The Pulse – Powered by Duke Heart

Chief’s message:

 This week we have highlights around some work our heart failure and transplant teams are doing around a total artificial heart.  The story ran on NBC news this last week and builds on work this group has done over the last several years around supporting people with failing hearts.  Moreover, it highlights the tremendous teamwork with the cardiologists, CT surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, the research teams, ICU, wards, and overall care teams to help patients move through our system to get innovative therapies.  We have examples across all of our disciplines for patients we care for in cardiometabolic prevention, arrhythmia care, heart failure, coronary and vascular care, and valvular heart disease.  Thanks to the teams that helped this latest innovation get to our patients.

On a more solemn note, we also have information below around one of our past cardiology fellows, now cardiologist in practice passing away suddenly – Rip Waters.  Our community grieves the loss of such a kind and thoughtful person.  Details of the memorial and places for donation are provided below.  We will keep Rip and his family in our collective thoughts and prayers.

Highlights and Updates of the week:

Duke Transplant Team Helps Pioneer Total Artificial Heart

A young Graham, NC, father became the second person in the world to receive a BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) as a bridge to transplant, living with the device for 10 days before undergoing a heart transplant at Duke University Hospital.

The device completely replaces a patient’s heart muscle, providing the essential mechanics to circulate blood throughout the body. For patients with biventricular heart failure awaiting a heart transplant, the device provides blood circulation until a donor heart becomes available.

Use of the device at Duke was part of a first-in-human clinical study aiming to evaluate the safety and performance of the BiVACOR TAH. The device provides an option for eligible patients with severe biventricular heart failure or univentricular heart failure in which left ventricular assist device support is not recommended.

“While there are many ways to bridge patients with end-stage heart failure as they await heart transplant, all conventional strategies were unsuccessful for our patient, who had dysfunction of both the right and left side of the heart,” said Duke transplant surgeon Carmelo Milano, MD, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. “The BiVACOR TAH effectively replaced his entire heart and restored normal circulation. He was able to be successfully transplanted 10 days later.”

The Duke patient is a 34-year-old education consultant who is expecting his fourth child. Donavan Harbison, a recreational runner and former NC Central University football player, began feeling poorly in late 2023 and thought he had pneumonia.

To his surprise, he was diagnosed with heart failure.

“It was shocking,” said his wife, Lindsey Harbison. Hoping to manage the condition with medications along with diet and lifestyle changes, Harbison learned earlier this spring his condition was genetic and likely the cause of his father’s early death.

After further tests, his doctors at Cone Health in Greensboro, Daniel R. Bensimhon, MD, and Aditya Sabharwal, DO, found that he had end-stage biventricular heart failure and referred him to Duke for a heart transplant.

“We can offer our patients VADs, ECMO, and other technologies, but the ability to offer our patients the very highest level of care, such as heart and dual-organ transplant, as well as access to advanced devices such as the BiVACOR TAH — that does not happen unless you’re aligned with a partner like Duke Health,” Bensimhon said. “It allows us to get our patients super high-level therapies, fairly close to home, that they would not have access to otherwise.”

With his condition deteriorating quickly, Harbison received a ventricular assist device, but it could not provide the level of assistance needed. After ruling out other technologies, Harbison and his Duke team opted to move forward with the artificial heart.

“There was definitely a feeling of the fear of the unknown,” Donavon Harbison said, “but at that point, I had resolved to take the leap of faith and do everything I could do to increase the success of what would happen.”

“Now, I’m looking forward to getting back to making memories with my family, my kids, my wife, just doing the things you often do and take for granted, like putting my kids to bed at night.”

Harbison received the BiVACOR device in early August – the second in the world after the first implantation occurred at Texas Heart Institute a few weeks earlier. With the device providing strong blood circulation, Harbison gained enough strength within 10 days to receive a donated heart.

“Many end-stage heart disease patients are actually too sick to qualify for heart transplants,” said heart surgeon Jacob Schroder, MD, surgical director of Advanced Heart Failure at Duke and a member of the transplant team that implanted the device. “Current technologies are effective for some patients, but still leave others without options. Having another way to bridge a path to transplant would fill a tremendous void and truly be a lifesaver.”

The BiVACOR TAH utilizes an electro-mechanical rotary blood pump that is a simpler construction than other investigational devices. It has no valves, and a motor drives a single magnetically levitated rotor that simultaneously pumps blood to both the body and the lungs.

“It was a remarkable opportunity for our team to witness the recovery and subsequent bridge-to-transplant of our second courageous BiVACOR TAH patient at Duke,” said Daniel Timms, Ph.D., founder and chief technology officer of BiVACOR. “He and his family embraced a positive attitude toward this new technology, which not only helped extend their lives together, but their experience will provide hope for many others with end-stage heart failure.”

The BiVACOR device is the second total artificial heart implanted via clinical trial at Duke. In 2021, the heart transplant team became the first in the world to successfully implant a different technology, manufactured by CARMAT.

The Duke heart transplant team has been a world leader in pioneering new technologies that make heart transplantation accessible to more patients,” said Adam DeVore, MD, medical director of the Duke Heart Transplant program. “With long waiting lists for the limited numbers of donor hearts, it’s imperative that we continue to find innovative ways to maximize scarce resources.”

The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart Early Feasibility Study is led nationally by cardiologist and Principal Investigator Joseph G. Rogers, MD, president and CEO of Texas Heart Institute in Houston. Rogers spent many years with us at Duke and remains an adjunct professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke School of Medicine. He served as interim chair of the Duke Department of Medicine for just over a year before being named Chief Medical Officer for DUHS in 2018. He joined THI in 2021.

