Heart Institute News

The Future of Pediatric Cardiac Research at Nicklaus Children's Hospital

February 13, 2025 – In recognition of American Heart Month, the Nicklaus Children's Research Institute is celebrating the future of cardiac research at Nicklaus Children's Hospital. With decades of experience in pediatric cardiology, the new Chief of Cardiology, Shyam Sathanandam M.D., is enthusiastic about the future of clinical trials at Nicklaus Children's.

Saving Lives with a Sudden Cardiac Arrest Readiness Program

December 20, 2024 – Though rare, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the young causes tragic events that impact the entire community. Roughly 7,000 people under the age of 18 will suffer a cardiac arrest annually in the U.S. Because of education and hands-on training to school faculty, countless lives have been saved nationally. In just two years, eight lives have been saved in South Florida schools.

The Growing Footprint of Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization

November 08, 2024 – As the medical community continues its shift toward less invasive interventions, cardiac catheterization is becoming more commonplace within care plans for pediatric and adult patients. In many cases, this less invasive approach is the standard of care.

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Project ADAM Outreach Initiative Saves Lives – Five and Counting!

September 16, 2024 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute is leading a community initiative aimed at preventing sudden cardiac death, a leading cause of death among adults and children nationwide. In the last 18 months, the program has provided training to address sudden cardiac arrest events for staff at all 332 Miami-Dade County Public Schools, as well as an array of private and charter schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

An Acuity-Adaptable Model for Improved Pediatric Cardiac Care

January 08, 2024 – Nicklaus Children's Hospital Heart Institute is home to the first pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) in the Southeast. Today, the cardiology, cardiovascular surgery and CICU teams within the Heart Institute continue to lead the way with the implementation of an acuity-adaptable model of care.

At the Leading Edge of Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization

December 18, 2023 – Widely recognized as a world leader in pediatric interventional cardiac catheterization, the team at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital's Heart Institute not only utilizes the most advanced devices, procedures, and treatments, they also ensure families remain the focus by actively communicating. This includes calling a patient's parents "every hour while the procedure takes place.” 

Nicklaus Children's Broadens Treatment Options for Congenital Heart Disease Patients with Minimally Invasive Therapy

November 18, 2021 – The Heart Institute at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is now offering pulmonary valve replacement via cardiac catheterization with the recently FDA-approved Harmony valve.

Speak Now for Kids Family Advocacy: Tad's Story

August 10, 2020 – Over the last two years, Theodore “Tad” Hartrick has spent months at a time at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Like Tad, there are many children in the state and in the nation who rely on access to pediatric care and Medicaid funding. Here is a message from the Hartrick family in support of this year’s Speak Now For Kids Family Advocacy Week campaign.

Cardiac surgery patients reunite for celebration

February 20, 2019 – The annual Heart Institute Patient and Family Reunion gives patients and caregivers the chance to reunite outside the clinical setting. A big thank you to all of our heart warriors for attending each year!

Does Your Baby Have an Undetected Heart Disorder?

January 29, 2019 – Eight of every 1,000 babies will be born with a heart disorder or defect. These conditions cannot be identified during a typical newborn screening. Parents need to be aware about the early signs, screenings and treatment options for babies born with congenital heart conditions.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital Selects Dicom Systems, WinguMD for Enterprise Mobile Clinical Collaboration Platform

November 23, 2018 – In order to better integrate clinical communications over mobile, Nicklaus Children's sought to implement a secure, centralized platform to capture and share clinical photos inside their EHR. WinguMD provided sharing and indexing of serial clinical photos across care teams as well as comparison with pathology, wound care and other imaging. Unifier by Dicom Systems served as the integration engine for workflow and interoperability.

Nicklaus Children's Heart Program Joins CNOC

May 30, 2018 – The Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute is now a member of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative (CNOC).

Duchenne Regional Family Summit

December 02, 2017 – CureDuchenne Cares and The Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Brain Institute hosted a free educational and social event for Duchenne family and caregivers. Attendees were able to learn about important DMD care topics, share their practical advice and connect with other families.

Nicklaus Children’s Opens Subspecialty Care Center in Boynton Beach

November 07, 2017 – The Boynton Beach Care Center is the newest Nicklaus Children’s care location and offers a range of services for children from birth through 21 years of age.

Infants airlifted to Nicklaus Children's Hospital from Puerto Rico after hurricane

October 03, 2017 – It was a race against time to save three critical babies, all of whom would have died in Puerto Rico if they didn't get the surgeries that they needed at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.

Teenager urges parents to get EKG testing for children who play sports

July 21, 2017 – A South Florida teenager went for a simple EKG test at Nicklaus Children's Hospital when he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, also known as WPW.

The International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease's Annual Meeting

January 11, 2017 – Congratulations to Heart Program physicians, Leo Lopez & Kristine Guleserian, on hosting the International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease's Annual Meeting.

Free Heart Screening Event

November 23, 2016 – The Jessica Clinton MVP Foundation hosted a free heart screening event on Saturday at the Florida Department of Health in Port St. Lucie. The Heart Program's own Dr. David Drossner supported this event as a pediatric heart expert.

The Legacy of Dr. Richard Zakheim Honored at Street Dedication Ceremony

April 29, 2016 – Southwest 60th Court between southwest 30th street to southwest 33rd street has been designated "Dr. Richard Zakheim Way"

Heart Program Patient Reunion 2016

February 24, 2016 – It was a "heartfelt" reunion for dozens of pediatric cardiac patients and their families who celebrated with the doctors, nurses and care teams that treated them. 

The Heart Program's hosts Pediatric Echocardiography Symposium

December 02, 2015 – On Saturday, November 14th, The Heart Program at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, hosted the "All Florida Pediatric Echo Symposium". 

Dr. Anthony Rossi Honored with Proclamation by the Miami-Dade County School Board

August 05, 2015 – Dr. Anthony Rossi, Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, was honored with a proclamation by the Miami-Dade County School Board today for his work with the hospital’s Free EKG Screening program.

The Nicklaus Children's Hospital Heart Program Hosts First 'Patient and Family Education Day'

November 19, 2014 – NCH holds its first Patient and Family Education Day for families of children with congenital heart defects (CHD).