Physicians now can treat more patients with congenital heart disease using minimally invasive procedures. Sophisticated tools and procedures have nearly eliminated the need for open heart surgery. In a minimally invasive procedure, surgeons insert a catheter — a small tube — into a blood vessel and then thread tools through the tube. The catheter gives the surgeon access to the area that needs repair or testing.

Norton Children’s Heart Institute Cardiac Catheterization Program cardiologists use the newest catheter and device technologies to provide advanced diagnoses and treatment.

Norton Children’s Hospital has two dedicated, state-of-the-art pediatric cardiac catheterization laboratories. Norton Children’s Hospital is the only hospital in Kentucky to offer to replace poorly functioning pulmonary valves.

The Right Kind of Collaborative Care for Your Child

The Cardiac Catheterization Program team works closely with other physicians and programs within Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the University of Louisville. Our team performs all diagnostic testing, surgeries and follow-up care at Norton Children’s Hospital.

Our providers from Norton Children’s and UofL Physicians are skilled in treating congenital heart conditions in children. You can draw strength, comfort and confidence from our highly trained specialists, including:

• Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons
• Pediatric transplant surgeons
• Pediatric cardiologists
  • Fetal cardiologists
  • Adult congenital heart cardiologists
  • Heart failure/heart transplant cardiologists
  • Pediatric cardiac catheterization cardiologists
  • Pediatric electrophysiologists
• Pediatric critical care physicians
• Cardiovascular anesthesiologists
• Cardiac critical care nurses
• Cardiac nurse practitioners
• Critical care pharmacists
• Child life specialists
• Diagnostic imaging specialists
• Dietitians
• Family support team
• Genetic counselors
• Intensive care specialists
• Psychologists
• Social workers

Why Choose Norton Children’s Heart Institute

No other congenital heart surgery program in Kentucky, Ohio or Southern Indiana is ranked higher by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons than the Norton Children’s Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Program.

• Norton Children’s Hospital has been a pioneer in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, performing Kentucky’s first pediatric heart transplant in 1986 and becoming the second site in the United States to perform an infant heart transplant.
• Our board-certified and fellowship-trained pediatric cardiovascular surgeons are leaders in the field as clinicians and researchers.
• More than 5,000 children a year visit Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the University of Louisville, for advanced heart care.
• Norton Children’s Heart Institute successfully performs more than 17,500 procedures a year.
• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons ranked Norton Children’s Heart Institute among the best in the region after studying years of our patients’ outcomes and our ability to handle a range of pediatric heart conditions, including the most severe.
• Norton Children’s Heart Institute has satellite outpatient centers in Bowling Green, Frankfort, Owensboro and Paducah; 28 tele-echocardiography locations in Kentucky and Southern Indiana; and six fetal echocardiography locations across Kentucky.
• The American Board of Thoracic Surgery has certified the cardiothoracic surgeons at Norton Children’s Hospital with subspecialty certification in congenital heart surgery.
• The Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit is under construction to give our patients the most advanced care available.
• Our multidisciplinary approach to pediatric heart surgery brings together our specialists in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, anesthesiology, cardiac critical care and other areas to create a complete care plan tailored for your child.