About the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center

There are more than 1 million adults in the U.S. living with congenital heart defects, chronic conditions that put patients at risk over time. To help care for these patients, we developed the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center. The Center unites a breadth of cardiac care resources from two premier institutions: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Penn Medicine Health System.

The need for adult-centered care

Even as patients are living longer, most primary care physicians and adult cardiologists lack the appropriate training to provide care for the range of complex conditions seen in congenital heart disease patients.

Additionally, CHD diagnosis is not limited to childhood; at least 10 percent of all congenital heart defects are first found in adults. The condition is also different in adults than it is in children.

Our Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center doctors have unique expertise in both providing adult-centered care and ensuring a smooth transition in surveillance and treatment from child-focused care into adulthood. The transition to adult care is vital in congenital heart disease because patients’ cardiac problems differ from those that other adults develop as they age.

Our services

The Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center treats all types of congenital heart conditions in adults, including those complicated by heart rhythm problems, heart failure, pregnancy and pacemakers. We also provide advanced imaging with cardiac MRI, cardiac surgery, catheter therapy, genetic assessment and second opinions.

Our Center also provides services to meet the particular needs of adult patients, such as genetic counseling, exercise recommendations, and guidance on reproductive medicine, psychosocial health, and employment and insurance issues.

Advancing treatment and research

Advancing treatment for adults with congenital heart disease is an essential part of our program, and patients are living longer thanks in part to the research and care innovations from our two institutions. The Penn Heart and Vascular Center and the Cardiac Center at Children’s Hospital have active programs in both basic and clinical research. Their aim is to find the causes and effects of heart defects and to develop new treatments — and our patients routinely benefit from their discoveries.

Learn more about adult Heart and Vascular Care at Penn Medicine.