Adolescent Transitional Cardiac Care Program

Medical advancements continue to improve survival rates of children with heart disease.

For children born with heart defect or develop heart disease in childhood, it is now expected that the majority will grow to lead full, productive lives; therefore, there is a growing need for transitional care from pediatric to adult-based health care.

The UCLA Adolescent Transitional Cardiac Care Service is designed to help facilitate the transition from pediatric to adult care in order to avoid a lapse in care, to empower the adolescent/young adult to manage his/her own care and make the transition to adult care more comfortable for the adolescent, young adult and parents involved.

Why is a transition program so important?

Every child with congenital or acquired heart disease will eventually need to transition from the care of his/her pediatric cardiologist to that of an adult cardiologist. Without proper/adequate preparation, many of these patients become susceptible to experiencing a disruption in their medical care, missing treatments and running out of medications, all of which can lead to the need for emergency care.

To avoid these challenges, the process of transitioning prepares the patient to develop self management skills required to manage his/her care.

Director