Tara Karamlou, MD

Tara Karamlou, MD, MSc, is a pediatric and congenital heart surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. She sees patients at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus.

Specialty Interests: Single ventricle lesions, including pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and hypoplastic left heart syndrome; tetralogy of Fallot; transposition of the great arteries; infants and children with complex congenital heart disease; adult congenital heart disease

Education: Dr. Karamlou earned her medical degree with high honors from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. During her surgical residency at Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Ore., Dr. Karamlou was awarded the Nina Braunwald research fellowship from the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education, and also was appointed as the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society (CHSS) John Kirklin/David Ashburn Fellow. This two-year nonclinical appointment focuses on outcomes research within the CHSS Data Center located at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As part of this fellowship, she earned a master’s degree in biostatistics from the University of Toronto, Institute of Medical Science.

After completing her fellowship in Toronto and her surgical residency in Oregon, Dr. Karamlou continued her training with two residencies in congenital heart surgery, first at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., and then returning to Oregon Health and Science University. She pursued additional subspecialty training as an ACGME-accredited fellow in congenital heart surgery in the Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at Seattle Children's Hospital. She was named to the Cleveland Clinic Children’s medical staff in 2019.

Experience: Cleveland Clinic congenital heart surgeons annually perform more than 150 adult surgeries and nearly 200 pediatric surgeries. In 2017 the Cleveland Clinic mortality rate was 0% for adult congenital and 2.95% for pediatric congenital surgeries, both lower than the expected rates. In the five years since completing her congenital heart surgery fellowship, Dr. Karamlou has performed more than 800 congenital cardiac surgeries. 

Research, Speaking and Publications: Dr. Karamlou ‘s particular research interest is in investigating and improving outcomes in children and adults with complex congenital heart disease. She currently is an investigator on four multi-center clinical studies, including a Children's Heart Foundation study that aims to developing a national model for regionalization of care for children undergoing congenital cardiac surgery in the United States. Dr. Karamlou is a frequently invited presenter at national and international medical meetings, speaking on pediatric and adult congenital heart surgery. She has published numerous papers and abstracts in peer-reviewed medical journals, including Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery and has coauthored more than a dozen chapters in surgical textbooks. She is a member of the editorial board for the two main scientific journals in cardiothoracic surgery, and is the Associate Statistical editor for JTCVS

About Dr. Karamlou: “I am passionate about congenital heart care because it provides an opportunity to impact the lives of patients, from fetal life through adulthood. Children are our most precious resource, and it is a privilege to care for them and their families. As a pediatric heart surgeon, I have the opportunity to innovate and learn in a multidisciplinary environment. My greatest strengths are my ability to communicate effectively with every member of the congenital care team and to always emphasize the critical importance of clinical excellence in a family-centered model.”

Leisure Activities: In her leisure time Dr. Karamlou enjoys long-distance running, ballet and ocean swimming.