Adult Congenital Heart Disease

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Treating Congenital Heart Disease

Patients and their families are guided through every aspect of management, from the initial encounter and review of prior history, through diagnostic and interventional procedures, while emphasizing continuity of care and long-term follow up. Our physicians are focused exclusively on treating congenital heart disease in adults and work with specialists from multiple clinical disciplines to provide care from many different perspectives, including:

• Cardiac genetics
• Cardiac imaging
• Cardiac and thoracic surgery
• Electrophysiology
• Heart failure and transplantation
• Hematology
• Interventional cardiology
• Neurology
• Obstetrics and gynecology
• Pulmonary care

Our specialists care for adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease and value open and ongoing communication with referring pediatricians, internists and primary cardiologists. We also emphasize patient education and self-advocacy to help patients transition from pediatric, through adolescent to adult care.

We offer multidisciplinary visits with same day testing in Boston, state-of-the-art interventions, health and wellness clinics in Waltham, and telemedicine and digital health services throughout the Northeast and internationally. The program has an active interest in transitioning adolescents and young adults to adult cardiac care and in cardiovascular disease and pregnancy.

Diagnosing Congenital Heart Disease

To diagnose congenital heart disease, it is important to have a clear image of a patient’s anatomy. The Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program includes full-time, board-certified cardiac imaging specialists who are specially trained to detect heart defects and whose practice focuses specifically on congenital heart disease.

Depending on the patient, we may use one or more of these diagnostic techniques to examine the heart’s anatomy and function:

• Cardiac MRI
• Cardiac CT
• Echocardiography, including transesophageal, transthoracic and 3D
• CT guidance during electrophysiologic procedures
• Diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization

Treating Congenital Heart Disease

Both outpatient and inpatient care are closely supervised by the same dedicated physicians in the personalized manner that has been the tradition and style of excellence that characterizes Mass General.

Helping Patients Live Full, Healthy Lives

Our goal is to repair and manage congenital heart conditions so that patients live full, healthy lives. Our specialists take a holistic approach to care and are available to:

• Answer your questions: Patients with congenital heart disease often have questions relating to work, education, sports participation, marriage, pregnancy, childrearing, and whether their condition affects lifestyle decisions
• Guide patients through lifestyle changes: Preventive care is central to the treatment process. We often guide patients through dietary changes and weight management, and may refer them to cardiac rehabilitation specialists to help manage their condition
• Support young patients: Teens and young adults with congenital heart disease receive ongoing support that helps them shift from pediatric to adult-based health care. Adolescents and young adults also receive peer support from patients who have similar conditions.

Minimally Invasive Treatments

For some patients, we use an interventional transcatheter approach to offer minimally invasive procedures that result in small incisions in the skin, rather than open heart surgery. Our interventional cardiologists treat congenital heart conditions, including but not limited to septal defects, coarctation of aorta, pulmonary branch stenoses and perform pulmonic vein replacement.

Surgical Interventions

Our dedicated surgical team specializes in adult congenital heart surgical procedures, including primary operations and reoperations. We are experienced in both simple and complex congenital heart surgeries, including:

• Fontan operation and revision
• Surgical closure of atrial septal defect
• Surgical repair of coartation of the aorta
• Surgical repair of Ebstein’s anomaly
• Pulmonary valve replacement
• Surgical repair of coronary artery anomalies
• Tetralogy of Fallot repair or reoperation
• Valve sparing aortic root surgery
• Conduit revision
• Congenital valve repair or replacement (tricuspid, mitral, aortic)

Timely Appointments

We strive to see patients in a timely fashion. Our dedicated support personnel are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm to take relevant information about your condition and symptoms and make a timely appointment with the most appropriate specialist.

To request an appointment, call 617-726-8510 or complete our online appointment form

Educational Offerings for Medical Professionals

• Annual ACHD CME course for the General Adult or Pediatric Cardiology Practitioner
• ACHD Visiting professorships
• ACHD Fellows lecture series at academic institutions to fulfill COCATS requirements
• ACHD rotation opportunities at MGH for interested fellows
• Local ACHD clinics at our educational partner institutions for longitudinal care/fellow education

Our Team

Chris Learn, MD
Program Director

Doreen DeFaria Yeh, MD

Ada Stefanescu, MD, MSC, MDCM

Sihong Huang, MD

Sherrin Gallagher, NP
ACHD Nurse Practitioner





Lauren McLaughlin, RN
ACHD Program Nurse

Agnes Woodlock, MBA, MSW, LICSW
Clinical Social Worker

Valerie Cassidy, MBA, MSN, RN, CCRN
Staff Specialist

Meet the full team

Preparing for College

When ACHD patients leave for college, there can be gaps in care. To ensure that you can maintain your health, it is important to make an appointment to see your cardiologist at least six months before you leave for college to be sure all necessary tests have been performed (electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, etc.).