Current Projects
As part of my Heart Function research to date I sought to determine whether the existing Adult Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Calculator to Predict Risk of Sudden cardiac death could be applied directly to the HCM Pediatric population at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Results showed that this calculator allowed us to risk stratify these patients, which we presented at AHA in November 2016. Our current project is to participate in a multi centre retrospective study across North America to explore this further with the hope of being able to risk stratify and predict which of our patients with Hypertophic cardiomyopathy are at risk of having a sudden cardiac event, and in whom would benefit from early intervention such as implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) insertion.

We recently completed a study on the effect of an 8-week body weight exercise program on the quality of life in adolescents with dysautonomia. We showed a dramatic effect of exercise on the quality of life of these children and this research will be ongoing through the newly established Dysautonomia Clinic.

Our transplant team is involved in multiple studies on the physical health, exercise capacity, quality of life, and overall long-term health in pediatric transplant recipients. Coronary Allograft Vasculopathy (CAV) is one of the leading causes of death in pediatric transplant patients. To date, there is no clear way to detect CAV in these patients. One of my research focuses will be to look at the early detection of CAV in pediatric transplant patients.