2025 Annual Report

“I think they recognize that our outcomes here are some of the best in the Southeast ,” said Alan Brock, M.D., the program’s medical coordinator and assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at UAB. “And when they have the opportunity to look around and pick which program they want, I think patients are choosing us.” As a result of the program’s success, hypoplastic left heart syndrome—a condition that brings many patients to the program—has become one of the most common forms of single ventricle congenital heart disease the hospital treats, Brock added. “I think it’s because we’re getting better at what we do and we’re saving a lot more lives now,” he said. “That is part of the reason that there are more patients coming into our program.” Through the Hearts at Home program, the families of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other forms of single ventricle congenital heart disease have access to education and technology that helps them to monitor and track their child’s heart health at home during the period between their first and second stages of palliation— procedures designed to repair their congenital heart defect. This time is tenuous for the child and often stressful for the parents, requiring a great deal of medical management, including monitoring, medications, adhering to strict feeding regimens, checking vital signs and having emergency access to equipment. “I think especially for these first time parents, they don’t know what’s normal and what’s not,” Abercrombie said. “They’re not only learning to parent, but they’re learning how to parent a medically fragile child, so I think that’s a big challenge for them.” WHAT IS HEARTS AT HOME?

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2025 ACADEMIC ANNUAL REPORT