Blog single

Cardiology Transition Medicine

We are committed to helping our patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and/or arrhythmias who are approaching adulthood make a smooth transition from pediatric to adult health care. We have developed a unique transition program that serves adolescents with CHD by performing in-depth assessments that reveal individual patient needs surrounding CHD knowledge and disease management skills.

The transition team works with pediatric cardiologists through serial in-person visits with adolescents to help them understand their specific CHD or arrhythmia, their lifelong disease trajectory, and practice the skills needed to manage their CHD in an adult setting. The goal is to prepare patients and their families for the various changes in patient care management and healthcare system navigation, prior to transfer to adult congenital heart care by 21 years of age. Our program also helps identify an adult congenital cardiologist for future care, facilitates communication about patients between the pediatric and adult cardiologists and creates concise medical summaries for these adult providers, so that they may understand the unique needs of our patients.

Serial educational sessions and assessments are conducted to ensure appropriate knowledge, skill and self-advocacy base prior to transferring to adult care. The assessments focus on promoting independence in the following areas:

  • Education: CHD knowledge for lifelong care
  • Skill building: Tools needed to become a successful adult with a CHD
  • Self-advocacy skills: Engaging patients in taking charge of their own lifelong health care
  • Navigating the health care system: Understanding insurance coverage options
  • Enhancing connections: Providing an environment to foster social networks between patients and advocates with CHD, provider subspecialists (i.e. GI, Psychology, OB/GYN) and adult CHD specialists
  • Creating a portfolio: Including a medical summary and lists of financial, psychosocial and adult CHD resources
  • Community building: Building a community of parents and young adults with CHD
  • Parent training: Teaching parents about supported decision-making and how to allow their teen to take charge of their health.
Team hosts inaugural “Adulting with CHD” educational event

In August 2019, close to 100 patients and family members attended the first “Adulting with CHD: A parent’s guide to transitioning from pediatric to adult care” event.

Hosted by Texas Children’s Hospital Cardiology Transition Medicine team, the three-hour event was a way for parents of congenital heart disease patients, who are transitioning into adulthood, to learn to take a more supportive role, and help their young adults take the primary role in managing their life-long heart condition on their own.

The evening began with dinner between adult congenital heart disease providers, adult CHD survivors and families of CHD participants. Next came comments on the event and the evening from Dr. Keila Lopez, director of the Cardiology Transition Medicine Program, and then participants went straight into breakout sessions led by members and clinical staff involved in the transition program as well as Texas Children’s Adult Congenital Heart Program. Topics of the breakout sessions included transition preparation and expectations, and lifelong trajectory.

The latter part of the evening focused on a question and answer panel discussion. Panelists included adult congenital heart disease patients, current transition patients, a parent of an adult patient with congenital heart disease, and heart failure, cardiac surgery and maternal fetal medicine specialists.

© 1998-2020 Texas Children's Hospital. All rights reserved.