About Dr. Joanna Chikwe,
Heart Valve Surgeon

Hello! My name is Dr. Joanna Chikwe and I am a cardiac surgeon having graduated from Oxford University in 1997. To date, I have performed approximately 2,000 cardiac surgeries, of which most involved heart valve procedures. I regularly perform surgery at Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Read more...

80 Patient Reviews for
Dr. Chikwe

"My journey with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) started about twenty years ago, when my primary care physician (PCP) heard a mild murmur during my annual check-up. Since it was minor, there wasn’t much to do about it at the time. Fast forward to recent months, when during another annual check-up with my new PCP, the MVP noise became more noticeable. He recommended seeing a cardiologist, and after the visit, the cardiologist confirmed that my MVP was more serious than I had anticipated—even before we did an echo. The echo later confirmed the need for surgery.

That’s when my search for the right surgeon and facility began. I knew I wanted the best, with a high volume of successful repairs. Even though I live in the Houston area, home to one of the largest medical facilities in the world, I decided to pursue robotic surgery with a top-tier surgeon. I narrowed my options down to Dr. Joanna Chikwe at Cedars-Sinai and another renowned doctor in the U.S. Ultimately, I chose Dr. Chikwe for the personal attention she gave me. She never made me feel like just another patient, and her team was exceptional from start to finish.

Although it wasn’t as straightforward as staying local, I flew to Los Angeles for the surgery with Dr. Chikwe and her team. The day of the surgery, I was incredibly nervous, but when Dr. Chikwe came to see me before the operation, her calm, reassuring words gave me confidence that everything would be okay.

After the surgery, as I was waking up from anesthesia, Dr. Chikwe met with my brother and shared the good news: the operation was a success. From that point on, I was in the hands of amazing nurses, from the ICU to the recovery floor, who worked tirelessly to ensure I was in the best shape possible.

On the day I left Los Angeles to return home, I met with Dr. Chikwe and Vivien to go over any final questions. I asked Dr. Chikwe how the technical aspects of the surgery went, as I felt so good that it almost didn’t seem like I had just had major heart surgery. She reassured me that the results were excellent—and what she had hoped for.

I am beyond satisfied with the outcome. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to choose Dr. Chikwe and her team. I am eternally grateful for their expertise and exceptional care. Thank you, Dr. Chikwe, and thank you to your incredible team of angles."

-- Kamyar Sanandaji, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, 04/30/2025

"I’ve always been a mountain climber. Throughout all my 66 years, I’ve always been thinking about mountain climbing - about identifying challenges, setting goals, and reaching summits. Not because I view climbing as my sport - but because climbing is my passion. I build my lifestyle around it. I was born in Spain, but moved to California in my twenties so that I could climb bigger and more difficult mountains. In 1984, I climbed the 3000-foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite. I have climbed, skied and hiked many mountains in the Sierra Nevada. As I sit and think about my future expeditions, I find reasons to justify new challenges.

But I never thought my next challenge would be my heart and not a mountain. When I was told that I had leaky heart valves, the news was devastating. My father had lived to be 107 so I thought I had inherited a great body. I never smoked or drank, and I always ate well and kept myself fit. But my cardiologist had other news for me. I was first told that I had a heart murmur while living in Virginia five years ago when I was 61. At first, I couldn’t believe it. It was the very first time that I had met a cardiologist, and he immediately told me that I would eventually need surgery. Living in Virginia with no mountains of high elevation, I thought I was losing my fitness level. But I found myself at the base of a whole new heart health mountain in Virginia when I visited my cardiologist that day. A new challenge was born.

For many years, I misidentified my few symptoms as merely being not fit enough, or aging. Up until 2023, I could hike for 14-16 hours straight in the mountains. But in 2024, I started to lose stamina, and I found I needed to hike much slower, thus taking me longer and making my days much longer and my trips impossible. Overall, shortness of breath was occurring for me only at high elevation, after I had climbed thousands of feet. My breathing was perfectly fine at sea level. In fact, I was hiking up 1600-foot elevation gains in the Verdugo Mountains right up until the day before my surgery. Then after numerous tests, my cardiologist showed me that 50% of my oxygenated blood was flowing backwards (regurgitating), meaning that there was not enough oxygen in my blood to feed my muscles.

