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412-692-5325
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
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Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)

The CICU cares for infants and children who are born with a heart defect or have heart problems later in life. We also support adults with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Our intensive care and heart doctors are experts in treating complex heart conditions in a child- and family-centered way.

Other team members of our advanced 33-bed unit include:

  • Nurses
  • Pharmacists
  • Respiratory therapists
  • Social workers

They work closely with your child's heart doctor and surgeon to provide seamless care.

Contact the CICU

  • To speak with the on-call CICU doctor, call 412-692-5325.
  • To learn more about heart care at UPMC Children's, call 412-692-5540.

Remote Heart Care Through Telemedicine

UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh offers heart telemedicine to meet the needs of kids in the region and around the world.

Our state-of-the-art digital equipment lets us provide online care for children with complex health issues.

This means you have access to our experts when you need them — day or night — no matter where you live.

CICU teams around the world can also consult with our intensive care doctors and cardiologists online through our e-CICU Program.

Why Choose UPMC Children's For Your Child's Heart Care?

The Heart Institute at UPMC Children's Hospital ranks among the top heart and vascular surgery programs in the U.S.

Our CHD surgery program earned consecutive three-star ratings from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for patient care and outcomes from the years 2016 to 2020. This placed UPMC Children’s among the elite for CHD surgery in the U.S. and Canada.

The STS recently replaced the star rating system by recognition of observed risk-adjusted mortality relative to expected mortality.

The most recent data analysis included procedures performed from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2020. For this window, UPMC Children’s overall non-risk adjusted mortality rate was 1.82%, compared to the overall mortality rate for all other North American institutions participating in the STS analysis standing at 2.67%.

The STS rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, comparing the nationally benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada.