An estimated one million adults in the United States are living with congenital heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While their life expectancy and quality of life keep improving due to better treatments, many adults lack appropriate follow-up care and lifestyle counseling that can help them stay healthy at various stages in life.
Why Riley at IU Health?
Why Riley at IU Health?
The Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Program at Riley at IU Health offers comprehensive care for people who need lifelong monitoring for heart conditions. Our team of experts can manage the unique healthcare needs that accompany congenital heart disease.
Our experienced team includes adult and pediatric cardiologists and congenital surgeons along with additional healthcare providers who are specially trained to diagnose, treat and manage even the most complex congenital heart defects.
Why See an Adult Congenital Heart Specialist?
When follow-up care is ignored or neglected, adults born with congenital heart defects face a range of health risks, especially if they have unrelated healthcare delivered by providers who may not fully understand or know about a patient’s heart condition. Even the most ordinary procedure can be risky if it is not carefully coordinated.
Although many congenital heart defects are successfully repaired in childhood, people with heart conditions need to be monitored all through life. Our specialists provide lifelong care, customized for your condition. We can educate you about symptoms and guide you through many lifestyle decisions—from family planning to exercise. Staying current with a qualified specialist ensures that your total health is managed in concert with your heart condition and other changes that can affect your health.
Multidisciplinary Care for Adults With Congenital Heart Disease
Riley at IU Health, in close collaboration with the Indiana University Health Heart & Vascular team, serves all adults with congenital heart defects. Our multidisciplinary team provides:
- Diagnosis and treatment for symptoms of congenital heart disease that happen for the first time well past childhood
- Access to clinical trials offering the newest therapies and treatments
- Coordinated care for mothers and unborn babies affected by congenital heart disease, delivered by maternal-fetal medicine specialists trained to manage and support high-risk pregnancies
- Pre-conception, genetic and birth control counseling, through our Reproductive Health, Pregnancy and Congenital Heart Disease Program and Cardiovascular Genetics Program
- Comprehensive follow-up care for heart complications that may accompany congenital heart defects, such as arrhythmias, heart failure, infection and stroke
- An easy transition for young adults who are ready for an adult-focused program
- Reproductive healthcare for adolescents who are becoming sexually mature
- Sophisticated diagnostic and imaging technology, supported by skilled professionals—both of which are necessary to plan unique heart procedures
- Interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons who work together to deliver customized care for complex anatomies
- Corrective Surgeries such as Fontan procedure revision, Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) closure, pulmonary valve replacement and repairs, aortic valve replacement and repairs, coarctation repairs and repairs for any other heart defects or valve condition
- Catheter intervention to include Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), Ventricular Septal Defects and Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) closure, balloon valvuloplasty and stenting to relieve narrowing and valve replacement
- Electrophysiology study, catheter ablation of arrhythmia and device placement such as pacemaker and defibrillator.
Close collaboration between highly skilled pediatric and adult cardiologists at Riley at IU Health and IU Health gives adults with congenital heart defects access to a wide range of advanced treatments and procedures. These options are only available through a comprehensive program that combines specialized experts and resources together in one place. Our multidisciplinary team meets on a weekly basis to discuss each case and plan optimal care for each patient.
The Riley Heart Center is one of only 30+ locations in the United States certified to implant total artificial hearts and perform heart transplants. As a pediatric healthcare system that is steeped in research and innovation, Riley at IU Health provides treatments that significantly improve quality of life for adults with the most complex heart defects and heart conditions that were once untreatable.
As a world-class resource for people of all ages who have congenital heart disease, we are committed to helping patients manage their conditions and plan for optimal health. Visit the Riley Heart Center to learn more about the education, support and multidisciplinary care available at Riley at IU Health.
Conditions & Services
Conditions Treated
Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.
Services Offered
We offer a number of different Adults with Congenital Heart Disease services. Below are some, but not all, of the services that we provide. If you have a question about a specific service that is not listed here, please contact our program.
Doctors and
Locations
Doctors
Transplant Surgery, Pediatric Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery
317.944.7150
4.7 out of 5 stars
(137 ratings)
Score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized NRC Health Patient Experience Survey.
Learn About SurveyPediatric Cardiology
317.944.8906
4.6 out of 5 stars
(117 ratings)
Score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized NRC Health Patient Experience Survey.
Learn About SurveyInterventional Cardiology, Cardiology
317.962.0500
4.8 out of 5 stars
(83 ratings)
Score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized NRC Health Patient Experience Survey.
Learn About SurveyPediatric Cardiology
317.944.8906
Transplant Surgery, Pediatric Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery
317.944.1121Locations
Locations
In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.
Program Forms & Resources
Program Forms & Resources
These resources can help you learn more about how to manage congenital heart disease.
Resources
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Riley at IU Health has created this resource to help ease our patients in transitioning from pediatric to adult care.
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This website, published by the American College of Cardiology, shares guidelines on care for adults with congenital heart disease. It also offers helpful information about conditions and treatments.
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National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
This research institute is part of the National Institutes of Health and publishes extensive information about congenital heart disease.
Related Programs & Departments
Related Programs & Departments
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related programs & departments.
Related Stories
Related Stories
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Dr. John Brown first operated on Richard Aurs when Aurs was a little boy. Forty years later, they met again in an operating room.
Continue readingHealth Professionals
For Health Professionals
Specialists at the Riley Heart Center work with primary care physicians and cardiologists to provide advanced care for adults with congenital heart disease. Referring physicians may contact us at 317.944.8906 and 317.962.9700, or by fax at 317.968.1275 and 317.962.9704.
Refer A Patient
We welcome new patients affected by congenital heart disease through referrals from primary care physicians. Contact us at 317.944.8906 or 317.962.9700.
Refer A PatientResearch
Riley Heart Center specialists are active researchers who improve care for congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease through innovation. At any given time, they are engaged in numerous clinical trials and research to find better treatment options. A team of physicians, researchers and coordinators at the Riley Heart Center collect outcome data for research purposes by pediatric cardiovascular specialists working with multiple research partners, including the Indiana University School of Medicine. They also support continuous process improvement at the Riley Heart Center. Bench researchers at the Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research collaborate with our physicians on studies related to heart failure in children.
Education
The Riley Heart Center offers formal fellowship training for physicians who want to advance their experience in pediatric cardiology, critical care and cardiac surgery. Part of the cardiology fellowship program at Indiana University School of Medicine includes an optional rotation within the Adults With Congenital Heart Disease Program at Riley at IU Health. Visit the Indiana University School of Medicine website for details about our fellowship program.