When detecting congenital heart problems in infants and children, pediatric cardiologists may order an echocardiogram, which provides a good view of the working heart and its pumping chambers. Other children may need a stress test to detect a certain abnormality or a tilt test to check if there is a cardiac link to their fainting spells.

The new Pediatric Heart Station at the Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital was dedicated on Tuesday, February 14, 2006. Pictured (l to r) are Mark Boucek, M.D., Director of Pediatric Cardiac Services; Eleanor Savariau, Administrative Director of Pediatric Cardiac Center; and Richard A. Perryman, M.D., Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.

Yet, no matter what cardiac test is required, patients need to reach only one place at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital – the Pediatric Heart Station.

“This Heart Station brings our congenital cardiac program to a whole new level by providing a central location for non-invasive diagnostic evaluations,” said Eleanor Savariau, Administrative Director, Pediatric Cardiac Center at the Children’s Hospital. “Cardiac imaging plays a critical role in our program and having a state-of-the-art imaging laboratory for echocardiography allows us to fully evaluate complex congenital heart disease and enhances our ability to diagnose and treat problems.”