Pediatric Integrated Cardiogenetics Clinic

The Columbia Pediatric Integrated Cardiogenetics Clinic provides expert care for children, adolescents, and their families with inherited heart diseases. Ours is one of the few programs in the United States where patients are seen by a doctor who has advanced training in both genetics and cardiology. You will receive genetic counseling and testing from the same physician who will help you understand the results and how they impact your cardiac care.

Through genetic testing, we can help determine which, if any, family members are at risk of cardiac diseases before they develop symptoms. This is critical to helping patients with inherited heart disease slow or (potentially stop disease progression). Learn more about genetic testing at the Pediatric Integrated Cardiogenetics Clinic.

Our Approach to Care

If we suspect that your child has an inherited cardiovascular disease, genetic testing can be a powerful tool in his or her diagnosis and treatment, as well as for evaluating other family members. Our clinic provides a full range of services, from genetic testing to cardiac care for inherited diseases:

• Comprehensive cardiac and genetic evaluations and diagnosis
• Genetic evaluation and counseling of at-risk relatives
• Prognosis, survelliance and treatment of cardiovascular genetic disorders
• Counseling regarding reproductive options, such as prenatal testing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
• Information on the latest cardiovascular genetic research [and opportuties to participate in cutting-edge research)

Our physician is one of the few in the United States who is board certified as both a geneticist and a cardiologist. For our patients, that means that their care will be both comprehensive and integrated – options for clinical genetic testing and discussion of how test results impact cardiac care are all combined into a single cardiology visit.

We specialize in the care of patients with:

• Personal or family history of cardiomyopathy (hypertrophic, dilated, restrictive, noncompaction, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia)
• Personal or family history of an arrhythmia syndrome such as Long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome
• Personal or family history of thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection and/or connective tissue disease, such as Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Genetic conditions associated with cardiac diseases such as Noonan spectrum disorders, DiGeorge syndrome (22q11 deletion), Williams syndrome, and others
• Metabolic or neuromuscular conditions with associated cardiac problems
• Family history of sudden cardiac death, unexplained death, or heart failure at a young age

What to Expect

Before your child's first visit to our clinic, we will arrange to have his or her medical records sent to us and we will let you know what will happen on the first visit. We may also make arrangements either before, during, or after the appointment for your child to have a cardiac evaluation, which may include an electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram (echo), and other cardiac studies if your child has not already had these.

During your first visit, you or your child will meet with a cardiogeneticist to review the results of the cardiac evaluations and to complete a detailed assessment of the medical and family history. A plan for genetic testing and follow-up will be developed by the doctor for your family. 

We assist with insurance preauthorization for genetic testing and you will be made aware of any out-of-pocket costs prior to testing. We work with each patient and family to provide education, support, and counseling during the session and as needed. When appropriate, we can also provide information on reproductive options including preconception and prenatal genetic testing.​ 

About Genetic Testing

Research

Our physicians are at the forefront of research into the molecular basis for genetic cardiac disease. Patients in our clinic have access to the latest treatments and clinical trials.

Location