Children’s Health Appoints New Chief of Cardiology for The Heart Center

DALLAS (Sept. 13, 2021) – Children’s Health℠, one of the largest and most prestigious pediatric health care providers in the country and the leading pediatric health care system in North Texas, today announced Dr. Nicolas Madsen will join Children’s Health as Co-Director of The Heart Center and Chief of Cardiology. He will also serve as Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology within the Pediatric Group at UT Southwestern Medical Center. 

As a pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Madsen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to The Heart Center to help care for the most complex pediatric cardiac patients. Dr. Madsen will officially join the Children’s Health and UT Southwestern team this month, following the completion of his tenure as Medical Director of the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s.

“Dr. Madsen’s addition to The Heart Center is a testament to the close collaboration we’ve created between Children’s Health and our academic affiliate UT Southwestern, which allows us to provide comprehensive care to pediatric cardiac patients in North Texas and beyond,” said Dr. Dai H. Chung, Chief Medical Officer, Joint Pediatric Enterprise (JPE). “As we continue to grow and strengthen The Heart Center, we value his personable approach to caring for patients and his dynamic leadership skills to help transform pediatric cardiac care. We look forward to working with Dr. Madsen to provide even greater service for some of the most vulnerable children in our communities.”

Dr. Madsen has been an industry leader in pediatric cardiology as the co-founder and co-director of the Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative (PAC3), an organization dedicated to improving cardiac acute care outcomes by focusing on quality, value and experiences. As a researcher and clinician, Dr. Madsen said a key factor in his move to Children’s Health is the health system’s nearly 60-year academic affiliation with UT Southwestern, which was solidified in 2019 when the two systems announced the establishment of the JPE. Dr. Madsen values this alignment and shares the JPE’s commitment to deliver high-quality pediatric care to families and children.

“A huge interest of mine in cardiology is the advancement of knowledge and the symbiotic relationship between academic research and hospital implementation. With the close affiliation between Children’s Health and UT Southwestern, I see even greater opportunities for research and ongoing learnings,” Dr. Madsen said. “It is very important to me to have a positive impact on the lives of our cardiac patients and their families, and I am bringing my enthusiasm to the patients of Children’s Health and will encourage the team toward additional research advancements.”

Dr. Stephen X. Skapek, interim Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern, called Dr. Madsen an outstanding clinician-scientist and said he will further build upon the clinical, training and scientific legacy already in place.

“We are excited to have Dr. Madsen join us in this critically important role,” Dr. Skapek said. “He is an experienced leader who has developed a reputation for respectful and thoughtful engagement in all of his interactions, truly living our institutional values of excellence, innovation, teamwork and compassion.”

Dr. Madsen previously served as the Medical Director of the Acute Care Cardiology Unit at Cincinnati Children’s and as an Associate Professor in the University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Madsen received his medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine and his Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington School of Public Health. He completed his residency in pediatrics and his fellowship in cardiology at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The Heart Center at Children’s Health is a U.S. News & World Report-ranked facility for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, and it is one of the the most comprehensive in the nation. With the addition of Dr. Madsen, the Children’s Health team and UT Southwestern will continue to strengthen The Heart Center using pioneering innovation, academic research and lifesaving technology and treatments, all to provide comprehensive care to pediatric cardiac patients in North Texas and beyond. 

About Children’s Health

Children’s Health℠ is committed to making life better for children. As one of the largest and most prestigious pediatric health care providers in the country and the leading pediatric health care system in North Texas, Children’s Health cares for children through more than 750,000 patient visits annually. The Children’s Health system includes its flagship hospital, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, as well as Children’s Medical Center Plano, Our Children’s House inpatient rehabilitation hospital, the Children’s Health Care Network, specialty centers, rehabilitation facilities and physician services. Children’s Medical Center Dallas continues to be the only North Texas hospital to be ranked in 10 out of 10 pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. Through its academic affiliation with UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Health is a leader in life-changing treatments, innovative technology and ground-breaking research. This affiliation led to establishing the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute in 2011, committed to pursuing research in regenerative medicine, cancer biology and metabolism. For more information, follow Children’s Health on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube, or visit Childrens.com.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 16 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,800 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 117,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 3 million outpatient visits a year.