A. Marc Gillinov, MD

Marc Gillinov, MD, is Chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic. He is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He holds the Judith Dion Pyle Chair in Heart Valve Research. Dr. Gillinov is chair of the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), an NIH-sponsored network that is the nation's preeminent research enterprise in cardiac surgery. In addition, he is Surgical Director of the Center for Atrial Fibrillation at Cleveland Clinic.

In response to patients’ questions, Dr. Gillinov worked with Dr. Steven Nissen to write Heart 411: The Only Heart Guide You Will Ever Need. The goal of the book is to help people learn about heart health and live a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Specialty Interests: Mitral valve repair, robotic mitral valve surgery, robotic heart surgery, aortic valve replacement, minimally invasive heart surgery, heart valve surgery, heart valve repair. <>

Number of Procedures Performed: Cleveland Clinic performs more than 5,000 heart surgeries each year. All Cleveland Clinic cardiac surgeons complete between 300-400 cardiac cases per year. The majority of Dr. Gillinov’s procedures are heart valve procedures, especially mitral valve surgery. Dr. Gillinov leads a team that performs more than 1,000 mitral valve operations per year, and Dr. Gillinov personally performs more mitral valve surgeries each year than any other surgeon in the world.

Success Rates: Cleveland Clinic is nationally and internationally renowned for its cardiovascular care.  Learn more about our outcomes and statistics  

Education and Training: A Cleveland native and graduate of Hawken School, Dr. Gillinov first worked at Cleveland Clinic in 1978. After a close family member’s successful heart surgery at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Gillinov became interested in learning more. He spent his summers during high school at Cleveland Clinic, working as a researcher and assistant in the cardiac surgery operating suite. After graduating summa cum laude from Yale University, Dr. Gillinov entered Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he ranked first in his class. Dr. Gillinov received his clinical and advanced training in general surgery and cardiac and thoracic surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. After completing his education and training, he returned to Cleveland Clinic and joined the cardiac surgery staff in 1997.

Publications and Speaking: Dr. Gillinov is a recognized expert in mitral valve repair surgery, robotic heart surgery and in the study and treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation. He has been instrumental in the development of new, less invasive treatment approaches for patients with mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation. He has been invited to give hundreds of lectures at hospitals, academic meetings and seminars in the United States and abroad. Dr. Gillinov has written more than 500 publications, created dozens of continuing medical educational films and contributed over 30 chapters to medical/surgical textbooks. He has been granted patents for several innovations, including a patent disclosing new techniques for valve repair for which he received a Cleveland Clinic Award for Innovation. Dr. Gillinov has been instrumental in ushering in a new era in medicine with his contributions to the scientific development of percutaneous approaches to treating patients with heart valve disease. Dr. Gillinov is a current or past member of 10 scientific societies, and he has been invited to join the editorial board or act as an editorial reviewer for 15 scientific periodicals. 

About Dr. Gillinov: “My greatest strength as a heart surgeon has two components. First, I can tailor the surgical approach to the patient, ranging from robotic and minimally invasive surgery to standard surgery, using the method that is best and safest. Second, I do this with compassion. In every instance and at every decision, I consider what I would want if I were the patient.”

Leisure Activities: In his free time, Dr. Gillinov enjoys playing tennis, running, and travelling with his wife to visit his children at their colleges and medical schools.