Maternal Heart Program

Making Pregnancy Possible for Patients with Heart Disease

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women is making pregnancy possible for women with heart disease through our Maternal Heart Program, an innovative program that optimizes safety and outcomes in these high-risk pregnancies.

Here, you will be cared for by specialists in both high-risk pregnancies and heart disease together in the same visit. This real-time collaboration offers a unique advantage in managing your pregnancy and minimizing your risks every step of the way.

A Proven Approach

Studies have shown specialized care and a collaborative approach are important to managing the increased risks that pregnancy poses to women with heart disease, including:

• Arrhythmias (irregular heart beat)
• Pulmonary edema (excess fluid in the lungs)
• Premature birth
• Poor fetal growth
• A congenital heart defect in your baby

Patient Benefits

We offer mothers-to-be with heart disease:

• Convenient “one-stop” appointments at the Pavilion for Women for all clinic services except maternal echocardiograms (ECHOs)
• Pre-conception counseling with a maternal-fetal-medicine specialist and a cardiologist, who together can assess your personal risk of pregnancy
• Improved communication and coordination across your medical team, critical success factors in your high-risk pregnancy
• Experts with years of experience treating pregnant women with heart disease
• The most advanced technologies and treatments available for high-risk pregnancies and births, a hallmark of the Pavilion for Women
• New hope for those with congenital or acquired heart problems
• Close collaboration with your obstetrician
• Increased confidence and peace of mind, knowing your medical team is on the same page
• Access to fetal and neonatal specialists, should your baby have any health problems in the womb or after delivery

A Uniquely Qualified Team

Our specialists are highly experienced, with a depth of knowledge unique to our program. You and your baby will benefit from the expert care of:

Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists

• Manisha Gandhi, MD
• Amir Shamshirsaz, MD

​Cardiologists

• Peter R. Ermis, MD
• Angeline Opina, MD
• Katherine Salciccioli, MD

Advancing Treatment and Outcomes

We do more than help patients have successful pregnancies. 

Our specialists are dedicated to ongoing research and education on women’s heart health and pregnancy. We continue to advance the understanding and treatment of these high-risk pregnancies, for healthier moms and children.

Additional Resources

• Navigating pregnancy with heart disease