The Heart-Mind Connection | Dr. Dawn Ilardi

If your child was born with a heart condition, there's a connection between their heart and their brain that most families are never told about.

Dr. Dawn Ilardi is a pediatric neuropsychologist who has spent nearly two decades studying the relationship between congenital heart disease and brain development. In this episode, she breaks it down in plain terms — what a cardiologist sees vs. what a neuropsychologist sees when they look at the same kid, the two misconceptions parents fall into after a heart procedure, and why the resources you access as a parent can be just as powerful a predictor of your child's outcomes as the medical complexity itself.

We also get personal. I share what it was like watching my own parents navigate three heart procedures and why my dad still can't talk about it without shutting down. Dawn responds with something that stopped me: taking care of yourself as a parent IS taking care of your child.

She closes with what she'd tell every parent before their child's procedure: stay grounded, know your role, and maintain hope.

Learn more about Dr. Ilardi's work:

Parenting Kids with CHD: parentingchd.podia.com

Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Center: pedneurocenter.com/dawn-ilardi/

Contacts: The One Percent Heart — onepercentheart.com • Instagram @theCHDpodcast • Email: support@onepercentheart.com

Disclaimer & Trigger Warning: Nothing in this episode constitutes medical advice. These are personal experiences, opinions, and stories. This podcast contains honest discussions of medical trauma. Listener discretion is advised.

Keywords: congenital heart defect, pediatric neuropsychology, heart-brain connection, CHD parenting, neurodevelopmental outcomes, parent mental health, child development, CHD awareness, cardiac neurodevelopment