Part of the excitement and beauty of mountain climbing is a degree of uncertainty: there is always a chance that you might not reach that summit. There are many variables in climbing that can lead to failure, the one variable you can control is your body and the training needed to perform for success. But you always count on your heart doing its job. When it comes to my heart surgery – I had to be absolutely sure that I could face my challenge and thrive on the other side. And so, I did my homework. I became an advocate for my own care. Heart surgery is not the mountain range for adventure or uncertainty.

The number one most important lesson from my research was choosing the REPAIR of my mitral valve over replacement. Over the years, various friends and acquaintances have had mitral valve replacements. They have been on blood thinners for the rest of their lives and have had surgery again after 12-15 years. Some even had infections. I feared that with mitral valve replacement I might never climb another mountain again. But MITRAL REPAIR is a wonderful approach. By repairing my valve, I could retain all my own living tissue. I needed this surgery to be done perfectly and put my heart in the hands of the best surgeon I could find. Artificial valves have a greater potential to harbor infections and to form clots than our own natural tissue does. But mitral repair means never having to be on blood thinners, and a greatly reduced chance of infections. I also learned about the benefits of minimally invasive surgery. Four small incisions without cutting the sternum in half would mean less pain, faster healing time, less trauma, less scarring, less chance of infection, and much less long-term discomfort. I didn’t want a 20th Century surgery with a cracked-lobster sternotomy. I wanted a 21st Century surgery with a small incision, a repair instead of a replacement, and a vastly superior long-term outcome. Best of all — a robotic assist mitral repair would mean that I could keep climbing mountains! I realize that for the surgeons, mine may be just another surgery. But for me – the patient – heart surgery is a life changing experience. I wanted to be fully vested in my search for a surgeon to ensure the outcome I wanted.

And so, I started looking for a surgeon wanting to hear just five precious words: “your valve can be repaired.” I also wanted to hear that I could have minimally invasive surgery without having my sternum split open. Experiences with other surgeons and hospitals were not encouraging. Other hospitals had been helpful until I presented my desire for mitral valve repair over replacement, with minimally invasive efficiency. When I asked for the type of surgery I wanted, I was told that repair was not a certainty, and I had to be prepared for my valve to be replaced, with my sternum cut open. That was my only option. I could not live with this option. Then - the turning point in my search was as simple as googling the phrase “minimally invasive cardiac surgeries.”

That’s when the name “Joanna Chikwe, MD” came right up. I immediately watched the YouTube video of Dr. Chikwe and was convinced that this is what I needed. But it was meeting her in person that sealed the deal. Dr. Chikwe is so nice, cool, and collected. I love the way Dr. Chikwe speaks and conducts herself. She speaks softly, and intentionally. Unlike other surgeons, she is confident and humble at the same time – a blessed combination. Many surgeons sound cocky and arrogant. They come on too strong and this is a huge turn off. She very confidently told me what no other surgeon could: “Your valve is repairable.” At that moment, my wife and I were certain Dr. Chikwe was our way forward.

Dr. Chikwe also comes with a care team. Everyone in her office is so professional and on top of things. Vivian is her nurse practitioner. Vivian was great all along. Always a pleasure to work with, she is Dr. Chikwe’s right-hand-person. I spoke with her many times before and after my surgery. Vivian always answered my calls quickly as she guided me through my entire experience.

The day before my surgery, I hiked up to the top of the mountains near my house and went into the hospital feeling relaxed and refreshed after my workout. And when I arrived in the operating room, the anesthesiologist put me out immediately and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in recovery. The most pleasant surprise for me was that I did not experience post-operative pain. Dr. Chikwe had warned me that post-operative pain is normal, as the two-to-three-inch incision below the nipple cuts through layers of tissue rich in nerves. But I never experienced what I would call pain. I would describe my sensations as discomfort, rather than pain. I was connected to an epidural pain killing drip, which managed the pain. After I left the hospital, four days later, I took two Tylenol every four hours, and was able to stop that just a few days later. I never experienced any pain after this. Dr. Chikwe stopped by my hospital room to visit me every day until I was discharged, confirming her concern and care for me and all her patients.

