Pediatric Cardiology Subspecialty Programs

Located in the Texas Medical Center, ACHD trainees at Baylor College of Medicine have the unique privilege of managing an enormous spectrum of patients and cardiac conditions. Partnerships between several hospitals within the medical center affords trainees an opportunity to participate in the complete continuum of cardiac care for the adolescent and adult. ACHD fellows are expected to care for inpatients, outpatients and to perform interventional procedures alongside a team of faculty members. This two-year program also promotes research with scholarly work supported throughout the duration of the program.

The Pediatric Cardiology Advanced Imaging Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine is a one-year program offering advanced training in noninvasive cardiac imaging.

The fellows receive extensive training in transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. In addition, advanced imaging fellows with focus on obtaining additional expertise in fetal cardiology, functional cardiac assessment and/or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Our program provides a unique interface among critical care medicine, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and cardiac anesthesia. Candidates will experience a wide breadth of cardiac critical care from more than 1,000 admissions per year, including preoperative care of newborns with congenital heart disease, thoracic organ transplantation, ECMO, ventricular assist devices and one of the largest cardiomyopathy/heart failure populations in the country.

The clinical content is designed for the individual candidate's previous experience and training and focuses on developing clinical knowledge and skills specifically in the area of pediatric cardiac critical care. The divisions of Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine are the sites of NIH funded Research Training Grants in Cardiology and Pulmonary Development. Additionally, the candidate is exposed to a quality research experience available through Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

Our curriculum is a mixture of didactic lectures, directed reading conferences, morbidity and mortality conferences and journal clubs. The fellows and staff play an active role in both scheduling and participating in these conferences. Conferences occur three times a week. All fellows engage in research (basic science, translational, clinical) according to ABP guidelines and requirements for fellowship.

The Arrhythmia and Pacing Service at the Heart Center at Texas Children’s Hospital is part of an integrated team committed to caring for infants, children and adolescents with heart rhythm and related disorders. In addition, we care for those adults who have undergone palliative surgery of their congenital heart defects with resultant arrhythmias.

We annually perform over 200 electrophysiology studies and ablations of arrhythmic substrates using the newest mapping techniques including 3-D reconstruction and magnetic navigation. Ablative lesions for cure of arrhythmia substrates includes the use of radiofrequency current and cryoablative techniques (freezing) where appropriate.

The Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital Heart Failure and Transplant service is one of the most active in the country. We consistently rank among the highest in number of pediatric heart transplants performed annually. A fellow in our subspecialty training program will take part in all aspects of patient care as it relates to heart failure, cardiomyopathy and transplant. We also have a very active program in mechanical circulatory support. Temporary support devices utilized include ECMO, Rotaflow and the percutaneously placed Impella device. Long term support devices include the Berlin Heart, HeartWare HVAD and SynCardia Total Artificial Heart. Part of the time will be spent in our first-of-its-kind Pediatric Heart Failure Intensive Care Unit. Fellows will be expected to participate in research endeavors in addition to clinical patient care. Research and clinical care will be supervised by a highly accomplished faculty group with the aim of producing an individual who is ready to become a productive member in the field of Pediatric Heart Failure and Transplant Medicine.

The training program in interventional cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital offers an educational experience unmatched by most programs in the world. Annually we perform well over 1000 cases that span the entire spectrum of congenital heart disease. Our interventional fellows have hands-on experience in diagnostic and interventional procedures including atrial septostomy, device occlusion, ductal stenting and transcatheter valve implantation, among others. Our interventional fellows are expected to achieve excellence in their technical skills and are also supported in their efforts to produce academic research. The subspecialty fellow will be called upon to guide junior fellows during their cath rotations, so an interest in teaching is encouraged.

Improving patient experience, safety, and outcomes is a priority at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. Advanced training in Quality Improvement is available with the goal of training the next generation of physicians in safety science and improvement methodology. This one-year fellowship is designed to build on the CLER education in quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) by immersing the fellow in didactic education, hands-on QI project design and implementation and hospital-wide safety work. Advanced QI training is usually paired with training in an additional subspecialty.

Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship
Dr. Katie Salciccioli – kbsalci1@texaschildrens.org

Pediatric Electrophysiology Fellowship
Taylor Howard – tshoward@texaschildrens.org

Advanced Training Program Coordinator
Jose Soto- jrsoto@texaschildrens.org