Adult Congenital Heart Programme
Professor Michael Gatzoulis, Head of Group
Mission Statement
- To provide leadership and facilitate optimal patient care, training and research in adult congenital heart disease.
- To promote closer collaboration between paediatric and adult cardiology.
- To enhance communication amongst tertiary, secondary and primary care centres and support a National Framework for the care of the adult with congenital heart disease.
The Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Unit is based at the Royal Brompton Hospital and is the first and largest facility of its kind in Europe.
The unit has an active research programme fostered by its multi-disciplinary nature and its academic location within the Royal Brompton Hospital and the National Heart & Lung Institute. Full-time Fellows in adult congenital heart disease work in collaboration with research teams from Cardiac MR, Echocardiography, Cardiac Surgery, Paediatrics and Heart Function. In addition, Researchers, in conjunction with the Clinical Trials and Evaluation Unit, co-ordinate multi-centre collaborative studies.
The Unit is also one of the first established centres for specialised training of cardiologists, paediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and allied disciplines from the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. An advanced Joint Fellowship between the Royal Brompton Hospital and the University of Toronto Congenital Cardiac Centre for Adults is available for cardiologists with a career focus in adult congenital heart disease. Additional senior and intermediate fellowships in adult congenital heart disease -with teaching and research components respectively - are also available. National and international meetings in the field - run at the Royal Brompton Hospital and National Heart & Lung Institute or other sites - are an integral part of the Unit’s academic curriculum.
Current research efforts focus in the following areas:
- Late outcome of congenital heart disease: Effects of medical, catheter and late surgical intervention
- Risk stratification and risk modification for arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death
- The right ventricle in the systemic and pulmonary circulation: Assessment of function and prevention of late failure.
- Fontan circulation for single ventricle physiology: Determinants of late outcome
- The role of cardiac MR, nuclear imaging and multi-slice CT in adult congenital heart disease
- The role of the autonomic nervous system in congenital heart disease
- The role of exercise testing and physical conditioning in congenital heart disease
- Neurohormonal and inflammatory activation in congenital heart disease: Markers of early dysfunction and new therapeutic avenues.
Educational material:
Adult Congenital Heart Disease: A Practical Guide. Michael Gatzoulis, Head, Adult Congenital Heart Programme, Royal Brompton Hospital, London; Lorna Swan, Western Infirmary, Glasgow; Judith Therrien, McGill University, Montreal; George Pantely. Blackwell 2005.
Diagnosis and Management of Adult Congenital Heart Disease. Eds: Gatzoulis, Webb, Daubeney. Elsevier 2003.
Additional Collaborators:
Dr Li Wei (Consultant in Congenital Heart Echocardiography)
Mr Darryl Shore (Consultant Cardiac Surgeon)
Mr Babulal Sethia (Consultant Cardiac Surgeon)
Mr Hideki Uemura (Consultant Cardiac Surgeon)
Ms Lesley Jones (Clinical Nurse Specialists)
Mr Carl Harries (Clinical Nurse Specialists, Pulmonary Hypertension)
Dr Konstantinos Dimopoulos (Consultant in Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension)
Dr Anselm Uebing (Consultant in Adult Congenital Heart Disease)
