Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) need a trusted, experienced care team to help manage life’s ups and downs.
As a leading adult congenital heart disease center, our comprehensive program delivers personalized, lifelong care—from your transition to adult care through family planning, pregnancy support, advanced procedures and transplants.
You deserve exceptional care backed by expertise and outcomes. At Emory Healthcare, we deliver both.
Our ACHD team is recognized as:
Your care plan is built around you—your condition, your stage of life and your goals. Our multidisciplinary team works with you to create a treatment approach that fits your needs and evolves over time.
Treatment options may include:
Some ACHD conditions can be managed with medication to control symptoms and support heart function. Examples of medications include ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure, beta blockers to control heart rate and blood pressure and anticoagulants to prevent blood clots.
Many structural heart conditions can be treated without surgery using cardiac catheterization. During this procedure, a thin, flexible tube is guided through a blood vessel to your heart to repair defects or open narrowed areas.
These outpatient procedures often allow you to go home the same day.
Learn more about structural heart treatments.
If ACHD affects your heart rhythm, we may recommend a device to help keep your heartbeat steady. Our electrophysiologists perform more than 150 implants each year.
Your care team may recommend a pacemaker to treat a slow heartbeat or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to treat fast or irregular rhythms. We also offer ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation (a battery-operated mechanical pump) for patients awaiting heart transplant.
Learn more about electrophysiology implantation and implantable cardiac devices.
Some ACHD conditions require surgery. Our team performs hundreds of procedures each year with a near 99% success rate.
We treat everything from valve disease to complex congenital defects and advanced heart failure, including heart transplant. When surgery is needed, our surgeons partner with leading specialists across heart and transplant care to achieve the best possible outcomes and quality of life.
Learn more about the different heart surgeries performed at Emory Healthcare.
We offer specialized family planning and pregnancy care for adults with congenital heart disease.
As Georgia’s only stand-alone adult cardiovascular genetics program, we identify inherited conditions and create personalized care plans to support a healthy pregnancy before and after delivery.
We’re advancing care for ACHD through ongoing research and innovation. As part of leading clinical trials, you may have access to new medications and treatments not widely available.
Learn more about clinical trials and other innovative research.
As your lifelong health care partner, we provide care, education and support at every stage of life. Turn to Emory Healthcare for your heart care and overall wellness.
When you move from pediatric to adult care, we help make the transition smooth.
We provide education, support and help with insurance, appointments and treatment planning. We also involve family members and caregivers as needed.
ACHD requires lifelong monitoring to help prevent complications.
Our team manages your overall health with in-person or virtual visits and connects you to additional resources when needed.
If your needs change, we adjust your care plan, whether that means medication, procedures or surgery.
If you need surgery or a transplant, we coordinate your care every step of the way.
We work closely with surgical teams and support you before, during and after your procedure, including follow-up care.
If you’re planning a family, genetic testing can help assess your risk.
We offer testing, counseling and personalized support, and work closely with your OB-GYN to support a healthy pregnancy.
Create a MyChart account to schedule online or call 404-778-0175 to schedule an appointment.
Emory Healthcare doctors provide specialized treatment and research the latest advancements.
View Emory Physician ProfilesTo expand your options, explore our network of providers throughout Atlanta and the surrounding counties.
