Cardiomyopathy

The Cardiomyopathy and Advanced Heart Failure Clinic within the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s provides consultative care for diagnosing and managing all forms of cardiomyopathy in children.

Held each weekday, the Cardiomyopathy and Advanced Heart Failure Clinic provides a thorough clinical assessment for patients of all ages with heart muscle dysfunction. Patients may be screened utilizing ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging. Personal and family histories are obtained and the family is counseled regarding a possible underlying genetic basis of the heart muscle disease and associated inheritance patterns. Metabolic and molecular genetic testing are used to identify causes in select patients.

> Read more about what to expect during a Cardiomyopathy clinic visit.

Directed by John Lynn Jefferies, MD, the Cardiomyopathy Clinic features a team of pediatric and adult cardiologists and cardiovascular genetic experts. They investigate all forms of pediatric and adult cardiomyopathy, including hypertrophic dilated or restrictive cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia / cardiomyopathy and left ventricular noncompaction. The team can also diagnose complex forms of heart muscle disease associated with genetic syndromes, inborn errors of metabolism or mitochondrial disorders.

The Cardiomyopathy and Advanced Heart Failure Clinic utilizes the Heart Institute Diagnostic Lab to provide viral PCR and genetic testing for DNA mutations associated with cardiomyopathy. Our genetic counselor can help patients and physicians interpret the results.