Adult Congenital Heart Treatment: About Our Program

Children and adolescents diagnosed with congenital heart disease grow to live healthy lives, thanks to tremendous strides in pediatric cardiology during the past 30 years. Nationwide, only a handful of cardiac centers employ physicians who have the specialized training and expert care you require as an adult.

The Washington Adult Congenital Heart Center (WACH) is a leader in the continued treatment and management of your unique needs. As a joint program between MedStar Heart Institute and Children's National Medical Center, our physicians are specially trained to help you through every stage of your life.

Continuity of cardiac care from childhood to adulthood

Our collaborative program tracks patients from birth through adulthood. WACH places all of the specialized services and experts you need in one central location at the Heart Institute, within steps of the adjoining Children's Hospital campus.

Our cardiac experts –both pediatric and adult—work together closely. Our specialists understand each patient's unique anatomy, and based on our research, anticipate what type of follow-up treatments you may require. By combining expertise and resources, our patients receive the highest standard of care possible.

Patient-centered care

We believe in empowering adults with congenital heart disease to manage their condition. That means giving them the tools to control important decisions. We offer:

The choice for adult patients to see specialists at either hospital The ability to control their online medical record and who has access to it with the Follow My Heart program (an online medical record designed for people with congenital heart disease)

Learn more about how our patients use their Follow My Heart records in treatment and management.

Multidisciplinary approach to congenital heart care

If you are an adult with congenital heart disease, you must constantly consider your unique medical history in your daily life and when undergoing even minor procedures.

The experts at WACH make those decisions easier, by providing access to specialists in other fields, trained to understand your medical challenges. Our team takes what was once impossible and makes it possible, including assisting women through pregnancy and childbirth, with our Special Moms/Special Babies program.

WACH has developed a broad network of health professionals in related subspecialties, including:

• Cardiac surgery
• Critical care
• High-risk obstetrics
• Gastroenterology
• Pulmonology
• General surgery
• Psychiatry

For information or appointments, please call DOCtorsLine at (202) 877-DOCS (3627).