About the Advanced Cardiac Therapies for Heart Failure Patients

The Advanced Cardiac Therapies for Heart Failure Patients (ACT-HF) program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provides children with advanced heart failure the full continuum of care, through rehabilitation, ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation, heart transplant and beyond.

Treating advanced heart failure in congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the greatest challenges in pediatric cardiology. Currently, there are no pediatric-specific medication therapies and limited mechanical circulatory support devices for infants and small children. ACT-HF seeks to improve outcomes for children with advanced heart failure through the innovative use of mechanical circulatory support and the development of targeted medical therapies aimed at preventing and treating heart failure.

ACT-HF has a dedicated Heart Failure Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the second in the country. With state-of-the-art rehabilitation integrated into complex care, the Heart Failure ICU will offer critically ill heart failure patients access to all the services they need in one place.

Recently designated a CHOP Frontier Program, ACT-HF is dedicated to the prevention, discovery and treatment of advanced heart failure in children. Frontier Programs are trailblazing initiatives that will forge important new discoveries, deliver novel therapies and redefine the future of pediatric medicine.


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