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Congenital Heart Outcomes Report

2017 Outcomes Report for Congenital Heart Center

Center Overview 2013-2016

Pioneers in Research

Following are a few examples of our ongoing efforts to expand our knowledge and develop new treatment options:

researcher using her equipment
researcher using his equipment

  • Pulmonary Hypertension NewYork-Presbyterian Congenital Heart Center is a participant in a national multicenter trial funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to redefine pulmonary hypertension through Pulmonary Vascular Disease Phenomics. (NHLBI U01). We are a participant in an NHLBI U01-funded Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Network Informatics (PPHNet) Registry on Data Fusion, to explore and compare electronic data capture options using a national pediatric pulmonary hypertension registry.

  • Tissue- and Mechanically-Engineered-Based Technologies NewYork-Presbyterian surgeon-scientists are working to develop tissue-engineered-based and mechanically-engineered- based innovative technologies to offer personalized treatment modalities to children with congenital heart defects, applying the concepts of regenerative medicine and precision medicine to the field of pediatric cardiac surgery. The group is focusing on developing a heart valve having a growth potential to avoid multiple reoperations in children and developing electrically-active clinical-scale tissue-engineered cardiac constructs.

  • Reducing Pulmonary Vein Restenosis NewYork-Presbyterian physician-scientists are working to overcome restenosis, the primary limitation of conventional angioplasty. Our researchers are investigating intervention with drug-eluting technologies to determine if this intervention will reduce pulmonary vein restenosis rates in children.

  • Role of Somatic Mutations in Congenital Heart Disease Collaborations between the Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Pediatric Cardiology and Genetics enhanced the development of multidisciplinary multicentric projects of precision medicine adapted to the treatment of congenital heart disease. One of these collaborations, based on whole exome sequencing studies and using DNAs and RNAs extracted from cardiac tissues harvested in the operating room, aims to explore the role played by somatic mutations in the pathogenesis of congenital heart diseases.

  • Flow Dynamics, Biventricular Pacing & Hypercoagulability Research Important clinical research projects also include Computer Modeling of flow dynamics after shunt operations; investigation of biventricular pacing for acute heart failure after cardiac surgery; and the use of TEG (thromboelastography) to evaluate hypercoagulability in single ventricle patients pre- and post-Fontan completion.

  • Quality Measures & Best Practices We are active participants in a consortium of major children’s hospitals charged with defining quality measures and best practices in pediatric cardiac surgery and in clinical studies led by the Congenital Heart Surgeon Society (CHSS)

  • Neurodevelopmental Outcomes A new NIH-supported study evaluates the in utero effects of congenital heart disease on neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood.

  • Cardiac Catheterization Initiatives NewYork-Presbyterian interventional cardiologists participate in multi-center quality improvement initiatives, new device trials, and development of risk adjustment methods for congenital cardiac catheterization procedures.

  • Genetic Cardiac Diseases Our researchers are using human pluripotent stem cell and rodent models to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying genetic cardiac diseases like cardiomyopathy.

  • Cost, Outcomes, Value for Children With CHD Other NewYork-Presbyterian physician researchers are focused on the integration of national datasets and the application of transdisciplinary methodology to the study of cost, outcomes, and value for children with congenital heart disease. In recent work, we have examined the effects of surgeon age and experience on patient outcomes and the effects of neighborhood disparities on both outcomes and resource utilization.

  • Zebrafish Studies — Molecular & Cellular Etiologies of CHDs Other active projects in our laboratories include investigation of developmental genetics of the zebrafish embryo to address fundamental questions about the molecular and cellular etiologies of congenital heart defects (CHDs). By using the zebrafish model, we have discovered a prominent role of nkx genes in maintaining ventricular identity. We have also made substantial progress in describing the roles of nkx genes in the developing cardiac conduction system and in identifying key downstream effectors in the nkx pathway. Our physician-scientists translate insights back to fetal, neonatal, and pediatric patients with CHDs for risk stratification and improvement of prognosis and also to adult patients in need of ventricular cardiomyocyte regeneration.

  • Drug Study for Prevention of Shunt Thrombosis A Phase I PK/PD study involving an anti-platelet agent for the prevention of shunt thrombosis in post-operative neonates with single ventricle physiology is underway.