Dr. Ayse Kaya

Dr. Ayse Kaya is a professor of cardiology and interventional heart specialist at Acibadem University Hospital in Istanbul — one of Turkey's flagship academic hospitals and a world-recognized center for medical tourism. Turkey has positioned itself as a leading destination for international cardiac care, combining European-standard technology with significantly lower costs than Western countries, and Acibadem's cardiology department sits at the center of this reputation.

Dr. Kaya is a pioneer in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Turkey, having trained in the procedure during its early adoption phase in Europe and introduced it to the Acibadem program. She now leads the hospital's structural heart disease team, which manages TAVI, MitraClip, left atrial appendage occlusion, patent foramen ovale closure, and other catheter-based valve and structural interventions.

Her interventional cardiology practice is high volume and complex, treating patients with multivessel coronary disease, calcified lesions, and left main disease using advanced techniques including rotational atherectomy and intravascular imaging guidance (OCT and IVUS). She participates actively in international structural heart disease trial networks.

Dr. Kaya is equally accomplished as an educator, training interventional cardiology fellows at Acibadem University and serving as faculty at European structural heart disease workshops. She communicates in Turkish and English, serving a domestic Turkish population and a large international patient base that includes patients from the Balkans, Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

Dr. Kaya completed her MD at Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, one of Turkey's oldest and most prestigious medical schools. She undertook Cardiology residency in Istanbul and completed an Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at the Hôpital Lariboisière in Paris, France — a leading European center for both coronary and structural heart interventions. She trained in TAVI procedures at the European Heart Center in Munich under one of Europe's founding TAVI programs. She holds the FESC (Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology) and FACC (Fellow of the American College of Cardiology) designations and holds a Professorship at Acibadem University School of Medicine.

Dr. Kaya's interventional and structural expertise is among the most comprehensive in Turkey. In structural heart disease, she performs transfemoral and transapical TAVI for severe aortic stenosis, MitraClip for functional and degenerative mitral regurgitation, percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty for mitral stenosis, left atrial appendage occlusion (Watchman) for atrial fibrillation patients with contraindications to anticoagulation, and PFO/ASD closure. In coronary intervention, she performs complex PCI including CTO PCI, rotational atherectomy, bifurcation PCI, and left main PCI with IVUS/OCT guidance. She performs right heart catheterization for pulmonary hypertension evaluation and endomyocardial biopsy.

Dr. Kaya has published in the European Heart Journal, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions on TAVI outcomes, structural heart interventions, and complex coronary disease. She participates in the EUROTAVI registry and multiple international structural heart clinical trials. She is a frequently invited faculty member at EuroPCR, ESC Congress, and the Turkish Cardiology Congress.

Acibadem University Hospital has one of Turkey's most developed international patient services programs, with dedicated patient relations staff who coordinate travel, accommodation, visa support, and multi-specialty care for patients from over 100 countries. Dr. Kaya's TAVI and structural heart expertise attracts patients from the Balkans, Middle East, and Central Asia who cannot access these procedures at home. She consults in Turkish and English. Video pre-procedure consultations are available, allowing patients to submit imaging for review and receive a treatment recommendation before booking travel.

Dr. Kaya is a recipient of the Turkish Society of Cardiology Research Award and the Acibadem University Faculty Excellence Award. She has received the European Society of Cardiology grant for structural heart disease research and serves on the ESC Valvular Heart Disease working group. She is recognized as one of Turkey's leading structural heart disease specialists.