Joseph Sweeney, MD

Dr. Joseph Sweeney is a cardiac surgeon with Roper St. Francis Physician Partners Cardiac Surgery. He specializes in mitral and aortic valve surgery, coronary artery bypass and minimally invasive cardiac surgery, bringing a deep personal commitment to every patient who walks through his door.

His clinical interests and services include:

• Mitral valve repair and replacement
• Multiarterial coronary artery bypass
• Minimally invasive cardiac surgery
• Aortic aneurysm surgery

The decision to become a cardiac surgeon was not an abstract one for Dr. Sweeney. When he was a freshman in college, his father unexpectedly needed surgery to replace his aortic root and ascending aorta. Watching his father's surgeon give his family their father back planted a seed that never left him. He has spent his career working to do the same for others.

Dr. Sweeney believes that patients come to him in their most vulnerable moments, and that meeting them there with honesty, presence and genuine relationships is what good care requires. For him, the most rewarding part of his work is using his hands to help people's hearts and delivering them back to their lives and families.

Dr. Sweeney earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from Wake Forest School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Louisville and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and contributed a chapter to a leading surgical textbook.

Outside of work, Dr. Sweeney and his wife, Laura, keep busy with their two boys, two dogs and two cats. He is a passionate Notre Dame football and Boston Bruins hockey fan, and he enjoys being by the water, home improvement projects and homebrewing.