“It has been wonderfully fun to watch the evolution of this pump and see it finally get to human trials,” said Rogers. The BiVACOR device has been in development for decades, and in testing with Texas Heart Insititute for about 12 years, he added. “We’ve watched them go from very early prototypes to pre-testing, and finally to human implant, which has been very rewarding.”

Rogers says the field has always needed a reliable, total artificial heart. “So many of the patients we care for can get by with a left ventricular assist device because their right hearts work reasonably well, but there is a cohort of patients who, heretofore, had no real viable therapy. I think this device offers that patient population promise and hope that we finally have a total artificial heart that will be not just an outstanding sort of blood pump, but a reliable device that could support people for prolonged periods.”

In terms of collaborating with investigators at Duke on the trial, Rogers said, “You can’t ignore the Duke Heart Failure program for any clinical trial being done in the U.S. It’s a spectacular program with high-volume, outstanding care and a team committed to clinical research and excellence. Duke now has the largest advanced heart failure program in the U.S., and probably in the world. It is arguably the most academically impactful and has trained some of the most brilliant minds in heart failure in the United States in the last 15 years.”

Further reflecting on Duke’s HF program, Rogers adds, “It really is fun now to look back at that program from afar and see just how remarkable it is. The other fun part is that many of the people who came up in the program are now leading it and taking it places that we never would have even dreamed it could go.”

Incredible work, team!

 

In Memoriam: Rip Waters, MD, former Duke CV Fellow

We learned this week of the passing of cardiologist Richard Everely Waters, II, MD, a former cardiovascular fellow at Duke, on Sept. 24 in California. He was 53.

He is survived by his wife Erica, and their children Ella (20) and Reed (19). He is also survived by his mother, Joanne Waters, brothers Robert (Sara) Waters and Randall (Janée) Waters, sister-in-law Lindsay (Scott) Horner, nieces and nephews Tucker, Claire, Kellen, Isabella, Alexandre, Grant, and Gavin, and parents-in-law, Leon and Denise Reed. He was preceded in death by his beloved father and namesake, Richard E. Waters.

Though Rip valued his job as a cardiologist, his most cherished and gifted roles were as a husband, father, son, brother, and friend.

His obituary reads, in part:

Rip was a brilliant student, and continued his academic pursuits, seeking excellence at all times. He graduated from Stanford in 1993 with a BA in Economics. After college, he spent a year traveling and serving as a medical volunteer in Peru, then continued on to Vanderbilt Medical School, receiving his MD in 1998. He completed internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2001, and cardiovascular fellowship at Duke University Hospital in 2005. After completing his training, he returned home to Stockton, where he sought to always provide outstanding cardiology care to the community. He joined Stockton Cardiology Medical Group in 2005 and was a partner there for the remainder of his career. He was a dedicated clinician and loved to hear every person’s story. He also worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he served in many leadership roles. He was most proud of being part of the structural heart team, which brought non-invasive heart valve replacement (TAVR) to Stockton.

The full memorial piece can be found here.

“Rip Waters left a legacy of always being kind to patients, colleagues, staff, and students,” said Anna Lisa Chamis, MD, program director of Duke’s Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship. “I try to pass on his legacy to our fellows to always be kind even when frustrated in a given situation.”

Chamis and several other cardiology faculty members trained with Waters at Duke during fellowship and became good friends with him. We know Rip will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, friends and colleagues.

Private family services were held at Cherokee Memorial Park in Lodi. A Celebration of Rip’s Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the San Joaquin Medical Society Scholarship Loan Fund, 3031 W. March Lane, suite 222W, Stockton CA 59219, or the charity of your choice.

 

Cardiac Imaging Symposium Held 

The Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium was held yesterday, October 12 in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center.

The event, designed for cardiac sonographers, imaging cardiologists, and other healthcare professionals involved in cardiovascular imaging, had more than 90 participants attending either virtually or in person. Ten companies joined us as vendors.

The event had terrific lectures as well as hands-on demonstrations conducted in small breakout sessions for participants.

Co-course directors were Drs. Anita Kelsey and Sreekanth Vemulapalli. Invited presenters included Fawaz Alenezi, Alicia Armour, Ashlee Davis, Andy Dhimitri, Dallas Gardner, Sarah Hatton, Michel Khouri, Batina Kight, Christopher Kontos, Jayne Leypoldt, Nicholas Medlock, Rachel O’Brien, Jon Owensby, Richard Palma, Danny Rivera, Eddy Sandoval, and Andrew Wang.

 

Shown here, L-R, are Alenezi, Palma, Sreek Vemulapalli, Ashlee Davis, Alicia Armour, and Anita Kelsey.

Nicely done, all!

 

Duke Health Baxter IV Fluid Update

On behalf of our Heart & Vascular leadership, kudos to all team members for your ongoing and amazing efforts within our clinical areas to ensure excellent care and conservation of supplies during the Baxter shortage.

Here’s the latest:

As Duke Health continues to monitor the impact of the Baxter Healthcare manufacturing plant closure, we would like to express heartfelt thanks to everyone who is working so tirelessly to review our processes to develop and implement conservation strategies. Your efforts are enabling us to protect our supply of these critical fluids while continuing to provide safe, quality care for our patients.

