In this section
The Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC) Service at Manchester Royal Infirmary is dedicated to the diagnosis, management, and family screening of genetic heart diseases – conditions that can run in families. These conditions are caused by spelling mistakes in the instructions that build our hearts – inherited genetic variants that affect the structure, function, or electrical system of the heart and blood vessels. If undetected or untreated these may put patients at risk of serious complications such as abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure, or sudden cardiac death.
The service includes a multidisciplinary team including cardiologists with expertise in genetic heart disease, genetic counsellors, specialised nurses and physiologists. Comprehensive care starts with a detailed personal and family medical history, clinical examination, before moving on to cardiac investigations such as ECG monitoring, exercise stress ECG, echocardiography, cardiac MRI, and sometimes genetic testing.
A key feature of the ICC service is genetic testing. By analysing a patient’s DNA, the team can sometimes identify specific genetic variants responsible for a patient’s condition. Genetic results help confirm diagnoses, inform prognosis, and guide treatment strategies. Importantly, the service may be able to offer cascade screening — testing of at-risk family members — to detect affected relatives early and provide preventive care.
A range of conditions are treated by the ICC service:
- Cardiomyopathies: These are genetic disease of the heart muscle that can lead to thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), weakening of the heart muscle (dilated cardiomyopathy), or abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy).
- Channelopathies: These are genetic disorders that interfere with the electrical properties of the heart without any visible effect on the structure of the heart muscle. These disorders such as Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT) can lead to a risk of cardiac arrest if untreated.
- Aortopathies: These are conditions affecting the largest artery that leaves the heart, the aorta. They can lead to swelling of the aorta (aneurysms) which if untreated can tear or burst.
- Unexplained sudden death: Tragically, some patients may present for the first time with a cardiac arrest. In these cases the ICC service may be involved to see whether family members are at risk of similar events.
The inherited cardiac conditions service has close links with other services within the cardiology department such as Clinical Genetics and Cardiac Rhythm Management for implantation of defibrillators (ICDs). The ICC service hosts the regional multidisciplinary team meetings to which cases are brought to discuss from hospitals around the region.
Contact Details
| Manchester Heart Centre Reception | 0161 276 4132 |
| Inherited Cardiac Conditions Nurse | 0161 271 2015 |