The goals of the Phoebe Willingham Muzzy Pediatric Molecular Cardiology Laboratory include the identification of the underlying causes of heart muscle disease and congenital heart disease, as well as the translation of these discoveries to the care of children with heart disease through our clinical services at the Heart Center at Texas Children's Hospital and through the John Welsh Cardiovascular Diagnostic Laboratory.

Cardiomyopathy

Congestive heart failure due to poor heart function (cardiomyopathy) is a serious heart muscle disease, which is a major cause of death and disability in children and adults. These disorders are the most common diseases leading to cardiac transplantation, with an associated cost of approximately $200 million/year in the United States. The cardiomyopathies are classified into five forms:

Dilated Cardiomyopathy	Normal Heart. Towbin, JA and Bowles, NE.  The Failing Heart. Nature. 2002; 415:227-33.
Left Ventricular Non-compaction
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy

DCM is the most common form of cardiomyopathy, occurring in 60 percent of cases. There are more than 10,000 deaths annually in the United States due to cardiomyopathy, with DCM being the major contributor to this death rate.

Congenital Heart Disease

More than 1 million Americans are estimated to suffer from cardiovascular defects, and greater than 1 percent of all infants born each year have a congenital heart defect resulting in CHD being the leading cause of birth-defect-related deaths in the United States. Multiple forms of CHD have been described including the following:

Shunt Lesions “Holes In the Heart” Ventricular Septal Defect Atrial Septal Defect Atrioventricular Canal Patent Ductus Arteriosus Obstructive Lesions Left Heart Obstruction Aortic Stenosis/Aortic Atresia Bicuspid Aortic Valve Mitral Stenosis/Mitral Atresia Pulmonary Vein Stenosis/Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return Coarctation of the Aorta Interrupted Aortic Arch Subvalvar Aortic Stenosis Supravalvar Aortic Stenosis Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome Right Heart Obstruction Tricuspid Atresia/Tricuspid Stenosis Pulmonic Stenosis/Pulmonary Atresia Ebstein’s Anomaly Truncus Arteriosus Tetralogy of Fallot Cyanotic Heart Disease  Transposition of the Great Arteries Heterotaxy syndrome Double Outlet Right Ventricle

Current Research Studies

Dilated Cardiomyopathy	Phoebe Willingham Muzzy Pediatric Molecular Cardiology Laboratory
Myocarditis
Left Ventricular Non-compaction
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy
Congenital Heart Disease

Faculty Members

• Jeffrey A. Towbin, M.D. - director, Phoebe Willingham Pediatric Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratory
• Hua Li, Ph.D.
• Matteo Vatta, Ph.D.