Pediheart: Pediatric Cardiology Today

This week we speak with Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Audrey Dionne about a recent work she co-authored on sinus node dysfunction following congenital heart surgery. How common was this encountered and how often were either temporary or permanent pacing needed? Are there certain surgeries that are more associated with the need for pacing after surgery? Why is thi...

In this compelling lecture by Dr. David Winlaw of Northwestern University, we hear his thoughts on the state of the CICU/Surgeon relationship and he offers his thoughts on how to improve care for children with congenital heart disease undergoing surgery. Why does he believe that the more old fashioned approach of having cardiac programs run by academic departments is no longer optimal? What do cri...

This week we sit down and speak with noted non-invasive imaging expert Dr. Kelly Han of U. Utah about a recent work she co-authored on recommendations for the development of a congenital heart CCT program. What are the absolute essentials when considering offering these services in a center? How do different scanners differ from one another and how important is it to have single vs. dual source CT...

This week we listen in to a recent presentation by congenital heart nursing pioneer Ms. Gwen Fosse BSN MSA RN FAHA. Ms. Fosse is a pediatric cardiovascular nursing specialist at Mott Children's Hospital at U. Michigan and has literally done and seen it all over the past 50 years in congenital heart nursing. In this presentation from the CHOP Cardiology 2026 meeting Ms. Fosse shares with us her imp...

This week we speak with Professor James Cnota of Cincinnati Children's Hospital about a recent report he co-authored from the SVR trial regarding the impact of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) on outcomes in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). How common is TR seen in the HLHS patient and how does this change over time after surgical palliations? Is there an optimal time to intervene on the tricus...

This week we listen in to a wonderful presentation that was delivered at the CHOP 2026 annual conference which was held in Phoenix, AZ. In this week's lecture we hear Dr. Gail Pearson of the NHLBI and NIH deliver her thoughts about the future of congenital heart research. Where does this master of research believe the next discoveries are going to arise from? What are the lessons we have learned f...

This week we speak with Dr. John Brown who is the Harris B. Schumacker Professor Emeritus of Surgery at the University of Indiana. A congenital heart surgeon for over 45 years, Dr. Brown has performed more than 15,000 pediatric heart operations at Riley Hospital for Children and another 5000 heart operations in adults at IU and Methodist Hospitals. He performed the first pediatric heart transplant...

This week we review a fascinating very long-term surgical follow-up study from the team at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne reviewing over 30 year follow-up following the arterial switch operation for the treatment of transposition of the great vessels. What percentage of patients need reintervention by 30 years post neonatal repair? What anatomical sub-types are more likely to be associated...

Why are compassion, kindness and humility critical to the care of patients in 2026? How can practitioners be taught these approaches and how does this 'triple gift' not only improve patient care but also professional interactions? Can this be taught? If so, what are the best ways? Professor Colin McMahon of Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin shares his deep insights into this important and oft-n...

This week we replay an episode from nearly 2 years ago about an editorial commentary from multiple congenital heart surgical leaders in the US. The topic of their expert opinion piece is the concept of public reporting of results and their 'amplification' through organizations such as US News and World Report, to name one. How has the use of the database from STS been sometimes misinterpreted thro...

This week we review a recent work on fetal atrial septal interventions in the patient with hypoplastic left ventricle or double outlet right ventricle with mitral valve atresia/dysplasia and a restrictive or intact atrial septum. How often was this procedure technically feasible and successful? What are the criteria to be considered for such an intervention? Why does use of a laser improve the cro...

This week we replay an important episode from 2 years ago in which we delved into the world of antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures. What are the data to support its use in the congenital heart patient? Why has this been such a difficult topic to study? What do we now know about this topic and what still remains unanswered? Given the low prevalence but dire consequences of this disease, ho...

This week we review a follow-up work from the team at USC and Children's LA led by Dr. Yaniv Bar-Cohen on a novel micropacemaker. How has the device changed and improved over the past 3-5 years since his last visit to Pediheart? What are some of the difficulties of designing a device that is both stable on the epicardium but not inclined to develop inflammation? Why did the team move from a screw...

