Martina Brueckner, MD

Martina Brueckner, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist who integrates the latest findings in the genetic causes of congenital heart disease into her patient care. She says Yale Medicine provides a unique genetics-cardiology clinic that combines care for patients with congenital heart disease with state-of-the-art genetic testing and counseling. She tells new parents, “You did not cause your child's heart disease. Most people with congenital heart disease today survive.”

A professor of pediatrics (cardiology) at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Brueckner is also an active researcher seeking to expand knowledge of the genomic underpinnings of congenital heart disease. “The goal of my work is to determine the genetic cause and developmental mechanisms underlying congenital heart disease, and to use those discoveries to improve care,” she says.

Dr. Brueckner is excited by significant advances in the understanding of congenital heart disease genetics, and she believes they will eventually allow doctors to optimize outcomes by tailoring care to each individual patient. “I am certain that we can dramatically improve the quality of life for people with congenital heart disease through research focused on the basic underlying causes,” she says.