Congenital heart defects in children care at Mayo Clinic

Your Mayo Clinic care team

Mayo Clinic doctors trained in treating children with heart conditions (pediatric cardiologists), doctors trained in heart disease (cardiologists) and doctors trained in heart surgery (cardiovascular surgeons) work together as a team to treat people with congenital heart diseases.

Having all this expertise in one place means that your child's appointments are coordinated among the team. Test results are available quickly.

  • Pediatric expertise. Children with congenital heart defects are cared for in the Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota. The hospital includes a cardiovascular unit dedicated to pre- and post-surgical care of children who have congenital heart defects.

    Nurses trained in treating children and adolescents with congenital heart defects work in the unit. Child-life specialists help you and your child manage stress and anxiety due to the disease, medical procedures and hospital care.

  • Advanced diagnosis and treatment. Specialists at Mayo Clinic's Center for Congenital Heart Disease use the most modern technology and treatment options to provide the best care possible for your child. Treatments may include minimally invasive surgery and catheter-based methods.
  • Transplant expertise. When needed, Mayo Clinic also offers a heart transplant program. Mayo Clinic's Transplant Center team members are leaders and innovators in heart transplant, immunosuppressive medicine and cardiac assist devices. These treatments help people live better while waiting for a donor heart.

Kinser Hanson's story

Hello, my name is Kinser.

Kinser is the wildest little boy that I know of.

He's on the go.

When he was born, perfect. Just like any other little baby I've seen, I guess.

Healthy 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

I like to play pitcher and first base.

It's through the experience of hundreds of thousands of heart diagnoses, procedures, innovations, and research collaborations over the past 100 years that enables Mayo Clinic to help provide trusted answers for patients like Kinser and their families.

The chest x-rays came back that his heart was a little more enlarged, and they said it was heart related.

They took him into the cardiac NICU, performed a whole bunch of tests, and, I would say, within a couple hours, we knew what the problem was. He was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries.

What they did was an arterial switch procedure.

Well, when I was five days old, I got heart surgery.

I had a baby brother that actually had heart surgery in Rochester when I was a year. In the '70s, you know, things weren't as advanced they are today. And he didn't make it, you know. He lived to be 13 days old. And that's all I could think about is — Oh my gosh, I'm going to lose my baby.

Both my parents had heart surgery in Mayo. We knew he was in the best possible place that he could be. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't be here.

To me, he can go do whatever he wants to. Be a little kid.

He's doing great.

I just tried to do a back flip off the board, and I did it. Wow, it was fun.

He's my little buddy.

When I grow up, I want to take over my dad's job. They saved my life.

Mayo Clinic offers congenital heart care: Marcus' story

The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of satisfied Mayo Clinic patients.

Expertise and rankings

Each year, healthcare professionals at Mayo Clinic evaluate and treat nearly 14,000 children with congenital heart defects.

Nationally recognized expertise

Mayo Clinic campuses are nationally recognized for expertise in cardiology and cardiovascular surgery:

  • Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for heart and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report.
  • Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023–2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.

With Mayo Clinic's emphasis on collaborative care, specialists at each of the campuses — Minnesota, Arizona and Florida — interact very closely with colleagues at the other campuses and the Mayo Clinic Health System.

Learn more about Mayo Clinic's cardiovascular surgery and cardiovascular medicine departments' expertise and rankings.

Mayo Clinic Children's Center

Highly skilled pediatric experts diagnose and treat all types of conditions in children. As a team, we work together to find answers, set goals and develop a treatment plan tailored to your child's needs.

Learn more about the Children's Center.

Locations, travel and lodging

Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.

For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.

More information about billing and insurance:

Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Health System

June 19, 2024

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