Advancing Patient Care for Heart Disease

Two of the four doctors who received CIMIT-Johnson & Johnson Young Clinician Research Awards this year focused on heart disease.

Audrey Chung Marshall, MD, Children’s Hospital Boston

Heart Disease: A positioning device to repair heart damage in utero

I am privileged to have the opportunity to try to make a difference in one of the top three heart abnormalities to cause problems in newborns. I believe with new technology we can facilitate cardiac intervention and lower fetal complication rates and procedure time. Additionally, we will not have to make a major incision in the mother, in order to try to operate on the baby. Both procedures will be minimally invasive.

Michael J. Davidson, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Heart disease: Valve repair without open-heart surgery

There are over 93,000 valve procedures performed each year and degenerative valve disease is the prevalent source of hospitalization and procedural intervention. Thus far, open heart surgery has been the mainstay for treating symptomatic heart valve disease. The availability of viable techniques for catheter-based heart valve repair and replacement will allow more patients to choose a less invasive option.

Congratulations, Dr. Marshall and Davidson! And thanks for working to improve cardiovascular disease patient care.

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