This week we review a recent large scale PHIS database study on pericardial effusion following congenital heart surgery. Which operations other than ASD are most highly associated with the development of an effusion? What might be some approaches both surgically and medically to reduce the chances of these developing or requiring intervention? What are the implications of a pericardial effusion af...

This week we review a recent report on LV strain following the Ross operation. Can this sort of functional analysis help predict remodeling after aortic valve replacement? How can the type of Ross potentially affect heart function after the operation? Why might some parameters of LV strain improve but others not following surgery? Can preoperative strain measurements predict perioperative course?...

This week we end 2025 with a Pediheart tradition - an episode on personal finance for medical professionals with noted authority on index investing and personal finance, Mr. Paul Merriman. Paul is a retired investment advisor who now has a popular podcast "Sound Investing" and website in which he offers advice on investing for 'do it yourself' investors. In this week's episode, the 5th of his visi...

This week we go back in time 2 years to review a recent paper from 2023 about outcomes of cardiac transplantation in the adult congenital heart patient (ACHD). Little has been written on this topic until this very robust and large scale report. How do single ventricle ACHD patients fair at transplant and how do they compare to non-ACHD heart transplant recipients? Why might 1 and 3 year outcomes n...

This week we speak with noted congenital cardiologist Professor Krishna Kumar of the Amrita Institute in Cochin, India and discuss his recent work on inequities in congenital heart care in the world. Over 90% of patients with CHD do not have access to care in the globe today. What is the path forward to improve this sobering statistic? How can a World Health Assembly resolution practically help im...

ECMO is the topic of this week’s episode of Pediheart. We speak with Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and cardiac critical care specialist at Northwell Health, Dr. Ivana Capin about a recent ELSO database study she conducted to assess outcomes in single ventricle patients who were treated with ECMO prior to single ventricle palliation. What factors were associated with worse overall outcomes? Can...

This week we go back in time to 2020 to delve into the topic of fellow wellness and review a work from the Boston Children's group on fellow fears and stressors when beginning their training. Are there patterns amongst the fellow concerns that can be identified and used to inform interventions to help allay these fears and reduce the stress? We speak with Dr. David Brown, Associate Professor of Pe...

This week we review the topic of mitral annular disjunction ("MAD") and the possible association with ventricular arrhythmia or sudden death in the connective tissue disease patient. Is there a 'cut off' distance above which patients deserve more significant arrhythmia surveillance? What is the best way to measure the MAD distance? Can patients with low MAD distances have lower degrees or even no...

This week we review a recent retrospective review from Phoenix Children’s Hospital about coronary artery fistulae. How common are they and who needed intervention? How should the cardiologist think about the small fistula? Should they all be ‘followed’ or can they be discharged from cardiology follow-up? How small is ‘small enough’? We speak with Dr. Marie Chevenon who is a fetal cardiologist at P...

This week we speak with Ohio State ACHD fellow Andrew Freddo MD, PhD about a recent large single center study he conducted assessing the cardiovascular drugs that adult Fontan patients are taking and whether they might offer us insights into general well-being. Are there agents that are associated with worse outcomes? If so, is this a situation of the agent causing harm or is it a possible marker...

This week we review the results of the new pivotal trial of the 'Minima' stent by Renata Medical. What is special about this new device that makes it particularly desirable for use in small children? How strong is cobalt chromium and what evidence exists that it can be expanded repeatedly over 1-2 decades? Can this technology supplant surgery for certain diseases such as native coarctation? What a...

This week we review a recent survey study assessing the beliefs of fetal cardiologists and how these may influence the content and conduct of their counseling. Do most fetal cardiologists review all options including intervention, comfort care and pregnancy termination? Should there be a mandate that all do? Is it realistic or appropriate to ask a fetal cardiologist to suggest an option when they...