• What We Do

Research & Innovation

  • Funding What Matters

Our Research

The research A Giving Heart Foundation helps fund is opening the door to a future where children with congenital heart disease may no longer need open-heart surgery. By investing in innovative technology, AGHF is helping move care toward safer, less invasive solutions designed specifically for growing hearts.

Happy baby in mother's lap getting a doctor's checkup
  • Understanding Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

Today, children born with narrowed blood vessels near the heart, or those who develop vessel narrowing early in life, often face limited options. One path involves open-heart surgery, requiring the chest to be opened to repair the vessel. Another option uses a stent delivered through a vessel in the leg to widen the narrowing. While this approach can be effective, it is temporary. As a child grows, the stent does not, often leading to the return of the original problem and the need for additional intervention.

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We're Funding
Revolutionary
Innovation

30% of babies born with CHD are forced to undergo open-heart surgery

At A Giving Heart Foundation, we are funding work led by some of the world’s top pediatric specialists to develop a first-of-its-kind dissolvable stent created specifically for children. This breakthrough has the potential to significantly reduce the need for open-heart surgery. With continued support, this innovation could soon become a reality.

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A child wearing a lab coat and performing a checkup on a teddy bear
  • The Work Being Done

We Fund Research and Innovation Initiatives

At A Giving Heart Foundation, we are investing in bold ideas that are reshaping the future of pediatric heart care. Whether at the Cleveland Clinic, where Dr. Brad Marino and his team are leading groundbreaking research to better protect infants’ brain health during heart surgery and improve long-term developmental outcomes, or at Lurie Children’s Heart Center, where our grant is bringing advanced 3D imaging technology into the operating room, allowing surgeons to virtually walk through a child’s heart before surgery even begins. Together, these innovations are equipping doctors with smarter tools and creating stronger futures for children born with CHD.

  • Meet Our Team of Researchers & Experts

Medical Research Advisors

Children born with congenital heart disease deserve more than the treatments of yesterday. That's why we are focused on advancing the science itself so that when a child is born with CHD, better tools, safer technologies, and breakthrough solutions are already within reach. By investing in innovative research and medical progress, we are helping shape a future of one day eliminating CHD in children.

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Ziyad M. Hijazi

MD, MPH,
MSCAI, FACC

Headshot of Dr. Damien Kenny

Damien Kenny

MB, MD,
MRCPCH

Massimo Caputo

Professor of Congenital
Cardiac Surgery

Make a Difference

Progress like this depends on continued investment. Funding ensures that children benefit from the same medical advancements transforming adult care, and that they are not left waiting while innovation moves forward. Your support helps turn today’s breakthroughs into tomorrow’s standard of care. Donate today to help advance research that brings hope, healing, and a better future to children with congenital heart disease.

Donate Today