Cardiovascular Genetics Center: What to Expect at a Visit

You may meet with a genetic counselor along with a cardiologist or geneticist at your visit. Because genetic conditions are often inherited (passed from parents to children), the genetic counselor will carefully review your family history at the first visit. We will focus on any history of heart disease or on a history of sudden, life-threatening events that may have been due to a heart problem.

Before your visit, it may be helpful to talk within your family and ask if anyone has had heart disease. In particular, we try to determine if any of the following are present:

• Sudden death at age 40 or younger
• A need for CPR or a shock to restart the heart
• Implantation of a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)
• Childhood or early adult heart disease, especially requiring surgery or medication

In addition, some children and parents have had testing before they arrive at our clinic. If you or your children have had any of the following tests, please bring a copy of the test or test report to the visit with you:

• An electrocardiogram (often called an ECG or an EKG)
• An echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart, usually done in a cardiologist’s office)
• An exercise stress test (having your heart observed while running on a treadmill or riding a bike)
• A cardiac magnetic resonance scan (MRI), where the heart is observed using a large MRI machine.
• Genetic test results

In some cases, we can help you obtain those documents. Please call 312.227.4100 or email CardioGenetics@luriechildrens.org prior to the visit if you need help obtaining these documents from other providers.

If the tests listed above have not been completed prior to the visit, or if updated results are needed, they may be completed on the day of your visit. For more complex tests such as genetic testing, the benefits and limitations of these options will be discussed during your visit.

Download our What to Expect brochure: English | Español

Release of Information 

It is important for our team be able to view a patient's medical records prior to their appointment with us. Please complete the Release of Information form below and send it back to us via fax (312.227.9640). 

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