The Heart of Our Mission: Saving Children's Lives
Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common birth defect in the U.S., where approximately 40,000 babies are born with heart defects each year. It's estimated that there are 2 to 3 million people in the U.S. living with CHDs.
At Phoenix Children's, we're dedicated to ensuring that children with CHDs and other heart conditions can grow up to live long, healthy lives. Our Center for Heart Care is one of the largest pediatric cardiac programs in the country and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's top pediatric centers for cardiology and heart surgery. It also is home to one of the country's only programs for adults with congenital heart disease.
All of this is made possible by philanthropic support from our generous community. Donations allow the Center for Heart Care to:
- Recruit and hire top pediatric cardiologists.
- Purchase state-of-the-art equipment and technology.
- Fund research that improves patient care.
- Train the next generation of pediatric cardiologists.
- Support patient families experiencing financial hardship.
Learn about priority funding needs at the Center for Heart Care and how you can make a difference for our patients and their families.
By the Numbers
The Center for Heart Care is reaching new milestones, thanks to support from people like you.
20k+
cardiac patients annually
2k+
adult CHD clinic visits annually
550+
cardiac operations annually
160+
heart transplants performed to date
Meet Our Leader
Daniel Velez, MD, serves as co-director of the Center for Heart Care. A cardiothoracic surgeon with more than 20 years of experience, Dr. Velez is the division chief of cardiothoracic surgery and holds the Joseph and Shawn Lampe Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery. In 2019, he made history by leading the team that operated on the youngest patient in the world to receive a total artificial heart.
Priority Funding Needs
Philanthropic support allows us to advance heart care by providing the resources to evaluate and improve clinical care, conduct and publish cutting-edge research, attract top talent, and educate the clinicians and researchers of the future.
A philanthropic investment of $375,000 ($125,000 per year for three years) will fund a dedicated cardiology care coordinator. This role is essential for ensuring seamless, family-centered care for children with heart disease—coordinating discharge planning, education and follow-up, and serving as a vital link between inpatient and outpatient teams. Support for this position will help reduce preventable emergency visits and readmissions, ease caregiver stress and set a new standard for coordinated, compassionate care at Phoenix Children’s.
For children and adolescents with heart conditions, exercise stress testing is a critical diagnostic tool. It allows cardiologists to assess how the heart performs under physical activity, measure exercise capacity, detect exertional arrhythmias and develop safe, personalized activity and sports-participation plans. Exercise stress testing also plays a vital role in monitoring disease progression, planning interventions and guiding post-operative rehabilitation.
To meet community need in both the West Valley and the East Valley, Phoenix Children’s seeks philanthropic investment of $208,000 to establish exercise stress lab testing at the Avondale Campus and the Tempe location. Today, families often travel to the Thomas Campus for this service. Expanding to Avondale and Tempe will reduce barriers, shorten wait times, and increase capacity for high-quality cardiac evaluations where they are needed most.
- “Your generosity can give hope to families and save lives by providing access to breakthrough pediatric care. At the Center for Heart Care, nothing but the latest technology is used to achieve the best outcomes.”Daniel Velez, MDCo-Director, Center for Heart Care; Division Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery; Joseph and Shawn Lampe Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery
Stories of Hope and Healing
Your gift helps ensure that Arizona's pediatric heart patients get the lifesaving care they deserve.
