Cardiovascular

Talk about the heart, and one thinks of the core of one’s being – love and emotions, beliefs and strengths. And yet, dysfunction of the four-chambered muscular organ – heart disease – is the primary cause of death in this country and worldwide.

When it comes to cardiovascular research, scientists and physicians at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA are turning uncertainty into success. UCLA researchers are finding new therapies, discovering the root causes of cardiovascular disease from the inside out, and creating cures to save people’s lives.

 

Collaborative Projects

  • The use of advanced materials to create valves and vascular devices to treat congenital heart disease in collaboration with faculty in the School of Engineering
  • Ways to improve prenatal and early postnatal detection of congenital heart disease
  • Studies to determine the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis in a collaboration with with faculty in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Tulane National Regional Primate Center.
  • Collaborations with the Ahmanson / UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center Specific areas of interest include pulmonary arterial hypertension in adults with congenital heart disease, treatment of patients with single ventricle physiology, and imaging. We are presently evaluating the use of advanced pulmonary vasodilator therapy in adults with Eisenmenger’s syndrome and single ventricle congenital heart disease in two clinical trials.

 

Current Clinical Trials

  • Alliance for Adult Research in Congenital Cardiology (AARCC) 
    Through this is a multi-national consortium of adult congenital heart disease centers, we are participating in a variety of investigations, including studies of imaging in Tetralogy of Fallot, liver health in Fontan patients, and patient access to specialty care centers.
  • National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative 
    Physicians in the division of cardiology are members of the steering committee and participating in this multicenter initiative to improve outcomes among infants with single ventricles undergoing staged surgical procedures.
  • Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) 
    This is a multicenter registry to gather information about heart disease in children and examine outcomes after heart transplants.
  • Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Therapy 
    This is a new valve device that can be placed percutaneously, eliminating the need for surgery in some patients.
  • Berlin Heart EXCOR Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device 
    Investigational use of this ventricular assist device in small children with end stage heart failure awaiting heart transplantation.

For more information please visit the Pediatric Cardiology site. 

 

Contact Us:

Appointments: (310) 267-7667