Results of First Years of Centralized Care for Children Suffering from Heart Disease

Regionalized care for children suffering from a heart disease was centralized in 1978. The entire country (Czechoslovakia) was divided into three territories—each with a population of 4–6 million In each of them, a center of pediatric cardiology and cardiovascular surgery was established. Critical heart diseases are referred directly to the Center. Children suffering from a nonurgent heart disease are registered by the Center, but they are trusted to the care of a district or regional pediatric cardiologist until specialized care is required. All infants who die either in the hospital or at home are autopsied, and the protocols are sent to the center.