As many as 1 million U.S. children and 1.4 million U.S. adults are living with congenital heart defects — abnormalities in the heart that are present at birth. Some defects are mild, and some so complex that they may require many surgeries over a lifetime. A person has congenital heart disease for their entire life,…
Luke Coward, a Southern Indiana firefighter born with Ebstein anomaly of the tricuspid valve, never felt limited by the condition. From the time he was diagnosed at 18 months old, he maintained an active childhood and adolescence. Then, as he grew into adulthood, he began presenting symptoms. At age 20, Luke began having intermittent heart…
The first patients have moved into the Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Critical Care Unit (CICU) at Norton Children’s Hospital. More than 60 staff members lined the hallway to welcome caregivers who will be working on the unit and the first official patient in early January 2020. “This is a very exciting day,” said Deanna R. Todd…
Walter L. Sobczyk, M.D., pediatric cardiologist with Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the University of Louisville, has treated hundreds of children born with life-threatening heart abnormalities. Thanks to advances in surgery and treatment over the last decades, most of these children are now living into adulthood. “Some of these heart conditions are very serious,…
By Chris L. Johnsrude, M.D. It is important to understand that sometimes a recorded heart rate can confirm if a child or teenager is in supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), but not always. SVT is a common cause of abnormally fast heartbeats in children and teenagers, but the range of heart rates in SVT is pretty broad….
Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the University of Louisville, includes an expansive outreach service, with 29 participating sites in the region. These sites, throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana, link directly to Norton Children’s Hospital and the specialists at Norton Children’s Heart Institute. Technicians perform echocardiograms on patients from in utero to young adults to…