Pediatric Cardiology Services

If your child has a heart-related condition, you will find compassionate and knowledgeable care from a team of highly skilled cardiac specialists at the Vermont Children’s Hospital. Some of the common conditions our physicians and specialists treat include:

Heart Murmurs

A heart murmur is a sound during the heartbeat cycle, such as a swishing or whooshing. The condition may be congenital – present at birth – or develop later in life. A heart murmur is often benign, but it may be a sign of an underlying heart problem.

Chest Pain

Chest pain in children is a common occurrence, but is often not serious. Chest pain causes can include pains from sports-related injury or pulled muscles, asthma, cough or pain due to an infection such as pneumonia.

If your child has chest pain associated with a fainting episode, exertional pain, or the chest pain occurs with other symptoms such as fever, your primary care physician may recommend consulting a cardiologist.

Fainting

Fainting, or syncope, is common during childhood. It happens when there is a decrease in blood pressure, which temporarily deprives the brain of the oxygen it needs. Dizziness often occurs before a fainting episode. Many patients experience dizziness without fainting.

Most episodes of fainting, such as those associated with prolonged standing or the sight of blood or medical procedures, are not concerning. Other causes of fainting can include rapid breathing (hyperventilation), breath-holding, hysteria, or exposure to certain drugs or toxins. Occasionally fainting is associated with a neurologic problem such as a seizure or migraine. Cardiac causes of fainting, while uncommon, can be serious and include heart rhythm abnormalities, diminished heart function and obstruction to blood flow.

Other pediatric heart conditions we treat include:

• Patent Ductous Arteriosus (PDA)
  
• Septal Defects
  • Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
  • Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
  • Atrioventricular Canal Defect
  • Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV)
  • Mitral Valve Conditions
• Defects Causing Obstruction in the Heart or Blood Vessels
  • Aortic Stenosis (AS)
  • Coarctation of the Aorta
  • Pulmonary Stenosis (PS)
• Cyanotic Defects
  • Ebstein’s Anomaly
  • Pulmonary Atresia
  • Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
  • Transposition of the Great Arteries
  • Tricuspid Atresia
  • Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (TAPVR)
  • Truncus Arteriosus
  • Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
• Other Heart Problems
  • Marfan syndrome
  • Muscular dystrophy (cardiac involvement)
  • Myocarditis and cardiomyopathy
  • Heart rhythm abnormalities in children