Stephen H. Little, MD, FRCPC, FACC, FASE

John S. Dunn Chair in Clinical Cardiovascular Research and Education, DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center
Professor of Cardiology, Academic Institute
Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship, Department of Cardiology
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship


Biography

Dr. Little is a cardiologist with the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and program director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship. In addition, he is director of Structural Heart for the Houston Methodist Hospital System, and medical director of the Valve Clinic. He also serves as director of the Cardiovascular Hemodynamics Imaging Laboratory (CHIL).

After completing sub-specialty Cardiology training at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon of Canada, Dr. Little completed a postdoctoral fellowship in echocardiography at the Ottawa Heart Institute. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship, under the supervision of Dr. W. Zoghbi at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.  In 2007 he was recruited back to Houston to join the Cardiovascular Imaging Institute of Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center.

He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Society of Echocardiography. For the American Society of Echocardiography, Dr. Little served on the Board of Directors, was chair of the guidelines committee, and is currently serving as President, American Society of Echocardiography

Dr. Little has given more than 150 invited lectures nationally and internationally. He is a Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Adjunct Professor at Rice University, Dept. of Bioengineering.

Description of Research

Dr. Little’s recent research activities and peer-reviewed publications have focused on novel use of 3D echocardiography for the quantification of native and prosthetic valve dysfunction as well as imaging guidance for percutaneous structural heart interventions. His team has created a robust in vitro flow system for multimodality functional valve imaging under tailored hemodynamic conditions.

As principal investigator, Dr. Little leads Houston Methodists participation in the international Triluminate Clinical Trial of catheter-based therapy for tricuspid valve regurgitation and participates as a co-investigator in multiple other structural heart trials at Houston Methodist.

Areas Of Expertise

Echocardiography Valvular disease Mitral regurgitation
Education & Training

Clinical Fellowship, Baylor College of Medicine
Residency, Western University
MD, McMaster University School of Medicine
Active Clinical Trials

TRILUMINATE Pivotal Trial

NCT03904147

Publications

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using the Evolut FX+ Platform With Optimal Diamond-Coronary Alignment
Aoun, J, Kharsa, C, Reardon, M, Kleiman, N, Chang, SM, Atkins, M, Faza, NN, Little, SH & Goel, SS 2024, , JACC: Case Reports, vol. 29, no. 17, 102506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccas.2024.102506

Pulmonary Vein Systolic Flow Reversal and Outcomes in Patients From the Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation (COAPT) Trial
Bohra, C, Asch, FM, Lerakis, S, Little, SH, Redfors, B, Zhou, Z, Li, Y, Weissman, NJ, Grayburn, PA, Kar, S, Lim, DS, Abraham, WT, Lindenfeld, JA, Mack, MJ, Bax, JJ & Stone, GW 2024, , Structural Heart, vol. 8, no. 5, 100333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shj.2024.100333

Diagnostic Value of Aortic Valve Calcification Levels in the Assessment of Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis
Adrichem, R, Hokken, TW, Bouwmeester, S, Abdelkarim, O, Vogel, B, Blusztein, DI, Veulemans, V, Kuneman, JH, Geleijnse, ML, Verhemel, S, Van den Dorpel, MMP, Kardys, I, Tonino, PAL, Chang, SM, Faza, NN, Jou, S, Ueyama, HA, Bartkowiak, J, Zeus, T, Bax, JJ, Bertrand, PB, Hahn, RT, Kodali, SK, Lerakis, S, Mehran, R, Little, SH, Houthuizen, P & Van Mieghem, NM 2024, , JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 847-860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2024.03.014

Impact of Left Atrial Pressure on Outcomes After Mitral Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair
Sammour, YM, Bou Chaaya, RG, Hatab, T, Zaid, S, Aoun, J, Makram, OM, Wessly, P, Samimi, S, Nagueh, SF, Zoghbi, WA, Atkins, MD, Reardon, MJ, Faza, N, Little, SH, Kleiman, NS & Goel, SS 2024, , Circulation. Cardiovascular interventions. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCINTERVENTIONS.124.014055

Myocardial Blood Flow Reserve, Microvascular Coronary Health, and Myocardial Remodeling in Patients With Aortic Stenosis
Alahdab, F, Ahmed, AI, Nayfeh, M, Han, Y, Abdelkarim, O, Alfawara, MS, Little, SH, Reardon, MJ, Faza, NN, Goel, SS, Alkhouli, M, Zoghbi, W & Al-Mallah, MH 2024, , Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 13, no. 11, e033447, pp. e033447. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.123.033447

Association of Secondary Mitral Regurgitation and Right Ventricular Dysfunction among Patients with Non-Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
Tayal, B, Faza, NN, Nguyen, DT, Malahfji, M, Little, S, Saeed, M, Goel, SS, Guha, A, El-Tallawi, KC, Graviss, EA & Shah, DJ 2024, , European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jeae134

Examining the typical hemodynamic performance of nearly 3000 modern surgical aortic bioprostheses
Klautz, RJM, Rao, V, Reardon, MJ, Deeb, GM, Dagenais, F, Moront, MG, Little, SH, Labrousse, L, Patel, HJ, Ito, S, Li, S, Sabik, JF & Oh, JK 2024, , European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery, vol. 65, no. 5, ezae122. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejcts/ezae122

