Certain cardiac conditions have a genetic component, which means your first degree relatives (parents, siblings and children) may be at a great risk of having the same condition. Those diseases include:

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Marfan syndrome
• Certain congenital heart defects like bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAV)

If you have one of these conditions, genetic testing may be an option if you are interested in learning whether your children may have inherited this condition.

The Northwestern Medicine Division of Clinical Genetics and the Cardiovascular Genetics Program are comprised of highly trained, compassionate physician-geneticists and genetic counselors, who specialize in providing the most current genetic counseling and testing available.

Human genome research has lead to a wealth of information. The Division of Clinical Genetics is translating this new information into knowledge that will provide you the information needed to make informed decisions about your health, as well as about current and future pregnancies.

Because of medical advances, early detection of disease often allows for more options for treatment and/or intervention. Therefore, it is important to be aware of your possible inherited risks as early as possible.