Costa Rica Program Update

Nationwide Comprehensive Cardiac Care for the People of Costa Rica

Heart to Heart’s goal is to support teams at existing  heart centers in Costa Rica in order to build their capacity so that every adult and child in the country can have timely access to life-saving cardiac care provided by local physicians, nurses, and technicians.

In March 2022, Heart to Heart conducted our first surgical-educational mission at the Dr. Carlos Saenz Herrera National Children’s Hospital in San Jose, Costa Rica. On that trip, the joint Heart to Heart-Saenz team performed four open heart surgeries, repairing or replacing seven heart valves! 

This October, we saw these patients again in Costa Rica for their follow-up appointments – it was wonderful to see all four children have recovered well and are looking great. (Click here to read an update on how each patient is doing.) 

Medical volunteer extraordinaires – Eric Eggler, RN and Frank Cetta, MD (pictured in blue scrubs) – worked side-by-side with our Costa Rican colleagues examining and caring for CHD patients. Dr. Cetta presented three lectures, focusing on atrioventricular valve anatomy and physiology, percutaneous pulmonary valve placement, and coronary artery anomalies.

Looking Forward: Children and Adults

As part of our commitment to developing nationwide comprehensive cardiac care in Costa Rica, Heart to Heart founder and medical director, Nilas Young, MD, senior advisor for strategic initiatives, Josie Everett, and board member Chester Zelaya, traveled to San Jose in November 2022 to meet with national thought leaders to discuss possible partnerships to benefit children and adults with heart disease.

Although cardiac care is available in Costa Rica, many children and adults must wait months – and sometimes years – for the surgical treatment they need. Currently, hundreds of adults with acquired heart disease (the world’s leading cause of death) and approximately 150 children with congenital heart disease (the world’s most common birth defect) are awaiting life-saving surgery. 

We are grateful to have met with like-minded leaders to discuss how to expand life-saving care to all people in Costa Rica. We are looking forward to a productive collaboration in the years to come.

Stay tuned!