Division of Cardiovascular Diseases:

Interventional Cardiology

Scripps Clinic has a long history of providing advanced, leading edge, minimally invasive care to patients with coronary artery, peripheral vascular and structural heart disease. Scripps Clinic has one of the country’s largest clinical programs in interventional cardiology, with our member physicians performing a high volume of interventional cardiology procedures; nearly 2000 coronary and 1000 structural interventions annually. Additional expertise includes the percutaneous management of patients with severe heart failure and cardiogenic shock, including the placement of transcatheter left (and right) ventricular assist devices and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

The Scripps Clinic interventional program focuses on the patient, emphasizing the highest possible quality care using appropriate and successful procedures, low complication rates, early discharge and minimal recovery time. By focusing on best practices and quality metrics, Scripps Clinic physicians provide patients with the best possible outcomes.

Areas of particular interest and expertise are noted below:

Paul Teirstein, MD

  • Chief of Cardiology, Scripps Clinic
  • Transcatheter valve replacement (TAVR)
  • Complex coronary stenting
  • Coronary atherectomy
  • Coronary brachytherapy
  • Supported PCI
  • Alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Curtiss Stinis, MD

  • Peripheral vascular intervention including critical limb ischemia and
  • limb salvage
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
  • Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR)
  • Transcatheter pulmonic valve interventions and replacement
  • Mechanical circulatory support devices
  • Alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
  • Complex coronary stenting
  • Coronary atherectomy
  • Coronary brachytherapy
  • Supported PCI

Matthew Price, MD

  • Transcatheter mitral valve repair (MitraClip) and replacement
  • Transcatheter tricuspid valve repair
  • Transcatheter atrial septal defect (ASD) closure
  • Transcatheter patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure
  • Transcatheter left atrial appendage closure (Watchman)
  • Paravalvular leak closure
  • Complex coronary stenting
  • Coronary atherectomy
  • Coronary brachytherapy
  • Supported PCI

Richard Schatz, MD

  • Complex coronary stenting
  • Coronary atherectomy
  • Coronary brachytherapy
  • Supported PCI
  • Coronary angiogenesis
  • Cardiac gene therapy
  • Hyperbaric oxygen for STEMI

Nurse Practitioners:
Jessica Funk, NP
Marissa Munsayac, NP
Chelsea Rouleau, NP

Featured Services

  • Coronary stenting

  • Coronary atherectomy

  • Coronary brachytherapy

  • Supported PCI

  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

  • Transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement

  • Transcatheter pulmonic valve interventions and replacement

  • Transcatheter tricuspid valve repair

  • Transcatheter atrial and ventricular septal closure

  • Transcatheter patent foramen ovale closure

  • Mechanical circulatory support devices

  • Coronary angiogenesis

  • Cardiac gene therapy

  • Hyperbaric oxygen for STEMI

Recognitions & Awards

SCMG Interventional Cardiologists have received numerous awards and honors including:

Scripps Clinic physicians edit the seminal Textbook in Interventional Cardiology. Now entering 8th addition, this textbook is a comprehensive review of the field including the underlying basic science, key clinical trials, basic and advanced procedural techniques.

Scripps Clinic physicians also edit Interventional Cardiology Clinics, an influential, quarterly review journal that provides up-to-date coverage of advances in the field, and is read by trainees and interventional cardiologists around the world

  • Paul Teirstein, M.D.

    • Listings in Best Doctors in America
    • San Diego’s Top Doctors
    • Saul Horowitz, Jr. Memorial Award from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for outstanding achievement
    • Erasmus Thoraxcenter Interventional Cardiology Award. “Best Clinical Researcher, 1998.
    • The Spirit of Scripps Award
    • Edward Robb Ricketts Award for outstanding contribution to cardiovascular medicine 
    • American Heart Association Ignite Award 
    • TCT: Master Clinical Operator Award 2015

  • Curtiss Stinis, MD

    • Top Doctor by Castle Connolly
    • Top 1% of America’s Most Honored Professionals by American Registry
    • Top Cardiologist by Consumers Research Council of America
    • Next Generation Innovator Award by Cardiology Today
    • Patient’s Choice Award- Vitals.com
    • Top 10 Cardiologist in San Diego County- Vitals.com
    • Peer Reviewed Physician’s Award- Interventional Cardiology
    • CRT 2013 Young Leaders Award
    • Continental Who’s Who Pinnacle Professional of the Year Award
    • Alpha Omega Alpha
    • Outstanding Resident of the Year- all 3 years of residency
    • Outstanding Fellow of the Year- 2 years in a row
    • Ralph Waldo Gerard Award- UC Irvine