Thanks to our ongoing conservation efforts, our supply of critical fluids appeared sufficient going into the weekend. Please take note of the following:

• The DUH incident command center will be open from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. To contact the command center, call 919-684-2222.
• To order IV fluids, call the Fluid Distribution Center at 919-681-6851. The center remains open 24/7.
• If you use emergency stock, please call the fluid center to have your emergency supply replenished.
• When returning Code Carts to the pharmacy, please be sure to also return all IV fluids that were not used for patient care.
• For Duke North and DMP ORs: please put aside empty Baxter 1000 ml bottles of sterile water for Irrigation and 0.9% Sodium Chloride for Irrigation with the cap on the cart at the DMP OR Front Desk.
• For procedural areas: DUH is tentatively planning to transition to distilled water for GI endoscopy procedures starting on Tuesday, October 15. Infection Prevention is finalizing the SOP for collection, cleaning, and filling bottles with distilled water. Other DUHS GI endoscopy sites should review the SOP this weekend and determine readiness for transition on Monday. Supply Chain has obtained enough distilled water to support this process for all GI endoscopy across the system. DUH is also collecting used bottles of the Baxter 1000 ml bottles of Sterile water for Irrigation and 0.9% Sodium Chloride for Irrigation with the cap in preparation for this change.
• Please ensure that we continue to follow all previously communicated conservation strategies.

Please note this update from late last week regarding warmer storage for irrigation solutions in OR/Procedural settings:

• Irrigation solutions in plastic pour bottles may be stored in the warmer for up to 28 days. Use-by dates for these solutions may be extended from 14 days to up to 28 days total.

Thank you again for your collaboration and dedication throughout this situation.

 

UHC Negotiations Update

For several months, Duke University Health System leadership has worked diligently to negotiate a new agreement with UnitedHealthcare (United) that protects our patients’ access to Duke Health and appropriately reimburses us. However, United has yet to agree to such terms and is likely to remove Duke Health from its network on October 31, 2024. If this occurs, patients with UnitedHealthcare insurance will have to pay more out of pocket to access care at Duke Health beginning November 1, 2024.

Significant operational planning is underway to minimize disruption to patients and clinical teams in the event that this occurs. For now, teams and clinicians should continue care as usual. Resources for Duke Health teams, including leader talking points and team member tips, as well as patient resources, can be found in this email message that was shared earlier in the week. Information is also available on Leadership Exchange. 

DUHS has posted a publicly available statement regarding our ongoing negotiations with UnitedHealthcare (UHC). It can be found on the DUHS News & Media site. Here is the link.

 

Campbell To Serve in ACC Sessions Planning Role

Congratulations to Kristin Bova Campbell, clinical pharmacy specialist in electrophysiology at Duke! We learned this week that she will serve as the Cardiovascular Team Lead for the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions for both 2026 and 2027.

The CV Team Lead works closely with the chair, vice chair, and other team leads to direct and manage the work of the Annual Scientific Session Program Committee, focusing on areas of the meeting related to CV Team member education and the role of the CV Team in patient care.

What a huge honor — congrats, Kristin!!

 

Great Catch, Watts!

Katland Watts, CNII, a team member with our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Duke University Hospital earned a Great Catch Award recently, which was presented to her on Monday, October 7:

Cardiac ICU Nursing colleague, Katland (Katie) Watts, received an order for Digoxin to treat a persistent/complex patient condition. Katie reviewed the labs prior to administering the medication and found electrolyte imbalances that made her question the appropriateness of this medication. She recalled learning in nursing school less than two years ago some concern regarding Digoxin and potassium levels and took the extra step to both research the drug and contraindications AND call the primary team for clarification. Based on current potassium and magnesium levels, the primary team agreed administration of this drug could result in potential harm or toxicity. The order was held until further assessment and planning for safe management could occur. Because of Katie’s clinical expertise and meticulous practice, she prevented harm from reaching the patient.

Way to go, Katie!

 

Open Enrollment Starts Monday

Open enrollment is your opportunity to review your medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefit elections and make any changes necessary to ensure your choices continue to meet your needs.

If you wish to participate in the Health Care or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts for 2025, you must enroll (or re-enroll). Participation in the reimbursement accounts does not automatically continue from year to year.

If you do not make changes to your medical, dental or vision coverage, your current medical, dental and vision coverage elections for 2024 will continue for 2025.

Duke’s annual open enrollment period for medical, dental, vision and reimbursement account benefits for 2025 is from October 14 at 8 a.m. — October 25 at 6 p.m.

• Up to $640 of your unused Health Care and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account funds from 2025 can be carried over to the subsequent year.
• All selections made during the open enrollment period will be effective January 2025.

Benefits information has been mailed to all staff. All information can also be found on Duke’s Open Enrollment 2025 website.

 

Early Voting at Karsh Starts on Thursday

Durham County registered voters can vote early at Karsh Alumni Center starting Thursday, October 17, and ending Saturday, November 2.

Hours are as follows:

• Monday – Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Sundays: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• 2: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during this time.

 

Duke Health Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Duke Health continues to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina.

“In support of the huge need for disaster relief, the health system has donated a wide variety of much-needed supplies, personnel, and drugs to our neighbors and colleagues to the west,” said Craig Albanese, MD, MBA, CEO of DUHS, in a statement last week to all employees. “I’m so proud that more than 300 of our team members have volunteered to deploy to provide clinical and non-clinical support where needed. Additionally, many of our team members have donated their time and expertise locally, and thousands of dollars have been raised through various fundraising efforts. If you are interested and able to do so, please click here to contribute to the American Red Cross. However you are able to support relief efforts, know it will go a long way and truly make a difference.”

