During the past 50 years, the world-renowned team of medical and surgical professionals of the Children's Memorial Heart Center has treated virtually every known type of heart problem and has helped thousands of children and families. The Heart Center's team members — consisting of cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, technologists, psychologists and others — are especially skilled in providing the special care that children need.

Grace Hanson sits with her mother, Kirsten, while advanced practice nurse, Elizabeth Preze, checks her heartbeat.

One of the most recent innovations being performed by doctors at Children's Memorial combines surgery and arrhythmia treatment in one setting to correct congenital heart disease of patients who had the Fontan procedure. (The Fontan procedure was developed in 1968 to treat complex congenital heart defects.)

Although the most acute and most technologically advanced care is provided at the hospital's main campus in Chicago, physicians with the Heart Center also deliver leading-edge cardiac care at several conveniently located suburban sites.

For example, since 1993, thanks to the advances of telemedicine, more than 1,000 infants have been diagnosed by Children's pediatric cardiologists at outlying nurseries; only nine of these babies had to be actually transported to Children's for specialized care. All others received their care close to home.

The expertise of the professionals at Children's Memorial Heart Center is backed by the vast array of other highly qualified subspecialists who are on hand, many of whom are regarded among the nation's best.