Hector I. Michelena, M.D.

Hector I. Michelena, M.D., is a board-certified cardiologist and board certified echocardiographer with a special interest in heart valve diseases, structural heart diseases, diseases of the aorta and all echocardiographic modalities. He is heavily involved in clinical practice, research and education. His clinical focus includes:

• Diagnosis and management of all heart valve diseases and other structural heart diseases
• Diagnosis and management of diseases of the aorta
• Interventional and intra-operative echocardiography

Dr. Michelena has held the academic rank of Professor of Medicine since 2017.  He was chair for the ACC-Latin American conference from 2017 to 2019 and served in the ACC lifelong learning committee for 3 years. He was the research chair for the divisions of Cardiac Ultrasound and Structural Heart Disease from 2021 until 2025 and was Director of Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography for 12 years. He serves currently on the board of directors of the Heart Valve Society.

Dr. Michelena is a valvular heart disease specialist, and echocardiography specialist, and his areas of research include aortic valve regurgitation and stenosis, congenital bicuspid aortic valve, aortopathies, mitral valve disease, tricuspid valve disease, and intraoperative echocardiography. He has contributed widely to the valvular heart disease field with over 330 peer reviewed publications, including several national and international guidelines. He has authored over 17 book chapters. He is a world-recognized expert in bicuspid aortic valve disease, bicuspid aortic valve aortopathy, aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation. Dr. Michelena is a Mayo-recognized top educator and a nationally- and internationally-renowned speaker.