You can join our support efforts in many ways:

• Sign up to volunteer with our SMAT team to deploy to provide disaster relief.
• Make a financial donation to the American Red Cross.
• Check for updates on this Duke Health intranet page (NET ID required)

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Oct. 20-Oct.26: Respiratory Care Week

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 15: Mechanical Circulatory Support in Cardiogenic Shock: Where Interventional and Heart Failure Collide with Imran Aslam, MD. 5 p.m. Zoom only.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 16:  No conference. Interview Day.

October 18:  Fellows’ Meet and Greet Lunch with visiting professor Bernard Gersh. Noon, DMP 2W91

October 23: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Mike Cosiano. Noon, DMP 2W96

October 25: No conference. Interview Day.

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

Upcoming symposia:

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees, and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2025 funding cycle, priority will be given to ideas aligned with the thematic area of improving provider and staff experience, the patient journey, and clinical outcomes using advanced technology solutions.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

Application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over a one-year period.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

 

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations are now open for Duke’s first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. This initiative is inspired by Dr. King’s enduring legacy and will celebrate Duke Health faculty and staff who embody his vision of “It starts with me…” The award will honor those who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to a nonprofit’s mission in keeping with the principles of Dr. King.

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

 

SOM Leadership Development Programs Update

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News: 

October 4 — Theresa Fink/Duke Lifepoint, Conemaugh

Becker’s Hospital Review

Duke LifePoint names physician group COO

October 4 — Annemarie Thompson

Renal & Urology News

AHA and ACC Update Cardiovascular Management Guideline for Noncardiac Surgery

October 5 — Duke Health

Times of India

These signs of a heart attack can appear in young , super-fit people weeks before

October 5 — Robert Mentz

European Heart Journal & Podcast

New light shed on the treatment of heart failure and on novel therapeutic targets

EHJ podcasts are located here: https://duke.is/v/qhfm

October 6 — Gregory Pauly

Yahoo News/McClatchy/Charlotte Observer

Hospitals brace for IV, dialysis fluid shortages after Helene shuts down NC producer

October 7 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donovan Harbison

NBC News Now

‘My heart was gone’: Second person to receive a titanium heart shares experience

October 8 — Leanna Ross

News & Observer* (via AHA News)

‘Weekend warriors’ may gain same health benefits as people who spread out exercise

*and 30 McClatchy news affiliates

October 8 — Duke Children’s

US News & World Report

U.S. News Announces the 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospitals

October 8 — Duke Children’s (peds cardiology/CT Surgery)

WNCN-TV (Raleigh/CBS News)

Duke Children’s Ranked Highly for Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Surgery

October 8 — Duke Children’s (peds cardiology/CT Surgery)

Cardiovascular Business

The top 25 children’s heart hospitals in the US

October 8 — Duke Children’s Hospital (peds cardiology/CT Surgery)

State children’s hospitals earn top rankings

WGHP-TV (Greensboro-High Point, NC)

October 8 — BiVACOR/Duke Heart

Black News/Radio Zindagi (NYC)

Experimental Artificial Heart Helps Save Life

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WRAL-TV (Raleigh)

NC father embraces new life after becoming 2nd person to receive titanium heart at Duke Hospital

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Donavon Harbison

WTVD-TV (Durham)

Graham resident, former NCCU football player becomes 2nd in world to receive total artificial heart

October 8 — Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WXII-TV (Winston-Salem, NC)

Second chance at life

October 8 — Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WNCT-TV (Greenville, NC)

NC home to innovative heart transplant

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WCNC-TV (Charlotte)

NC father becomes second person to receive titanium heart at Duke hospital

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

NBC News Daily (and NBC affiliates nationally)

Heart transplant innovation helps NC man’s recovery

October 8 — Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WRC-TV (Washington, DC)

Heart transplant innovation aides man’s recovery

October 9 — Crystal Tyson

Best Life

Doctors Say This Heart-Healthy Diet Is “The Way to Go” for Lower Blood Pressure

October 9 — Carmelo Milano, Jacob Schroder, Adam DeVore

Duke Today

Duke Transplant Team Helps Pioneer Total Artificial Heart

October 9 — Jeffrey Kuller (OB/GYN)

Juta Medical Brief (Africa)

Heart defect risk for babies conceived through IVF – Swedish study

October 10 — Donovan Harbison/BiVACOR

WSOC-TV (Charlotte, NC)

Artificial Heart helps North Carolina man bridge gap until heart transplant

October 10 — Harry Severance

Becker’s ASC Review

Are business skills the ticket to reclaiming physician autonomy?

October 10 — Sana Al-Khatib

Healio/Cardiology Today

VIDEO: ‘Clear lack of data’ on digital CV health tools for women concerning

October 10 — Carmelo Milano and Donovan Harbison

WNYT-TV (Albany, NY)

NewsChannel 13 Live at 12:30

October 10 — Carmelo Milano and Donovan Harbison

WPTF-AM (Raleigh, NC)

Duke uses innovative device to bridge patient from heart failure to heart transplant

October 10 — Mark Kittipibul and Robert Mentz

Renal & Urology News

Semaglutide Lowers Heart Failure Risks in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, CKD

October 10 — Marat Fudim

Medical Dialogues (India)

Greater Splanchnic Nerve Ablation Shows Feasibility But No Clinical Benefit In HFpEF Patients: REBALANCE-HF Trial

October 11 — Marat Fudim

Healio/Cardiology Today

New consensus statement outlines benefits, challenges of device-based therapies for HF

Chief’s message: 

This week we continued to support our neighbors and communities in western North Carolina while we worked to ensure we continue to care for our patients.  See the stories below on the work we are doing at the Health system to ensure we continue to have IVF and support our clinical operations.  There are also efforts by many to support our communities with Hurricane Helene relief efforts you will see below.

