Portrait: Stephen Little

Stephen H Little

MD
Professional Focus Dr. Stephen Little is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease specializing in the diagnosis and management of heart valve disorders. Dr. Little’s medical interests include echocardiography, valvular disease, and mitral regurgitation.

Dr. Little earned his medical degree from McMaster University and completed post graduate training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Little completed research fellowships in Echocardiography at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and at Baylor College of Medicine.

Currently Dr. Little serves as the Medical Director of the Valve Clinic at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. He also serves as Director of the Houston Methodist Valve Institute and is director of the Cardiovascular Hemodynamics Imaging Laboratory (CHIL). Dr. Little is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Adjunct Associate Professor at Rice University for the Department of Bioengineering. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Society of Echocardiography. Dr. Little serves on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Echocardiography as well as on ASE committees for Industry Relations, Public Relations, and writing groups.

Dr. Little’s research focuses on novel use of 3-D echocardiography for the quantification of native and prosthetic valve dysfunction as well as imaging guidance for percutaneous structural heart interventions. He has studied and written numerous research publications, has been a key speaker for more than 100 lectures nationally and internationally, and has been a part of many clinical trials relating to his specialty.

Member survey feedback:
“Dr. Little seemed to have a lot of knowledge of all the possible options and definitely looked into my medical records. He was able to confirm the diagnosis and confirm the current course of treatment. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to speak with such a specialist.”
Honors & Awards Selected to the Board of Directors - American Society of Echocardiography, 2015-Present
President's Award for Transformational Excellence - Houston Methodist Research Institute, 2013
Heart/Stroke Recognition Program - National Committee for Quality Assurance, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Certificate of Excellence in Reviewing - Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, 2012
Faculty Teaching Award - Houston Methodist Hospital, 2012-2013
Research Award - St. Jude Medical Foundation, 2011
Emerging Faculty Award
American College of Cardiology Foundation, 2008
Research & Publications Selected Publications: [100+]

Erratum to: 3D Printed Modeling of the Mitral Valve for Catheter-Based Structural Interventions.
Vukicevic M, Puperi DS, Grande-Allen KJ, Little SH Ann Biomed Eng - 2016-11-01

Vortex Formation Time Index in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
Maragiannis D, Alvarez PA, Schutt RC, Chin K, Buergler JM, Little SH, Shah DJ, Nagueh SF JACC Cardiovasc Imaging - 2016-10-01

Functional Assessment of Bioprosthetic Aortic Valves by CMR.
Maragiannis D, Jackson MS, Flores-Arredondo JH, Autry K, Schutt RC, Alvarez PA, Zoghbi WA, Shah DJ, Little SH JACC Cardiovasc Imaging - 2016-07-01

3D Printed Modeling of the Mitral Valve for Catheter-Based Structural Interventions.
Vukicevic M, Puperi DS, Jane Grande-Allen K, Little SH Ann Biomed Eng - 2016-06-20

Early Recovery of Left Ventricular Systolic Function After CoreValve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.
Dauerman HL, Reardon MJ, Popma JJ, Little SH, Cavalcante JL, Adams DH, Kleiman NS, Oh JK Circ Cardiovasc Interv - 2016-06-01

Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Versus Surgical Valve Replacement in Patients at High Risk for Surgery: A Study of Echocardiographic Change and Risk Prediction.
Little SH, Oh JK, Gillam L, Sengupta PP, Orsinelli DA, Cavalcante JL, Chang JD, Adams DH, Zorn GL, Pollak AW, Abdelmoneim SS, Reardon MJ, Qiao H, Popma JJ Circ Cardiovasc Interv - 2016-06-01

Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Versus Surgical Valve Replacement in Patients at High Risk for Surgery: A Study of Echocardiographic Change and Risk Prediction.
Little SH, Oh JK, Gillam L, Sengupta PP, Orsinelli DA, Cavalcante JL, Chang JD, Adams DH, Zorn GL, Pollak AW, Abdelmoneim SS, Reardon MJ, Qiao H, Popma JJ Circ Cardiovasc Interv - 2016-06-01

3D Printed Modeling for Patient-Specific Mitral Valve Intervention: Repair With a Clip and a Plug.
Little SH, Vukicevic M, Avenatti E, Ramchandani M, Barker CM JACC Cardiovasc Interv - 2016-05-09

Prosthesis-patient mismatch in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis: A randomized trial of a self-expanding prosthesis.
Zorn GL, Little SH, Tadros P, Deeb GM, Gleason TG, Heiser J, Kleiman NS, Oh JK, Popma JJ, Adams D, Huang J, Reardon MJ J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. - 2016-04-01

Regurgitation Hemodynamics Alone Cause Mitral Valve Remodeling Characteristic of Clinical Disease States In Vitro.
Connell PS, Azimuddin AF, Kim SE, Ramirez F, Jackson MS, Little SH, Grande-Allen KJ Ann Biomed Eng - 2016-04-01

