Heart To Heart Global Cardiac Care

What Heart To Heart Global Cardiac Care does

Heart to Heart Global Cardiac Care is a California-based nonprofit (EIN 94-3130437) founded in 1989 that trains cardiac specialists in developing countries to diagnose and treat congenital heart disease (CHD). The organization deploys volunteer medical teams from leading U.S. cardiac centers to partner hospitals abroad to deliver hands-on surgical training, echocardiography instruction, minimally invasive heart surgery techniques, and patient selection optimization, framed around a "Four Pathways" capacity-building methodology. Its service is delivered via episodic training missions rather than through any software or technology product; there is no proprietary platform, API, or app.

The operating footprint spans three country programs: Russia (legacy sites in Samara, Tomsk, and Kaliningrad dating to the 2004–2013 period), Peru (Lima, since 2016 under the Going Global initiative), and Costa Rica (since 2021, including a 2023 expansion into adult cardiac care at San Juan de Dios Hospital). The Costa Rican program was formalized in March 2025 through a five-year Cooperative Agreement with the country's central health authority, the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) — the first such formal recognition of an international humanitarian organization by the CCSS. Aggregate reported impact includes 40,000+ children's lives saved, thousands of specialists trained, and 172 million people with access to cardiac care through programs Heart to Heart has helped build.

Revenue derives entirely from charitable donations, with a $258-per-child-saved framing used in fundraising copy; the organization reports 1–10 employees and relies on an unpaid volunteer specialist workforce. There are no funding rounds, acquisitions, or institutional investors disclosed in the source material, and the entity remains privately controlled under nonprofit governance.

Name

Heart To Heart Global Cardiac Care

Legal name

Heart to Heart Global Cardiac Care

Website

https://heart-2-heart.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Heart to Heart Global Cardiac Care is a California-based nonprofit founded in 1989 that trains volunteer cardiac specialists to treat congenital heart disease in children and adults in developing countries, with programs in Russia, Peru, and Costa Rica.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Training

NAICS

Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (622310)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Interventional Cardiology (PCI/Structural Heart) (HLAKABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Cardiology (Consultative) (HLAKABAA)

Keywords

• Pediatric cardiac training
• Cardiac surgery education
• Medical volunteer missions
• Congenital heart disease
• Healthcare capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Heart to Heart is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations to fund its medical training missions and cardiac care programs. The organization encourages supporters to donate with messaging such as '$258 can save the life of a child.'

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Heart To Heart Global Cardiac Care is a nonprofit organization that deploys volunteer U.S. cardiac specialists to partner hospitals in developing countries to train local medical teams in pediatric and adult cardiac surgery. Programs include structured fellowships, hands-on surgical training, and capacity-building partnerships designed to make partner sites self-sufficient in cardiac care over time.

