Ernesto Ruiz-Rodriguez, MD, FACC

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Get to know Cardiologist Dr. Ernesto Ruiz-Rodriguez, who serves patients in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Dr. Ruiz-Rodriguez is a seasoned, triple board-certified cardiologist with Baptist Health Heart Institute/Arkansas Cardiology Clinic-Little Rock. His clinical interests include complex percutaneous coronary interventions via the radial and femoral approach, peripheral endovascular interventions, and structural heart disease with special interest in advanced transcatheter valve therapies including TAVR.

In collaboration with Baptist Health, he is affiliated with Baptist Health Heart Institute Valve Clinic, Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock, Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock, and Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute-Little Rock.

Academically, Dr. Ruiz-Rodriguez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences. He then enlisted in the United States Army and graduated from the Infantry One Station Unit Training and Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia and the Special Operations Preparatory Course in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He then proceeded to earn a medical degree from the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine in Puerto Rico where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2008.

He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio and his fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He then completed his fellowship in interventional cardiology and endovascular peripheral interventions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Thereafter, Dr. Ruiz-Rodriguez graduated from the Structural Heart Disease and Advanced Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he completed a year of dedicated training in advanced transcatheter valvular therapies, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), percutaneous mitral valve edge-to-edge repair (MitraClip), as well as additional training in chronic total occlusion (CTO) interventions and advanced resuscitation therapies, including percutaneous cardiopulmonary support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

His clinical background also includes Level 2 training in cardiovascular computed tomography (Cardiac CT), echocardiography, and nuclear medicine.

Dedicated to clinical excellence, the doctor is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ABIM is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world.

A Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), Dr. Ruiz-Rodriguez is a member of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, and the American Medical Association. He is also a member of the United States Parachute Association (USPA) and a scuba divemaster with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).

Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with the disorders of the heart, as well as some parts of the circulatory system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Cardiologists are doctors who diagnose, assess, and treat patients with diseases and defects of the heart and blood vessels (the cardiovascular system).

On a more personal note, Dr. Ruiz-Rodriguez is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Additional Information

Prior to medical degree, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico in 2001. He then joined the US Army and graduated from the Infantry One Station Unit Training and Airborne School in Fort Benning, GA, and the Special Operations Preparatory Course in Fort Bragg, NC.

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