Novel parameters of global and regional mitral annulus geometry in man: comparison between normals and organic mitral regurgitation, before and after mitral valve repair†.
Ben Zekry, S.,Jain, S.,Alexander, S. K.,Li, Y.,Aggarwal, A.,Jajoo, A.,Little, S. H.,Lawrie, G. M.,Azencott, R.,Zoghbi, W. A. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging - 2015 Aug 02

Clinical Utility of Multidetector Computed Tomography in Redo Valve Procedures.
Chaikriangkrai K, Maragiannis D, Belousova T, Little S, Nabi F, Mahmarian J, Chang SM J Card Surg - 2016-03-01

One Hundred Percent Reparability of Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation: Intermediate-Term Results of a Dynamic Engineered Approach.
Lawrie, G. M.,Zoghbi, W.,Little, S.,Shah, D.,Ben-Zekry, Z.,Earle, N.,Earle, E. Ann. Thorac. Surg. - 2015 Sep 28

Patient-Specific Quantitation of Mitral Valve Strain by Computer Analysis of Three-Dimensional Echocardiography: A Pilot Study.
Ben Zekry S, Freeman J, Jajoo A, He J, Little SH, Lawrie GM, Azencott R, Zoghbi WA Circ Cardiovasc Imaging - 2016-01-01

Comparative Assessment of Mitral Regurgitation Severity by Transthoracic Echocardiography and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Using an Integrative and Quantitative Approach.
Lopez-Mattei, J. C.,Ibrahim, H.,Shaikh, K. A.,Little, S. H.,Shah, D. J.,Maragiannis, D.,Zoghbi, W. A. Am. J. Cardiol. - 2015 Dec 20

Museum Image: Three Birds on a Wire.
Little SH, Barker C Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J - 2016-01-01

Replicating Patient-Specific Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis With Functional 3D Modeling.
Maragiannis D, Jackson MS, Igo SR, Schutt RC, Connell P, Grande-Allen J, Barker CM, Chang SM, Reardon MJ, Zoghbi WA, Little SH Circ Cardiovasc Imaging - 2015-10-01

Emerging Trends in Heart Valve Engineering: Part IV. Computational Modeling and Experimental Studies.
Kheradvar A, Groves EM, Falahatpisheh A, Mofrad MK, Hamed Alavi S, Tranquillo R, Dasi LP, Simmons CA, Jane Grande-Allen K, Goergen CJ, Baaijens F, Little SH, Canic S,... Ann Biomed Eng - 2015-10-01

Regression of Paravalvular Aortic Regurgitation and Remodeling of Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve: An Observation From the CoreValve U.S. Pivotal Trial.
Oh, J. K.,Little, S. H.,Abdelmoneim, S. S.,Reardon, M. J.,Kleiman, N. S.,Lin, G.,Bach, D.,Gillam, L.,Kar, B.,Coselli, J.,Sengupta, P. P.,Grewal, K.,Chang, J.,Chang,... JACC Cardiovasc Imaging - 2015 Oct 29

Bioprosthetic Mitral Transcatheter Transapical Valve-in-Valve Implantation for Mitral Stenosis in an End-Stage Renal Disease Patient.
Chaikriangkrai K, Goswami R, Little S, Chang SM, Ramlawi B, Jhun HY, Kleiman N, Reardon MJ, Barker C J Card Surg - 2015-09-01
Conditions
Aortic aortopathy
Aortic stenosis
Aortic valve regurgitation
Atrial septal defects
Bacterial endocarditis
Barlows syndrome
Bicuspid aortic valve
Click murmur syndrome
Congestive heart failure ( CHF )
Coronary artery disease ( CAD )
Endocardial fibroelastosis
Endocarditis
Heart valve disease
Infective endocarditis
Mitral valve prolapse
Pulmonic valve regurgitation
Thoracic aortic aneurysm
Tricuspid valve regurgitation
Procedures
Angiography
Cardiac catheterization
Cardiac MRI scan
Cardiac stress test
Coronary artery disease screening tests
Coronary calcium scan
Echocardiography ( ECHO )
Electrocardiogram ( ECG )
Exercise stress test
Heart monitor
Heart scan
Myocardial perfusion scan
Nuclear heart scan
Nuclear stress test
Stress echocardiography
Thallium stress test
Three dimensional echocardiogram
Transesophageal echocardiogram ( TEE )
Transthoracic echocardiogram ( TTE )
McMaster University-Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 1997
Medical School
London Health Sciences Center - London, Canada, 2000
Residency
University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Echocardiography
Fellowship
Baylor College of Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease
Fellowship
Board Certifications
American Board of Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Disease
Hospital Affiliation
Houston Methodist Hospital/Methodist DeBakey Cardiology Associates
Place of Work
Associate Professor, Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College | Academic | Current
Adjunct Associate Professor of Bioengineering Rice University, George R. Brown School of Enginee | Academic | Current
Medical Director, Valve Clinic, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center | Hospital Based | Current