by: Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
Watch: Connect with the Experts – Cardiac Care
Last week PPMD’s Rachel Schrader moderated a webinar with expert cardiologists to discuss important topics related to cardiac medications, imaging, and advanced cardiac care. PPMD recognizes families often have questions related to the cardiac care of people with Duchenne as well as female carriers, and was delighted to facilitate a conversation between the Duchenne community and experts in the field. PPMD is grateful to Dr. Jon Soslow (Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital), Dr. Katheryn Gambetta (Lurie Children’s Hospital) and Dr. Chet Villa (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital) for their time presenting their knowledge and answering the community’s questions.
Dr. Soslow spoke about types of imaging used to monitor cardiac function including echocardiography (“echo”) and cardiac MRI. Dr. Soslow discussed the indications and methods for using both to monitor cardiomyopathy associated with Duchenne, and how cardiologists are working to better understand and predict progression of cardiac function.
Dr. Gambetta (Lurie Children’s Hospital) presented about early medication recommendations, current therapy guidelines, and discussed different types of cardiac medications commonly used in Duchenne.
Dr. Villa (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital) talked about management of heart failure, including monitoring heart rhythms, optimizing medication, and consideration of devices such as ICDs and VADs. Dr. Villa also leads the ACTION network, which includes 22 centers throughout the United States and allows for collaboration of cardiologists who care for patients with Duchenne to continue to learn and improve care.
