AdventHealth for Children

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Extraordinary Heart Care for Extraordinary Kids

We’re here to provide you with the resources and expertise you need for your child’s cardiac care. When you request an appointment, a member of our team will reach out within 48 hours.

As a parent, you want to protect your child’s heart in every way possible. You want only the best-trained and most compassionate doctors, surgeons and specialists available to care for your child. That’s why AdventHealth for Children provides some of the finest pediatric and adolescent heart care in the country. Our cardiac team offers the most advanced tools and treatments available, specifically designed for a child’s unique physiology.

We treat the full spectrum of heart conditions, including heart murmurs, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart defects and vascular disease. And, if you’re a mother-to-be, we specialize in detecting and diagnosing heart conditions during pregnancy, so even our tiniest patients can receive world-class treatment immediately after, or even before, they’re born.

We’ve Got Lots of Love  for Your Little Loves

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Or call us at 855-840-5051.

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Helping You Navigate Your Child's Care

Our children's health navigators are specially trained nurses who can guide you in every aspect of your child's care. As your family's advocates, your navigators can answer your questions, offer expert clinical assistance and support you emotionally and spiritually, too. Count on your health navigator for help with:

- Answering your health care questions
- Coordination of care among multiple providers and facilities
- Finding the right providers for your child
- Scheduling annual office visits and screenings  

At AdventHealth for Children, we have been nationally recognized for our leadership in advanced treatments, breakthrough research and the compassionate care of children and their families.

Gold Standard in Nursing

For a second time, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has granted AdventHealth for Children Magnet recognition, which establishes the hospital as a national leader in nursing and patient care. Only 7% of the nation’s hospitals have received this recognition.

We're on a Mission to Advance Pediatric Care

We'll Be Your Guide

Our team is dedicated to ensuring you have the information and resources you need. For a deeper understanding of the pediatric cardiology services we offer and the conditions we treat, download this free guide.

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Arrhythmias

Doctor and Patient
Doctor and Patient
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Specialized Care for Kids' Heart Conditions

At AdventHealth for Children, our skilled and dedicated medical team successfully treats a wide range of conditions using the most advanced tools and the safest possible therapies.

Cardiomyopathy

Congenital Heart Defects


Doctor and Patient

Valve Disease


Doctor and Patient

Fetal Cardiology


Cardiac Surgery

Doctor and Patient

Excellence in Life Support Care

AdventHealth for Children is an ELSO (Extracorporeal Life Support Organization) Center of Excellence in Life Support, Platinum Level, in collaboration with AdventHealth. This distinguished award recognizes programs that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to providing quality care for high-risk patients needing specialized life support. AdventHealth is one of 32 national and internationally recognized Extracorporeal Life Support centers and the only awarded center in Central Florida.

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More Options for Added Comfort

AdventHealth for Children is an extensive pediatric care network that includes pediatricians, 250+ pediatric specialists practicing 35 pediatric specialties, regional specialty clinics, pediatric emergency departments and Centra Care Kids urgent care locations.

Across Central and West Florida, there are more than 300 dedicated pediatric beds, with 200 located at our flagship Walt Disney Pavilion at AdventHealth for Children campus. Dedicated pediatric ambulances and a helicopter provide emergency transfers and have a highly trained PICU and NICU transport team that supports regional and community hospitals.

No matter which of our facilities you visit, you'll receive the same special brand of care. We're here to help your family heal in body, mind and spirit.

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Highest Quality in Electrophysiology Care

AdventHealth for Children has received accreditation for consistently setting high standards in pediatric cardiovascular echocardiography while providing the best care possible for our patients and their families.

Meet the Team

Our AdventHealth for Children cardiac specialists deliver the latest cardiology innovations, using forward-thinking techniques and a personalized approach to care. Our team is here for you with convenient locations throughout Central and West Florida, close to home. 

Sabikha Alam, MD

Pediatric Cardiology

Sabikha Alam Zulfiqar, MD, is a pediatric cardiology physician. Dr. Alam has contributed to a wide range of research, from working in an embryonic heart development laboratory to outcomes research in children with congenital heart disease. She has presented her work at several national cardiology conferences. She also enjoys engaging in quality improvement initiatives, clinical education and community outreach. Dr. Alam is eager to continue building compassionate relationships with her patients and families. She is excited to be part of the cardiology inpatient team and general cardiology outpatient services.

Anjlee Patel, MD

Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiology

Anjlee Patel, MD, is a board-certified pediatric and adult congenital cardiologist. She earned her medical degree from Albany Medical College with a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare from Union University in New York. Dr. Patel specializes in diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease and arrhythmias for adults and children, as well as fetal cardiac care. She is board-certified in pediatrics and internal medicine, and she has subspecialty certification in pediatric cardiology and adult congenital heart disease.

