Our board-certified congenital heart disease specialists often use genetic testing to look for any differences in DNA that may affect your health. They are also experts in connective tissue disorders and aortopathies that often benefit from genetic testing. This genetic screening provides valuable information about your — and possibly your children’s — chances of having certain genetic conditions. It may help you and your provider take steps for prevention and early detection.

Interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons at UVM Health provide the latest treatments and therapies to repair congenital heart defects and restore normal blood flow. Not all defects can be treated surgically, so your doctor will work closely with our non-invasive cardiology, imaging and cardiac surgery experts to recommend the best therapy for you.

Congenital heart defects are typically treated with one of two surgical approaches.

• Catheter-based treatments: This treatment uses thin, flexible tubes called catheters to repair a heart defect. An interventional cardiologist inserts a catheter into a blood vessel in the groin and guides it to the heart using X-ray and ultrasound. Catheter-based treatments are frequently used for things like closing atrial septal defects or replacing heart valves.
• Open-heart surgery: This treatment involves an experienced cardiac surgeon opening the chest cavity to gain access to the heart and working directly with the muscle and valves. We work closely with academic medical centers in Boston, New York and Maine to perform some surgeries.

Our adult congenital heart disease team provides comprehensive pre- and post-surgical care. Priot to any surgery or intervention imaging, further testing may be needed to ensure any procedure is safe and effective.

Regardless of where a surgery or procedure is done, UVM Health provides leading-edge post-procedure care including close follow up, imaging tests and a nationally recognized cardiac rehabilitation program, as needed.

We offer long-term disease management for patients. Monitoring consists of regular imaging tests and follow-up visits with your providers. For your convenience, many imaging tests can be done at UVM Health locations throughout Vermont and northern New York. We also offer digital health visits, both by video and by telephone, when medically appropriate.