Stephanie Nakano, MD

Associate Professor, Pediatrics-Cardiology


FacultyPhoto
Medical School
  • MD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (2007)
Undergraduate School
  • BS, University of California–Los Angeles (CA) (2003)
Residency
  • Children's Hospital-Oakland Program, Pediatrics (2010)
Fellowships
  • University of Colorado (Children's Hospital Colorado) Program, Pediatric Cardiology (2014)
Languages
English
Department
Pediatrics-Cardiology

Research Interests

My research interests are focused on identifying why some children with single ventricle heart disease do well with surgical palliation while others are prone to heart failure. Increasing our understanding of heart failure in this population is essential to improving outcomes for the future.

Publications

  • Nakano SJ, Miyamoto SD, Movsesian M, Nelson P, Stauffer BL, Sucharov CC. Age-related differences in phosphodiesterase activity and effects of chronic phosphodiesterase inhibition in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Circ Heart Fail. 2015 Jan;8(1):57-63. PubMed PMID: 25278000
  • Miyamoto SD, Stauffer BL, Nakano S, Sobus R, Nunley K, Nelson P, Sucharov CC. Beta-adrenergic adaptation in paediatric idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Eur Heart J. 2014 Jan;35(1):33-41. PubMed PMID: 22843448
  • Sucharov, CC; Nakano SJ. Phosphodiesterase Inhibition in Pediatric Heart Failure - Beneficial or Detrimental? Comparison to Adults with Heart Failure. J Cardio Vasc Med, 1:1-3 (2013).
  • Nakano SJ, Sucharov J, van Dusen R, Cecil M, Nunley K, Wickers S, Karimpur-Fard A, Stauffer BL, Miyamoto SD, Sucharov CC. Cardiac Adenylyl Cyclase and Phosphodiesterase Expression Profiles Vary by Age, Disease, and Chronic Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor Treatment. J Card Fail. 2016 Jul 15. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27427220
  • Nakano SJ, Nelson P, Sucharov CC, Miyamoto SD. Myocardial Response to Milrinone in Single Right Ventricle Heart Disease. J Pediatr. 2016 Jul;174:199-203.e5. PubMed PMID: 27181939
  • Nakano SJ, Siomos AK, Garcia AM, Nguyen H, SooHoo M, Galambos C, Nunley K, Stauffer BL, Sucharov CC, Miyamoto SD. Fibrosis-Related Gene Expression in Single Ventricle Heart Disease. J Pediatr. 2017 Dec;191:82-90.e2. PubMed PMID: 29050751
  • Nakano SJ, Sucharov J, van Dusen R, Cecil M, Nunley K, Wickers S, Karimpur-Fard A, Stauffer BL, Miyamoto SD, Sucharov CC. Cardiac Adenylyl Cyclase and Phosphodiesterase Expression Profiles Vary by Age, Disease, and Chronic Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor Treatment. J Card Fail. 2017 Jan;23(1):72-80. PubMed PMID: 27427220
  • Watanabe K, Karimpour-Fard A, Michael A, Miyamoto SD, Nakano SJ. Elevated serum vascular endothelial growth factor and development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in children. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2018 Sep;37(9):1075-1082. PubMed PMID: 29954686
  • Garcia AM, Nakano SJ, Karimpour-Fard A, Nunley K, Blain-Nelson P, Stafford NM, Stauffer BL, Sucharov CC, Miyamoto SD. Phosphodiesterase-5 Is Elevated in Failing Single Ventricle Myocardium and Affects Cardiomyocyte Remodeling In Vitro. Circ Heart Fail. 2018 Sep;11(9):e004571. PubMed PMID: 30354365
  • Nakano SJ, Miyamoto SD, Price JF, Rossano JW, Cabrera AG. Pediatric Heart Failure: An Evolving Public Health Concern. J Pediatr. 2019 Nov 15. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31740144
  • Chatfield K, Nakano SJ, Everitt MD. General pediatric care for a patient after heart transplant: what the practitioner needs to know. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2019 Oct;31(5):592-597. PubMed PMID: 31261284
  • Nakano SJ, Menon SC. Risk stratification in pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Insights for bridging the evidence gap? Progress in Pediatric Cardiology. 2018 Jun. doi.org/10.1016/j.ppedcard.2018.03.001
  • Nakano SJ, Walker JS, Walker LA, Li X, Du Y, Miyamoto SD, Sucharov CC, Garcia AM, Mitchell MB, Ambardekar AV, Stauffer BL. Increased myocyte calcium sensitivity in end-stage pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019 Dec 1;317(6):H1221-H1230. PubMed PMID: 31625780
  • Sucharov CC, Nakano SJ, Slavov D, Schwisow JA, Rodriguez E, Nunley K, Medway A, Stafford N, Nelson P, McKinsey TA, Movsesian M, Minobe W, Carroll IA, Taylor MRG, Bristow, MR. A PDE3A Promoter Polymorphism Regulates cAMP-Induced Transcriptional Activity in Failing Human Left Ventricles. JACC (Accepted)
