Paediatric Cardiology is the specialty concerned with diseases of the heart in the growing and developing individual.
Paediatric cardiologists investigate and treat patients with congenital or acquired heart disease, diseases of cardiac rhythm and conduction, and disturbances of cardiac and circulatory function. The specialty provides a service from foetal life through childhood into adulthood. There is close liaison with paediatrics and its sub-specialties, and with cardiothoracic surgery, adult cardiology, obstetrics, radiology and pathology.
The specialty is well-suited to those who like dealing with the presenting emergency problems in neonates and infants, while working in close contact with the families to achieve rapid improvement and/or cure in most of their patients and to see them through to adulthood. Many of the clinical scenarios faced by paediatric cardiologists require a high level biopsychosocial approach.