Tampa Bay Adult Congenital Heart Clinic

What makes the Tampa Bay Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic unique is the true spirit of our practice - a dynamic blend of caring and uncompromising standards. Each of us at the Tampa Bay Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic  is dedicated to meeting the ever-changing needs of our patients as well as their family members, a commitment that we have adhered to since our humble beginnings in 1993.  We now care for over 600 patients with corrected and uncorrected congenital heart disease, regardless of their ability to pay, and remain the only private practice Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic in the United States and have close affiliation with teaching hospitals and a teaching university.  We are the only clinic of its kind in Western Florida.

 Our medical team is comprised of a board certified Pediatric Cardiologist, a board certified Adult Cardiologist, dedicated RNs, and pediatric and adult cardiac sonographers, all with specific training and interest in congenital heart disease.  This collaboration between pediatric and adult cardiology provides easy transition between children's and adult services.  We have formed a team-approach to caring for our patients, forming a close alliance with surgeons, primary care providers, high-risk obstetricians, dentists,  and other allied health services such as social workers specializing in congenital heart disease to provide the complex, cohesive, quality care our patients need, even to those with the rarest of congenital defects. Our care coordinators are experienced and dedicated to providing support to assure the welfare of our patients and coordinating necessary services for our patients and their families.

 Although we are a private practice, we are often invited guest faculty at local and national continuing education programs, provide our own educational seminars to community primary care providers, and participate in clinical trials that will provide new expertise and treatments for adults with congenital heart disease. The Tampa Bay Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic also provides clinical rotations for medical students, residents and fellows who are interested in the study of congenital heart disease.

Not very long ago, children born with congenital heart defects rarely lived to be adults. Today, the number of adults with congenital heart disease outnumbers the number of children with congenital heart disease, growing by 5% every year.  We have responded to the needs of our community by expanding our office locations to Tampa, St. Petersburg and Land O Lakes Florida. We also provide care to many patients who travel from Southwest Florida, Central Florida, Northern Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Texas.

Unfortunately, while medical advances have allowed those born with congenital heart defects to survive into adulthood, many of those who have had surgical repairs as children may not be getting appropriate follow up care. Persons with congenital heart disease are at increased risk for cardiac problems that arise years after correction and increase in frequency over long periods. Non-cardiac medical conditions such as pregnancy or non-cardiac surgical procedures require special management that is not necessary in the general population. In part, this lack of follow up care is because there are not enough physicians available with the expertise to treat adults with complex congenital heart disease. In part, it is also because many do not know they need regular follow up care because they believe that repair of a congenital defect is a cure, which it is not.  We are dedicated to educating the public about this very important subject.

We provide on-site advanced diagnostics, including echocardiography, continuous loop digital recording, nuclear imaging, stress testing, metabolic stress testing, cardiac MRI, CTA and laboratory.

Unique Clinic

Our mission is to

©       Diagnose and treat patients with congenital heart disease regardless of ability to pay

©       Improve the health and quality of life of our patients

©       Prevent complications from congenital heart disease defects

©       Share our knowledge through education

 Medical Staff

Hector Fontanet, M.D., FACC co-director

Adult Cardiology

Richard Martinez, M.D., FACC co-director

Pediatric Cardiology

Laura Szydlowski, ARNP

Adult Cardiology

Amanda Pavlock, ARNP

Pediatric Cardiology

Anna Scott, RN

Adult Cardiology

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