The Heart Center

Akron Children's uses the latest, most advanced technologies to diagnose and treat all types of pediatric heart disease – from the mild to the extremely complex.

One of the hallmarks of our Heart Center is hybrid care, which blends surgical and catheterization approaches to treat heart defects. Our pediatric heart surgeons work with interventional cardiologists to repair certain types of heart defects in babies, who otherwise would have to wait until they're big enough to undergo open heart surgery. Less invasive procedures promote faster recoveries and may reduce the need for multiple surgeries.

We offer a fetal cardiology program to identify congenital heart defects in unborn babies and continue to provide ongoing care for adults born with a heart problem.

For children needing highly-specialized cardiac care for specific procedures not currently available at Akron Children’s, we collaborate with Cincinnati Children’s. These procedures include heart transplantation, bi-ventricular repairs and virtual surgical planning. Patients needing these procedures will have the option of having surgery at Cincinnati Children’s. Akron Children's provides all pre-surgical evaluations and post-surgical follow-up care close to home. Both our hospitals work together with patients and their families to coordinate care throughout the process to help ensure the best outcomes.

Akron Children’s is also at the forefront in the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms, including the development of a procedure to repair irregular heartbeats without the radiation commonly used in such procedures.

We are also the first pediatric hospital in Ohio to use cryoablation, a technique that uses low temperatures to successfully destroy abnormal electrical pathways in the heart to restore a normal rhythm.

In recognition of our commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis of heart disease, we've been accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories in the areas of pediatric and fetal echocardiography.