Comprehensive treatment for inherited heart disease involves more than just managing your symptoms. At the Penn Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease, our treatment goals revolve around your long-term health and that of your entire family.
Treatment for Inherited Heart Disease: The Penn Medicine Advantage
When you choose Penn for treatment of an inherited heart condition, you'll find:
- Unique expertise in inherited cardiac disease: Ours is one of the only comprehensive programs in the area that specializes in inherited heart conditions. Patients travel to Penn from all over the country for treatment. Our team includes highly trained and skilled physicians, nurses and genetic counselors.
- Multidisciplinary network of cardiac experts: Inherited heart disease can affect individuals and families in very different ways. We collaborate with many cardiology specialists, including experts in aortic disease and arrhythmia, in the Penn network for seamless, individualized care. Our patients have access to any type of treatment they might need, including monitoring, symptom management and advanced surgical procedures.
- Partnerships to care for special populations: We have special programs and partnerships for patients with particular needs. These include athletes, children with an inherited heart condition, and women who are or may become pregnant.
- Nationally recognized cardiac surgery specialists: Our programs in coronary artery bypass surgery, heart transplantation and heart valve surgery are nationally recognized.
- Research for treatments of the future: Inherited heart conditions can affect future generations of your family. At Penn, we conduct exciting research to help advance understanding of inherited cardiac disease. Our patients can enroll in studies that involve growing heart cells and evaluating new drug therapies.
- Long-term follow-up: Our team follows patients and their families for many years. We make sure you'll continue to receive the best possible treatments and that you'll understand the effects of inherited heart disease on every stage of your life.
Medications for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease
Some heart diseases respond well to medications that lessen symptoms or ease the heart's workload. Our team includes experts at medical management of inherited cardiac disease with medications. Depending on what condition you have, treatment may include:
- Aldosterone antagonists, which block an artery-tightening hormone called aldosterone
- Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), which relax veins and arteries to decrease blood pressure
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners) to prevent blood clots
- Beta blockers, which block certain signals and hormones that raise heart rate
- Calcium channel blockers, which can lower blood pressure and heart rate by preventing calcium from entering the heart's cells
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs, which lower the chance of heart attack
- Diuretics (water pills), which make the body get rid of extra fluids and sodium, making it easier for the heart to pump
- Neprilysin inhibitors, which have similar effects as ACE inhibitors and ARBs and also help the body eliminate salt to reduce certain symptoms
- SLGT2 inhibitors, which reduce the risk of cardiovascular death in patients with heart disease and diabetes
Procedures and Devices for Familial Heart Disease
For patients with advanced heart disease, procedures, surgeries and medical devices may help lessen symptoms and allow your heart to work better. The Penn network includes experts in every procedure you might need. Examples include:
- Alcohol septal ablation, a minimally invasive procedure that injects alcohol to reduce wall thickness in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and obstruction of blood as it leaves the heart and goes into the aorta
- Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery or angioplasty to open blockages and improve blood flow
- Cardioversion, a procedure that delivers an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heart rate and rhythm
- Catheter ablation, a procedure that uses energy to destroy tissue causing arrhythmia
- Septal myectomy, an open-heart surgery to reduce the thickness of the heart walls in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and obstruction of blood as it leaves the heart and goes into the aorta, delivering rapid symptom relief
- Heart Valve Disease Treatment to repair or replace faulty heart valves
- Implantable devices to regulate the heart rate and rhythm, such as pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)
- Ventricular assist device, a mechanical pump that helps pump blood out of the left ventricle
- Heart transplantation with a deceased donor's heart in advanced cases
Carefully Monitoring Your Health and Progress
Managing an inherited heart disease is a lifelong process. The Penn team will be your partner in health, carefully following your progress. We make sure your treatments are still effective with minimal side effects and complications.
In addition to medications and procedures, our team can educate you about:
Make an Appointment
Please call 800-789-7366 or request a callback.
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