Rafael Zonana Amkie, M.D.

Rafael Zonana Amkie, M.D., is a Pediatric Cardiologist at Children’s Health℠. He specializes in fetal cardiology and prenatal counseling, echocardiography, and complex congenital heart disease. His care philosophy is to support patients and their families in the face of complex diagnoses and to provide specialized and comprehensive care throughout their heart journey, giving weaker hearts a chance to beat longer and stronger.

“I believe one of the greatest strengths of a pediatric cardiologist is the ability and willingness to meet all of a patient's medical and psychological needs,” he says.

Dr. Rafael Zonana Amkie was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. He earned his medical degree from Anahuac University Medical School, completed his residency in pediatrics at Nicklaus Children's Hospital and completed both his fellowship in pediatric cardiology and his advanced training in non-invasive cardiac imaging with a focus on fetal cardiology and echocardiography at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

His research activities encompass numerous publications related to advanced non- invasive cardiac imaging, include examining the effectiveness of CT scans to evaluate childhood heart tumors in patients not suitable for cardiac MRI, better understanding the development of branch pulmonary artery stenosis in babies with right-sided congenital heart defects, as well as why some babies experience jaundice after heart surgery and how that impacts their outcome.

Outside of work, Dr. Zonana Amkie enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, especially with his two daughters. He also enjoys hiking and running, discovering new restaurants and reading science-fiction and history novels.