Physicians with Heart: Dr. Sanghee Ro

November 9, 2022

Although Sanghee Ro, MD, joined Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Cardiology at an unusual time – it was in the thick of COVID-19 – she was eager to put her extensive training into practice in the up-and-coming field of fetal cardiology.

“We haven’t delved fully into the capability of fetal imaging and cardiology until the past decade or so, which makes it an exciting field to work in,” Dr. Ro said. “The connection with pregnant moms and the ability to help them through a difficult time and provide continuity of care with their children after they’re born is very fulfilling and satisfying.”

Dr. Ro primarily works in the echocardiographic laboratory and sees fetal and pediatric cardiology patients at Children’s Cardiology’s Canton clinic. Her clinical interests include fetal cardiac diagnosis, perinatal care planning, and fetal cardiac evaluation in critical congenital heart disease.

In addition to providing patient care, Dr. Ro has research interests in risk stratification in congenital heart disease, quality improvement in pediatric fetal echocardiography, and fetal echocardiographic predictors of clinical outcomes in fetal structural heart disease.

Two months after giving birth to her first child, Dr. Ro presented a 5-year risk stratification study to the American Society of Echocardiography and won the Arthur E. Weyman Young Investigator’s Award. Hers was the only pediatric topic, and she will present the same research in Japan and Spain next year.

Dr. Ro said she enjoys the supportive environment at Children’s, both professionally and personally.

“We see everything here and all kinds of cases, which makes it a great environment for learning and training. Everyone brings a different skillset to the table, and we learn from each other,” she said. “My colleagues are also supportive of one another personally, and we are encouraged to prioritize our families.”

She says Children’s brings Georgia families the highest quality of care for any type of CHD, and they prioritize placing clinics – like the Canton clinic where she sees patients – in areas where the community may not have easy access to excellent care. Using her experience with the Canton community, Dr. Ro has recently started to lead a high-risk delivery program that works on streamlining the system that allows babies diagnosed with critical congenital heart disease to get immediate cardiac interventions. She enjoys the opportunity to grow her relationships with patients as she continues to follow them after birth into adulthood.

Outside of her work at Children’s, Dr. Ro loves salsa dancing, hiking and trail running. She and her husband spend their weekends discovering the mountains and trails of north Georgia with their baby son.

Sanghee Ro, MD

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