By Vanessa Orr
While most people associate heart conditions with older adults, the fact is, in the United States, about 40,000 babies are born with heart defects each year, which is about 1 percent of births—or one in 100 children. Other children develop heart issues as they get older that require specialized care.
In Florida, many of these patients are treated by KIDZ Medical Services—a pediatric and women’s health specialty group spanning across five Florida counties—whose pediatric cardiology specialists see a myriad of young heart patients each week, ranging in age from newborns to teens.
“We are passionate about what we do,” said KIDZ Medical’s Abdulwahab Aldousany, M.D., a leading pediatric cardiologist in South Florida and one of the four KIDZ cardiology experts who treat young patients from Miami to Naples, Boca Raton to West Palm Beach, and Port St. Lucie. “We see children with chest pain, fainting episodes, irregular heart rates, palpitations, or those who may have heart disease as a result of a genetic condition like Down Syndrome.”
KIDZ Medical’s pediatric cardiologists also collaborate closely with pediatric heart surgery programs at local children’s hospitals, not only by referring young patients who need surgical intervention, but also by being part of the care team to help ensure that patients can experience the best possible outcomes.
“We treat post-operative patients after discharge, tailoring their medication to maximize their treatment,” Dr. Aldousany said, noting that roughly one-third of congenital heart patients require more than one surgery.
Using their highly specialized training along with the most modern medical technologies, KIDZ Medical’s pediatric cardiologists are able to provide integrated yet individualized pediatric cardiac medical care for patients with hypertension, heart damage due to infections or viruses, abnormal heart rhythms, or endocarditis (inflammation of the heart lining and heart valves.) Specialists also treat congenital heart disease, which is caused by the abnormal development of a baby’s heart in the early stages of pregnancy.
Just as adult cardiology patients require a specific type of care, so do pediatric patients, according to Dr. Aldousany. Pediatric cardiac care begins with an assessment that includes a physical examination and family’s medical history, and may include an EKG, an echocardiogram, and occasionally, a Holter monitor, an event monitor, or an exercise stress test. KIDZ Medical’s offices also are equipped to perform most diagnostic tests during a visit, usually eliminating the need to go to the hospital for outpatient testing, and cardiac findings and plans for follow-up are discussed with families in-depth.
“A pediatric heart doesn’t contract the same way that an adult heart does, so it is critical, especially in newborns, that these patients are not treated too aggressively when they do not need aggressive treatment,” Dr. Aldousany explained. “Their hearts are immature and may respond badly, causing convulsions or worse.
“Our team here at KIDZ is very good at making the proper diagnosis, testing children with CT scans or MRIs to visualize 3D or 4D pictures of the heart and working with our surgeons to maximize outcomes,” he said.
At times, the KIDZ Medical team even goes a step beyond to help a child in need.
“We had a mother come in the other day with a sick child, and they hadn’t eaten for days,” said Dr. Aldousany. “We made sure they left our office with plenty of food.”
To learn more about KIDZ Medical’s pediatric cardiology care, visit https://www.kidzmedical.com/pediatric-services/cardiology.