Prognostic Value of Right Ventricular Afterload in Patients Undergoing Mitral Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair
Bou Chaaya, RG, Hatab, T, Samimi, S, Qamar, F, Kharsa, C, Aoun, J, Faza, N, Little, SH, Atkins, MD, Reardon, MJ, Kleiman, N, Nagueh, SF, Zoghbi, WA, Guha, A, Zaid, S & Goel, S 2024, , Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 13, no. 8, e033510. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.123.033510

Physical and Computational Modeling for Transcatheter Structural Heart Interventions
Faza, NN, Harb, SC, Wang, DD, van den Dorpel, MMP, Van Mieghem, N & Little, SH 2024, , JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 428-440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2024.01.014

Intraprocedural Doppler and Invasive Hemodynamic Profiling Predict Clinical Outcomes After Mitral TEER
Zaid, S, Wessly, P, Hatab, T, Faza, N, Little, SH, Atkins, MD, Reardon, MJ, Kleiman, NS, Zoghbi, WA & Goel, SS 2024, , JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 454-456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2023.10.013

Echocardiographic Profiling Predicts Clinical Outcomes After Mitral Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair
Hatab, T, Samimi, S, Chaaya, RGB, Qamar, F, Kharsa, C, Wessly, P, Faza, N, Little, SH, Atkins, MD, Reardon, MJ, Kleiman, NS, Zoghbi, WA, Nagueh, SF, Zaid, S & Goel, SS 2024, , Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 13, no. 5, e032784, pp. e032784. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.123.032784

Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Ineligible for Tricuspid Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair
Hatab, T, Bou Chaaya, RG, Samimi, S, Qamar, F, Faza, N, Little, SH, Reardon, MJ, Kleiman, NS, Zoghbi, WA, Guha, A, Zaid, S & Goel, SS 2024, , Structural Heart, vol. 8, no. 2, 100235, pp. 100235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shj.2023.100235

Guidelines for the Evaluation of Prosthetic Valve Function With Cardiovascular Imaging: A Report From the American Society of Echocardiography Developed in Collaboration With the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography
Zoghbi, WA, Jone, PN, Chamsi-Pasha, MA, Chen, T, Collins, KA, Desai, MY, Grayburn, P, Groves, DW, Hahn, RT, Little, SH, Kruse, E, Sanborn, D, Shah, SB, Sugeng, L, Swaminathan, M, Thaden, J, Thavendiranathan, P, Tsang, W, Weir-McCall, JR & Gill, E 2024, , Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 2-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2023.10.004

Feasibility and Safety of Intracardiac Echocardiography Guidance in Mitral Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair: Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample Data From 2015 to 2020
Hashem, A, Khalouf, A, Agrawal, A, Mohamad, MS, Nayfeh, T, Kashou, A, Chaaya, RGB, Rai, D, Verghese, B, Little, SH, Goldsweig, A, Naidu, S & Goel, SS 2024, , Current Problems in Cardiology, vol. 49, no. 1 Pt A, 102042, pp. 102042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2023.102042

Building a Novel Artificial Intelligence–Driven Echocardiographic Data Pipeline: Findings From a Large Learning Health System
Bose, B, Butt, SA, Arshad, HB, Nicolas, CC, Gullapelli, R, Nwana, N, Javed, Z, Shahid, I, Pournazari, P, Patel, KV, Chamsi Pasha, MA, Little, SH, Faza, NS, Jones, S, Cainzos, MA, Al-Kindi, S, Saad, JM, Zoghbi, W, Nagueh, SF & Nasir, K 2024, , Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 916-918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2024.05.018

Mitral Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair In-Hospital Outcomes and Mitral Valve Surgery Readmission Trends: National Readmission Database 2018-2020
Akkawi, AR, Zaid, S, Hatab, T, Bou Chaaya, RG, Oundo, E, Faza, N, Little, SH, Atkins, MD, Reardon, MJ, Zoghbi, WA, Kleiman, NS & Goel, SS 2024, , Structural Heart. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shj.2024.100350

Feasibility and Outcomes of Mitral Transcatheter Edge-To-Edge Repair in Patients With Variable Degrees of Mitral Annular Calcification
Hatab, T, Bou Chaaya, RG, Zaid, S, Wessly, P, Satish, P, Villanueva, V, Faza, N, Little, SH, Atkins, MD, Reardon, MJ, Kleiman, NS, Zoghbi, WA & Goel, SS 2023, , Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 12, no. 19, e031118, pp. e031118. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.123.031118

TAV-in-TAV in Failed Homograft: Redo TAVI in a Patient With 3 Previous Sternotomies
Hatab, T, Zaid, S, Wessly, P, Reardon, MJ, Atkins, MD, Faza, N, Little, SH, Kleiman, NS & Goel, SS 2023, , JACC: Case Reports, vol. 22, 101973, pp. 101973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccas.2023.101973

Now You See Me Now You Don't: Subaortic Membrane Causing a Diagnostic Dilemma
Hatab, T, Zaid, S, Toro, S, Wessly, P, Malahfji, M, Faza, N, Little, SH, Kleiman, NS, Reardon, MJ & Goel, SS 2023, , JACC: Case Reports, vol. 18, 101916, pp. 101916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccas.2023.101916

The (Heart and) Soul of a Human Creation: Designing Echocardiography for the Big Data Age
Arnaout, R, Hahn, RT, Hung, JW, Jone, PN, Lester, SJ, Little, SH, Mackensen, GB, Rigolin, V, Sachdev, V, Saric, M, Sengupta, PP, Strom, JB, Taub, CC, Thamman, R & Abraham, T 2023, , Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 800-801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2023.04.016