Children with cardiomyopathy receive comprehensive care from the team in the cardiomyopathy program in the Heart Institute at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. The program is recognized as a Center of Care by the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation.

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle in which it becomes abnormally large, thick or stiff, causing damage to the heart muscle cells and tissue around the heart. Learn more about the causes and symptoms of cardiomyopathy.

The Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation’s Cardiomyopathy Centers of Care Program recognizes medical centers with expertise in pediatric cardiomyopathy. A hospital that is a recognized Center of Care provides high-quality cardiac care and specialized disease management to children with cardiomyopathy.

Why Choose Johns Hopkins All Children’s

The Cardiomyopathy Program at Johns Hopkins All Children’s is recognized as a Center of Care by the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation for providing high-quality cardiac care and specialized disease management to children with cardiomyopathy.

We are also the only pediatric center in the region that provides options for ventricular assist devices, as part of our advanced cardiac therapy program.

What to Expect

Your child will have a physical exam, and we will review family history to determine if your child’s cardiomyopathy may have a genetic component. Diagnosis will often involve several tests, which may include:

• Echocardiogram (ECG)
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Genetic testing, if there is a family history of cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac death
• Blood tests
• Cardiac MRI
• Cardiac catheterization and biopsy

Your child’s pediatric cardiologist will explain the tests needed to best meet your child’s individual needs.

Treatment

Your child’s treatment for cardiomyopathy will depend on the type and severity of their condition. For many children with cardiomyopathy, it can be treated with medication to improve heart function.

In some rare cases, cardiomyopathy may cause a patient’s heart to become progressively weaker, leading to heart failure that requires transplantation. Our heart transplant team includes cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatric cardiologists, nurse practitioners, nurses and heart transplant coordinators who work together to treat complex heart disease through heart transplantation. Learn more about the heart transplant program.

We also work with the heart surgery team to treat children using ventricular assist devices that support heart function and improve quality of life for children whose cardiomyopathy leads to heart failure. For children who will need a heart transplant, a ventricular assist device can support the heart until transplant. Johns Hopkins All Children’s is the only pediatric center in the region for ventricular assist devices.

Some patients may also benefit from an implantable device called a biventricular pacemaker that resynchronizes the heart and corrects an irregular heart rhythm. This helps to improve heart function and the heart’s ability to pump blood. The team in our Pediatric Electrophysiology program provides this expertise for our patients.

Cardiomyopathy patients are seen by our team in our specialized clinic, so they can see their cardiologist and have any testing and blood work completed in the same location.