Cardiology

• Clarification of heart murmurs, cardiac arrhythmia or reduced performance
• Risk stratification for syncope (unclear loss of consciousness) and chest pain (pain in the chest area)
• Comprehensive clarification of elevated blood pressure values and drug therapy for arterial hypertension (high blood pressure)

• Diagnosis and long-term care of children with congenital heart disease before and after heart surgery or a heart catheterisation procedure
• Caring for children before and after a heart transplant
• Drug treatment of cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure
• Querying and programming children and adolescents with a pacemaker/defibrillator

• Diagnosis and treatment of infections of the heart (myocarditis, endocarditis, pericarditis), Kawasaki syndrome and rheumatic fever

• Diagnosis and therapy of cardiac manifestations in
  • Metabolic and endocrinological diseases
  • neurological diseases
  • haematological-oncological diseases
• Risk stratification prior to drug therapy with potential cardiac side effects (e.g. in ADHD)

• Collaboration with paediatric cardiac surgeons and specialists in cardiac catheterisation procedures
• Creation of individual treatment concepts in interdisciplinary conferences
• Getting to know the treatment teams and answering all questions before the planned procedure in joint discussions

If there is a heart defect that requires treatment, all findings are discussed in an interdisciplinary conference consisting of paediatric cardiology and paediatric cardiac surgery specialists and cardiac catheterisation specialists, and an individual treatment plan is drawn up.

Paediatric cardiac surgery specialists and paediatric cardiologists from the surgical centre who specialise in cardiac catheterisation procedures explain the planned heart procedure to parents and the further care of their child and are available to answer any questions in a personal discussion. This gives parents the opportunity to get to know the cardiology team at the Inselspital in Bern personally before the inpatient stay.

Even during an inpatient stay, the focus is on the family: one parent can always stay with the child; families can stay in the Ronald McDonald House Bern, live in the immediate vicinity of the heart centre.

For more information, please visit the website of the Children's Heart Network Bern-Basel or contact the paediatric cardiologists at UKBB directly.

Physical stress tests (spiroergometry) on a bicycle or treadmill can be used to determine individual cardio-pulmonary performance and evaluate blood pressure and heart rate behaviour during physical activity. Recommendations can be made on the choice and intensity of sporting activity for children with a congenital heart defect as well as training recommendations for young athletes.

• Query and individual programming of pacemakers/implantable defibrillators (AICD).
• Daily rhythm analysis and checking of the pacemaker function by telemonitoring.

• Ion channel diseases are genetic disorders of electrical signal transmission in the heart. They can lead to cardiac arrhythmia, loss of consciousness (syncope/fainting) or, in the worst case, sudden cardiac death.
• The most common diseases include long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.
• Close cooperation with the Institute of Human Genetics and the special consultation hours at the USB, especially for family examinations for individual risk stratification.

• Connective tissue diseases such as Marfan syndrome or related syndromes (e.g. the vascular type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or Loeys-Dietz syndrome) often affect the heart and large vessels.
• Early diagnosis is crucial to prevent serious complications such as enlargement of the aorta.

Interdisciplinary consultation appointments for children and young people with illnesses that require specialists in the Nephrology, Cardiology and Endocrinology require.

• Accompanying young people with congenital or acquired heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia into adulthood.
• Paediatric cardiologists at the UKBB and USB work together to support young people with congenital or acquired heart disease, cardiomyopathies or complex cardiac arrhythmias into adulthood. Consultations are held together with the respective specialised cardiology colleagues at the University Hospital Basel.
• With Prof. Dr Daniel Tobler, Senior Consultant in Cardiology, University Hospital Basel, there is a special consultation for adolescents/young adults with a congenital heart defect. The aim is to offer these patient groups continuous, comprehensive medical care tailored to their specific needs.