//Taking inequities to heart

Taking inequities to heart

Jason Williams ’09, a pediatric cardiologist, is completing an advanced non-invasive cardiac imaging fellowship this year.

Many studies have shown that Black children in the United States born with congenital heart defects have worse survival rates than Hispanic or white children, and that this disparity in survival has persisted through the years. Meanwhile, another alarming statistic is reflected among care providers: Less than 8 percent of all pediatric cardiologists in the United States are underrepresented minorities.

One Furman alumnus is directly helping to rectify those statistics. Jason Williams ’09 is spending a year as a fellow in advanced non-invasive cardiac imaging at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, learning to recognize heart defects even before birth.

“Part of the non-invasive curriculum is fetal imaging,” Williams says. There are more than 35 congenital heart diseases that affect the shape and function of a baby’s heart. The heart forms just a few weeks into pregnancy, and heart disease can be diagnosed between 18 and 20 weeks’ gestation by fetal ultrasound. If disease is identified, “We’re able to manage the mom and the baby along with the high-risk obstetrics team for the best possible outcome and continue care after the baby’s born,” Williams says.

Williams recently shared information about congenital heart disease as part of a national panel sponsored by the Cardiovascular Disease in Women and Children Committee of the Association of Black Cardiologists. Giving back is another step he takes to addressing inequities.

“The key to continuing the success of black physicians