Pediatric Cardiology Young Child First Visit
What to expect at you Young Child's First Visit
Welcome to the Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon! We’ve been caring for children and adults with congenital heart disease since 1986. Our pediatric heart program has pioneered several advances in the treatment of congenital heart disease. When you visit with us, you can rest assured that your child is in the absolute best hands.
Doctor Referrals
If you’ve been referred to the Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon after visiting with your child’s pediatrician or your family doctor, that means your primary care provider has determined that your child requires additional evaluation.
Here’s a brief list of just some of the reasons why your doctor may have referred you or your child to PCCO:
Heart Murmurs
Syncope (loss of consciousness due to a drop in blood pressure)
Chest Pains
Test Results (for example, an EKG or an echocardiogram) require further analysis and/or evaluation
Clearance for Sports Participation
Family history of congenital heart disease
Your physician has likely ordered tests to be performed by the staff at PCCO; we’ll be sure to go over those test results with you so that you have all the information you need to have additional conversations with your doctor about care.
Heart Tests
Some of the tests your doctor may have ordered include:
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG): This test monitors electrical impulses in the child’s heart. It’s a simple procedure, and it usually takes very little time to perform. It won’t hurt your child at all, and you can even have the child sit on your lap while we perform the EKG.
Here’s how we perform an EKG. Stickers are placed on your child’s arms, legs, and chest. These are then attached to small clips. (Please note: It is best if no lotion has been applied to the child’s body on the day of the appointment; this can make it difficult to get the stickers to adhere to the skin.)
Echocardiogram (or echo): This test converts the heart’s sound waves into digital images. The technology is similar to an ultrasound, which most if not all expectant mothers are quite familiar with.
The test is done right here in our office and shouldn’t take more than 20 or 30 minutes. We may request your assistance to keep your child still so that we can get the clearest images possible.
Afterward, the doctor will discuss the results with you and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
Non Urgent and Follow-up Appointments
Non urgent and follow-up appointments can be made by calling our office Monday – Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm. We currently do not schedule more than 6 months out for follow-up appointments. PLEASE have your insurance card available.
We do our best to accommodate our patients’ needs during an appointment. When requesting an appointment, please be as detailed as possible about your child and the reason that he/she is being referred so that we may reserve the appropriate amount of time with the most suitable cardiologist to give you and your child the best possible care. If your child has had previous cardiac testing (i.e. electrocardiogram (or EKG), echocardiogram, or chest x-ray) please inform us when scheduling the appointment as these results are useful to our cardiologists when they evaluate your child.
If you are unable to keep an appointment, please call the office at least 24 hours in advance to cancel or reschedule. A $50 Late Cancellation/No Show fee will be charged to you directly if less than 24-hour notice is given. We do understand that emergencies occur and are willing to discuss these situations upon cancellation to avoid charging you the $50 fee.
What you will need upon check-in
On the day of your appointment, please bring the following;
Current insurance card
Co-payment (if required)
You will be asked to verify all of the information that we have taken over the phone when scheduling the appointment. If any of this information has changed (i.e. phone numbers, address, primary care physician) we ask that you update us at the time of check-in as to help ensure that payment for your care is as smooth as possible.
