William A. Zoghbi, MD, FASE, FAHA, MACC

Elkins Family Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Health, DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center
Chair, Department of Cardiology
Professor of Cardiology, Academic Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Biography

William A. Zoghbi, a renowned cardiology, echocardiography and cardiac imaging expert, has developed noninvasive heart function and valve disorder evaluation techniques. As a result, Dr. Zoghbi has overseen national and international heart valve evaluation guideline development.

He built his reputation on his ischemic heart disease, myocardial function and hibernation research, as well as his development of echocardiographic techniques to evaluate valvular dynamics and measure valvular regurgitation. Dr. Zoghbi has authored more than 300 publications and lectured at every major cardiology conference worldwide.

Dr. Zoghbi has served:

  • The American College of Cardiology (ACC); president in 2012, honored as a master in 2013 and Board of Trustee member from 2002 to 2015
  • The American Heart Association
  • The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE); president in 2008
  • The World Heart Federation; board member from 2014 to 2015 and Global Cardiovascular Disease Taskforce co-chair

Since 2008, Dr. Zoghbi’s professional activities have included:

  • Implementing the ACC’s international mission and working with many international chapters he helped build
  • Representing the ACC and the global cardiovascular community at the United Nations and World Health Organization, advocating for a 25 percent reduction of the world’s noncommunicable disease mortality rate by 2025, known as the 25 x 25 Initiative
  • Focusing on patient-centered care and spearheading the CardioSmart.org relaunch while ACC president

Dr. Zoghbi’s scholarly contributions include service as:

  • A senior editor of JACC Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Global health section editor for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology
  • An editorial board member of Global Heart
  • Former associate editor of Circulation

A dedicated educator, Dr. Zoghbi has trained more than 100 cardiology fellows in advanced cardiovascular imaging. In 2004, he received the American Society of Echocardiography’s Richard Popp Excellence in Teaching Award.  He also co-chaired the American College of Cardiology committee responsible for a monograph advising cardiovascular imaging training best practices.

In 2005, Dr. Zoghbi joined the Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group following his 20-year tenure at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was the John S. Dunn Professor of Medicine and served as Houston Methodist’s echocardiography laboratory director. In 2005, he established Houston Methodist’s Cardiovascular Imaging Institute, integrating all cardiovascular imaging modalities to enhance patient care, education and research. He became the William L. Winters Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Imaging in 2005. In 2016, Dr. Zoghbi was appointed chairman of the Department of Cardiology at Houston Methodist and holds the Elkins Family Distinguished Chair in Cardiology, established in his honor.  

Description of Research

Dr. Zoghbi´s research focuses on cardiovascular imaging, emphasizing echocardiography. He has developed methods for evaluation of valvular function, ventricular function quantitation and myocardial viability detection in patients with ischemic ventricular dysfunction. More recently, Dr. Zoghbi has collaborated with University of Houston mathematicians and led his laboratory’s efforts to better understand cardiac valve structure and function and improve quantitation of artificial valve function using in vitro modeling and multimodality imaging.

Areas Of Expertise

Echocardiography Valvular function Ventricular function Myocardial hibernation
Education & Training

Residency, Baylor College of Medicine
Clinical Fellowship, Baylor College of Medicine
Internship, University of Texas, Medical Branch
MD, Meharry Medical College School of Medicine
Publications

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

Houston Methodist cardiovascular learning health system (CVD-LHS) registry: Methods for development and implementation of an automated electronic medical record-based registry using an informatics framework approach
Nasir, K, Gullapelli, R, Nicolas, JC, Bose, B, Nwana, N, Butt, SA, Shahid, I, Cainzos-Achirica, M, Patel, KV, Bhimaraj, A, Javed, Z, Andrieni, J, Al-Kindi, S, Jones, SL & Zoghbi, WA 2024, , American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, vol. 18, 100678, pp. 100678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpc.2024.100678, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpc.2024.100678

Houston Methodist cardiovascular learning health system (CVD-LHS) registry: Methods for development and implementation of an automated electronic medical record-based registry using an informatics framework approach
Nasir, K, Gullapelli, R, Nicolas, JC, Bose, B, Nwana, N, Butt, SA, Shahid, I, Cainzos-Achirica, M, Patel, KV, Bhimaraj, A, Javed, Z, Andrieni, J, Al-Kindi, S, Jones, SL & Zoghbi, WA 2024, , American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, vol. 18, 100678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpc.2024.100678

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

Prognostic Interplay Between Exercise Capacity and PET-Derived Myocardial Flow Reserve: FIT-PET Study
Ahmed, AI, Al Rifai, M, Alahdab, F, Alfawara, MS, Han, Y, Nayfeh, M, Mahmarian, JJ, Nabi, F, Soliman, A, Patel, K, Zoghbi, WA & Al-Mallah, MH 2024, , JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 460-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2023.11.002

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

Noninvasive Prediction of Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure in Patients With Normal Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: Comparison of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance With Comprehensive Echocardiography
Rahi, W, Hussain, I, Quinones, MA, Zoghbi, WA, Shah, DJ & Nagueh, SF 2024, , Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 486-494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2024.02.001

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

Prognostic Interplay Between Exercise Capacity and PET-Derived Myocardial Flow Reserve: FIT-PET Study
Ahmed, AI, Al Rifai, M, Alahdab, F, Alfawara, MS, Han, Y, Nayfeh, M, Mahmarian, JJ, Nabi, F, Soliman, A, Patel, K, Zoghbi, WA & Al-Mallah, MH 2024, , JACC. Cardiovascular imaging, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 460-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2023.11.002

Coronary microvascular health in symptomatic patients with prior COVID-19 infection: an updated analysis
Ahmed, AI, Al Rifai, M, Alahdab, F, Saad, JM, Han, Y, Alfawara, MS, Nayfeh, M, Malahfji, M, Nabi, F, Mahmarian, JJ, Cooke, JP, Zoghbi, WA & Al-Mallah, MH 2023, , European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 24, no. 11, pp. 1544-1554. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jead118

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

Unanswered Questions in Primary Mitral Regurgitation
Zoghbi, WA & Chandrashekhar, Y 2023, , JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 16, no. 10, pp. 1368-1370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2023.09.001

Aortic Regurgitation: Review of the Diagnostic Criteria and the Management Guidelines
Malahfji, M, Saeed, M & Zoghbi, WA 2023, , Current Cardiology Reports, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 1373-1380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-023-01955-x

Coronary microvascular health in symptomatic patients with prior COVID-19 infection: an updated analysis
Ahmed, AI, Al Rifai, M, Alahdab, F, Saad, JM, Han, Y, Alfawara, MS, Nayfeh, M, Malahfji, M, Nabi, F, Mahmarian, JJ, Cooke, JP, Zoghbi, WA & Al-Mallah, MH 2023, , European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging, vol. 24, no. 11, pp. 1544-1554. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jead118

Influence of Cardiac Remodeling on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Aortic Regurgitation
Malahfji, M, Crudo, V, Kaolawanich, Y, Nguyen, DT, Telmesani, A, Saeed, M, Reardon, MJ, Zoghbi, WA, Polsani, V, Elliott, M, Bonow, RO, Graviss, EA, Kim, R & Shah, DJ 2023, , Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 81, no. 19, pp. 1885-1898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.03.001