This monday we also had our annual faculty celebration re-capping the last year and also welcoming in our new faculty.  We have a wonderful panel discuss (image) where leaders in our cardiology group shared their vision for clinical care, research, training.   The event was well attended with over 65 faculty members and we will share the slides with everyone this week.

 

This upcoming week we will continue to work with our teams to ensure we can think about supporting groups as we hopefully have our state health systems return to full operations.

Highlights of the week:

Rosh Hoshana & Yom Kippur

To all who celebrated Rosh Hashanah this past week, we hope you have a good and happy new year. This week, which marks the October 7 anniversary and culminates in Yom Kippur, we wish you and your loved ones peace.

 

 

 

Duke Health Operations Update: Baxter IV Fluid

DUHS and hospitals nationally anticipate upcoming shortages of Baxter IV fluids due to critical damage to their Marion, NC manufacturing plant. Baxter supplies approximately 60% of IV solutions used in North America.

Duke Health has convened a system-wide committee of clinical and administrative leaders to lead a conservation strategy and reduce the impact on our patients and team members. To ensure the continuity of patient care is maintained, we have consolidated our inventory of IV fluid for normal saline and lactated ringers to a central distribution point.

For Duke University Hospital:

• If a patient is hemodynamically decompensating and there is a clinical emergency (including sepsis), proceed as you would normally do in ordering IV fluids to resuscitate the patient. The IV fluid supply will come from your clinical units’ supply and be replenished by restocking from the central distribution room. When a patient has stabilized, please follow previously distributed guidelines on the appropriate use of IV fluids.
• If a patient does not have a clinical emergency and you are considering ordering IV fluids (bolus or continuous infusion) then you must contact your responsible covering attending for approval of that fluid order and this approval must be documented in a progress note. There will be an auditing process to confirm compliance with this process.
• As of Friday, (Oct. 4), every team must daily review their list of ongoing continuous IV fluids to confirm clinical need. All clinicians are strongly encouraged to add an IV Fluid column to their patient lists.
• To order IV fluids, call the Fluid Distribution Center at 919-681-6851. Once confirmed, the fluids will be delivered to you.

Following is a list of system-wide recommendations that should be implemented ASAP. If you have additional suggestions for conservation within your specialty area, please escalate through the tiered huddle process.

Maintenance Fluid

• When appropriate, limit maintenance fluids to a specific total volume or time frame.
• Consider oral hydration strategies when possible. Duke will be increasing the availability of electrolyte PO fluids in partnership with Food Services (ex. Gatorade and Pedialyte).
• Frequently review and consider elimination of continuous intravenous fluids (IVFs) for patients who are not NPO (or able to take an oral diet).

Procedural/OR

• Consider opportunities to reduce sterile fluid use (intravenous and irrigation) in procedural cases when appropriate

Nursing Processes

• Extend the use of IV and flush bags from 24 to 96 hours when changing tubing.
• Use small-volume bags for low infusion rates.
  • Don’t use 1L bags when a 100ml bag will do.
  • Prime A-lines with 500mL bags instead of 1L bags, changed every 4 days
• Eliminate the use of Keep Vein Open (KVO) protocols.
• Limit quantities of IV bags placed in warmers to avoid early expiration.
• Verify ongoing fluid needs with providers before a new IV fluid bag is spiked.
• Finish IV bags from the OR or procedure area when going to the unit from surgery rather than switching over to a new bag immediately.

Clinical Practice

• Do not empirically start IVF unless indicated.

The incident command center remains active and available to assist with any needs. Hours are from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. To contact the command center, call 919- 684-2222.

Updates will continue as conditions unfold. Our Supply Chain colleagues are working diligently to ensure we continue providing quality care to those who need us. Thank you for your partnership, collaboration, and dedication to providing remarkable care to our patients, their loved ones, and each other.

 

Duke VAD Team Supporting Patients Caught in Helene

Multiple Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) patients living in western NC have been significantly impacted by Hurricane Helene. Last weekend, our Duke VAD team worked tirelessly to track down each of them to ensure they were okay and had access to power to charge their batteries.

On Monday, there were four people the team had yet to locate. By working the phones and partnering with Jason Zivica and Duke’s State Emergency Response Team, the team coordinated assistance from local fire departments in those western counties, the National Guard, and Mission Hospital to assist in tracking them down. Thankfully, by Wednesday evening all had been found and all were safe.

Our Duke team has worked all week to get medication refills, wound dressings, batteries, and battery chargers to patients who lost them in the storm. Due to issues with ground transport, these supplies had to be airlifted into the area and brought directly to those patients.

“This is just one of many examples of the LVAD team going above and beyond for the patients,” says Stu Russell, MD, Duke’s regional director for advanced heart failure.

Many thanks to Stephanie Barnes, Kevin Cox, Vanessa Francalangia, Grayson Griggs, and Michelle Kern for their efforts – and that of the entire team supporting our VAD patients.

“Amazing work by this group,” added Jill Engel, service line vice president for Heart & Vascular. “The LVAD team has a well-organized approach tied into the emergency management system to ensure the patients are supported during natural disasters, going above and beyond to get them what they need. Kudos to Stu for his leadership as well!”

Outstanding work by a deeply caring and dedicated group!

