Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) in California, US, has opened a new clinic to provide prenatal and neonatal cardiac care.  

Located adjacent to CHLA in the Hollywood Presbyterian Doctors Tower, the new Fetal Cardiac Clinic has more than 3,000ft² of space, as well as three rooms for foetal cardiology scanning. 

It has a team of specialists, who is trained in diagnosing and treating several congenital heart diseases and defects before birth. 

CHLA is equipped with various prenatal diagnostic tools for evaluating the condition of foetal hearts.  

Some of these tools include foetal echocardiograms, 3D/4D ultrasound, and foetal magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing complex conditions and customising treatments to enhance patient outcomes.  

In addition, the cardiac clinic at CHLA provides maternal hyperoxygenation testing (MHO), a method to check heart and lung transition issues from prenatal to postnatal stages in high-risk foetal heart disease cases. 

According to CHLA, understanding the impact of heart defects on lung flow before birth is challenging since foetuses do not use their lungs to breathe. 

MHO testing available at the clinic enables the medical team to better predict outcomes and plan appropriate delivery and postnatal care. 

Other services offered at the cardiac clinic include foetal arrhythmia diagnosis and management, prenatal to postnatal care integration, foetal cardiac interventions, cardiothoracic surgery consultations, and foetal congestive heart failure evaluation and management. 

CHLA further highlighted that it offers a foetal cardiology program, which is an integral part of the Heart Institute at the hospital. 

This programme is supported by a team of foetal cardiologists, foetal nurse care managers, sonographers, interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, as well as other specialists. 

CHLA foetal cardiology programme director Jodie Votava-Smith said: “As a leader in complex prenatal diagnosis, CHLA’s team of specialists is uniquely equipped to provide families with exceptional medical care and emotional support for every step of the journey, as well as cutting-edge research programmes and clinical trials aimed at supporting pregnant mothers and improving neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with congenital heart disease.” 

In 2021, CHLA opened a Neurological Institute Outpatient Centre at its Sunset Boulevard campus in California. 

The Heart Institute at Children's Hospital Los Angeles celebrates the opening of the new foetal cardiac clinic with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.