Children’s Cardiac Critical Care

Following surgery, your child likely needs the lifesaving intensive cardiac critical care that fosters excellent outcomes and helps speed healing.

Critical Care for Children’s Hearts

At Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Heart Center, you’ll find Oklahoma’s only pediatric cardiac intensive care unit that provides the extraordinarily high level of care needed by newborns, infants and children with congenital and acquired heart conditions.

Your child benefits from expert cardiac critical care – rated as some of the best in the nation – delivered by an experienced, multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses and specialists.

Specialized Cardiac Surgery Support

At Oklahoma Children's Hospital, you gain access to highly specialized cardiac surgery support, including cardiovascular perfusion that provides mechanical replacement for heart and lung function during all types of bypass operations.

Your child’s situation also may benefit from working with the region’s only fellowship-trained pediatric anesthesiologists. Our specialists deliver extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) – a nationally designated Center of Excellence program at Oklahoma Children's Hospital – to assist the tiniest hearts with breathing and heart function support while undergoing extended and complex surgical procedures.

Pediatric Cardiac Nursing

As your child receives care at the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Heart Center pediatric critical care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, emergency department, medical-surgical unit or any of several other care locations, you’ll encounter Oklahoma Children's Hospital nurses who possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and expertise to provide developmentally appropriate, personalized care for your child.

Using evidence-based practices and nursing research, they welcome open discussions with you and your family to foster an effective healing environment that meets your child’s specific physical and emotional needs.

Family-Centered Care

Everything about cardiac critical care at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Heart Center puts your child and family at the center of services.

Innovative Technology & Convenient Access

Equipped with the most advanced technology and designed as a comfortable, parent-centered environment, you’ll find the pediatric critical care unit centrally located in Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health. Just a short elevator ride from surgical services and other important diagnostic testing and procedural care areas, this location assures you of convenient access to support services throughout the hospital.

You can remain in or close to your child’s room at all times or stay only a few steps away in a comfortably furnished waiting area.

Child Life Specialists

Child Life specialists on staff at Oklahoma Children's Hospital help you and your family remain as comfortable and informed as possible throughout your time with us. You can take advantage of Child Life programs for your hospitalized child to share feelings and emotions and learn as much as you can about medical care.

As you and your child prepare for surgery, you may want to schedule a guided tour of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Heart Center to help everyone understand what to expect.

Learn more about children’s heart patient and family support services at Oklahoma Children's Hospital.

Your Child’s Heart Care Team

Your or your child’s Oklahoma Children's Hospital heart, vascular and cardiothoracic care team may include pediatric cardiologists, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists, pediatric critical care specialists and pediatric cardiac nurses, as well as child life specialists, social workers, therapists and healthcare professionals from many disciplines.

You benefit from collaborating with an experienced pediatric cardiovascular team that directly involves you and your family in treatment decisions, also pays close attention to your family’s nonmedical needs and:

• Brings together specialists from all departments to coordinate and implement new and innovative treatments for children’s heart and vascular conditions

• Conducts groundbreaking research on hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) with nationally renowned colleagues from across the United States and brings new methods for prevention, diagnosis and treatment to your care through participation in locally available clinical trials

• Teaches the physicians of tomorrow for the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, which also gives you access to benchmark practice standards, innovative care and treatment methods, advanced technology and world-class research

• Puts smiles on the faces of children and families during more than 10,000 outpatient visits each year