About This Program
The Cardiovascular Genetics Program is a specialty program within the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a clinical partnership between Dell Children’s Medical Center and UT Health Austin.
The Cardiovascular Genetics Program diagnoses, treats, and manages the care of patients with heritable diseases affecting the cardiovascular system from initial evaluation through long-term follow-up. These conditions include a range of genetic disorders that can impact the heart and blood vessels, leading to various cardiovascular complications. Our team also extends a detailed evaluation to family members who might be at risk of developing a similar disease.
The Cardiovascular Genetics Program care team is comprised of nationally recognized and highly specialized physicians across different disciplines housed in a single cardiac care unit at Dell Children’s Medical Center. With access to expert staff and advanced technology, we provide a wide range of services, from evaluation, testing, and diagnosis to medical management, home monitoring, rehabilitation, heart surgery, and more, to give patients and their families the best quality of life.
The Cardiovascular Genetics Program is ranked among the nation's best Pediatric Cardiology and Heart Surgery specialty programs by U.S. News & World Report in 2024-2025.
Treatment Approach
The Cardiovascular Genetics Program takes a collaborative approach, working with patients and insurance companies to evaluate, through a shared decision-making process, whether genetic testing could enhance the precision of diagnosing cardiovascular conditions. This approach ensures that patients and their families are involved and empowered in their care, particularly for conditions such as cardiomyopathies, heritable vascular or connective tissue disorders, and heritable arrhythmias or channelopathies.
Additionally, our team supports the identification of cardiovascular diseases in patients with syndromic conditions. When medically indicated, genetic testing can be crucial in achieving a precise diagnosis and expanding preventive and therapeutic options for syndromic cardiomyopathies, metabolic disorders, and mitochondrial syndromes.
The Cardiovascular Genetics Program care team performs a comprehensive physical evaluation, gathers a detailed family history, conducts cardiovascular imaging, and provides short- to long-term remote cardiac monitoring. Once a precise diagnosis is established, our team promotes ongoing surveillance, offers medical and surgical intervention recommendations, and provides information about reproductive risks and long-term prognosis.
Patients are cared for by a dedicated multidisciplinary care team, meaning you and your family will benefit from the expertise of multiple specialists across a variety of disciplines. Our board-certified and fellowship-trained pediatric cardiologists have extensive experience in heart failure, electrophysiology, genetics, and cardiovascular imaging and work alongside a team of pediatric cardiac experts, including medical geneticists, genetics counselors, nurses, advanced practice providers, social workers, child life specialists, dietitians, physical and occupational therapists, pharmacists, and more, providing unparalleled care for patients and their families every step of the way.
Appointment Information
Working with you, the Cardiovascular Genetics Program care team will compile a comprehensive three-generation medical and family history. This will be followed by a physical examination that targets both syndromic and non-syndromic cardiovascular diseases and a functional evaluation of the cardiovascular system, which may involve noninvasive cardiac imaging, electrocardiography, exercise testing, blood work, and remote monitoring. Once completed, our team will assess the utility and feasibility of various genetic testing or molecular testing. Our team will provide a detailed explanation of genetics and genetic testing, followed by a follow-up counseling session to offer individualized medical and surgical recommendations. On a case-by-case basis, our team may also recommend referrals to specialists with expertise in the underlying mechanisms of specific diseases.
For more information about the Cardiovascular Genetics Program at Dell Children’s, please call 1-855-324-0091.