OUTREACH

OUTREACH

Treatment of congenital heart disease is one of the successes of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the 3.8 million patients with congenital heart disease in Europe have a high risk of developing heart failure, arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death or (potentially fatal) blood vessel dilatation/stenosis relatively early in life. To reduce the burden of cardiovascular morbidity in the aging patient we must recognize these late complications earlier and treat them better.

There is an unmet need to develop new effective strategies to treat and prevent ventricular failure, arrhythmias, and large vessel disease. Our ambitions are to reduce the risk of mortality and morbidity and increase quality of life of these patients (both children and adults) by improving outcome driven follow-up, individualized risk assessment and therapy.

Our research will focus on the group of patients with anomalies of the outflow tract: the connection between the heart chambers and the great arteries to lungs and body (including disorders such as transposition of the large arteries, tetralogy of Fallot and aortic stenosis).

 

Read an interview with Joost van Melle about OUTREACH here.

“Healthy aging for congenital heart defects: lifetime guidance for heart failure.”

 

People involved

Principal investigator

Joost van Melle

Cardiologist
Team

Adriaan Voors

Cardiologist

International collaborations

  • Academic Medical Center Amsterdam
  • Leiden University Medical Center
  • University Medical Center Utrecht
  • Erasmus Medical Center
  • Radboud University Medical Center

Press & publications

Effect of Losartan on Right Ventricular Dysfunction: Results From the Double-Blind, Randomized REDEFINE Trial (Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Tetralogy of Fallot: Inhibition of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System) in Adults With Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot

Bokma, J. P. et al. Circulation (2018).

view on publisher site

Survivorship in Children and Young Adults With Congenital Heart Disease in Sweden

Mandalenakis, Z. et al. JAMA Intern Med. (2017).

view on publisher site

Long term outcome up to 30 years after the Mustard or Senning operation: a nationwide multicentre study in Belgium.

Moons, P. et al. Heart. (2004).

view on publisher site

External links