A photo of Alexander Opotowsky.

Alexander Opotowsky, MD, MMSc


  • Director, Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program
  • Co-Director, Exercise Laboratory
  • Co-Director, The Heart Institute Research Core
  • Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

About

Biography

Alexander (Sasha) Opotowsky is director of the Cincinnati Adult Congenital Heart Disease (CINCH) Program. After medical school at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, he completed Internal Medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Cardiology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. After a year of specialized adult congenital cardiology and pulmonary hypertension training at Penn, Dr. Opotowsky completed a two-year senior fellowship and joined the staff of the Boston Adult Congenital Heart Service. Dr. Opotowsky founded the Boston ACHD Biobank in 2012, enrolling and collecting bio-specimens from over 1,600 patients. This resource has facilitated high impact research using circulating and urinary biomarkers to better understand and treat adults born with congenital heart disease.

MD: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, NY, 2003.

MPH: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, NY, 2003.

MMSc: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2012.

Internship and Residency: Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 2003-2006.

Fellowship: Cardiovascular Disease, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2006-2009.

Senior Fellowship: Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 2009-2011.

Interests

Adult congenital heart disease; pulmonary hypertension; pulmonary arterial hypertension, heart failure; exercise testing; atrial septal defects; ventricular septal defects; patent ductus arteriosus; Eisenmenger syndrome; single ventricle heart disease; cyanotic heart disease; bicuspid aortic valve; aortic stenosis; aortic coarctation; tetralogy of Fallot; pulmonary atresia; pulmonary stenosis; transposition of the great arteries; Ebstein anomaly; valve disease; mitral regurgitation; health-related quality of life

Services and Specialties

Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Heart Institute, Fontan Management Clinic

Interests

Adult congenital heart disease; exercise testing and physiology; biomarkers; biobanking; pulmonary hypertension; pulmonary vascular disease; right ventricular function and failure; heart failure; health-related quality of life

Research Areas

Heart

Insurance Information

Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.

View Insurance Information

Publications

Selected

Prevalence and Prognostic Association of a Clinical Diagnosis of Depression in Adult Congenital Heart Disease: Results of the Boston Adult Congenital Heart Disease Biobank. Carazo, MR; Kolodziej, MS; DeWitt, ES; Kasparian, NA; Newburger, JW; Duarte, VE; Singh, MN; Opotowsky, AR. Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease. 2020; 9:e014820.

Selected

Creatinine versus cystatin C to estimate glomerular filtration rate in adults with congenital heart disease: Results of the Boston Adult Congenital Heart Disease Biobank. Opotowsky, AR; Carazo, M; Singh, MN; Dimopoulos, K; Cardona-Estrada, DA; Elantably, A; Waikar, SS; Mc Causland, FR; Veldtman, G; Grewal, J; et al. American Heart Journal. 2019; 214:142-155.

Selected

Relationship of Red Cell Distribution Width to Adverse Outcomes in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease (from the Boston Adult Congenital Heart Biobank). Alshawabkeh, L; Rajpal, S; Landzberg, MJ; Emani, S; Ephrem, G; Gray, C; Singh, MN; Wu, F; Opotowsky, AR. American Journal of Cardiology. 2018; 122:1557-1564.

Selected

Prospective cohort study of C-reactive protein as a predictor of clinical events in adults with congenital heart disease: results of the Boston adult congenital heart disease biobank. Opotowsky, AR; Valente, AM; Alshawabkeh, L; Cheng, S; Bradley, A; Rimm, EB; Landzberg, MJ. European Heart Journal (Elsevier). 2018; 39:3253-3261.

Selected

Association of Albuminuria With Major Adverse Outcomes in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: Results From the Boston Adult Congenital Heart Biobank. Rajpal, S; Alshawabkeh, L; Almaddah, N; Joyce, CM; Shafer, K; Gurvitz, M; Waikar, SS; McCausland, FR; Landzberg, MJ; Opotowsky, AR. JAMA Cardiology. 2018; 3:308-316.

Selected

EPAS1 Mutations and Paragangliomas in Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease. Vaidya, A; Flores, SK; Cheng, Z; Nicolas, M; Deng, Y; Opotowsky, AR; Jr, LD M; Barletta, JA; Rana, HQ; Adelaide Pereira, M; et al. The New England journal of medicine. 2018; 378:1259-1261.

Selected

A Randomized Trial Comparing Cardiac Rehabilitation to Standard of Care for Adults With Congenital Heart Disease. Opotowsky, AR; Rhodes, J; Landzberg, MJ; Bhatt, AB; Shafer, KM; Yeh, DD; Crouter, SE; Tikkanen, AU. World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Hearth Surgery. 2018; 9:185-193.

Corrigendum to ‘The role of sensitization in post-transplant outcomes in adults with congenital heart disease sensitization in adults with congenital heart disease’, Int. J. Cardiol. Congenit. Heart Dis., 8, June 2022, 100384. Alshawabkeh, L; Herrick, NL; Opotowsky, AR; Singh, TP; Landzberg, M; Urey, MA; Cherikh, W; Rossano, JW; Givertz, MM. International journal of cardiology congenital heart disease. 2023; 14:100474.

Abstract 12144: The Association Between High Cardiac Index and Mortality. Zeder, K; Johnson, SW; Lee, LY; Qi, W; Oldham, WM; Kovacs, G; Opotowsky, A; Tedford, RJ; Brittain, EL; Maron, BA. Circulation. 2023; 148.

Timely PAH Identification in Adults With Repaired Congenital Heart Disease? The ACHD-QuERI Registry Insights. Landzberg, MJ; Daniels, CJ; Forfia, P; McLaughlin, VV; Bell Lynum, KS; Selej, M; Opotowsky, AR. 2023; 2:100649.

Patient Ratings and Comments

All patient satisfaction ratings and comments are submitted by actual patients and verified by a leading independent patient satisfaction company, NRC Health. Patient identities are withheld to ensure confidentiality and privacy. Only those providers whose satisfaction surveys are administered through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are displayed. Click here to learn more about our survey

4.6
Overall Patient Rating