 

Duke Health Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Duke Health is actively supporting Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina. Many team members have been deployed with our Duke State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT), including Duke Heart & Vascular nurses.

Here in the Triangle, our teams are coordinating care for patients living in the affected areas. We are also working to support our partners at Duke Lifepoint community hospitals by identifying needs and ensuring we can help them by transporting patients to Duke and other local hospitals.

You can join Duke Health’s support efforts in several ways:

• Sign up to volunteer with our SMAT team to deploy to provide disaster relief.
• Make a financial donation to the American Red Cross.
• Donate items to the Duke Hurricane Helene Relief Drive

Thank you to all who have helped so far and those willing to help in the future. The needs in western NC are great and will continue for a long time.

 

ECMO Specialist Team Certification Achievement

We are thrilled to share that Duke’s Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Specialist Team has, for the very first time, achieved 100 percent ELSO Adult ECMO Practitioner Certification (E-AEC) for our experienced ECMO Specialists.

The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) is an international consortium of healthcare institutions, researchers, providers, and industry partners that supports ECMO providers with continuing education, guidelines, research, and certification. They also maintain a comprehensive registry of patient data.

“To my knowledge, we are the first ECMO program to achieve 100 percent ELSO Adult ECMO Practitioner Certification,” said Desiree Bonadonna, director of Extracorporeal Life Support at Duke and chief of Perfusion Services. “Duke’s newest class of ECMO Specialists will become eligible and pursue certification in the coming months.”

Our ECMO Specialist team includes Allison Bartlett; Amy Zinn; Benjamin Brown; Christopher Lappe; Dirk Mattin; Christian Oland; Jess Brown; Joanna Mischke; Joel Kester; Blake Hazelwood; Kristin Johnson; Mel Caccamise; Michael Blank; Taylor Miller; Tia Forbes; Vincent Yeboah; Van Lewark; and William Poorboy. Outstanding!

We are very proud of this team. Please join us in congratulating our ECMO Specialists for their hard work and dedication!

 

Shout-out to Bullock!

Last week, in clinic 2F2G, a patient was checking in for a heart failure follow-up appointment. While checking in, one of our front desk team members — Ethan Bullock — observed the patient to be experiencing stroke-like symptoms.

Ethan very quickly alerted the clinical team. A stroke code was called and the patient was rapidly transported to the emergency department where occlusion of an intracranial artery was confirmed.

Ethan’s attention to detail and quick response ensured this patient was treated as fast as possible. Our clinic nurses, Julie Parham and Debra Means, were also instrumental in helping with the care of this patient.

Great job and great save, Ethan!

 

Shout-out to Pendyal!

We received a terrific patient compliment this week regarding cardiologist Akshay Pendyal, MD:

“[Earlier this year]I was in the ER for A-Fib and told to see my cardiologist asap. Referral was sent to (another hospital), but I asked with Duke. Due to high turnover of Drs., mine was gone. Earliest I could be seen was within a couple of weeks, which was earlier than I could be seen at the other hospital. I was incredibly impressed with Dr. Pendyal. I am a complex patient. Rarely have I had a new Dr who reviews my record before seeing me, and listens before treating. His willingness to discuss my condition and medication in conjunction with my other conditions and medications was refreshing and encouraging. I last saw a cardiologist 8 months before this and have received three notifications of a change in Drs since. I was ready to jump to a different health clinic, but Duke offered the earlier appointment. I am so pleased with Dr. Pendyal that I really hope he stays at Kernodle Clinic. A friend of mine has seen him as well and was very impressed. Based on our experiences we believe Dr. Pendyal is more than a cut above other providers in his interactions with his patients.” – a grateful patient

Excellent communication and great patient care — way to go, Akshay!

 

Open Enrollment Starts Oct. 14

Open enrollment is your opportunity to review your medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefit elections and make any changes necessary to ensure your choices continue to meet your needs.

If you wish to participate in the Health Care or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts for 2025, you must enroll (or re-enroll). Participation in the reimbursement accounts does not automatically continue from year to year.

If you do not make changes to your medical, dental, or vision coverage, your current medical, dental, and vision coverage elections for 2024 will continue for 2025.

Duke’s annual open enrollment period for medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefits for 2025 is from October 14 at 8 a.m. — October 25 at 6 p.m.

• Up to $640 of your unused Health Care and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account funds from 2025 can be carried over to the subsequent year.
• All selections made during the open enrollment period will be effective January 2025.

Benefits information has been mailed to all staff. All information can also be found on Duke’s Open Enrollment 2025 website.

 

Early Voting at Karsh Alumni Center

Durham County registered voters can vote early at Karsh Alumni Center starting Thursday, October 17, and ending Saturday, November 2.

Hours are as follows:

• Monday – Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Sundays: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• 2: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during this time.

 

Winter Respiratory Virus Season Masking Guidance

As respiratory virus season ramps up, Duke’s Infection Prevention/Infectious Disease specialists anticipate another “tripledemic” related to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Patients, visitors, and team members should protect themselves and others using established prevention strategies.

We strongly recommend masking for patients, visitors, and team members during respiratory virus season – September 18, 2024, through March 1, 2025. Masking is still required in high-risk clinical areas, during clusters or outbreaks, and during the active COVID-19 infectious period.

For more details, masking guidance documents can be found on SharePoint.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Oct. 20-Oct.26: Respiratory Care Week

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 8: Coronary Function Testing in 2024: Where Are We Now? with Nadia Sutton, MD. 5 p.m. Zoom only.

