Thanks to advances in medical and surgical care, most people born with serious congenital heart defects (CHD) are now surviving long into adulthood. Adults with CHD continue to need care throughout their lives. These patients are best served by clinicians who understand their complex and unique needs.
Boston Children's Hospital has a lifetime commitment to these patients through the Boston Adult Congenital Heart (BACH) and Pulmonary Hypertension Division. In partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we offer a full range of inpatient and outpatient clinical services to adults with CHD and pulmonary hypertension, from diagnosis to cardiac catheterization and surgical repair. What’s more, we’re devoted to helping our patients maximize their physical, emotional, medical, and social health.
Our program sees more than 3,000 adults annually. While many of our patients have been treated at Boston Children's Hospital their entire lives, we also welcome new patients — of every age. There is no form of CHD or pulmonary hypertension that’s too complex for our team.
Meet our BACH patients
Committed to providing a lifetime of care to patients, our program offers a full range of care to adults with heart disease.
Our depth of experience in adult congenital heart disease
The BACH program provides comprehensive care to adult patients living with CHD. We are committed to advancing care by training future leaders in our field as well as advancing medical science through research. All of our doctors are involved with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC).
The BACH program is also closely involved with the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA), a national patient-run group that lobbies to improve the quality of life of adults with CHD through education, outreach, and promotion of research. Our program is one of the first in the country to receive ACHA accreditation. In fact, we are one of the few accredited adult CHD programs in New England; we have one of the largest ACHD programs in the country. We are honored to have worked with ACHA since its inception, and we continue to serve as members on its medical advisory board. Over the years, we have worked with ACHA to create standards of excellence for adults living with CHD.
Why choose BACH?
Boston Children's has been home to some of the greatest medical and social innovations for adults with congenital heart diseases. Our program is staffed by specially trained doctors and nurses who are dedicated to helping all of our patients find their own pathway to success.
We provide world-class, comprehensive care by coordinating and collaborating in many different areas. Our services — in outpatient and inpatient as well as intensive care — include:
- advanced cardiovascular imaging
- cardiac and non-cardiac surgeries
- cardiac anesthesia guidance
- catheter-based diagnostics and interventions
- electrophysiologic diagnostics and interventions
- heart failure management and transplantation evaluation
- vascular medicine diagnostics and therapies
- pulmonary hypertension diagnostics and therapies
- support for young patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care
- contraception and family planning
- comprehensive women’s health
- family and patient support and guidance
- financial and advocacy guidance
Whenever needed, our team collaborates with a wide range of specialists from other medical disciplines to provide a full spectrum of care for our patients. We routinely work with electrophysiologists, cardiac surgeons, obstetricians, gynecologists, intensivists, pulmonologists, hematologists and oncologists, gastroenterologists, nephrologists, and dentists.
Senior Fellowship Program
We offer a two-year multi-institutional fellowship program in adult congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension at Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The program accepts two fellows each year.
