Munich Consortium for Rare Heart Disease

LMU University Hospital

TUM (Technical University of Munich)’s University Hospital

German Heart Center Munich/TUM

Healthcare provider: The ‘Munich Consortium for Rare Heart Disease’ includes three facilities: the LMU (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität) University Hospital, the TUM (Technical University of Munich)’s University Hospital and the German Heart Center Munich/TUM.

“Gemeinsam. Fürsorglich. Wegweisend – Sharing. Caring. Pioneering.” – is the mission of LMU University Hospital. Together with its patients and partners it strives for ground breaking research and treatment in a caring environment. Thanks to its achievements in research, teaching and patient care, the university hospital enjoys an excellent reputation both nationally and internationally. Its 11,070 staff members in the areas of medicine, patient care, administration, technology and maintenance are taking care of patients in 49 clinical departments, institutes and divisions. In addition, 52 interdisciplinary centers offer individual medical care. Interdisciplinary collaboration of experts from different medical areas enables efficient diagnosis and therapy. Around 500,000 patients are treated annually at both locations, the Campus City Center and the Campus Großhadern. With 2,058 beds, the university hospital provides the highest standard of diagnosis, treatment and nursing, and is the second largest university hospital in Germany.

TUM (Technical University of Munich)’s University Hospital covers the entire spectrum of modern medicine. By forging close links between medical care and research, new scientific discoveries can be rapidly incorporated into patient care and therapies.
The Department of Internal Medicine I is specialized in cardiology, angiology and pneumology – i.e. heart, vascular and lung diseases. Our experts use innovative therapies to treat circulatory disorders in the heart muscle and vessels, the valves and the rhythm of the heart, as well as all lung diseases. As part of the interdisciplinary center for rare diseases, we offer specialized consultations for adult patients with rare cardiac diseases in a close collaboration between our department and the Institute of Human Genetics at our clinic. This collaboration enables modern genetic diagnostics including genome and RNA sequencing. Our research groups use induced pluripotent stem cells and animal models to unveil the origins or rare cardiac diseases and develop new treatments.

The German Heart Center Munich/TUM specializes in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and enjoys international renown.  It is one of Germany’s most modern specialist centers for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in adults, adolescents and children. Highest technology in imaging, surgery and interventional (pediatric) cardiology offers the possibility to treat the most complex diseases in all ages. More than 1,200 employees form the departments of cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, congenital heart disease and pediatric cardiology, congenital and pediatric heart surgery, and the institutions for radiology, anesthesiology and laboratory medicine. There is a focus on combining evidenced-based patient care with personalized medicine, specifically in the field of cardiovascular genetic diseases and rare congenital heart diseases. The German Heart Center´s research groups perform competitive clinical, translational and basic science in the field of cardiovascular diseases and congenital heart defects. The German Heart Center is deeply involved in new medical device and drug development, and participates in numerous international disease registries.

Munich Consortium for Rare Heart Disease:  The consortium focuses on rare cardiovascular and congenital heart diseases. It is organized as a multidisciplinary expert network in Munich and consists of three university hospital teams belonging to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University and the Technical University of Munich. Experts are trained in the fields of cardiology, congenital heart diseases, pediatric cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiovascular surgery, and human genetics. There is special expertise in cardiomyopathies and electrical diseases, both in adults and children. The consortium provides a global and complete care of these diseases through combined multidisciplinary skills and facilities. Genetic counselling and molecular genetic diagnosis is led by the institute of human genetics at the Technical University of Munich. Infants, children and adolescents are managed at the German Heart Center Munich´s department of congenital heart disease and pediatric cardiology. The consortium has a strong involvement in university teaching and members are co-authors of various high level publications as well as recommendations of care at national or international level.

Professor Stefan Kääb is senior physician at the Department of Medicine I (cardiology) at the hospital of Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) in Munich. He received his doctoral degree in 1993 at the LMU. From 1993 until 1995 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Since 2004 he is leader of the working group ‘Rhythmology, familial arrhythmia syndromes and sudden cardiac death’ at the Department of Medicine I. His scientific focus is on investigating the causes and therapy of cardiac arrhythmias such as the genetic causes of rare familial arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

Cordula Wolf is an assistant professor in pediatrics at the Technical University of Munich and a pediatric cardiologist at the German Heart Center in Munich. She is director of the center for rare congenital heart diseases with a focus on childhood onset cardiomyopathies and inherited arrhythmia syndromes. She received her doctoral degree at Ludwig-Maximilians-University / Munich and trained in pediatrics at Boston Children´s Hospital, USA. She completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at focusing on molecular mechanisms of cardiomyopathies, cardiac conduction system diseases and arrhythmias at the Seidman laboratory / Harvard University Boston.

Stefan Kääb

Cordula Wolf