Shane Prejean, MD

Interventional cardiologist and structural heart program leader at the Cardiovascular Institute of the South in Houma, Louisiana 

For patients in southeast Louisiana with complex valve disease or structural heart defects, the distance to the nearest academic structural heart program can be the difference between timely treatment and delayed care. Dr. Prejean has spent four years making that distance irrelevant. As one of only two structural heart specialists in the region, he has built a high-volume, high-complexity program that serves patients who would otherwise have no local option. 

In four years of practice, Shane has performed more than 330 structural heart interventions. His patients have included many individuals whose risk is high due to advanced valve disease and complex anatomy.  

Dr. Prejean’s contributions to clinical trials and his early adoption of emerging structural therapies have brought minimally invasive treatment options to the Gulf South that previously required patients to travel hundreds of miles. The result is a sizeable subpopulation of patients who are getting treated ASAP and close to home. The outcomes are on par with those achieved at major academic cardiovascular centers. 

Shane’s impact extends beyond the cath lab. He invests quality time educating patients and families to ensure informed and confident care decisions. His regional visibility—he’s been spotlighted in local media—reflects a physician who has become a trusted face of structural heart care in his community and around the region.  

In a field that often measures impact by academic output and national society roles, Dr. Shane Prejean and colleagues appraise it by the steady flow of stories from patients whose lives have been saved and improved close to home.