Cardiology

Our services include prenatal diagnosis (fetal diagnosis while a person is pregnant) through to early adulthood care. The cardiology team at BC Children’s Hospital delivers care and treatment options spanning a number of cardiology programs, including: 

• Pacific Adult Congenital Clinic
• Heart function
• Electrophysiology/pacemaker service
• Exercise laboratory and rehabilitation program
• Catheterization laboratory
• Echocardiography

In addition to the Cardiology Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital, our program runs community clinics in a range of rural and remote communities across Northern BC, the Interior and Yukon. The Community Outreach Program team includes a cardiologist, a nurse clinician and an echocardiographer who travel to outreach clinics to support children and youth with complex cardiac conditions.  

We also partner with other BC Children’s Hospital programs, including cardiovascular surgery teams, to deliver care to children and youth throughout their heart transplant journey.

Referral information

We accept referrals for children from across BC and Yukon with suspected or diagnosed heart conditions.  

For more information on the referral process, please visit the Cardiology Referral page.

Appointment details

We provide complete support and after-care, and often monitor children and youth as they grow and develop. 

During your first appointment, the cardiology team will assess your child and discuss your concerns. They will also complete a physical assessment. Your visit will take approximately two to three hours to allow us to provide a complete assessment.   

The cardiology team may perform certain tests on your child or youth, none of which should cause them pain. These may include:  

• Electrocardiogram (ECG): to check the electrical activity of your child’s heart
• Echocardiogram (Echo): an ultrasound that creates moving pictures of your child’s heart on a monitor screen. Some children (usually those who are less than three years old) may require a mild sedative
• Exercise and stress tests: an exercise ECG checks for changes in your child’s heart rate and rhythm while they exercise. We complete a resting ECG following an exercise ECG. We may ask your child to walk, speed-walk or jog on a treadmill while we monitor them
• Pacemaker checks: pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) need routine check-ups to ensure they are operating efficiently and to check their battery life

Rescheduling an appointment 

Please let us know if your child has been in contact with any infectious diseases (such as chickenpox or measles) in the three weeks before your appointment. We might need to reschedule your appointment if it is safe to do so.  

Contact us

Address:
4500 Oak St
Vancouver, BC
V6H 3N1 

Phone: 604-875-2120

Hours of service

We schedule our appointments for Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.