Primary Care and Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) impacts 2 to 3% of all babies born with congenital heart disease. When a baby has HLHA, the valves, chambers and blood vessels on the left side of the heart do not grow normally. While the condition is relatively rare, it does require swift intervention and treatment.

Treatment includes three heart surgeries that are delivered in stages. Nonoperative comfort care may also be available for some babies if the family is able to meet the complicated maintenance requirements of pediatric HLHS.

Listen to a pediatric cardiology expert discuss care for HLHS patients

HLHS care poses a unique challenge for pediatric primary care providers, especially when ongoing care is required in the pediatrician's office. On today's episode of Charting Pediatrics, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon James Jaggers, MD, joins us to discuss the primary care, treatment and future for patients with HLHS. Dr. Jaggers is Co-Medical Director of the Children's Hospital Colorado Heart Institute and the Barton-Elliman Chair in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children's Colorado.

In this episode, our experts talk about:

• Dr. Jaggers' approach to surgical intervention for HLHS
• How pediatricians and family doctors can support patients and families who are confronting a pediatric HLHS diagnosis
• Ongoing and follow-up care for HLHS patients in the pediatrician's office
• The long-term prognosis for pediatric HLHS patients
• How the nation's leading pediatric hospitals are collaborating to provide solutions for patients with HLHS in a groundbreaking consortium
• Future innovation and care for our young HLHS patients

Caring for babies and children with HLHS and other congenital heart defects

Primary care pediatricians should know that the quality of care for complex congenital heart defects, like HLHS, have improved substantially. To best support babies and their families after this diagnosis has been delivered, remember that you are looking after the entire family. HLHS cannot be cured, and parents need to understand that the long-term diagnosis is variable. Ongoing medical therapies may be necessary, and Dr. Jaggers will explain how to care for kids without limiting them throughout their lives.

Pediatric congenital heart defect treatment and management at Children's Colorado

Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other congenital heart defects are treated at the Colorado Fetal Care Center. Our physicians and surgeons offer comprehensive maternal, fetal, neonatal and pediatric subspecialty care for high-risk pregnancies. When families trust Children's Colorado, difficult diagnoses and complicated pregnancies are made easier on mom and baby.