The Structural Heart and Heart Valve Disease Program at the Sarver Heart Center and Banner – University Medical Center Tucson focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of conditions that affect the heart’s valves, chambers, and internal structures. These problems may be present at birth (congenital), develop over time with aging, or arise as a result of heart disease, heart failure, or prior heart injury.
Structural heart disease refers to abnormalities involving the heart valves, the walls that separate the heart chambers, and other structural components that regulate blood flow through the heart. Many of these conditions were traditionally treated with open heart surgery. Today, many structural heart problems can be treated with minimally invasive catheter-based procedures performed through small incisions.
The program brings together a multidisciplinary team of interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, advanced practice providers, nurses, and imaging specialists who work together to evaluate each patient and determine the most appropriate treatment approach. Care plans may include catheter-based procedures, hybrid approaches that combine catheter techniques with small surgical incisions, or traditional open heart surgery when necessary.
Patients are evaluated through a collaborative heart team model in which cardiologists and cardiac surgeons review imaging, diagnostic testing, and clinical history together to develop individualized treatment strategies.
Established as one of the earliest structural heart programs in Arizona, the team performed its first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure in Tucson in 2012. Since then, the program has continued to expand advanced structural heart therapies available in Southern Arizona.
The program focuses on advanced catheter-based and surgical treatments for structural heart and valve disease.
Program Focus Areas
Heart Valve Disease
Evaluation and treatment of complex valve disorders using both catheter-based and surgical approaches. Advanced procedures include transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter mitral valve repair, balloon valvuloplasty, and emerging structural valve therapies.
Structural Heart Defects
Catheter-based treatment of abnormalities affecting the walls and chambers of the heart, including closure of atrial septal defects (ASD), ventricular septal defects (VSD), and patent foramen ovale (PFO).
Left Atrial Appendage Closure
Procedures such as Watchman device implantation designed to reduce stroke risk in selected patients with atrial fibrillation who cannot tolerate long-term blood thinning medications.
Adult Congenital and Complex Structural Disease
Specialized care for adults with congenital heart disease as well as complex structural abnormalities requiring advanced catheter-based therapies, including septal ablation, paravalvular leak closure, and other structural interventions.
Comprehensive Structural Heart Care
Access to the full spectrum of cardiovascular therapies, including advanced heart failure management, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation when structural disease progresses to advanced cardiac dysfunction.
Program Leadership
The Structural Heart and Heart Valve Disease Program at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson is currently led by Sulaiman Rathore, MD, who serves as Interim Director of the program.
Dr. Rathore is an interventional cardiologist specializing in structural heart interventions, including transcatheter therapies for valvular heart disease and other minimally invasive catheter-based procedures used to treat complex structural cardiac conditions.
Working closely with cardiothoracic surgeons, imaging specialists, advanced practice providers, and nursing teams, Dr. Rathore helps coordinate a multidisciplinary approach to evaluating and treating patients with structural heart disease.
Sulaiman Rathore, MD
Interventional Cardiologist
Interim Director, Structural Heart Program
Banner – University Medical Center Tucson
Patient Care and Referrals
Structural heart and valve procedures are performed at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, with outpatient evaluation available through Banner – University Medicine cardiology clinics. Patients benefit from coordinated care between cardiology, cardiac surgery, imaging specialists, and advanced practice providers.
Adult Cardiology Team
Phone: 520-694-6190
Pediatric and Congenital Heart
Phone: 520-694-KIDS (5497)