Changing health care and nursing through genetics - Kathleen T. Hickey, Ed.D.

The Foundation's Nurse Faculty Scholars program was designed to increase the stature and academic standing of nursing faculty and draw more nurses to teaching careers by creating a cadre of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards to outstanding junior nursing faculty.There are identifiable mutations in genes associated with the non-ischemic cardiomyopathies and long-QT syndrome. The purpose of this project is to: (1) determine the prevalence, frequency and distribution of genetic mutations associated with known cardiac disorders in individuals with an internal cardioverter defibrillator (ICD); and (2) correlate between the presence of a mutation and arrhythmias. Patients with cardiomyopathies or long-QT syndrome will undergo DNA testing to determine whether there is an underlying genetic basis for their diagnosis and if it correlates with the presence of arrhythmias. If a correlation exists, improved risk stratification to identify those at highest risk for arrhythmias can be tested to enhance clinical practice.