Skip to Main Content

Robert Elder, MD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Internal Medicine (Cardiology)
DownloadHi-Res Photo

Additional Titles

Director, Adult Congenital Heart Program

Director Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Pediatric Cardiology

Contact Info

Pediatric Cardiology

PO Box 208064

New Haven, CT 06520-8064

United States

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Internal Medicine (Cardiology)

Director, Adult Congenital Heart Program; Director Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Pediatric Cardiology

Biography

Dr. Elder cares for patients with congenital heart disease across the lifespan, from birth through adulthood, and joined the Yale faculty in 2013 as a member of the Department of Pediatrics as well as the Department of Medicine to help further grow the Yale Adult Congenital Heart Program. After completing a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, he graduated from pediatric cardiology fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. He spent an additional year of training at Emory University focused on the management of adults with congenital heart disease and currently is one of a small group of physicians in the entire country board certified in Adult Congenital Heart Disease.

Dr. Elder has expertise in congenital cardiac imaging, including transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. His research interests include long-term outcomes of adult survivors and specifically Fontan patients, with particular focus on the effects of Fontan circulation on the liver. He is interested in medical education and currently serves as the Program Director of the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program as well as the Program Director for the advanced fellowship for Adult Congenital Heart Disease.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Advanced Fellowship
Emory School of Medicine (2013)
Fellowship
Columbia University Medical Center (2012)
Residency
University of Pittsburg Medical Center (2009)
Internship
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (2006)
MD
University of Connecticut School of Medicine (2005)

Research

Overview

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Cardiology; Fontan Procedure; Heart Diseases; Pediatrics

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Robert Elder's published research.

Publications

Featured Publications

2024

2023

2022

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    Mae Gailani Award for Outstanding Clinical Care & Research

Clinical Care

Overview

A specialist in congenital heart disease, Robert W. Elder, MD, treats patients from infancy through adulthood. He is board-certified in adult internal medicine, pediatrics, pediatric cardiology and adult congenital heart disease.

“I treat patients of all ages, which is key for congenital heart disease, a broad disease that can range from having a malformed valve to missing half of your heart and everything in between,” Dr. Elder says. “I like having the additional training in adult medicine because it’s important to provide transition of care for kids with congenital heart disease when they grow up with a strong background in internal medicine.”

Many children who are born with congenital heart disease are seen by pediatric cardiologists until they transfer to an adult specialist. “I can treat them across their lifespan,” says Dr. Elder, who is director of the Yale Medicine Adult Congenital Heart Program.

Dr. Elder says his favorite part of the job is getting to know patients and their families and learning their stories. “I love making sure they and their families understand their condition,” he says. “I get to work with wonderful patients.”

He pursued a medical career because it married his interest in science and “compassionate care.” He was also influenced by his late grandfather, who ran a family practice in rural Colorado. (He keeps the leather satchel his grandfather used for house calls on a shelf in his office.)

Dr. Elder is an associate professor of pediatric cardiology and of cardiology at Yale School of Medicine. His research interests include studying people who are born with one single pumping chamber (as opposed to two) in their heart and have had a surgery called the Fontan procedure to better address the long-term changes in circulation.

Clinical Specialties

Pediatric Cardiology; Cardiovascular Medicine

Fact Sheets

Yale Medicine News

Get In Touch

Contacts

Appointment Number
Clinic Fax Number
Mailing Address

Pediatric Cardiology

PO Box 208064

New Haven, CT 06520-8064

United States

Locations

  • Patient Care Locations

    Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.