Marco was born and raised in Cuenca, Ecuador, a highland city 8,500 feet above sea level. His father and grandfather were physicians, and early in high school, Marco decided that he would follow in their footsteps. He was attracted to the cardiac specialty because he liked the idea of being able to care for patients using a variety of procedures at a variety of levels-traditional surgery, non-invasive studies, percutaneous intervention, electrophysiology and even transplants. Marco's wife, Veronica, is a lawyer, and together they are raising three children. Outside of medicine, Marco enjoys soccer, tennis and riding bicycles with his family.