Cardiovascular genetics

Sometimes heart conditions are inherited, meaning our bodies carry genes that increase the chance we’ll develop heart problems. At Advocate Children’s Hospital, our team has the expertise in evaluating and diagnosing patients with known or suspected inherited heart conditions.

Our specially trained cardiovascular genetic counselors are here to help your family understand what it means to have an inherited heart condition, explore your family and medical history, and help facilitate decisions around genetic testing.

What is cardiovascular genetics?

Cardiovascular genetics is the study, evaluation and diagnosis of inherited heart conditions.

Our bodies carry genes that have instructions for how we grow and function, including how our heart develops and works. Sometimes an error occurs in our genetic code that causes these genes to stop working properly, increasing the chances of us developing heart problems.

These genetic errors can be passed down to children. Not all individuals who inherit a heart condition will develop heart problems, but the genetic errors can still be passed on to future generations. Identifying these genetic errors can help prevent serious heart problems and may have a significant impact on medical management.

At Advocate Children’s Hospital, we offer comprehensive genetic evaluation, counseling and prenatal genetics.

Cardiovascular genetic services

If your family has known or suspected inherited heart conditions, we’re here to help you find the answers you need. Our genetic counselors and cardiologists work together to provide a full range of services.

Our services include:

• Early diagnosis and treatment: We can test children with inherited heart conditions, both with and without a known family history.
• Diagnostic testing: We use cardiac genetic testing, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, exercise stress tests and MRIs to detect heart conditions in you and your children, including during pregnancy.
• Genetic evaluation: Genetic counselors can help assess your risk of having an inherited condition by taking a comprehensive personal and family medical history. With this information, we’re able to provide recommendations for further genetic testing. We also can evaluate and test those who have a relative with an inherited heart condition.
• Genetic testing: With a blood, cheek or saliva sample, we can test your DNA for genetic errors that can cause heart conditions. Doing so can help guide your medical treatment and assess the risk to other family members.
• Preconception genetic counseling: If you’re interested in starting a family, we can discuss risks and recommendations for future pregnancies or family members.
• Counseling and consultation: Our genetic counselors are trained to identify the best testing options and serve as a guide through the decision-making process. Once genetic testing is completed, we’ll help you and your family interpret the results, discuss implications of the results and coordinate assessment for other at-risk relatives. We also offer counseling and testing after an unexplained, heart-related death in the family.

Conditions we treat

We provide the care that people of all ages need if they have known or suspected inherited cardiac conditions including:

• Arrhythmias and electrical abnormalities such as abnormally fast for slow heart beats
• Cardiomyopathy, an abnormal heart muscle
• Aortopathies and connective tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome
• Congenital heart defects, including abnormal heart structures such as coarctation of the aorta and hypoplastic left heart syndrome
• Genetic syndromes and chromosome abnormalities that impact the heart such as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Access to care

Our experts in cardiovascular genetic services offer convenient access to world-class specialists. Call today to schedule an appointment at one of our Chicagoland locations.