Professor Hellmuth Weich is a cardiologist and interventional specialist with expertise in structural heart disease and transcatheter valve therapies. He serves as Senior Consultant and Director of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at Tygerberg Hospital and was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Stellenbosch University in 2024. He previously served as Acting Head of the Division of Cardiology. He completed his MBChB at Stellenbosch University, followed by specialist training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology in the UK and at Tygerberg Hospital. His doctoral work focused on developing a novel transcatheter aortic valve designed to improve affordability and applicability for patients with rheumatic heart disease. Prof Weich is internationally recognised for his role in advancing transcatheter valve interventions in South Africa. He was part of the team that performed the first Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) procedures in the country in 2009 and transcatheter mitral valve edge-to-edge repair in 2024. He has since played a leading role in establishing and expanding structural heart intervention services within the public sector. He is one of only a few TAVI proctors across all commercially available devices in South Africa and recently served two terms as President of the South African Society of Cardiac Interventionists (SASCI). He has extensive experience in a full range of structural heart interventions, including treatment of congenital heart disease, paravalvular leaks and pulmonary vascular interventions. Prof Weich’s research focuses on interventional cardiology, structural heart disease, biomedical device innovation, and cardiovascular health systems evaluation, particularly within resource-constrained environments.