The Heart of the Matter: Genetic Counseling and Inherited Cardiovascular Disease

Speaker: Layne Wells-Copeland, MGC, CGC

Genetic testing is reshaping the landscape of modern medicine, including how we diagnose and manage cardiovascular diseases. This talk traces the foundations of inherited heart rhythm disorders and genetic counseling along cultural and anthropological throughlines and explores the implementation of genetic testing in cardiac arrhythmia syndromes. Case examples and patient stories help to illustrate the role of precision medicine in public health.

Layne Wells-Copeland, MGC, CGC is a cardiovascular genetic counselor at Indiana University Health & Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN. She is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University Master of Genetic Counseling program, where her graduate thesis work explored the implementation of postmortem genetic testing following sudden cardiac deaths in Tennessee, in hopes of shaping future care practices and policy development. As a genetic counselor, her research interests include inherited heart disease, postmortem genetics services, health equity, biomedical ethics, and public health.

Sponsored by Chris Moore