  • Matthew J. Price, MD

    • Scripps Clinic Chairman’s Award for Research in Medicine, 2009 and 2018
    • Steering Committee member, National Cardiovascular Data Registry for Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (NCDR LAAO).
    • Editor-in-Chief, Interventional Cardiology Clinics
    • Section Editor: Coronary, Peripheral, and Structural Interventions, for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology
    • “Best of the European Heart Journal” paper, cited at the European Society of Cardiology Scientific Sessions
    • Top 10 cited paper, International Journal of Cardiology
    • Outstanding Fellow of the Year, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
    • Alpha Omega Alpha, UCLA School of Medicine
    • Phi Beta Kappa, Cornell University

  • Richard A Schatz, MD

    • Phi Beta Kappa, SUNY at Buffalo
    • Honorary Doctorate of Biology, SUNY at Buffalo
    • Davison Scholarship Award, Duke University
    • Lange Medical Publication Award,  Duke University
    • Lifetime Fellow of the Hong Kong Cardiology Society
    • Distinguished Alumnus Award, Duke University
    • Lifetime Scholar Award of the Barton Haynes Society, Duke University
    • Winner Russ Prize for BioMedical Engineering 2019
    • Smithsonian Museum of American History “Inventing in America” Display
    • Graduation commencement address California Northstate University Medical School 2020

Fellowship Program

The Scripps Clinic Interventional/Structural/Peripheral Fellowship program dates back to 1988 and has trained nearly 100 interventionalists who are now practicing and teaching throughout the country. This fellowship, under the direction of Curtiss Stinis, MD has expanded to include 4 ACGME approved physicians in interventional cardiology and 3 physicians in structural/peripheral interventions.
For more information, or to apply, visit the Graduate Medical Education page.

Conferences
Since 1990, Scripps Clinic physicians have directed one of the most highly regarded and well attended live demonstration interventional cardiology conferences in the world. Each fall nearly 1000 physicians and other health care providers attend the Cardiovascular Interventions live demonstration conference where attendees interact with world renown faculty learning the latest techniques in coronary, peripheral and structural intervention. http://www.cvinterventions.com/
Additionally, each winter Scripps attracts physicians from all over the world to its renowned annual Structural Heart Intervention and Imaging conference. https://www.scripps.org/events/ninth-annual-structural-heart-intervention-and-imaging-february-5-2020

Scripps Clinic has a long history of pioneering new technology in interventional and structural cardiology. In the 1980s, Scripps Clinic physicians developed novel balloon angioplasty techniques to treat complex coronary disease.  In the 1990’s Scripps Clinic continued its pioneering work inventing coronary stenting and intravascular radiation (brachytherapy) to treat restenosis. Scripps Clinic was also the initial investigational site for rotational atherectomy and played a pivotal role in developing ECMO support for patients at high risk during interventional procedures. In the 2000’s Scripps Clinic has continued its pioneering role by developing novel mechanical support devices (i.e. Impella) and performing groundbreaking research in transcatheter aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair/replacement, left atrial appendage occlusion, and post-stenting antiplatelet therapy.  

Examples of current research projects include:

  • Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR). Comparing transcatheter implantation of the INTREPID mitral valve compared to traditional open-heart surgery (the APOLLO trial)
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Testing transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with aortic stenosis who are low risk for traditional open-heart surgery.
  • Transcatheter mitral valve repair. Evaluating the next generation transcatheter mitral valve repair device (PASCAL) in patients with mitral regurgitation (CLASP-IID trial)
  • Transcatheter tricuspid valve repair. Treating tricuspid regurgitation percutaneously using the TriClip device in patients instead of open-heart surgery (the TRILUMINATE trial)
  • Left atrial appendage closure. 
    • Testing whether the WATCHMAN device in patients with atrial fibrillation who have absolute contraindications to oral anticoagulants (ASAP-TOO)
    • Evaluating next-generation left atrial appendage closure devices in patients with atrial fibrillation (AMULET, WATCHMAN FLX). 
  • Percutaneous coronary intervention.
    • Guiding stent implantation with intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging (ILUMIEN IV)
    • A novel, intracoronary lithotripsy device (SHOCKWAVE) to treating complex, calcified blockages (DISPERSE-CAD III trial)
    • Shortened antiplatelet therapy after stent implantation in patients at high bleeding risk (ONYX ONE CLEAR)
    • Clinical outcomes in real-world practice using the Onyx drug-eluting stent (ONYX Post-Approval Study).
  • Interventional heart failure: Implantation of a transcatheter interatrial shunt device (CORVIA, V-WAVE) to improve symptoms and outcomes in patients with heart failure (REDUCE HF-II, RELIEVE HF trials)
SEE ALL SCMG RESEARCH