The Pediatric Cardiology Department at KidsHearts in Brampton and Etobicoke is a specialized department for children addressing all kinds’ congenital heart condition and acquired heart diseases. We treat children as young as a few hours old up to the age of 18 years. With the use of state of the art diagnostic equipment and treatment modalities, you will be assured that your child’s heart condition will be assessed properly and treated accordingly.
Transthoracic, Transesophageal & Intracardiac Echocardiography
- Transthoracic Echo (TTE): This is an ultrasound of the heart; the corner stone of diagnosing structural heart abnormalities.
- Transesophegeal Echo (TEE): This is an ultrasound of the heart through a small camera inserted in the esophagus & stomach (when needed). Usually performed under sedation or anesthesia.
- Intracardiac Echo (ICE): This ultrasound of the heart is performed from ‘within’ the heart. The catheter that contains the camera is inserted in the vein into the heart chambers. This is usually performed during interventional cardiac catheterization procedures.
Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
The Electrocardiogram is a graphical representation of the electrical work of heart muscle. It is useful in looking for heart rhythm problems, heart enlargement and other cardiac problems.
24-hour ECG (Holter) & Cardiac Event Monitor
The Holter is a device that is worn and attached to child’s chest to record the heart rhythm over 1-2 days.
The Event Monitor on other hand operates wirelessly and is smaller than the Holter. It is used over long periods to record the ECG when needed at home, and is activated during the ‘event’ by either the patient or a parent.
Arrhythmia Management & Pacemaker Programing
The pacemaker is ‘interrogated’ its settings adjusted on regular basis using a special computer (Programmer).
Exercise (Stress) Testing
The Exercise (Stress) Test shows how well the child’s heart works and adjusts to different levels of activity.
The workload achieved by running a specified distance helps diagnose various cardiac abnormalities as well guide children exercise capacity and sports participation.
Interventional Cardiac Catheterization
Certain cardiac defects can be managed in the cath lab without surgery. Cardiac Catheterization is a procedure performed in affiliated hospitals by Dr. Hamdan to treat child’s heart defect using special techniques and a tools.
Such techniques perform the repair without surgically opening the chest and heart.