Sammy Elmariah

Dr. Sammy Elmariah is an interventional cardiologist who cares for adults with heart valve disease, coronary artery disease and congenital heart disease. He is an expert in transcatheter (minimally invasive) heart valve procedures, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER or MitraClip) and transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR). He also specializes in assessing new medical devices for repairing or replacing the heart's tricuspid valve.

The overall goal of Elmariah's research is to advance transcatheter and other surgical procedures for heart valve disease in order to maximize patient health and outcomes. He leads several clinical trials (studies with human volunteers) focused on valvular heart disease. These include landmark studies testing new transcatheter devices that treat heart valve disease without the need for open heart surgery. He and his research team are also investigating how to increase access to heart valve disease treatments and improve patient involvement in the management of their own care. And they are studying biomarkers (distinctive, measurable substances) in the blood that may help doctors determine the optimal time for individual patients to undergo heart valve procedures. His research team is funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, U.S. Department of Defense and several industry partners.

Elmariah earned his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He completed fellowships in interventional cardiology and structural heart disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. He also has a master of public health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Sammy Elmariah is married to Dr. Sarina Elmariah, a dermatologist at UCSF, and they are the proud parents of two wonderful boys.