Washington Adult Congenital Heart Program

Director's Description

Developed in partnership with the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the Washington Adult Congenital Heart Program (WACH) provides continuity of care for adults with congenital heart disease – both survivors of early surgery and newly diagnosed adults. This unique collaboration received accreditation as a comprehensive adolescent and adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) care center through the Adult Congenital Heart Association in 2018.

Established in 2001, the Washington Adult Congenital Heart Program is the oldest and largest adult congenital heart program in the Washington, D.C., region. The WACH Program works collaboratively with Children's National Heart Institute’s pediatric cardiologists and cardiac specialists at MedStar Washington Hospital Center to provide seamless care, and joins forces with subspecialists within cardiology and across disciplines such as hematology, nephrology and OB/GYN to provide comprehensive care to adults with congenital heart disease. By combining intellectual resources and technology from both institutions, such as cardiac MRI, cardiac catheterization, and electrophysiology services, doctors provide the most thorough evaluations and treatment for complex congenital heart patients. The mission of the Washington Adult Congenital Heart Program is to provide expert, subspecialized comprehensive and collaborative, patient-centered care to adults affected by congenital heart disease. Our goal has been to become a regional and national center of excellence through promoting collaboration, providing ACHD focused education, and leading hypothesis driven multicenter research.

We currently see patients in 8 locations throughout the DC/MD/VA area and are committed to being accessible to our patients, be it through our expanding clinic options- including telemedicine visits - or our patients' ability to contact a clinician 24/7 if needed. We have strong ties to other regional ACHD programs and often serve as a tertiary referral site for specialized care. Additionally, being centered in the nation's capital provides unique opportunities to participate in research collaborations with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as provide our expertise to members of governmental departments and members of the armed services.