Uyen Thanh Truong, MD

Director, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging

Uyen Truong, MD, specializes in pediatric cardiac non-invasive imaging, with a focus in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and computed tomography (CT). Her primary research focus over the past decade has been the use of MRIs to derive hemodynamic data that were conventionally obtained from invasive cardiac catheterization measures. She believes that utilization of echocardiograms and MRIs are critical in caring for children and their full capability to understand the state of the disease has yet to be established.

Dr. Truong led a team in developing and exploring the utility of 4-dimensional flow MRI in characterizing the vasculature of children at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado. She has received intramural and extramural funding to study the vasculature and deformation in the myocardium of children, including an NIH K23 from NHLBI that focuses on children with pulmonary hypertension. She has also worked in partnership with Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Advanced Vascular Imaging and Psychiatry to study early cardiovascular maladaptive changes associated with adverse childhood events, including trauma and abuse.

Adverse childhood events, unfortunately, affects a large proportion of the population. Dr. Truong's team strongly believes that early identification of maladaptive cardiovascular function in response to stress allows for more effective intervention in this cohort of children. They hope through their successful collaboration that they can improve clinical outcomes and affect policies and improve resources allocated for these children.

• Cardiology