Best Pediatric Cardiology Specialists in Fort Worth, TX

Dr. Richard Markus, M.D., was born and raised in Dallas, Texas.He graduated from Greenhill School in Addison where he played soccer and tennis.Dr. Markus earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas inAustin with a major in Psychology and graduated with Liberal Arts honors. Priorto beginning his medical training, Dr. Markus participated in the USC KeckSchool of Medicine Somos Hermanos Spanish immersion program forhealthcare professionals in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala where he lived and workedfor six months. During that time, he taught nutrition classes to children after-school,which sparked an interest in Pediatrics. After returning to the US, he earnedhis medical degree from Texas A&M Medical School. He met his wife, Dr.Rebecca Prengler, while completing his General Pediatrics residency atWashington University in St. Louis. They returned home to Dallas where hecompleted his Pediatric Cardiology fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Markus is passionate about preventative cardiologyincluding the evaluation of patients with chest pain, syncope, palpitations,hypertension and hyperlipidemia. He also has a special interest in the use ofadvanced cardiac imaging techniques in the care of young athletes, pediatric oncologypatients, and complex congenital heart disease. He is a member of the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Associationand the American Society of Echocardiography. Dr. Markus is welcoming new patients,including Spanish speaking, and accepts most insurance plans, includingMedicaid.

Poonam Punjwani Thankavel, M.D., is a pediatric cardiologist at Medical City Children's Hospital and Medical Director of Pediatric Cardiac Imaging. She specializes in perioperative imaging and diagnosing and managing congenital coronary anomalies.Dr. Thankavel earned her medical degree from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada and completed her residency training in pediatrics at University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. She completed her pediatric cardiology and advanced imaging fellowship at UT Southwestern."During medical training, I fell in love with the complexity of the heart and the ability to work with children," Dr. Thankavel says. "You are really taking care of the whole family."Dr. Thankavel's research and clinical interests include the use of echocardiography to diagnose complex congenital heart conditions and assist with perioperative management and surgical planning. She also directs the congenital coronary anomaly program."The cardiologists I work with have the same goal of providing the best care that we possibly can," says Dr. Thankavel. "We have a very thorough, collaborative approach to care."Texas Monthly named her as a SuperDoctors Texas Rising Star award winner in 2015.Dr. Thankavel is from Brazil and speaks fluent English and Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family.

Carrie Herbert, MD is a pediatric interventional cardiologist who specializes in minimally invasive treatments of complex heart conditions in children. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. Dr. Herbert performs the full spectrum of interventional cardiology procedures for patients with congenital heart disease including: device closure of atrial (ASD) and ventricular septal defects (VSD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), balloon angioplasty and stent placement in stenotic (narrowed) vessels, and transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement. She has a particular interest in neonatal interventions, including PDA closure in premature infants and stenting of the PDA in patients with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow. After receiving her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Herbert completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern. She completed her fellowship in pediatric cardiology as well as advanced training in pediatric interventional cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern as well.Dr. Herbert treats all of her patients as if they were her own and is passionate about ensuring that her patients receive the best care possible, which has been the driving factor in her interest in quality improvement.In her free time, Dr. Herbert enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys, travelling, and being actively involved in her church.