Heart Center News

March 2013

• Peter J. Gruber and associates recently published a paper highlighted in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery entitled, "Contemporary outcomes of ventricular septal defect closure." In the largest single center series to date studying VSD closure, the group found that age and weight were important considerations in the timing of the operation. The Heart Center at Primary Children's performs this operation routinely.  Read Published Paper
  

February 2013

• February 17-22, 2013: Peter J. Gruber, MD, PhD and Susan Etheridge, MD from Primary Children's Heart Center present at 6th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery in Capetown, South Africa. They will be presenting on:

      - Genetics of cardiac malformations and molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiac
         morphogenesis – Peter J. Gruber, MD, PhD.
      - What anaesthetists and intensivists need to understand about the new anatomy and
         embryology – Peter J. Gruber, MD, PhD.
      - SADS USA - The Role of of Our Foundation - Susan Etheridge, MD.

• February 14, 2013: Gene Blackstone, MD, presents at Grand Rounds on evidence based healthcare for congenital heart defects.
  
• February 4, 2013: Primary Children's Heart Center is ranked 8th in the nation for heart care at a children's hospital by Parents magazine.

• February 4, 2013: University of Utah’s Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, February 4th – Regulation of Cardiac Ventricular Maturation – How Do We Measure It? - Peter J. Gruber, MD, PhD.

November 2012

• November 1, 2012  Dr. Martin Tristani was awarded the Utah Genomic Partnership Grant for his project involving atrial fibrillation.
  
• November 5, 2012  Dr. Kim Molina presented the results from the Pediatric Heart Network Ventricular Volume Variability study:  Predictors of Disease Progression in Pediatric Dilated Cardiomyopathy at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles.
  
  
• November 7, 2012  Dr. Nelangi Pinto presented her project analyzing costs for prenatal diagnosis of infants with transposition of the great arteries at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles.

October 2012

• October 3, 2012  Dr. LuAnn Minich was elected Chair of the American Board of Pediatrics Sub-board of Pediatric Cardiology and will serve a 2 year term.
  
  
• October 19, 2012  Dr. Shaji Menon reported the results from his project using myocardial enhancement to predict sudden cardiac death risk in Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the American Academy of Pediatrics national Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
  
  
• October 19, 2012  Dr. Erik Johnson presented the results from his project “Practice Variation and Resource Utilization in the Evaluation of Pediatric Vasovagal Syncope:  Are Pediatric Cardiologists Over-testing?” at the American Academy of Pediatrics national Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
  
  
• October 20, 1012  Dr. Thomas Miller presented “Gender Impacts Right Ventricular Function in Small for Gestational Age Infants with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome at the American Academy of Pediatrics national Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
  
  
• October 20, 2012  Dr. Phil Burch presented his pilot data for the use of Oxandrolone to promote growth in neonates with complex congenital heart disease from an open-label trial at the American Academy of Pediatrics national Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
  
  
• October 20, 2012 Dr. Gordon Mack presented data from the Joint Council for Congenital Heart Disease National Pediatric Cardiology  Quality Improvement Collaborative regarding the variation in medication use after the Norwood procedure at the American Academy of Pediatrics national Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
  
  
• October 20, 2012  Dr. Shaji Menon presented “Clinical Practice, Resource Utilization, and Outcomes of Device Closure of Patent Foramen Ovale in Pediatrics” at the American Academy of Pediatrics national Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
  
  
• October 20, 2012. Drs. Phil Burch and Chuck Williams Pediatric Heart Network Oxandralone Project to stimulate growth in patients with single ventricles was funded for implementation. The University of Utah /Intermountain Primary Children's Medical Center is one of only nine core Pediatric Heart Network centers in the United states.
  
  
• October 26, 2012. Dr. Peter Gruber was invited as visiting professor at Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, Spain. He had two presentations "The classic Norwood- still relevant" and "Why stem cells?" He chaired a panel along with Dr Shunji Sano of Japan debating the pros and cons of surgical approaches to single ventricle palliation.
  

September 2012​

• September 1st  Linda Lambert, FNP, MSN was funded as the Primary Investigator for the PHN’s project Team 4 Growth.
  
  
• September 1, 2012  Drs. LuAnn Minich and Elizabeth were funded as the Primary Investigator for the PHN’s project Echocardiogram and Electrocardiogram Z-score Project.  The study is expected to launch in January of 2013.
  
  
• September 10, 2012  Dr. Dongngan Truong received an Early Career Award from the Thrasher Foundation for her project : “Antiplatelet Activity of Aspirin in Infants after Aortopulmonary and Cavopulmonary Shunts”.
   
  
• September 13, 2012. Dr. A.K. Kaza presented his paper entitled "Fiberoptic Confocal Microscopy for Discrimination of Cardiac Tissue: An Update" in Chicago at the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society Meeting. In this presentation, he described a novel technique to kook at intracardiac structures using confocal microscopy. He and his co-investigators were recently awarded and NIH R21 grant for their efforts to support this work.
  
  
• September 15, 2012. Dr. Peter Gruber presented his proposal for a new, international collaborative genomics effort in Chicago at the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society Meeting. In this presentation, he described developing a "registry of registries" that will enable collaborative genomics.
  
  
• September 20, 2012. Dr. Phil Burch along with co-Primary Investigator Dr. Chuck Williams recently unveiled a new project for the Pediatric Heart Network using oxandralone to stimulate growth in patients with single ventricles at the Pediatric Heart Network meeting in Boston.
  
  
• September 20, 2012. Dr. Shaji Menon along with co-Primary Investigator Dr. LuAnn Minich proposed a new project for the Pediatric Heart Network examining factors to measure the failing Fontan in patients with single ventricles at the Pediatric Heart Network meeting in Boston.
  

June 2012

• Dr. Susan Etheridge, invited speaker at the Western Society of Pediatric Cardiology, presented "All Asymptomatic Children with WPW do NOT need a Catheter Ablation or Electrophysiology Study;" which was part of a debate concerning the need for a catheter ablation and electrophysiology study in children with asymptomatic Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
  http://wsopc.org/
  
• Primary Children's Heart Center was ranked #18 in the nation for Cardiology and Heart Surgery on U.S. News and World Reports 2012-13 annual list of Best Children's Hospital. The Heart Center improved it's ranking from 33rd to 18th in 2012. This represents the most significant ranking improvement of any on the list.  Read Press Release
  www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals

May 2012  

• Dr. Peter J. Gruber to present Congenital Abnormalities and Heart Defect topics at the London Core Review.  These series of intensive lectures in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery provide a solid and broad knowledge base which can be applied to day-to-day practices.  www.corereview.co.uk

• Linda Lambert to present the High Risk Clinic at the JCCHDQI meeting.  This new clinic is designed to benefit Single Ventricle or Shunted Patients; which are a group of patients that are at high risk as a result of their anatomy and staged palliation. The clinic will impact  not only growth but other markers of morbidity and mortality.  www.jcchdqi.org