Rachel Lampert, MD, is a sports cardiologist and an electrophysiologist (arrhythmia specialist) who has led groundbreaking studies on athletes with cardiovascular conditions. From elite college athletes to people who enjoy being active, Dr. Lampert works with patients to diagnose and assess cardiovascular risk and help them play the sports they love in a safe manner.
Dr. Lampert is the Robert W. Berliner Professor of Internal Medicine (Cardiology) at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Sports Cardiology Program at Yale Medicine. She specializes in treating athletes of all ages, including children, with arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat) and other kinds of heart conditions that could put them at risk for sudden cardiac death. She works to develop an effective diagnosis, treatment, and management strategy for each athlete and provides recommendations on whether and how they can safely participate in competitive sports.
Dr. Lampert’s pioneering research includes studies that have changed the national guidelines for athletes with implanted defibrillators. Previously, it was thought that athletes with defibrillators should not play sports; but those guidelines were based on expert opinion and not on hard data. So, Dr. Lampert decided to start collecting data. She studied more than 400 athletes with implanted defibrillators who decided to continue participating in sports despite the guidelines. She followed those athletes closely for four years, and no adverse medical events were reported during that time. As a result of her research, in 2015 the American Heart Association eligibility guidelines were changed to say that sports may be considered for athletes with defibrillators.
“It was very important to me that patients diagnosed with heart disease and treated with defibrillators were still able to have the life they wanted,” Dr. Lampert said. “That’s really been my goal throughout, both in the care of athletes and non-athletes: How can we treat this person’s heart in a way that is appropriate and allows them to live the life they want?”
Dr. Lampert’s other research areas include the effects of mental stress on arrhythmia and correlations of acute or chronic stress with heart rate variability. She is active in a number of professional societies, including the Heart Rhythm Society, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association.
