Medicine Grand Rounds – John Vavalle, MD – “Percutaneous Valve Therapies: A Revolution in Cardiovascular Care.”

John Vavalle, MD, MHS, FACC, is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina. He is the Medical Director of the UNC Structural Heart Disease program, program director of the Structural Heart Fellowship program and associate program director of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship and Interventional Cardiovascular Fellowship programs. Dr. Vavalle’s main areas of interest is in percutaneous structural and valvular heart disease interventions, as well as coronary interventions. As Medical Director of the Structural Heart Disease Program at UNC, he successfully performed the first TAVR procedure at UNC in 2014. Dr. Vavalle also leads the UNC Heart Valve Clinic where a multi-disciplinary team of cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, and advanced practice providers evaluate patients with valvular heart disease to determine the best treatment options available. With the rapid evolution in the fields of interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery, Dr. Vavalle focuses on increasing partnerships between the two specialties to create a seamless program where cardiologists and cardiac surgeons work together to perform hybrid and minimally invasive cardiac procedures. Dr. Vavalle also offers procedural expertise in complex coronary interventions, transcatheter closure of paravalvular leaks, repair of congenital cardiac defects, and closure of coronary fistulas. In addition to the UNC Heart Valve Clinic located at the UNC Medical Center, Dr. Vavalle sees patients in a general cardiology clinic at UNC Heart & Vascular at Meadowmont.