When I went home after four days, I was already walking regularly. Five days after getting home, I was able to walk two miles. I was told not to do anything strenuous for the first month, so I avoided hills and walked only on flat streets. For the first month following surgery, a physical therapist was sent to my house. After this my cardiologist sent me to cardiac rehab at a nearby hospital, which was very helpful. Hooked up to heart monitor wires with a treadmill and a bike, cardiac rehab started to strengthen my entire body. I firmly believe that all patients should have cardiac rehab following surgery. Now, two months after surgery, I am walking three times per day. I am back to hiking in the mountains and walking an average of 5 miles (10,000 steps) daily, and sometimes much more. My only concern is that my pulse has been elevated since surgery. It was 105 for several weeks and now is back in the upper nineties. Vivian says this is normal and that my pulse will be dropping back down to normal soon. I am pleased to say that my pulse only elevates slightly as I hike up mountain trails now. My post operative follow-up appointment with Dr. Chikwe and Vivian answered all my questions. Now, my only remaining appointment is with my cardiologist in three months.

While my heart is healing, I am always reminded that I am the type of person who wants more than just a heartbeat in life. Dr. Chikwe’s surgery was lifesaving in many ways. Minimally invasive mitral valve repair with robotic assist means that I can keep hiking and climbing: that I may continue to embrace nature. I will also continue to enjoy my amazing wife who supported me during my surgery, and I will be there for my children who are now in their thirties. If my experience may seem a bit different because of my diet and exercise as a mountain climber and hiker, what I would like to say is that heart surgery can happen even for those of us in the best possible shape. That is why it is so important to choose a surgical technique and a surgeon who will deliver the best possible long-term results enabling athletes and mountaineers to continue with the passions that have defined their lifestyles. Mitral repair surgery delivered the best result I was hoping for through this minimally invasive, robotic surgical method. And Dr. Joanna Chikwe is the surgeon I would recommend to anyone in need of mitral valve surgery. I hope that many will benefit from her abilities and skills as well as those of her team. This week, just two months after my surgery, I started indoor rock climbing as part of my recovery regimen. Plans are already in place for the one-year anniversary of my surgery. In March 2026, I will climb to the summit of Mt. Whitney, again in the middle of winter, to celebrate my robotically repaired mitral valve. Thanks to Dr. Chikwe, this – and many more summits – await me."

-- Miguel Carmona, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, Robotic Surgery, Mini-Thoracotomy / Port Access, 03/11/2025

> See 78 more patient testimonials

My Specialities &
Clinical Interests

My heart surgery specialties include:

  • Less invasive surgery, small incisions
  • Mitral valve repair
  • Coronary bypass grafting

In addition, I have research and clinical interests specific to:

  • Mitral valve surgery
  • Frailty
  • Coronary revascularization

Education, Training & Certificates

Dr. Joanna Chikwe, heart surgeon, graduated from Oxford University in 1997.

After medical school, Dr. Chikwe completed a cardiothoracic surgery residency and fellowship training in the United Kingdom, where she was appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 2006.

Upon moving to the United States, Dr. Chikwe began practicing cardiac surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, New York where she became a Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery.

In 2019, Dr. Chikwe was named the Founding Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Chikwe has contributed to over 100 research publications. Her interests include structural heart disease, coronary revascularization, quality improvements and comparative surgical outcomes.

Schedule Appointment
with Dr. Joanna Chikwe, MD

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Chikwe, you can:

The office of Dr. Chikwe is located at 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048. To get driving directions to this office, please click the map below.



> Click for driving directions to Dr. Chikwe’s office.

Watch Educational Videos with Dr. Joanna Chikwe

Learn about heart valve surgery from Dr. Chikwe in these videos:

  • Patient Expectations After Heart Valve Surgery
  • Heart Failure & Heart Valve Disease: What Should Patients Know?
  • Life Expectancy & Heart Valve Surgery: Patient Insights with Dr. Joanna Chikwe
  • Mitral Valve Surgery: Advances in Minimally-Invasive & Transcatheter Procedures with Dr. Chikwe
  • Go Red for Women: Heart Valve Surgery From a Woman's Perspective (with Dr. Joanna Chikwe)
  • Pregnancy & Heart Valve Disease: What Should Patients Know?
  • Robotic Mitral Valve Repair Surgery: What Should Patients Know?
  • Top 5 Complications After Heart Valve Surgery with Dr. Joanna Chikwe
  • Research Alert: Early Surgery for Asymptomatic Aortic Stenosis Patients
  • Mitral Valve Awareness: How Is Mitral Valve Disease Treated?
  • Surgeon Q&A: Valve-Sparing Compared to Aortic Valve Repair
  • Surgeon Q&A: SAVR and TAVR Insights in 2024
  • Heart Failure & Heart Valve Disease: What Should Patients Know?
  • > Watch More Videos

Page last updated: June 5, 2025


Dr. Joanna Chikwe
(866) 345-1289