Pediatric cardiology

• Congenital heart disease from fetal age to late adolescence: simple or complex malformations affecting the cardiovascular system (the heart and great vessels).
• Pediatric-onset cardiomyopathies: diseases affecting the heart muscle, causing a reduction in the heart's ability to contract.
• Pediatric-onset acquired cardiomyopathies: diseases affecting the heart that occur later in life.
• Pediatric-onset arrhythmias: heartbeat that is too rapid, too slow, or irregular.
  

Diagnosis

The most commonly used diagnostic techniques are:

• ECG: electrocardiogram, 24-hour ECG (Holter), long recording ECG (R-Test).
• Ergometry: exercise testing on a cycle ergometer.
• Ambulatory blood pressuremonitoring .
• Fetal echocardiography: ultrasound performed on the fetus during pregnancy from the 18th week of gestation.
• Transthoracic echocardiography: sonography of the heart.
• M-mode: ultrasound used to visualize moving structures.
• Two-dimensional ultrasound and pulsed and continuous color Doppler with state-of-the-art equipment.

In cooperation with leading Swiss university centers, mainly the Kinderspital in Zurich, special examinations such as:

• Cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): precise assessment of cardiac capacity and evaluation of numerous aspects concerning heart function.
• Cardiac catheterization: examination that directly measures blood pressure in each chamber of the heart and the major blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs.
• Electrophysiological study: examination used to check the normal functioning of the cardiac conduction system.

Treatments

Among the treatments possible for the resolution of problems affecting the cardiovascular system are:

• Radiofrequency ablation: a medical procedure used to intervene on the heart's conduction system, a tumor or, in general, dysfunctional tissue that is removed through the use of heat generated by an alternating current equipment.
• Pediatric heartsurgery.