 

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 9: EP Fellows’ Case Conference with Jonathan Kusner and Hannah Schwennesen. Noon, In-person, DN 2003, or via Zoom.

October 11: DHP Fellows’ Case Conference with Cosette Champion. Noon, via Zoom.

October 16:  No conference. Interview Day.

October 18:  Fellows’ Meet and Greet Lunch with visiting professor Bernard Gersh. Noon, DMP 2W91

October 23: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Mike Cosiano. Noon, DMP 2W96

October 25: No conference. Interview Day.

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees, and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2025 funding cycle, priority will be given to ideas aligned with the thematic area of improving provider and staff experience, the patient journey, and clinical outcomes using advanced technology solutions.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

The application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over one year.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

 

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations are now open for Duke’s first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. This initiative is inspired by Dr. King’s enduring legacy and will celebrate Duke Health faculty and staff who embody his vision of “It starts with me…” The award will honor those who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to a nonprofit’s mission in keeping with the principles of Dr. King.

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

 

SOM Leadership Development Programs Update

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may interest our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

Duke Heart in the News: 

September 27 — Annemarie Thompson (CT Anesthesiology)

Medical Dialogues (IN)

New insights on perioperative cardiovascular management in noncardiac surgery: AHA/ACC 2024 guidelines release

September 27 — William Kraus

Voz Populi (Sp)

Este es el alimento que ayuda a mantener el corazón fuerte y que recomiendan los cardiólogos

September 28 — Crystal Tyson (Cardiometabolic Prevention/nephrologist)

The New York Times

The Heart-Healthy Diet Hardly Anyone Is Talking About

September 30 — Duke University Hospital/Mary Martin

WTVD (Durham, NC)

Teams from Duke University Hospital have now deployed to Cleveland county to provide assistance after Helene

October 1 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

Top-ranked hospitals for angioplasty, by state

October 1 — Duke University Hospital/Jason Zivica (emergency preparedness)

CBS17.com (Raleigh/Durham)

Responders from Central North Carolina join Hurricane Helene recovery efforts

October 2 — Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Cardiology Month in Review: September 2024

October 3 — Kristin Bova Campbell

Specialty Pharmacy Continuum

Heart Rhythm Monitoring Tools Helpful When Used Judiciously

October 2 — Duke Health/Mary Martin

WRAL-TV News, Raleigh-Durham

Triangle hospitals playing critical role in providing aid to Western NC

October 2 — Duke Health

Supply Chain Brain

Damage from Hurricane Helene Threatens U.S. Medical Supply Chain

October 3 — Duke Health

Government Technology

North Carolina City Governments Help Flooded Communities

 

Chief’s message:  Hurricanes and Homecoming Weekend

This week had lots of downs and ups for us across the state.  The biggest challenge – Hurricane Helene required many of the people in our state (especially those colleagues in the western part of the state) to take shelter and ensure that they stayed safe.  On the Duke Health side – you will see our efforts noted below including some work to keep our teams/patients safe during the weather. 

This weekend was also founders day and homecoming weekend.  Duke Football came from behind to win 21-20 against UNC and the founders weekend also had the university give Rob Califf the University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service – the highest honor at the University.  Quite an amazing achievement for Dr. Califf and speaks to the influence he has had not just on cardiology, the DCRI, but the broader Duke University environment and health around the world.  There are also several stories around continued excellence from Faculty, Staff, and Residents/Fellows with research and clinical care below that show the continued work of our amazing team.  In the upcoming week we will have our fall faculty celebration to welcome new faculty and share highlights from the past year.   We also anticipate having some of our recent  Duke Heart accomplishments in managing patients with failing hearts shared in the national media.  We will share all of this and more in the upcoming pulse – and appreciate the continued efforts our multi-specialty teams make in caring for our patients.

Highlights of the week:

Duke Health Monitoring Helene Recovery Efforts

We are all stunned at the damage wrought throughout the Southeastern U.S. due to Hurricane Helene – particularly in the mountains of western NC and eastern TN, where the full extent of devastation and loss is not yet known. In an update from DUHS leadership yesterday, Tom Owens, MD, executive vice president and chief operating officer, issued the following message:

On Friday, September 27th, Hurricane Helene made landfall, affecting much of the eastern seaboard, including North Carolina. While the Triangle experienced heavy rain and winds, western North Carolina has been dealing with severe flooding, road closures, and ongoing power outages.

 As we assess the situation across the state, Duke University Health System is working to coordinate support and resources in areas of critical need. Our Emergency Preparedness team is collaborating with state officials to evaluate the damage, ensure patient safety, and coordinate care where needed.

We recognize that many of us have friends and family impacted by this devastation. Many of our colleagues have reached out to see how they can contribute to our community’s recovery efforts. We will share more information in the coming days on how we can individually and collectively help those in need.

Thank you for your dedication during this difficult time. We remain committed to supporting our colleagues, patients, and the wider community across North Carolina throughout this recovery effort.

In happier news…

Many other events have been taking place this weekend, including Duke’s Founders’ Day & Homecoming Weekend with a gathering of the current and former Duke University presidents – Vincent Price, Nan Keohane, and Richard Brodhead – along with Duke alumna Judy Woodruff serving as moderator; a concert featuring Ed Sheeran and special guests 9^th Wonder and Duke alumna Rhetta; the presentation of the 2024 University Medals for Distinguished Meritorious Service – the University’s highest honor – one of which has been bestowed on Robert Califf (more on this below); and an inspired (historic!) comeback performance by Duke on the field against UNC in yesterday’s Homecoming football game… ICYMI, Duke won 21-20, taking the coveted Victory Bell back to the Bull City.

