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...

78 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

"One Month Post-Op: What I Want You to Know

I’m in my mid-30s, relatively healthy, and was shocked when I found out I needed open heart surgery. Today—April 4—is the one-month anniversary of my successful, curative mitral valve repair. I’m sharing my story in hopes that it helps make heart valve surgery feel a little less scary and unknown for someone out there. I’m also here to recommend my cardiac surgeon, Dr. Joanna Chikwe, who was so amazing that I will forever be her fan.

If you take just one thing away from this: please don’t skip your annual physical. Mine uncovered severe mitral valve prolapse that could have led to imminent heart failure (the left side of my heart was already dilating). It likely saved my life.

At my routine annual wellness exam in early February, my doctor—and then my cardiologist—each heard a murmur for the first time. I had dismissed my chest tightness and shortness of breath as asthma, but an echocardiogram revealed the truth. If it had been moderate, I could’ve waited and monitored. But it was severe. Severe mitral valve prolapse can cause blood to leak backward into the lungs, strain the heart, and lead to arrhythmias or heart failure. My cardiologist sent an urgent referral to cardiac surgeon Dr. Joanna Chikwe, and within 30 minutes of the diagnosis, I got a call from Dr. Chikwe’s highly competent, compassionate, professional, warm, and overall beyond amazing team. They were moving faster than I thought the health system could move—surgery could be as soon as the following week.

Exactly one week later, I underwent robotic open heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai. This minimally invasive approach uses small incisions between the ribs and avoids sawing through the breastbone, which typically means fewer complications, faster recovery, and smaller scars. My incredible surgeon and her team made it happen—squeezing me in for a CT angio scan that normally takes months to schedule, fast-tracking pre-op appointments, and even helping me resolve a last-minute insurance lapse due to a COBRA admin issue. They moved mountains. Every appointment was professional and streamlined and handled in the Cedars Sinai system without any glitches. Not only did Dr. Chikwe come highly recommended by my cardiologist, as a “world expert” in my kind of surgery, and she had so much experience that the risk of complications was close to nil, but her bedside manner was superb. After surgery, she personally checked on me every single day, and at my last post-op appointment, I was expecting to meet with her resident, but she and her nurse practitioner met me together, and she seemed truly curious about how I was feeling and absolutely delighted with the perfect outcome.

In the week leading up to surgery, I was extremely anxious and sought emotional support from my village. What weighed on me was whether this surgery was medically necessary and what alternatives there might be. My dear college friend who is a doctor put me in touch with her friend who is an interventional cardiologist, and he thought that given my facts, this was the right and only possible next step. My grandfather who had a leaky valve did not have the benefit of a repair like this and experienced a cascade of adverse health effects in the last decade of his life. My uncle who had a valve replacement reassured me that the science and technology are so good now that his recovery was as smooth as could be. A mentor who had gone through surgery told me that once it was done, I’d be able to put the whole heart valve condition in the rearview mirror. I reached out to friends who supported me by sharing their own families’ positive experiences with heart surgery. What clinched it was when Dr. Chikwe’s nurse practitioner shared that Dr. Chikwe would not be willing to perform this kind of surgery on anyone who might want it, if their condition did not call for it; the fact that she would turn folks away, backed up the seriousness of my condition, and I was convinced. On operation day, a surgical resident reassured me: “If you wake up in the cardiac ICU, everything went well.” And that’s exactly what happened. I fell asleep with anesthesia and woke up lucid in the ICU.

Before surgery, all I received was an IV in my arm and a nerve block in my shoulder. The chest tubes, larger IVs, and incisions were done after I was out. My valve was repaired, not replaced, which is typically preferred when possible, since it preserves the natural valve and doesn’t require lifelong blood thinners.

Post-op pain—mostly on my right side—was intense at first. It hurt to breathe. But once the chest tubes were removed (yanked out with finesse), the pain quickly subsided. I did take oxycodone during my hospital stay and intermittently for a week afterward, mostly at night—it helped me stay comfortable enough to heal.

I was discharged Friday, just three days post-op. At home, I felt better every day. Two weeks later, most of the pain had subsided. Three weeks later, I felt back to normal. Now, just four weeks later, I feel better than I’ve felt in years. I walked up a steep hill the other day with no shortness of breath or chest tightness—something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

I’m not back at CrossFit yet and still avoiding heavy lifting. I didn’t need formal cardiac rehab, but I was encouraged to walk daily and listen to my body—small walks in my home became longer ones in my neighborhood. Showering, sleeping, and weaning off pain meds all happened gradually over the first two weeks; in fact, I was able to shower on my first day home from the hospital. I’ve been cleared to resume most normal activities, and I’m moving with care and filled with gratitude—I’m so thankful to be here."

-- Janice Dow, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, 03/04/2025

> See 76 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: April 7, 2025


Dr. Joanna Chikwe
(866) 345-1289