UCSF Health Receives Adult Congenital Heart Disease Designation

UCSF Health’s Adult Congenital Cardiology Program has earned accreditation from the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA), recognizing UCSF’s dedication to providing high-quality, patient-centered medical care and expertise for patients with a range of adult congenital heart disease conditions.

Individuals with congenital heart defects — the most common birth defect in the U.S. — are born with structural heart conditions that can require continuing care and interventions, even after pediatric surgical repair. There are nearly 2 million adults in the U.S. with congenital heart disease (ACHD), and they are living longer as a result of advances in surgical techniques and medical technology.

“This accreditation recognizes our ability to provide the most advanced clinical services for adult congenital heart disease patients,” said Ian S. Harris, MD, a cardiologist and chief of UCSF’s Adult Congenital Heart Disease section. “UCSF is uniquely positioned to provide lifelong care and has a thorough process to help patients transition from pediatric to adult care, all within our institution.”

To be designated an ACHA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Accredited Comprehensive Care Center, UCSF’s program was reviewed through a rigorous process that involved evaluation of its medical services, specialized technologies, and personnel requirements. To receive accreditation, the program had to ensure patient access to congenital heart surgeons, pediatric cardiologists, heart failure cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, critical care specialists, cardiac anesthesiologists, and advanced practice nurses/physician assistants.

“There are now more adults than children in the U.S. with congenital heart disease,” said Mark Roeder, president and CEO of ACHA. “Accreditation elevates the standard of care and has a positive impact for the futures of those living with this disease. Coordination of care is key, and this accreditation program will make care more streamlined for ACHD patients, improving their quality of life.”

Comprehensive care for early detection and treatment

To address the complex clinical needs of this diverse population, UCSF has developed a comprehensive ACHD program that unites specialty services from across the health system. UCSF’s ACHD program includes American Board of Internal Medicine-certified ACHD specialists from the division of Adult Cardiology and the UCSF Pediatric Heart Center. It also operates innovative collaborative programs with UCSF Health’s Pregnancy and Cardiac Treatment (PACT) Program and the UCSF program in Cardiovascular Genetics and the Division of Medical Genetics, drawing on UCSF’s unique clinical and scientific strengths. In addition, the UCSF ACHD program operates an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited advanced fellowship program for adult and pediatic cardiologists that has trained leaders of ACHD programs throughout the world.

The UCSF Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic offers comprehensive care that includes early detection of problems, treatment to prevent complications, regular monitoring, and surgical repair of defects. UCSF ACHD experts utilize the latest medications and therapeutic methods – transcatheter procedures and other surgical innovations – to enable patients to live as actively as possible. Clinicians are able to manage and treat the most complex ACHD cases, including patients who require heart and lung transplants.

The ACHD team treats complications that can develop after surgical repair in patients with diagnoses such as tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, septal defect patch leak, hemoptysis due to collaterals, recurrent coarctation of the aorta, and single ventricle/Fontan patients who develop complications such as prosthetic valve failure. They also treat newly diagnosed congenital heart disease in adults such as ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonic valve stenosis, and patent foramen ovale.

The Pediatric Heart Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals was also reviewed as part of the accreditation process. The center provides expert care for a full range of children's cardiac conditions, including the most serious and complex.

The adult congenital cardiology program now becomes one of 59 ACHA ACHD-accredited programs in the U.S.

About the Adult Congenital Heart Association: The Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life and extending the lives of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). ACHA serves and supports the nearly 2 million adults with CHD, their families and the medical community—working with them to address the unmet needs of the long-term survivors of congenital heart defects through education, outreach, advocacy, and promotion of ACHD research. For more information about ACHA, contact 888-921-ACHA or visit www.ACHAHeart.org.

About UCSF Health: UCSF Health is recognized worldwide for its innovative patient care, reflecting the latest medical knowledge, advanced technologies and pioneering research. It includes the flagship UCSF Medical Center, which is among the nation's top specialty hospitals, as well as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, with campuses in San Francisco and Oakland; two community hospitals, UCSF Health Stanyan and UCSF Health Hyde; Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital; UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians; and the UCSF Faculty Practice. These hospitals serve as the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its graduate-level health sciences education and biomedical research. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area. Visit www.ucsfhealth.org. Follow UCSF Health on Facebook or on Twitter.