How to Find the Right Structural Heart Specialist to Treat Your Aortic Valve Stenosis
Published on July 24, 2026
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It can be frightening to learn you have severe aortic valve stenosis, a narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve that restricts blood flow. While anxiety and overwhelm are perfectly natural with any serious diagnosis, know that you have treatment options.
Finding the right expert is the best way to regain control of your heart health. For aortic valve stenosis, that expert is called a structural heart specialist, a cardiologist who focuses specifically on diagnosing and treating conditions of the heart’s valves and structures.
What Is a Structural Heart Specialist and When Do You Need One?
There are many types of cardiologists — physicians who diagnose, monitor, and manage cardiovascular conditions (those affecting the heart and blood vessels). Cardiologists who undergo additional training to treat conditions using minimally invasive, catheter-based approaches earn the title of interventional cardiologist.
Interventional cardiologists can further specialize in structural heart diseases, conditions affecting the heart’s anatomy, including the valves, chambers, and walls. These experts are sometimes known as structural heart specialists or structural heart interventionalists. If you have aortic valve stenosis, they can help determine your best treatment path and assess whether you’re a candidate for a minimally invasive procedure like transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
When it comes to treating severe aortic valve stenosis, structural heart specialists don’t work alone. Rather, you will be in the hands of an entire multidisciplinary “heart team” that also includes surgeons, imaging experts (like cardiac sonographers, echocardiographers, and radiologists), heart failure specialists, cardiac anesthesiologists, intensivists (intensive care physicians), nurses, and social workers.
But not everyone with aortic valve stenosis needs a structural heart specialist, says Mackram F. Eleid, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Mayo Clinic. "[Patients] may be followed for many years with a cardiologist, and only when the aortic stenosis becomes severe or they develop symptoms do they then see a structural specialist," he says.
How to Request a Structural Heart Evaluation
If your aortic valve stenosis is severe, as determined by an echocardiogram, your primary care physician or general cardiologist should refer you for a structural heart evaluation, says Gilbert Hin-Lung Tang, MD, the surgical and academic director of the structural heart program at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. “The issue is that severity can be underestimated or overestimated, because echo reports vary widely depending on how the images are acquired and measurements are made,” he says, adding that you may have severe disease even if an echocardiogram suggests otherwise.
In this case, you may want to ask for a second opinion. “And if a patient is having symptoms, it should also be evaluated by a structural heart specialist,” Dr. Eleid says. “I think patients should advocate for themselves.” Know that seeking a second opinion or requesting a consultation with a specialist is common, and your healthcare provider may even encourage you to do so.
Before requesting a referral, prepare a timeline of your symptoms if you’re experiencing any, noting when they started, how they've changed, and what makes them better or worse. Be ready to explain what prompted the visit and why you're seeking specialized care.
If the idea of bringing this topic up with your provider feels uncomfortable, consider sending a message through your patient portal first, explaining your concerns and noting that you'd like to discuss a referral or second opinion. They will likely ask to set up an in-person or telehealth visit to answer your questions before giving you a referral. For this visit, consider bringing a loved one with you to provide emotional support.
There are other ways to find a specialist on your own, such as asking family or friends for recommendations, connecting with patient advocacy groups, searching through online directories, contacting nearby medical centers or hospitals, or checking with your insurance provider. Also note that depending on your specific insurance plan, you may be able to reach out to a specialist directly, without a referral.
“Nowadays, most people have a lot of information available on the internet and can research on their own, so they have the freedom to do that,” Dr. Tang says. “If they want a second opinion, especially in a more underserved or remote area, there are always options to do a telehealth visit or other means to get more information.”
How to Vet Your Specialist and Heart Center
It’s important to vet your specialist and heart center to make sure you’re getting the best care for you.
A good place to start is to look at national rankings. “U.S. News publishes a report card for TAVR centers that participate in the TVT Registry, a national registry tracking valve disease patients,” Tang says. The report card considers various metrics like patient outcomes and experience, expert physician opinions, and available advanced technologies. “And you can look up individual centers' performance, based on a star-rating system,” Tang says.
Castle Connolly is another resource that lists top hospitals across the country for specific procedures, including heart valve replacement surgery. Castle Connolly is a division of Everyday Health Group.
When weighing your options between various centers, one metric called procedural volume is particularly useful. This is the number of procedures conducted per year, which is a strong indicator of a center’s capability, Eleid says. This metric is important because the more procedures a heart team performs, the more experience and expertise they develop. This provides them with deeper insight into the heart’s anatomy, the possible issues that may develop during procedures, and the prevention and management of complications.
If a nationally ranked center isn’t accessible in your area, check if any of your local hospitals collaborate with larger academic centers. You may be able to split your care between hospitals, getting your complex procedures done at a top program, with routine follow-up and imaging handled closer to home.
When you identify a specialist, make sure to verify their board certification and check for any history of malpractice or disciplinary actions through your state's medical board. Patient reviews can also offer insight into others' experiences with a specialist's communication style and bedside manner.
Questions to Ask Your Potential Doctor
Use your first consultation to evaluate both the specialist and the center. Here are some questions to consider asking.
- Do you agree with my current diagnosis and the interpretation of my test results?
- Who is involved in the decision about whether I should have TAVR or surgery?
- How many TAVR and open-heart valve procedures does your center perform each year?
- What type of valve would I receive, and why is this option right for my specific anatomy?
- What are my risks given my age and overall health?
- What should I expect for recovery, and what follow-up will I need?
- What resources are available if a complication arises?
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Do You Need a Structural Heart Specialist for Valve or Septal Defects? Tri-City Cardiology. May 11, 2026.
- Interventional Cardiology. Cleveland Clinic. July 16, 2025.
- What Is Interventional Cardiology. Yale Medicine. September 16, 2025.
- Your Aortic Stenosis Care Team. American Heart Association. May 30, 2024.
- Khan S et al. When to Get a Second Opinion. Northwestern Medicine. May 2026.
- Comizio C. How to Get a Specialist Referral. U.S. News & World Report. January 6, 2026.
- Corliss J. Seeking a Second Opinion: When, why, and how? Harvard Health Publishing. April 1, 2024.
- Wynn P. When to Get a Second Opinion. U.S. News & World Report. December 8, 2025.
- Best Hospitals for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). US News.
- Top Hospitals for Heart Valve Replacement Near Me. Castle Connolly.
- Donvito T. A Guide to Finding the Best Heart Care Near You. U.S. News & World Report. February 17, 2026.
- A Guide to Finding the Best Heart Care Near You. American Heart Association. January 16, 2024.
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