  • Balaji S, DiLorenzo MP, Fish FA, Etheridge SP, Aziz PF, Russell MW, Tisma S, Pflaumer A, Sreeram N, Kubus P, Law IH, Kantoch MJ, Kertesz NJ, Strieper M, Erickson CC, Moore JP, Nakano SJ, Singh HR, Chang P, Cohen M, Fournier A, Ilina MV, Smith RT, Zimmerman F, Horndasch M, Li W, Batra A, Liberman L, Hamilton R, Janson CM, Sanatani S, Zeltser I, McDaniel G, Blaufox AD, Garnreiter JM, Katcoff H, Shah M. Impact of Obesity on Left Ventricular Thickness in Children with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Pediatr Cardiol. 2019 Aug;40(6):1253-1257. PubMed PMID: 31263917
  • Nakano SJ, Menon SC. Risk stratification in pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Insights for bridging the evidence gap?. Prog Pediatr Cardiol. 2018 Jun;49:31-37. PubMed PMID: 31097901
  • Balaji S, DiLorenzo MP, Fish FA, Etheridge SP, Aziz PF, Russell MW, Tisma S, Pflaumer A, Sreeram N, Kubus P, Law IH, Kantoch MJ, Kertesz NJ, Strieper M, Erickson CC, Moore JP, Nakano SJ, Singh HR, Chang P, Cohen M, Fournier A, Ilina MV, Smith RT, Zimmerman F, Horndasch M, Li W, Batra A, Liberman L, Hamilton R, Janson CM, Sanatani S, Zeltser I, McDaniel G, Blaufox AD, Garnreiter JM, Katcoff H, Shah M. Risk factors for lethal arrhythmic events in children and adolescents with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and an implantable defibrillator: An international multicenter study. Heart Rhythm. 2019 Oct;16(10):1462-1467. PubMed PMID: 31026510
  • Sucharov CC, Nakano SJ, Slavov D, Schwisow JA, Rodriguez E, Nunley K, Medway A, Stafford N, Nelson P, McKinsey TA, Movsesian M, Minobe W, Carroll IA, Taylor MRG, Bristow MR. A PDE3A Promoter Polymorphism Regulates cAMP-Induced Transcriptional Activity in Failing Human Myocardium. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 Mar 19;73(10):1173-1184. PubMed PMID: 30871701
  • Garcia AM, Nakano SJ, Karimpour-Fard A, Nunley K, Blain-Nelson P, Stafford NM, Stauffer BL, Sucharov CC, Miyamoto SD. Phosphodiesterase-5 Is Elevated in Failing Single Ventricle Myocardium and Affects Cardiomyocyte Remodeling In Vitro. Circ Heart Fail. 2018 Sep;11(9):e004571. PubMed PMID: 30354365
  • Watanabe K, Karimpour-Fard A, Michael A, Miyamoto SD, Nakano SJ. Elevated serum vascular endothelial growth factor and development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in children. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2018 Sep;37(9):1075-1082. PubMed PMID: 29954686
  • Miron A, Lafreniere-Roula M, Steve Fan CP, Armstrong KR, Dragulescu A, Papaz T, Manlhiot C, Kaufman B, Butts RJ, Gardin L, Stephenson EA, Howard TS, Aziz PF, Balaji S, Ladouceur VB, Benson LN, Colan SD, Godown J, Henderson HT, Ingles J, Jeewa A, Jefferies JL, Lal AK, Mathew J, Jean-St-Michel E, Michels M, Nakano SJ, Olivotto I, Parent JJ, Pereira AC, Semsarian C, Whitehill RD, Wittekind SG, Russell MW, Conway J, Richmond ME, Villa C, Weintraub RG, Rossano JW, Kantor PF, Ho CY, Mital S. A Validated Model for Sudden Cardiac Death Risk Prediction in Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Circulation. 2020 Jul 21;142(3):217-229. PubMed PMID: 32418493
  • Brosbe MS, Wright LK, Cantor R, Dreyer WJ, Kirmani S, Knight M, Nakano SJ, Kindel SJ, Ryan TD, Kirklin JK, Deshpande SR. Educational and learning morbidity in pediatric heart transplant recipients: A pediatric heart transplant society study. Pediatr Transplant. 2020 Jun;24(4):e13711. PubMed PMID: 32320118
  • Garcia AM, Beatty JT, Nakano SJ. Heart failure in single right ventricle congenital heart disease: physiological and molecular considerations. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2020 Apr 1;318(4):H947-H965. PubMed PMID: 32108525
  • Nakano SJ, Miyamoto SD, Price JF, Rossano JW, Cabrera AG. Pediatric Heart Failure: An Evolving Public Health Concern. J Pediatr. 2020 Mar;218:217-221. PubMed PMID: 31740144
  • Shelkowitz E, Chan CM, Jones T, Nakano SJ, Meeks NJL. A novel GNAS variant presents with disorders of GNAS inactivation and cardiomyopathy. Am J Med Genet A. 2022 Jul;188(7):2147-2152. PubMed PMID: 35347857
  • Nakano SJ, Everitt MD. Beyond the biopsy: Is it time to change the gold standard for rejection diagnosis in clinical decision-making and scientific discovery?. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2022 Oct;41(10):1414-1416. PubMed PMID: 36180133
