Resources for Emergency Medicine Physicians

For Health Care Providers

At a glance

People who were born with heart defects need lifelong congenital cardiac care—but many of them aren't getting it. As an emergency room physician, you can help change this. When people with heart defects visit the emergency room—for any reason—you have an opportunity to connect them to congenital cardiac care.

Doctor standing in front of emergency sign

Overview

Take these steps to help people with heart defects get the care they need:

  1. Ask patients or their caregivers about a history of heart problems. They may not mention it unless you ask.
  2. Ask adults with heart defects if they're seeing a congenital cardiologist. And for children with heart defects, ask their caregivers if they're seeing a pediatric cardiologist. If they're not, explain why lifelong congenital cardiac care is important.
  3. Refer adults who aren't getting the care they need to a congenital cardiologist. If you need help finding adult congenital cardiologists in your area, check out the ACHD Clinic Directory.
  4. Refer children who aren't getting the care they need to a pediatric cardiologist.

Resources

ER physician talking to a patient about the need for lifelong CHD care
Emergency Medicine Social Media Graphics
Social media graphic and sample messaging about heart defects for emergency medicine professionals.
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How to Talk to Parents and Caregivers About Congenital Cardiac Care for Children with Heart Defects
Factsheet for ER physicians to talk with parents about their child's CHD care.
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How to Talk to Adults with Congenital Heart Defects About Lifelong Cardiac Care
Factsheet encouraging ER physicians to talk to adults about lifelong cardiac care.
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Download
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Content Source
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)
About This Page
Published: May 15, 2024
Updated: October 14, 2026

This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.

Reviewed: October 14, 2026

The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.