Because of the success of pediatric cardiac care teams over the past decades, there is now a population of adults alive today who previously may not have survived childhood. Inova's Congenital Heart Disease Program started in 1994 as one of the country's first programs to care for congenital heart disease patients. Today, our team of specialized physicians continues to care for patients in every stage of congenital heart disease. We offer the only program in Northern Virginia with continuity of care for infants, children, newly diagnosed adults and adults who were treated for congenital heart disease in childhood.
While most congenital heart defects are present at birth, around 10% of people with congenital heart disease don't have symptoms until adulthood. Even when defects are repaired during infancy or childhood, people born with congenital heart problems may continue to have cardiac issues requiring follow-up care by a cardiologist throughout their lives.
Inova's adult and pediatric specialists collaborate to offer this unique population a seamless continuity of care with our full breadth of cardiovascular services, including cardiac imaging, cardiac surgery, advanced heart failure, arrhythmia management and pulmonary hypertension programs.
Areas of specialization include:
- Adult Congenital Cardiac Catheterization
Cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists perform advanced minimally invasive procedures to treat congenital heart defects. Some of these include repairing coarctation of the aorta, atrial septal defect closure, stenting and catheter-based pulmonary valve replacement.
- Adult Congenital Electrophysiology
Electrophysiologists who are specialized in the management of adults with congenital heart disease treat all types of arrhythmias. Inova’s adult congenital heart disease electrophysiology program is one of the few programs that has successfully performed cardiac resynchronization therapy in adults with dyssynchrony-associated heart failure, enabling patients to avoid heart transplantation.
- Advanced Cardiac Therapies
Inova's end-stage heart failure program offers mechanical cardiac assist programs, including Joint Commission-certified ventricular assist device (VAD) services, as well as heart and lung transplantation. VADs can be used as a bridge therapy while awaiting transplant or, for some, as a longer-term solution to improve levels of functioning. Inova is also a leader in both heart transplant and lung transplant services.
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Inova's high-risk obstetric specialists manage women with congenital heart disease during pregnancy. The team also cares for women carrying babies with suspected congenital heart disease including specialized care for the mother and baby during labor and delivery, as well as postnatal care of the newborn.