Structural Heart Symposium

5-6 October 2024 | Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Thank You Message From The Conference Chairman

Conference Objectives

Educate community about indications and options for structural heart interventions across therapeutic areas (TAVR, transcatheter mitral therapies, transcatheter tricuspid therapies, ASD/ PFO, LAA occlusion therapies) Educate community about workup, evaluation and follow up of structural heart patients.

Target Audience

Cardiologists across the UAE
Cardiac Anesthesias
Cardiac Surgeons
Internists with Interest in Cardiology
Vascular Surgeons
Specialized Nurses
Allied Health Professionals

Planning Committee

Activity Director

Dr. Mahmoud Traina

Vice Chair
Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute
Section Head, Interventional Cardiology
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

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Dr. Mahmoud Traina

Dr. Mahmoud Traina, MD, is a Staff Physician in the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Traina was an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), California, US. He was also Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, where he doubled the capacity of the laboratory and introduced complex coronary interventions and the radial catheterization approach. During this time, Dr. Traina performed over 6,000 cardiac catheterizations, using advanced techniques and minimally invasive approaches.

Dr. Traina was the Associate Program Director of the Cardiology fellowship at UCLA, overseeing the training of over thirty fellows annually. He also served as core faculty of Internal Medicine Residency, supervising over eighty residents every year. He is known as a dedicated educator and has won several teaching awards.

He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, US and received his medical degree from the University of California, Davis, California. His postgraduate training was at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he completed his training in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology.

Dr. Traina’s research interests include optimization of radial access approaches, evaluation and management of cardiomyopathies and novel management of acute heart failure and atrial fibrillation. He has participated in multiple international multicenter trials and has over forty publications and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals. He has also been an invited speaker at both national and international conferences.

Dr. Traina enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two children.

Planning Committee Members

Dr. Ahmed Bafadel

Planning Committee Member
Staff Physician Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE

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Dr. Ahmed Bafadel

Dr. Ahmed Bafadel, MD, is a Staff Physician in the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Bafadel was an Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Fellow at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA.

Dr. Bafadel received his medical degree from King Saud Medical School, Saudi Arabia and trained in internal medicine at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He completed his Cardiology fellowship at Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He also completed a master’s in Business Administration at Cornell University, New York, USA, where his work and research focused on new medical technology, including medical wearables and telemedicine, in addition to increasing the efficiency of healthcare systems.

Following that, Dr. Bafadel worked as a Teaching Faculty and Cardiologist at King Saud Medical School, Saudi Arabia, where he was involved in a Cardiology Fellowship Program for training Cardiology Specialists. He later moved to the United States to gain experience in advanced Cardiovascular Imaging in the Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA. During his time serving at Cleveland Clinic, he was trained in structural 3D Echocardiography guidance of percutaneous valve implantation, Nuclear Cardiac Imaging and Cardiovascular CT. His research on transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and nuclear cardiology has been presented in international cardiac conferences.

He is board certified by both the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in Cardiovascular Disease, as well as Internal Medicine. He also holds certification boards from the National Board of Echocardiography, the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology and the Certification Board of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

Dr. Bafadel enjoys spending his free time with his family and friends, as well as playing tennis.

Dr. Emad Hakemi

Planning Committee Member
Staff Physician Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE

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Dr. Emad Hakemi

Dr. Emad U. Hakemi, MD, MS, is a Consultant Staff Physician in the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Hakemi served as section head of Structural Heart Disease Transcatheter Interventions at Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, US, where he performed a wide range of minimally invasive transcatheter therapies to patients with structural heart disease. Additionally, he participated in national and international multicenter clinical trials investigating advanced structural valve therapies offering patients access to minimally invasive options.

Dr. Hakemi received his medical degree with Honors from Ain Shams University, Egypt, and completed his Internal Medicine residency at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, US, where he also completed his General Cardiovascular Medicine fellowship serving as Chief Cardiovascular Medicine Fellow. He obtained his Masters of Science in Clinical Research at Rush University, Chicago, US.

Dr. Hakemi completed his Interventional Cardiology training at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, US. Here he trained in complex percutaneous coronary interventions, chronic total occlusion interventions, mechanical cardio-circulatory support, valvular heart disease interventions and structural heart disease interventions.

Dr. Hakemi is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine, American Board of Interventional Cardiology, American Board of Echocardiography and American Board of Nuclear Cardiology. He is actively participating in outcome based clinical research focused on coronary artery disease and structural heart disease.

Dr. Gopal Bhatnagar

Planning Committee Member
Institute Chair Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Celeveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE

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Dr. Ahmed Bafadel

Dr. Gopal Bhatnager, MD, is Chief of Cardiac Surgery in the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Bhatnagar served as Chief of Staff at Trillium Health Centre, Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Bhatnagar received his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He completed his residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto and was the youngest Chief of Cardiac Surgery appointed at the same university. He also led the development of the Cardiac Surgery Department at the Trillium Health Centre.

With his involvement over twenty years, the Trillium Health Centre has become the third largest cardiac surgery center in the provence and the largest beating heart surgery service in Canada. At the Trillium Health Center, he served as Chief of Cardiac Surgery from 2000 to 2005 and as Medical Director of the Cardiac Program from 2001 to 2006. Dr. Bhatnagar then served as Chief of Staff from 2006 to 2015.

Dr. Bhatnagar resides in Abu Dhabi and his hobbies include jiu-jitsu and fitness.

Dr. Mohamed Al Jaabari

Planning Committee Member
Staff Physician Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE

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Dr. Mohamed Al Jaabari

Dr. Mohamed Al Jaabari, MBBS is a Staff Physician in the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Al Jaabari practiced as Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) and Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Al Jaabari is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. During his tenure, he has treated a wide range of complex cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, and performed advanced cardiac device implantation and extraction procedures.

Dr. Al Jaabari received his medical degree with honors from The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. He completed an Internal Medicine residency training at Georgetown University, Washington Hospital Center, Washington D.C. where he also served as Chief Resident of the Internal Medicine Residency program, and also completed Internal Medicine residency training at Trinity University, Dublin, Ireland. He completed his fellowship training in Cardiovascular Medicine and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, United States. He was also a core faculty of the cardiovascular disease fellowship program at SKMC.

Dr. Al Jaabari leads the Cardiac Electrophysiology Working Group of the Emirates Cardiac Society, and he has authored several book chapters in the field of electrophysiology.

5-6 October 2024 | Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Conference Objectives

Target Audience

Dr. Mahmoud Traina

Dr. Ahmed Bafadel

Dr. Emad Hakemi

Dr. Gopal Bhatnagar

Dr. Mohamed Al Jaabari

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

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