
In the Heart Area we have the best experts to treat all manner of cardiac illnesses.
The Heart Area comprises the different departments which provide services to patients with diseases: the Cardiology Department and the Heart Surgery Department.
Our professionals diagnose and treat babies, children and adolescents who present with congenital structural heart defects, arrhythmias and cardiac electric conduction disorders, and congenital or acquired heart pathologies from the fetal stage to adulthood.
We strive to offer the patient the best possible treatment with the standards of the best hospitals in the world. We are one of the areas with the lowest surgical mortality rates in Europe, as well as a very low re-operation rate.
Accreditations
National reference centre (CSUR), recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Health, in Infant Cardiac Surgery and treatment of congenital heart disease in children and neonates.
National reference centre (CSUR) in Pediatric Arrhythmology and Electrophysiology
Why SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital?
The Heart Area is one of the areas with the lowest surgical mortality rates in Europe, as well as a very low re-operation rate.
Our experience and efficacy
The Heart Area is one of the areas with the lowest surgical mortality rates in Europe, as well as a very low re-operation rate.
- We treat more than 8,000 children with heart disorders every year (i.e. an average of 32 patients per day).
- The Heart Unit of SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is one of the units with the lowest surgical mortality in Europe and a low incidence of repeat interventions. Every year, we successfully perform 250 surgical interventions. The survival rate for our cardiac surgery patients is 98.8%.
- We have the best experts in fetal and neonatal surgery. The heart, arteries and blood vessels of newborns are extremely fragile. Our surgical experts have successfully operated on the smallest cardiopathy patient in the world, a baby girl weighing 1300 grams.
Heart defects are diagnosed and treated early with minimal hospitalisation so that the child's life can go back to normal as soon as possible.
Our personalised, patient-centred multidisciplinary care
Heart defects are diagnosed and treated early with minimal hospitalisation so that the child's life can go back to normal as soon as possible.
- Our multidisciplinary team includes cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatric and neonatal intensive care specialists, perfusionists, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists and nutritionists.
- Our surgeons use the most appropriate technique for each case, always making sure it is the least invasive to ensure a better postoperative recovery.
- We work hard to provide the best hospital stay when a congenital heart disease requires surgery. Following their operation, our inpatients spend 7-8 days recovering, half the time of other Spanish pediatric hospitals.
Currently, our outcomes are better than the European average (European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Registry) and equivalent to leading centres worldwide such as Boston Children's Hospital. The survival rate for our cardiac surgery patients is 98.8%.
Recognition of our excellence
Currently, our outcomes are better than the European average (European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Registry) and equivalent to leading centres worldwide such as Boston Children's Hospital. The survival rate for our cardiac surgery patients is 98.8%.
We are a national reference centre (CSUR), recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Health, in Pediatric Arrhythmology and Electrophysiology, Infant Cardiac Surgery and treatment of congenital heart disease in children and neonates.
Our outcomes
Visits by children with heart disorders
Surgeries per year
Survival rate after surgery
Less than 1% of our patients need to undergo further surgery in the immediate postoperative period due to complications.
Specialties and services
Related Units
We are the reference hospital for the treatment of paediatric arrhythmias and familiar cardiopathies in Spain.
Treatments we offer
Our cardiovascular surgery professionals
“We treat more than 8,000 children with heart disorders every year. We are proud to have the highest survival rate in Europe.”
Our cardiology professionals
Anaesthesiology
Nursing
- Isaac Moll Adrián
- Silvia Torner Sola
- M. Teresa Equirol López
- Laura Obón Jiménez
- Cristina Rey Gómez
- Laia Combalia Colomer
- Ariadna Sánchez Herranz
Perfusion
- Rosa Aguilar Villalba
- Sonia Acero Amaya
- Esther Vallmajó Roura
Research
The Heart Area has its own research group called Cardiovascular Diseases in Development. It was created within the Cardiology Department at SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital and currently consists of three main lines of research.
- The first is led by Dr Georgia Sarquella and the activity is focused on arrhythmias and sudden death.
- The second, led by Dr Sánchez de Toledo and Dr Camprubí, studies the impact of congenital heart disease on babies’ development and, more specifically, on their neurodevelopment.
- The focus of the third line is studying the impact on the heart of systemic diseases such as sepsis and viral infections.
Teaching
SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is a university hospital affiliated with the Universitat de Barcelona, and so we share our knowledge and train professionals to specialise in high-complexity medicine.
Master’s degree in Pediatric Cardiology
The objective of the Master's Degree in Pediatric Cardiology is to provide comprehensive training in the Pediatric Cardiology subspecialty. It is aimed at graduates in Medicine and Surgery who have specialised in Pediatrics or Adult Cardiology.
Duration: 2 course
Management: Dr. Joaquim Bartrons Casas
Qualification: Master (own title of the Universitat de Barcelona)
Accreditation: 126 ECTS credit