Vitor Guerra

Staff Cardiologist
Section Head, Echocardiography

Program Director, Development of Cardiovascular Physiology, Department of Physiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Guerra graduated from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in 1992 and started his paediatric specialty training at the Heart Institute of the University of Sao Paulo, the largest heart centre in Latin America. In 2003 he came to SickKids as a fellow in Cardiology specializing in paediatric echocardiography. Dr. Guerra obtained his PhD in tridimensional echocardiography from the University of Sao Paulo. Before joining SickKids as a Clinician Specialist in March 2016 with a clinical, research and educational focus within Echocardiography and Fetal Echocardiography, he worked as an Associate Professor at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. 

Research

As an echocardiography laboratory staff, Dr. Guerra is involved in multiple research projects as a co-investigator, many of which focus on vascular laboratory research. As a pediatric cardiologist, echocardiographer and fetal cardiologist, the morphology of cardiac defects and ventricular function are the key points in the outcome when assessed in utero. Previously, Dr. Guerra has studied ventricular function in patients with congenital atrioventricular block acquired in utero and submitted to pacemaker implantation post-natal. One of his areas of interest is ventricular function and the ventricular–arterial interaction assessed prenatally, as it can potentially predict  long term out comes in these patients. Dr. Guerra also assessed ventricular function in utero for fetuses exposed to maternal diseases or medications by evaluating patients exposed in utero to antiretroviral therapy for Human Immunodeficiency virus-infected (HIV). He is currently interested in assessing prenatal ventricular function with specific Doppler parameters. This area opens new avenues specifically for cardiac tumors, pre-natal treatment and long-term outcome. Dr. Guerra is also working in three-dimensional echocardiography, and it has recently been introduced to fetal echocardiography. As it has the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, ultimately impacting the outcome, Dr. Guerra would like to apply this technology to complex anatomy.  

Education 

• Jul 2003–Jun 2004: Clinical Fellow, Echocardiography, Division of Cardiology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• Aug 2005–Sep 2010:  Doctorate PhD in Science (Mechanical dyssynchrony assessed by Three-dimensional echocardiography in patients with congenital atrioventricular block and pacemaker). Department of Cardiology, University of Sao Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.  
• Aug 1986–Sep 1992: Medical School, Minas Gerais Federal University, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 

1. Khodabakhshian N, Howell A, Hui W, Mertens L, Guerra V. Diastolic Function and Left Atrial Mechanics in Children with Marfan and Loeys-Dietz Syndrome. Canadian Journal of Cardiology Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. 2025 Mar; 4(4):179-188. Senior Responsible Author.
2. Khodabakhshian N, Howell A, Lopez P, Hui W, Mertens L, Guerra V. Impact of Genotype-Phenotype Interactions on Cardiovascular Function in Paediatric Loeys-Dietz Syndrome. Canadian Journal of Cardiology Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. 2023 Dec; 3(2): pp 47-54. Senior Responsible Author.
3. Rasouli R, Baranger J, Slorach C, Nguyen M, Segers P, Guerra V, Pernot M, Hui W, Mertens L, Villemain O. Local Arterial Stiffness Assessment: Comparison of Pulse Wave Velocity Assessed by Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging versus the Bramwell-Hill Equation. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. 2022 Nov; 35(11): pp 1185-1188. Co-Author.
4. Arbic N, Venet M, Iriart X, Dragulescu A, Thambo J-B, Friedberg M, Guerra V, Morgan C, Mertens L, Villemain O. Organization of pediatric echocardiography laboratories: Impact of sonographers on clinical, academic and financial performance. Frontiers in Pediatric. 2022: Epub ahead of print (May) Co-Author. 
5. Joye R, Khodabakshian N, Fournier E, Hui W, Fackoury C, Pozza A, Gopaul J, Villemain O, Cifra B, Guerra V, Mertens L. Non-Invasive Methods to Assess Vascular Health in Children and Adolescents: Current State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives. Journal of American Society of Echocardiography. 2025 Mar; 39(3):280-293. Co-Senior Responsible Author.
6. Nield LE, Dahan M, Guerra V, Mustafa S, Okun N, Freud L, Han RK, Kirsch R. Fetal Cardiology Bioethics: An Innovative New Curriculum for Cardiology Trainees. Pediatr Cardiol. 2024 Apr; 45(4): pp 703-709. Epub 2024 Feb 22. PMID: 38386036. Co-Author.

See a full list of Vitor Guerra's publications