Mission

To identify families with inherited cardiovascular disease, and provide genetic counseling, screening and preventative care to family members at risk. 

Background 

A variety of heart and vascular diseases are inherited, affecting multiple members in a single family.  For example, the number one cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes is a specific type of heart muscle disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is almost always hereditary.  In many cases, immediate relatives of patients with inherited heart diseases feel well, and may not recognize that they could carry the same genetic mutation that puts them at an increased risk of heart failure and/or sudden death.  In general population, this condition, affects up to 1 in 500 people, but in immediate family members the risk is much greater - up to 1 in 2.

Services

The Center for Inherited Heart Disease (CIHD), a unique joint effort by the Vanderbilt Heart and the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, provide clinical and genetic screening for inherited cardiovascular disease, and follow-up care to immediate family members who are at risk of developing the disease.  The Center provides expert consultation on inherited forms of heart and vascular disease, including hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies, cardiac amyloidosis, heart rhythm disorders, and inherited vascular diseases such as Marfan syndrome.

Click here to read a news article about the Center for Inherited Heart Disease.

Team Approach

• Every effort is made to evaluate members of each family together as a unit by a team of adult and pediatric cardiologist with expertise in cardiolovascular genetics.
• Each family receives an educational presentation on their disease.
• Each family is evaluated and counseled by a certified Cardiovascular Genetic Counselor.
• Following initial evaluation, including genetic testing, the Center works with each family and their physicians to help manage the test results and formulate a plan for follow-up and preventative care.
• Our Center provides bi-annual follow-ups of asymptomatic family members who carry a genetic abnormality as well as at-risk relatives (when no specific gene mutation can be found).
• Patients who are diagnosed with heart disease are referred back to their primary physicians/cardiologist for ongoing care with recommendations provided by the Center's physicians.
   

Providers

Our providers are adult and pediatric cardiologists with advanced training in heart failure, electrophysiology, and adult congenital heart disease who all have additional clinical and research experience in cardiovascular genetics.  An especially beneficial and unique feature of our center is that we also have a cardiovascular genetic counselor on staff.  Insurance would not typically cover genetic consultation on its own, but because we feel that understanding the genetics of an inherited heart disease is important for our patients and their families, we provide this service as part of the program.     

Dawood Darbar, M.D., Ph. D. (adult electrophysiology)
Vernat Exil, M.D. (pediatric cardiology)
Charles Hong, M.D., Ph.D. (adult cardiology)
Prince Kannankeril, M.D., Ph.D. (pediatric electrophysiology)
Larry Markham, M.D. (adult and pediatric congenital heart disease)
Jean Pfotenhauer, M.S., C.G.C.  (genetic counselor)
Dan Roden, M.D. (adult electrophysiology)
Douglas Sawyer, M.D., Ph.D. (adult heart failure)
Cheri Silverstein, M.D. (clinical research fellow)

Contact Us
To schedule and appointment, call (615) 322-2318.
Email:  heart.genetics@vanderbilt.edu

Advance Medical History Form:  Please make every effort to speak with your extend family to get as much information as you can.  We understand that this form is long but it will help us provide a most accurate evaluation and counseling session to your family on the day of your visit.  Click here to download this form.  Thank you!