Robert Moraca, MD

Personal Information

Dr. Robert J. Moraca currently serves as System Medical Director of Cardiac Surgery at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, and Section Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle Washington.

Dr. Moraca returned to Virginia Mason Medical Center in 2020 with nearly 11 years of experience in academic cardiac surgery as an Associate Professor of Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA where he served as Director of Thoracic Aortic Surgery, Director of the ECMO Program, Director of Cardiac Surgical Research and Surgical Director of the Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) Program.

Clinically, Dr. Moraca has an extensive experience in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery and has special expertise in redo cardiac surgery, complex aortic surgery, revisional and multi-valve reconstructions and septal myectomy.  In addition, he has unique experience in the multidisciplinary treatment of CTEPH and Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy (PTE).

Dr. Moraca has been an active clinical investigator in multiple national transcatheter valve, arrhythmia and heart failure trials and he has been a co-principal investigator on several National Institute of Health (NIH) R-01 funded research trials in both pulmonary hypertension and ECMO. He has been program chair for more than 15 multidisciplinary regional meetings, Dr. Moraca has published nearly 40 peer reviewed articles and book chapters and has been an invited lecturer at multiple academic institutions and national meetings. Notably, he served as the President of the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society (ECTSS) in 2016.  Since his arrival in Seattle, WA in 2020, he has been recognized as one of Seattle’s Top Doctors in 2021-2025.

Dr. Moraca enjoys being able to positively impact his patients through the stress of cardiac surgery by listening, education and shared decision making and is consistently inspired by his patient’s courage and fortitude.  He is both humbled and proud of the entire Virginia Mason Medical Center team's notable quality accomplishments obtaining a 2024 STS 3 Star ratings in cardiac surgery and also  being recognized in 2023 by the U.S. News & World Report as #46 in Cardiac Surgery and Cardiology Care in the United States.

Away from work, he enjoys reading, climbing, skiing, biking, and spending time with his family and two dogs.