Leading the Region: Seattle Children’s Heart Center Is the Standard for Cardiac Care

Seattle Children’s serves patients across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country. Within this vast landscape, Seattle Children’s Heart Center stands as a recognized leader in pediatric cardiology, delivering comprehensive care from prenatal diagnosis through young adulthood. For community providers, choosing where to refer complex cardiac patients is a critical decision. The Heart Center separates itself as a reliable partner built on superior clinical outcomes, deep subspecialty expertise and a commitment to family-centered care.

Relentless Pursuit of Clinical Excellence

For more than a decade, U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked the Heart Center among the top pediatric cardiology and heart surgery programs in the country, which means your patient will be cared for by the very best.

High procedural and surgical volumes drive the clinical proficiency of the Heart Center team. In 2025, the team performed 577 pediatric heart surgeries, the most in the region. Early adoption of innovative therapies, new devices and interventional techniques, contributes to the team being nationally recognized as experts in specialty pediatric cardiology care.

The program’s commitment to tracking and improving quality is reflected in its participation in national collaboratives like the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium. These efforts contribute to outcomes that far surpass national averages, including a 87.19% three-year patient survival rate for heart transplants.

Subspecialty Expertise

Seattle Children’s Heart Center provides full-spectrum care, from prenatal diagnosis as early as 14 weeks to the transition into adult congenital heart disease management.

One program that sets the Heart Center apart is Seattle Children’s Heart Failure Program. This is the only one in the Pacific Northwest with the depth of expertise to offer every type of therapy for heart failure in patients. The center has medical and surgical expertise and the latest technology to handle the most complex cases. The team provides coordinated, comprehensive care for more than 350 children with heart failure each year.

The center also uses cardiac catheterization and hybrid procedures to help hundreds of children each year avoid open-heart surgery by using new techniques and innovative devices. With cardiac catheterization, pediatric cardiologists can treat heart valve disease, such as aortic or pulmonary stenosis and many other conditions. For certain complex heart problems, the team performs hybrid procedures, which combine catheterization and surgery. This depth of expertise and innovation allows the team to manage high-complexity, rare conditions that exceed the capabilities of other regional programs.

Multidisciplinary Care Coordination and Family Support

Recognizing that a child’s heart condition affects the entire family, the center utilizes an embedded multidisciplinary model. This team includes social workers, nutritionists, and care coordinators who collaborate to improve healthcare experiences and outcomes for patients and their families by meeting emotional and nutritional needs.

To reduce barriers to care, the center helps families coordinate travel and housing. Seattle Children’s also provides culturally responsive care and interpreter services to ensure all families feel informed and supported.

Access and Reliability

Same- or next-day appointments for urgent cases are available. Most other needs can have appointments scheduled within seven days. The outreach program stretches from the hospital campus in Seattle to the Arctic Circle, so families can access care when and where they need it.

With 28 clinic locations across Washington, Alaska and Montana, the Heart Center is continually growing to ensure that top-tier cardiac care is always within reach.

For more information: Visit the Heart Center web page to read more about programs and how to refer patients.