Product overview

Heart To Heart Global Cardiac Care is a nonprofit medical humanitarian organization that operates a single, unified programmatic offering centered on training cardiac specialists in developing countries. The organization deploys medical volunteer teams to provide advanced teaching and training to local cardiac teams abroad, focusing on pediatric and adult congenital heart disease diagnosis, treatment, and care. Programs include surgical training missions, patient evaluation and selection optimization, and capacity building using their Four Pathways framework. Geographic programs span Russia (Samara, Tomsk, Kaliningrad), Peru (Lima), and Costa Rica (San José). The organization does not offer a technology product or software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Training Missions Volunteer-led missions that train local surgical teams in pediatric cardiac surgery techniques at partner hospitals in developing countries. Targeted at hospital partners that lack independent pediatric cardiac surgery capability.
• Adult Cardiac Surgery Training Program Hands-on training program for partner hospitals' local teams covering adult cardiac surgery techniques. Designed for hospital partners seeking to develop or expand adult cardiac surgery capacity.
• HNN Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Fellowship (National Children's Hospital, Russia) Structured pediatric cardiac surgery fellowship at the National Children's Hospital (HNN) in Russia, training local surgeons and operating-room teams in pediatric cardiac procedures.
• HSJD Cardiac Training Program (Hospital San Juan de Dios, Costa Rica) Cardiac surgery training partnership at Hospital San Juan de Dios (HSJD) in Costa Rica, delivering volunteer-led instruction to local surgical and clinical staff.
• CCSS Cardiac Training Program (Costa Rica) Cardiac care capacity-building partnership with the CCSS (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social) public health system in Costa Rica, training local teams across affiliated facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Teams trained by Heart to Heart volunteers have saved more than 40,000 children's lives to date
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Costa Rican Social Security Administration (CCSS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025In March 2025, Heart to Heart signed a five-year Cooperative Agreement with Costa Rica's central healthcare body, the Costa Rican Social Security Administration (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, or CCSS). The agreement outlines roles and responsibilities and articulates how the two organizations will collaborate to advance and expand heart care for all children and adults in Costa Rica. This is the first time an international humanitarian organization has been formally recognized by the CCSS as a partner.
• National Children's Hospital (HNN) - Costa RicacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe launch of Heart to Heart's first collaboration in Costa Rica with HNN in 2021 marked the initiation of the Going Global campaign to expand nationwide access to cardiac care in Costa Rica. Joint team conducts training missions including patient selection optimization and surgical training. Dr. Karla Castro, chief of cardiac surgery at HNN, has been mentored through her first hands-on AVSD repair.
• San Juan de Dios Hospital (HSJD) - Costa RicacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2023, this partnership focuses on adult cardiac training. HSJD is one of three public cardiac centers serving Costa Rican adults with heart disease. Heart to Heart conducted their first-ever adult cardiac training mission at HSJD in September 2023, focusing on minimally invasive heart surgery. A team returned in November 2024 to work alongside all three cardiac centers serving Costa Rica's adult population.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Project HOPE: Global health nonprofit that runs volunteer medical missions and trains healthcare workers in developing countries - broader mission than Heart to Heart but materially overlapping humanitarian medical training approach.
• Partners In Health: Much larger global health nonprofit that delivers and teaches healthcare in resource-poor settings, including surgical capacity building - broader scope than Heart to Heart but operates the same training-and-care model in many of the same geographies.
• Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders: Large humanitarian medical organization sending volunteer clinicians abroad to deliver care and train local staff - vastly broader scope but comparable volunteer-mission and capacity-building ethos.

Direct peers

• Novick Cardiac Alliance: Nonprofit founded by Dr. William Novick that provides pediatric cardiac surgery and trains local teams in low- and middle-income countries - same mission, volunteer-led mission model, and pediatric cardiac focus.
• International Children's Heart Foundation (ICHF): Memphis-based nonprofit sending volunteer pediatric cardiac surgical teams to developing countries to provide care and train local staff - directly comparable humanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery model.
• CardioStart International: Tampa-based nonprofit that conducts cardiac surgical missions and trains local cardiac teams in developing countries - direct peer in adult and pediatric cardiac humanitarian missions and capacity building.
• Children's HeartLink: Minneapolis-based nonprofit that partners with hospitals in underserved regions to train pediatric cardiac care teams - closely aligned mission, capacity-building model, and partner-hospital approach to Heart to Heart.
• Team Heart: Nonprofit running repeat cardiac surgery missions to Rwanda with a focus on training local cardiac surgical teams - directly comparable volunteer-mission and capacity-building model.

Emerging players

• Mending Kids International: Nonprofit that funds and runs surgical missions for children in underserved countries, including cardiac - smaller and broader pediatric surgery focus, but overlapping pediatric surgical humanitarian mission model.

Others

• Global Alliance for Rheumatic and Congenital Hearts: International nonprofit focused on congenital and rheumatic heart disease in low-resource settings - adjacent ecosystem player addressing similar patient populations and policy environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hearttoheartglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heart To Heart Global Cardiac Care