Pediatric cardiologist Jay Pruetz, MD, has joined Cedars-Sinai as director of Fetal Cardiology and associate director of the Pediatric Congenital Heart Program at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and the Smidt Heart Institute.

“Dr. Pruetz is known for exemplary treatment and care in the high-tech, high-risk world of fetal and pediatric cardiology,” said Evan Zahn, MD, director of the Pediatric Congenital Heart Program at Guerin Children’s and in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute. “In welcoming Dr. Pruetz, we give more families the opportunity to benefit from the latest innovations in fetal and pediatric heart interventions at Cedars-Sinai.”

Pruetz is an expert in using prenatal ultrasound to diagnose congenital heart defects in the fetus. He has also advocated for the use of risk stratification systems to create individualized care plans for babies born with a heart defect. He created a classification system known as Emergent Neonatal Cardiac Intervention for newborns with congenital heart disease diagnosed as critical.

In addition to his clinical work, Pruetz studies devices and procedures to treat life-threatening heart conditions in the womb. He was part of a multidisciplinary team that in 2015 developed the first pacemaker for fetuses with congenital complete heart block, a defect that affects the heart rate. This device is implanted in utero on the outer surface of the heart. In 2016, Pruetz helped perform the first fetal heart intervention in Southern California, which involved the successful opening of a blocked heart valve. He continues to study ways to improve the success of these fetal interventions.

Pruetz also studies disparities in the detection and care of congenital heart disease to uncover the social determinants that might account for these differences. He aims to increase the detection rate of congenital heart disease in the community.

“We’re thrilled to leverage Dr. Pruetz’s expertise, reputation and leadership in treating the most complex heart abnormalities in fetuses and newborns,” said Shervin Rabizadeh, MD, MBA, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Guerin Children’s. “This allows us to expand state-of-the-art treatments for babies with congenital heart defects before they are born and well into childhood.”

Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai, Pruetz was medical director of the Fetal Cardiology Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He was also a pediatric cardiologist at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, Adventist Health in Glendale, and Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, in Pasadena.  

“Dr. Pruetz is a superb addition to the experienced pediatrics and cardiology teams at Cedars-Sinai,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Guerin Children’s and the David and Meredith Kaplan Distinguished Chair in Children’s Health. “I’m confident that the research efforts he is undertaking are going to lead to breakthroughs that further improve the lives of children born with heart abnormalities.” 

Pruetz earned a bachelor of science in microbiology and molecular genetics from UCLA. He earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed his pediatric internship and residency in pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai. He completed his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Pruetz is a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Echocardiography, American Heart Association, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, Society of Pediatric Echocardiography, and Fetal Heart Society, and he has received multiple medical awards. His research findings have been published and cited in more than 40 peer-reviewed medical journals, and he has presented his work at various national conferences, scientific sessions and symposiums.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: How Congenital Heart Patients Can Move From Pediatric to Adult Care