Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Care (PACC) Program

Team approach to heart care

Children at risk for heart failure and heart transplantation require advanced care from a team of specialists. That’s why our clinic brings together experts from different fields to meet all your child’s healthcare needs.

Your child may see one or more of these specialists at our PACC clinics:

Highly skilled heart doctors and surgeons

Your child receives the highest level of medical care from cardiologists who specialize in your child’s distinct heart condition.

Your child's cardiologist partners with other heart doctors, such as:

• Cardiothoracic surgeons who specialize in heart transplantations and ventricular assist devices (VADs) that help the heart pump blood

• Pediatric Cardiologist with advanced training in heart failure, cardiomyopathy, ventricular assist device and transplant

Mental health providers

Our health psychologists specialize in helping children and families cope with the stress of living with a life-changing medical condition. We offer a range of mental health therapies, including individual, family and group counseling, as well as play therapy for young children.

Your family also has access to:

• Pediatric psychologists, clinical therapists and psychiatrists

• Social workers

• Child life specialists

• Chaplains

Nutrition experts

Children with certain heart conditions, including heart failure, may struggle to eat enough and gain weight. Poor nutrition increases your child’s risk of heart complications. Our registered dietitians optimize your child’s diet to ensure they get the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.

Developmental specialists

Children with heart conditions are more likely to have developmental delays, speech and language impairments, and other social, emotional and behavioral concerns. Our Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program is the only one in North Texas providing customized child development services for children with heart conditions.

Support team

A cardiac nurse is available 24/7 to answer your family’s questions. Other members of our PACC team include:

• Advanced practice providers (physician assistants, nurse practitioners and medical assistants) with advanced cardiac experience

• Program coordinators and nurse coordinators

The latest heart failure treatments

As the only comprehensive pediatric heart failure, heart transplant and VAD program in North Texas, we offer the latest treatments for children experiencing heart failure.

Pediatric heart failure treatments include:

• Medications: Certain medications can lessen the strain on your child’s heart and improve heart function.

• Minimally invasive procedures: Your child may benefit from cardiac catheterization procedures. Our doctors thread a long thin tube (catheter) through a blood vessel to perform treatments for certain heart conditions. We also use electrophysiology treatments for arrhythmias.

• Surgical heart procedures: Our cardiothoracic surgeons specialize in complex surgeries to repair heart abnormalities.

• VADs: These small, surgically implanted devices help the heart pump blood. We have the only pediatric VAD program in North Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

• Heart transplants: Surgeons at our heart transplant program – the only one in North Texas – replace a diseased heart with a healthy one from a donor.

Specialized heart programs

We offer specialized services for children with certain heart failure risk factors.

Cardiac rehabilitation

Our medically supervised cardiac rehab services allow your child to safely build stamina, strength and cardiovascular fitness. We customize a program that gives your child the confidence to run around with friends, play certain sports and enjoy fun childhood activities without worrying about their heart condition.

Cardio-oncology

Certain cancer treatments used to treat childhood cancers may cause heart damage. We partner with cardio-oncology specialists to monitor your child’s heart health. When needed, we start treatments that protect against heart failure.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) often develop enlarged, thickened heart muscle (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). This condition makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood and can lead to heart failure. We bring together experts from our certified Center of Excellence for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and our certified Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Program to provide comprehensive heart services for children with DMD.

Pulmonary hypertension

Heart failure increases a child’s risk of pulmonary hypertension, a type of high blood pressure that affects the lungs. We partner with lung specialists (pulmonologists) at our Pulmonary Hypertension Program to manage heart and lung conditions.

Sports cardiology

Our sports cardiologists care for young athletes who have heart conditions, such as long QT syndrome, which increase the risk of a sudden, life-threatening heart event. We perform ongoing heart monitoring, customize safe fitness programs and provide guidance about physical activities.

Some children are born with structural changes to their hearts (congenital heart disease) that affect how well their hearts work. Other conditions like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can affect the heart muscle. Heart changes can also occur after an illness or treatments for certain medical conditions (acquired heart disease). These heart changes may lead to heart failure. When your child has heart failure, their heart can’t pump blood to the rest of their body as well as it should.

Our Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Care (PACC) Program is the only one of its kind in North Texas providing comprehensive services to children with heart failure. Part of the nationally recognized Children’s Health℠ Heart Center, the PACC Program offers the latest medical and surgical treatments, such as ventricular assist devices (VADs) that support heart function.

Our goal is to have your child live the best life possible. We’re here to help your family through each step of this sometimes-overwhelming care journey.