Heart care that changes children’s lives

If diagnosed with heart disease, your child will be in the best hands possible at The Heart Center at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.

We have helped hundreds of children, such as Eddie, who have congenital and acquired heart defects, lead normal healthy lives.

Eddie’s story is just one of many patient stories that show how our cardiologists and other heart care professionals can help if your child has been diagnosed with heart disease.

Why parents like you choose us
When it comes to caring for children’s hearts, our cardiologists, surgeons and nurses specialize in making a difference.

• Dedicated heart care professionals, surgeons and specialists in heart structure problems who work side-by-side to repair heart defects in children
• A 12-bed intensive care unit with providers who care exclusively for heart patients 
• Private rooms that help promote faster healing and avoid infections and other complications
• Academic research, innovation and skilled practitioners who provide care that is at the forefront of pediatric heart care

Innovation with children in mind
Our providers constantly work to improve heart care for children. They have been recognized for research and ground-breaking treatments that help children like yours. Innovations include:

• The Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve^®—the first transcatheter valve approved for children—to restore pulmonary valve function, while delaying open-heart surgery as long as possible 

Our state-of-the-art dedicated pediatric hybrid catheterization lab combines surgery and noninvasive catheter-based treatments for children, which means:

1. Surgeons and catheterization doctors can work together efficiently
2. If, in the process of repairing atrial septal defect, open-heart surgery becomes necessary, it can occur immediately rather than be rescheduled 

• We were the first hospital in Minnesota to implant a Berlin Heart EXCOR^® pediatric ventricular-assist device, which keeps the heart beating while a child waits for a heart donor 
• Our physicians conducted the first Stage I Hybrid Norwood in the Upper Midwest, nonsurgical treatment of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or underdeveloped mitral valve, left ventricle, aortic valve and aorta
• Physicians at The Heart Center also performed the world’s first:

1. Successful open-heart surgery using hypothermia
2. Repair of a ventricular-septal defect, a hole in one of the heart’s chambers 
3. Repair of tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect with three or four malformations (including narrowing of the valve that 
4. pumps blood to the lungs (pulmonary stenosis), aorta that connects to both ventricles, ventricular septal defect and thickened right ventricular wall)
5. Use of a pacemaker

U.S. News & World Report ranks The Heart Center at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital among the nation's best. Our cardiologists see patients at five locations in the Twin Cities area and offer state-of-the-art services such as ablation, ventricular-assist devices, catheterization, surgery and transplantation. To make an appointment, click here or call 612-365-6777.

Clinics:

• Burnsville

• Specialty Clinic for Children
  • 303 E Nicollet Blvd, Suite 372
  • Burnsville, MN 55337
  • (952) 892-2910

• Edina

• Pediatric Heart Clinic at Fairview Southdale Hospital
  • 6405 France Avenue South
  • Edina, MN 55435
  • 952-924-5000

• Maple Grove

• Fairview Maple Grove Medical Center - Pediatric Specialty Clinic
  • 14500 99th Ave N
  • Maple Grove, MN 55369
  • (763) 898-1000

• Minneapolis

• Explorer Clinic: Pediatric Specialty Care
  • East Building, 12th Floor
    2450 Riverside Ave.
  • Minneapolis, MN 55454
  • 612-365-6777

• Saint Paul

• University of Minnesota Physicians Pediatric Specialty Clinic - St. Paul
  • 225 North Smith Ave
  • Saint Paul, MN 55102
  • (651) 265-7575

Selected Health Articles

Si su hijo tiene un soplo cardiaco
Discharge Instructions: After Your Child?s Heart Surgery
Si su hijo tiene un ventrículo izquierdo hipoplásico: síndrome del corazón izquierdo hipoplásico
Discharge Instructions for Heart Valve Surgery: Repair and Replacement (Pediatric) (Chinese)
Evaluation of Your Child?s Heart Rhythm: Electrocardiography, and Holter and Event Monitoring
When Your Child Has a Heart Murmur
Como funciona el corazon
Evaluacion del ritmo cardiaco de su hijo: electrocardiografia, monitoreo Holter y registro de episodios
Your Child?s Heart Surgery: Preparation
When Your Child Has Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
Discharge Instructions for Heart Valve Surgery: Repair and Replacement (Pediatric) (Vietnamese)
Discharge Instructions for Heart Valve Surgery: Repair and Replacement (Pediatric) (Russian)
When Your Child Has a Hypoplastic Left Ventricle: Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Si su hijo tiene insuficiencia congenita congestiva (ICC)
How the Heart Works
Treatment for Your Child?s Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
When Your Child Has an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)