Second Opinions for Pediatric Heart Conditions

If your child has been diagnosed with a heart condition, or if you have adult congenital heart disease, you probably have a lot of questions: What’s the best path forward? Am I asking the right questions? Are we in the best place for care?

Experts in the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado offer second opinions to answer all your questions and make sure you or your child receives the best possible treatment.

We offer second opinions for a wide range of pediatric heart conditions, including those that require surgery. You can take comfort in knowing you’re getting sound advice from pediatric heart experts who achieve some of the best outcomes (success rates) in the country.

How to get a second opinion for your child

Our Heart Institute offers two options for getting a second opinion from our pediatric providers: in-person and virtual.

In-person second opinions

Getting a second opinion from our experts is easy. First, schedule an initial informational phone call with our team. We’ll collect your child’s health information, choose the best provider to see your child and schedule your appointment.

Virtual second opinions

Our virtual second opinions allow you to get an evaluation from our experts, no matter where you live. Simply fill out our virtual second opinion request form below and a nurse will contact you to gather your child’s health information, walk you through the virtual second opinion process and schedule a virtual consultation with the best specialist for your child. A virtual second opinion costs $750. We're not able to offer virtual second opinions for adult congenital heart disease.

Learn more about our virtual second opinions

Why request a second opinion from Children’s Colorado’s Heart Institute?

At the Heart Institute, we see more, treat more and heal more kids with heart conditions than any other children’s hospital in the Rocky Mountain region. And we have the expertise and experience to treat adults who have lived with congenital heart disease. Our outcomes consistently place us as one of the top pediatric heart programs in the country. U.S. News and World Report ranks us as the No. 6 children’s heart program in the U.S.

We’re the only pediatric heart center in Colorado and one of just a few in the region to share quality metrics and outcomes data so you see the same results we see. We achieve high standards and share our results with pride, so you know you can trust our opinion on your child’s heart care.

Because we have treated more than 20,000 kids with heart conditions, what some consider rare conditions are common for us. If you need an expert opinion to help you make a treatment decision for your child’s heart condition, find comfort in knowing we do that every day.

What specialties or programs offer a second opinion?

Our experts provide second opinions for a wide range of pediatric heart conditions and specialties, including:

• Adult congenital heart disease
• Cardiac catheterization
• Electrophysiology and arrhythmia
• General pediatric cardiology
• Heart transplant
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Single ventricle heart disease

Learn about the conditions we treat at the Heart Institute. If you have questions about which conditions we provide second opinions for, please call us at 720-777-0938.

For second opinions for fetal heart conditions, please contact our Colorado Fetal Care Center, which provides comprehensive care for families with fetal heart conditions.

What should I prepare for my second opinion call with the Heart Institute?

The more information you can give our team, the more accurate our diagnosis will be. Please provide the following information to our providers before your initial phone call:

• Heart diagnosis: Your diagnosis or suspected diagnosis and current treatment plan, if applicable
• Diagnosing doctor: The diagnosing doctor’s name, address, phone and fax numbers
• Your location
• Health insurance status and information

As the doctor reviews your case we may need additional records, images and scan results.

Where will my child be seen for their in-person appointment?

Our primary location for second opinion appointments is at our hospital on Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. However, if you would like to be seen at one of our other cardiology locations or outreach clinics, please contact our referral coordinator at 720-777-0938.

Get answers to questions about second opinions at Children’s Colorado