Congenital heart Project Brings Specialized Care to Children in Brazil
At just 7 months old, Laura underwent cardiac surgery to correct a congenital malformation associated with Down syndrome. Her mother,Maria Izonete Pinheiro,shared that her daughter’s genetic condition was a surprise discovered after birth. “I did all prenatal exams, but the trisomy wasn’t detected during pregnancy. It was very scary to know that she would have to have heart surgery, but fortunately we managed to do it quickly, and I thank the whole hospital team.”
Laura was one of the first patients of a new congenital heart project,strengthening the care pathway for congenital heart disease in children served by Brazil’s Unified Health System. The project spans three hospitals in Fortaleza (CE),Recife (PE),and Manaus (AM). Laura is a patient at Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital in Fortaleza, wich receives approximately 80 patients with congenital heart disease each week from various cities and neighboring states.
The Congenital Project includes remote support from professionals at the Hospital do Heart of São Paulo (HCor), a leading private cardiac service in Brazil. experts from HCor remotely monitor work at Albert Sabin, Francisca Mendes Hospital in Manaus, and the Institute of Integral Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira in Recife.
Weekly case discussions and intervention strategies are shared, and each month, one patient undergoes surgery with real-time, remote monitoring by HCor professionals. The surgical system used by the project was developed by the Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo (USP).Little Laura was operated on under this remote supervision in August.
“They monitor the patient from a distance, from visualization by a camera, which is in the surgeon’s… “
Children’s Heart Surgery Support Program Expands in Brazil
Recife, Brazil – September 1, 2025 – A new initiative aims to improve pediatric cardiac care in Brazil, focusing on bolstering services at three key hospitals in the North and Northeast regions. The project,developed under the Institutional Development Support Program of the Unified Health System (Proadi-SUS),will see HCor Pediatric cardiology Service providing guidance and support to the Institute of Integral Medicine Professor fernando figueira (IMIP) in Recife,and two other unnamed hospitals. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/saude/noticia/2025-09-01/ministerio-da-saude-vai-apoiar-cirurgias-cardiacas-infantis-em-tres-hospitais
The program will focus on refining general care protocols and sharing expertise on complex cases. According to Ieda Jatene, medical leader of the HCor Pediatric Cardiology Service, the goal is to enhance the technical capabilities of the participating hospitals, enabling them to treat a wider range of children with heart disease.currently, the hospitals perform low and medium complexity surgeries, with some high-complexity cases. The initiative seeks to build capacity for more extensive care, reducing the need to transfer patients to specialized centers.
“They already have low and medium complexity surgeries, and also some cases of high complexity, but the idea is to mature, from a technical point of view, so that they can also treat children who still need to be transferred to other services that have more expertise in high complexity heart disease,” Jatene stated.
The initiative is expected to benefit both patients and the brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). Jatene emphasized the importance of timely intervention, stating that appropriate surgery with the right techniques and resources leads to improved survival rates and a better quality of life for patients. Delays in surgery can lead to increased lung pressure, repeated infections, and prolonged hospitalizations.
The Ministry of Health selected the three hospitals based on their regional importance and the high demand for pediatric cardiac services in the North and Northeast. Over the next year, the program anticipates supporting approximately 60 tele-mentored surgeries. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/saude/noticia/2025-09-01/ministerio-da-saude-vai-apoiar-cirurgias-cardiacas-infantis-em-tres-hospitais
Image Caption: Children’s heart surgery at the Institute of Integral Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira, in Recife. Credit: Igor Toscano/IMIP