Some people are born with heart disease or structural irregularities of the heart. These problems that are present at birth (or congenital) can affect how well the heart functions. Congenital heart problems can run the spectrum from simple defects with no symptoms to life-threatening illnesses. At Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, we use a team approach to provide state-of-the-art care. The Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease brings together a distinguished team of cardiac specialists to handle even the most complex cases.

The center’s services include all diagnosis and treatment for the full spectrum of patients with congenital and structural heart disease, including neonates, children and adults. The center also treats adults suffering from structural conditions, such as leaky or narrowing heart valves. And, because many of the repairs can be done by threading catheters through blood vessels, many patients don’t require major surgery — or even stitches.

The center provides state-of-the-art care for congenital heart defects in children and adults, including minimally invasive procedures for:

• Atrial septal defects
• Ventricular septal defects
• Patent ductus arteriosus
• Coarctation of the aorta
• Heart and pulmonary valve replacements

Headed by one of the world’s leading interventional cardiologists, Ziyad M. Hijazi, MD, MPH, the Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease brings together pediatric and adult cardiologists and interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, transplant cardiologists and echocardiologists who collaborate with a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon to provide the best care possible.

Hijazi, a pioneer in the nonsurgical correction of congenital heart defects, has led numerous clinical trials of new devices designed to repair holes in the heart. In fact, his research resulted in the FDA approving the first device to close an opening in the heart known as an atrial septal defect. Hijazi was the first to describe how a diagnostic technique called intracardiac echocardiography — which uses sound waves to create images of the heart — can help guide doctors as they treat heart defects nonsurgically.