Professor Ovidio A. García-Villarreal, MD, was born in Monterrey, Mexico. He is post-graduate in Cardiovascular Surgery from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México at Hospital General Centro Médico La Raza, IMSS, Mexico. D.F. (1989-1992). Fellow-ship at Centre Cardiologique du Nord, Saint Denis, France (1999). Winner of the award: NATIONAL SURGERY AWARD “DR. FRANCISCO MONTES DE OCA” 2000, by the Academy of Mexican Surgery (2000). He is the precursor and forerunner of the Cox-maze procedure for atrial fibrillation in Mexico. Also, he is pioneering in the field of mitral valve repair, an has the most experience in Mexico. Dr. García-Villarreal has published more than 50 scientific articles related to cardiac surgery in PubMed, and more than 70 articles in other medical index https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=garcia-villarreal OA He has dicted more than 150 conferences and key-note lectures in national and international cardiac surgery meetings. Professor García-Villarreal has taught more than 30 workshop (hands—on) on mitral valve repair and atrial fibrillation surgery. He is revisor in more than 10 internatonal journals. Actually, he is former President of the Mexican Society of Cardiac Sugery (2015-2017), Editor-in-Chief of the journal CIRUGIA CARDIACA EN MEXICO, as well as reviewer in the European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and the Archivos de Cardiología de México., amongst others. He is the actual President of the Mexican College of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (2017-2019). He is retired from social medicine, working on his own in private practice as cardiac surgeon in Monterrey, MX.

Professor Ovidio A. García-Villarreal's research interests are Atrial fibrillation, AF-related stroke, Atrial fibrillation surgery, Ablation for AF surgery, Cardiac surgery, Left atrial appendage, Maze procedure for AF, David procedure for Aortic Root and ascending aorta aneurism, Mitral Valve Repair, Rheumatic mitral valve disease, Surgical ablation for Atrial Fibrillation