  • Conway J, Min S, Villa C, Weintraub RG, Nakano S, Godown J, Tatangelo M, Armstrong K, Richmond M, Kaufman B, Lal AK, Balaji S, Power A, Baez Hernandez N, Gardin L, Kantor PF, Parent JJ, Aziz PF, Jefferies JL, Dragulescu A, Jeewa A, Benson L, Russell MW, Whitehill R, Rossano J, Howard T, Mital S. The Prevalence and Association of Exercise Test Abnormalities with Sudden Cardiac Death and Transplant-Free Survival in Childhood Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Circulation. 2022 Nov 6. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36335467
  • Marshall M, Malik A, Shah M, Fish FA, Etheridge SP, Aziz PF, Russell MW, Tisma S, Pflaumer A, Sreeram N, Kubus P, Law IH, Kantoch MJ, Kertesz NJ, Strieper M, Erickson CC, Moore JP, Nakano SJ, Singh HR, Chang P, Cohen M, Fournier A, Ilina MV, Zimmermann F, Horndasch M, Li W, Batra AS, Liberman L, Hamilton R, Janson CM, Sanatani S, Zeltser I, McDaniel G, Blaufox AD, Garnreiter JM, Balaji S. Patterns of Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Children with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Pediatr Cardiol. 2023 Sep 9. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37684488
  • Lynch A, Tatangelo M, Ahuja S, Steve Fan CP, Min S, Lafreniere-Roula M, Papaz T, Zhou V, Armstrong K, Aziz PF, Benson LN, Butts R, Dragulescu A, Gardin L, Godown J, Jeewa A, Kantor PF, Kaufman BD, Lal AK, Parent JJ, Richmond M, Russell MW, Balaji S, Stephenson EA, Villa C, Jefferies JL, Whitehill R, Conway J, Howard TS, Nakano SJ, Rossano J, Weintraub RG, Mital S. Risk of Sudden Death in Patients With RASopathy Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023 Mar 21;81(11):1035-1045. PubMed PMID: 36922089
  • Nakano SJ, Everitt MD. Beyond the biopsy: Is it time to change the gold standard for rejection diagnosis in clinical decision-making and scientific discovery?. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2022 Oct;41(10):1414-1416. PubMed PMID: 36180133
  • Shelkowitz E, Chan CM, Jones T, Nakano SJ, Meeks NJL. A novel GNAS variant presents with disorders of GNAS inactivation and cardiomyopathy. Am J Med Genet A. 2022 Jul;188(7):2147-2152. PubMed PMID: 35347857
  • Marshall M, Malik A, Shah M, Fish FA, Etheridge SP, Aziz PF, Russell MW, Tisma S, Pflaumer A, Sreeram N, Kubus P, Law IH, Kantoch MJ, Kertesz NJ, Strieper M, Erickson CC, Moore JP, Nakano SJ, Singh HR, Chang P, Cohen M, Fournier A, Ilina MV, Zimmermann F, Horndasch M, Li W, Batra AS, Liberman L, Hamilton R, Janson CM, Sanatani S, Zeltser I, McDaniel G, Blaufox AD, Garnreiter JM, Balaji S. Patterns of Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Children with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Pediatr Cardiol. 2024 Dec;45(8):1692-1701. PubMed PMID: 37684488
  • Lynch A, Tatangelo M, Ahuja S, Steve Fan CP, Min S, Lafreniere-Roula M, Papaz T, Zhou V, Armstrong K, Aziz PF, Benson LN, Butts R, Dragulescu A, Gardin L, Godown J, Jeewa A, Kantor PF, Kaufman BD, Lal AK, Parent JJ, Richmond M, Russell MW, Balaji S, Stephenson EA, Villa C, Jefferies JL, Whitehill R, Conway J, Howard TS, Nakano SJ, Rossano J, Weintraub RG, Mital S. Risk of Sudden Death in Patients With RASopathy Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023 Mar 21;81(11):1035-1045. PubMed PMID: 36922089

Professional Memberships

  • American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow
  • International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, Member
  • American Heart Association, Member
  • International Society for Heart Research, Member

Practice Locations

Children's Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
13123 East 16th Ave
Aurora, CO 80045
720-777-1234

Hospital Affiliation
  • Children's Hospital Colorado

Specialty Information

Specialties
  • Pediatrics, Board Certification (2010)
  • Pediatric Cardiology, Board Certification (2014)
Conditions & Treatments
  • Heart and Circulation - Cardiomyopathy
  • Heart and Circulation
  • Heart and Circulation - Congenital Heart Disease
  • Heart and Circulation - Heart Failure
  • Heart and Circulation - Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Clinical Interests
My clinical focus is on the care of children and young adults with decreased heart function (including those with cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, single ventricle congenital heart disease, and following heart transplantation) as well as those with general pediatric cardiology conditions.

Care Philosophy
Pediatric heart diseases are not simply adult heart problems in children. My goals are to help families navigate through this unique world of pediatric heart disease, and expand our understanding of these conditions in order to have effective pediatric-focused treatments for the future.