Zahid Amin, MD

Medical Director
Pediatric Cardiology

Dr. Zahid Amin joined our group from Children’s Hospital of Georgia, where he was endowed chair and section chief in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. A recognized authority in his field who regularly lectures and teaches internationally, his primary focus is on interventions in pediatric and adult structural heart disease, hybrid procedures and percutaneous valve replacement, and the periventricular technique for septal defect closure that he helped pioneer.

Farshad Anvari, MD

Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Congenital Cardiac Surgery

Farshad Anvari, MD, is a board-certified pediatric congenital heart surgeon. After earning his medical degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, he completed a thoracic surgery residency followed by advanced training in congenital cardiac surgery at Emory University. Dr. Anvari is a member of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Cardiology. He is fluent in English and Farsi.

Carlos Blanco, MD

Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Heart Failure

Carlos Javier Blanco, MD, is board-certified in pediatric cardiology and has ten years of experience in this specialty and in pediatric cardiac critical care.

Before joining AdventHealth for Children, Dr. Blanco served as an Advanced Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Cardiovascular Intensive Care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Additionally, he served as an Advanced Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Heart Failure, Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago at McGaw Medical Center.

Jorge A. Garcia, MD, FACC, FASE

Pediatric Cardiology

Jorge A. Garcia, MD, FACC, FASE, is a board-certified pediatric cardiologist and Medical Director of AdventHealth for Children Pediatric Echocardiography Lab. He specializes in noninvasive imaging, including fetal, pediatric and transesophageal echocardiography. He uses other imaging modalities, stress tests, Holter and event loop monitors for diagnosing congenital heart diseases in children, including arrhythmias and other heart disorders.

Hao Hsu, MD

Pediatric Cardiology

Hao Hua Hsu, MD, has been a board-certified pediatric cardiologist since 2010. He joined our elite pediatric cardiology team in Central Florida from Omaha, Nebraska. He was the director of the pediatric cardiology fellowship program at the University of Nebraska (UN) Medical Center. Dr. Hsu graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biomedical engineering and was a scholarship recipient at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. He remained in Birmingham for his pediatrics residency, then undertook his cardiology fellowship with the Pediatrics Department at the University of Florida, followed by an advanced imaging fellowship at the University of Colorado in Denver.

Kelvin C. Lee, MD

Pediatric Cardiology

Dr. Kelvin Lee is a board-certified pediatric cardiologist with AdventHealth for Children who earned his medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine, where he was the recipient of the Dean Mitchell Baker Award for Excellence in the Field of Pediatric Cardiology. After completing his pediatrics residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, he returned to Florida for his fellowship training in pediatric cardiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Lee's research interests have included fetal and infant tachycardia, newborn congenital heart disease and, more recently, in the field of post-COVID-19 multisystem inflammatory syndromes in children (MIS-C).

Ashish Patel, MD

Pediatric Cardiology

Ashish Patel, MD, is a pediatric and fetal cardiologist with advanced training in cardiac imaging. After receiving his medical degree from Pramukhswami Medical College in India, he went on to complete a pediatric residency at The Children’s Hospital at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. Dr. Patel then undertook fellowship training in both pediatric cardiology and advanced cardiac imaging. His areas of research include tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) abnormalities and hybrid stenting in congenital surgery. His primary clinical focus is on general pediatric cardiology and fetal cardiology.

Elizabeth Thomas, MD

Pediatric Cardiology

Patricia “Elizabeth” Thomas, MD, is a board-certified pediatric cardiologist. Before joining AdventHealth for Children, Dr. Thomas served as the Director of Pediatric Electrophysiology for more than 12 years. She is board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Pediatric Cardiology. She is also certified by the International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners as a pediatric electrophysiology specialist and is a fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Matthew E. Zussman, MD, MSc

Pediatric Cardiology

Matthew Zussman, MD, MSc, is a board-certified pediatric cardiologist who is fellowship-trained in pediatric and adult congenital interventional cardiology. He specializes in minimally invasive procedures to help diagnose and fix congenital heart problems. He specializes in the closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and atrial septal defects (ASD). He also has extra training in pulmonary hypertension in children. He completed a master's degree in clinical and translational research at the University of Cincinnati, followed by an additional fellowship in interventional cardiology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
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Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety

AdventHealth for Children has been awarded the Top Children's Hospital award by The Leapfrog Group as one of the safest children’s hospitals in the nation. Only 12 children’s hospitals earned this recognition from America’s premier advocate for hospital transparency.

Heart Murmurs


Patient researching procedure
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