, visit The Children's Heart Clinic, Children's exclusive partner in the pediatric cardiovascular program.

Detecting heart problems before birth

The cardiovascular program at Children’s Minnesota offers a full range of services.