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We build, test, and deliver new therapies to cure congenital heart defects, allowing families to live full, enriching lives.
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Join HeartWorks for an online seminar exploring the future of Fontan care. Topics include improving lung blood flow, strengthening heart function, empowering patients with data tools, and current research opportunities followed by a Q&A session.
We are approaching an incredible milestone in our Skin Biopsy Collection Study. During this discussion, we will provide an update on what is next and thank the pioneers who helped us achieve our goal.
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For babies born with only one functional heart pump, a condition known as single ventricle physiology, the journey through childhood often involves multiple lifesaving surgeries. The Fontan procedure is usually the final major surgery.
The Fontan creates a unique circulation system: instead of two pumping chambers, one for the lungs and one for the body, there is only one. Blood returning from the body, low in oxygen (“blue blood”), flows passively to the lungs without the help of a pump. Once the lungs add oxygen, the blood (“red blood”) returns to the single working ventricle, which pumps it out to the rest of the body.
This circulation gives children the chance to grow, learn, and thrive. But as they reach adulthood, the unique system created by the Fontan procedure can bring challenges, limited exercise tolerance, liver complications, and increased risk of heart failure. Historically, there have been few options for patients facing complications after Fontan surgery.
HeartWorks is at the forefront of single ventricle research, pioneering treatments and technologies to improve life after Fontan. Their mission is to transform what’s possible for patients born with one functional heart pump, moving beyond survival to long-term health, quality of life, and new horizons of care.
Some of the most promising areas include:
Read more on Life After Fontan article here: https://heartworksinc.org/life-after-fontan-single-ventricle-research-heartworks