Today is also World Heart Day an international celebration and awareness day led by the World Heart Federation and established in partnership with the World Health Organization. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death across the world.

Thank you for your daily efforts to improve our global understanding of cardiovascular diseases and for leading the way in treatment and outcomes for our cardiovascular patients, educating and training our students, fellows, and teams, and for being part of Duke Heart.

 

Califf Receives University Medal

The 2024 University Medals for Distinguished Meritorious Service, Duke’s highest honor, are being awarded to alumni Robert Califf, Fred Stanback, and William Turner, Jr. this weekend.

Founders’ Weekend celebrates the founding of the university and provides an opportunity each year for the Duke community to reflect on the school’s history and recognize the leadership, contributions, and impact students, faculty, administrators, staff, trustees and alumni have made over the past 100 years.

About Robert Califf, MD

An esteemed cardiologist and prominent leader in public health and clinical science, Robert “Rob” Califf is commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Califf completed both his undergraduate degree in psychology and medical degree at Duke. Prior to joining the FDA in 2015, he spent more than 30 years as a practicing cardiologist, researcher and administrator at Duke.

He was founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), which today is the world’s largest academic clinical research organization and a leader in impactful clinical trials in medicine.

In 2006, Califf was named vice chancellor for clinical and translational research, a position he held until he was named deputy commissioner of the FDA in 2015. Seven months later, former President Barack Obama nominated Califf to serve as FDA Commissioner, a position he held until 2017.

Califf then returned to Duke as professor of medicine and vice chancellor for health data science, and founded and directed Duke Forge, a multi-disciplinary center for actionable health data science, before joining Alphabet, Inc., in 2019 as head of medical strategy and senior advisor.

In November 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Califf to once again serve as FDA Commissioner. Califf is also a Duke parent; his son Tom graduated from the university in 2006.

The full story, including more on Stanback and Turner, can be found here. A complete list of previous University Medal recipients is available on the University Archives website.

Congratulations and well deserved, Rob!

 

Voora to Serve as Site PI for $27M NIH award on Genomics in Clinical Care

The National Institutes of Health last week announced that it was awarding $27 million to establish a new network of genomics-enabled learning health systems. Duke and Durham VA cardiologist Deepak Voora, MD, along with Duke/Durham VA internist Lori Orlando, MD, will serve as two of the four principal investigators (PIs) for the Boston, MA site (Boston Veterans Administration Research Institute), one of six systems selected as part of the network.

The selected systems for the new Genomics-enabled Learning Health System (gLHS) Network have already developed mature, learning healthcare systems to design and test novel implementation strategies to improve the use of genomics in clinical care. Over the next five years, the network will create best practices for improving the uptake and use of genomic medicine interventions that can be generalized to diverse healthcare systems.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA)/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will be represented by four PIs: Jason Vassy, MD, and internist at Boston VA/Harvard; Maren Scheuner, MD, a medical geneticist at UCSF/San Francisco VA; Voora, and Orlando.

“This research complements Dr. Voora’s ongoing work at the VHA in Pharmacogenomics at the national level,” said Rajesh Swaminathan, associate professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke and cardiology section chief for the Durham VAMC. “He was recently awarded a $1.5M VA HSR&D Grant focusing on reducing Veterans’ risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through pharmacogenomics informed statin prescribing.”

In addition to Boston VA Research Institute, the network includes Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA; Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis; Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago; University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. To learn more, see the full announcement here.

Way to go, Deepak!

 

Biever Receives HFC SBR Award

Congratulations to Kim Biever, a research coordinator with Duke Heart’s Clinical Research Unit! She has been awarded an Excellence in Site Based Research Award from the Heart Failure Collaboratory (HFC) in partnership with the American Heart Association, for her work on the VALOR-HCM clinical trial. She was nominated by a team from Bristol Myers Squibb.

Biever will be recognized by the HFC on Sunday, Nov. 17 during the 2024 AHA Annual Scientific Sessions being held in Chicago.

This award is given to principal investigators, study coordinators, and sites that have demonstrated excellence through multiple nominations over the years for the HFC Site-Based Research Award.

The award certifies that she has shown exceptional achievement, contribution, or performance in site-based research. Only the top site-based researchers are recognized by the HFC with this award.

Congratulations, Kim!!!

 

Selvaraj Receives ATTR Research Award

Congratulations to advanced heart failure specialist, Senthil Selvaraj, MD! He has been selected as one of two recipients of the ATTR Young Investigator Research Awards by Cornerstone Medical Education. Selvaraj was invited to present his work to peers and a selection committee via a virtual colloquium. In a message from Bryan Taylor, Cornerstone’s chief strategy officer, he stated, “I truly don’t think I could have asked for two better physician-scientists to claim the first 2 ATTR Young Investigator Research Awards. Your work, and your presentation of that work, was truly stellar.”

The $100,000 award will support Selvaraj’s continued research into amyloidosis — some of which was published earlier this year in JAMA and presented at the Heart Failure Congress 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Great job, Senthil!!!

 

Kudos to D’Amico!

We received a warm message from a patient recently regarding care she received from Dr. Thomas D’Amico, the Gary Hock Endowed Professor of Surgery.

The patient shared that she was in the hospital for 37 days and stated, “Dr. D’Amico and his team took great care of me. They were the most amazing group of caregivers and nurses” she had ever had.

True to his nature, D’Amico’s response was, “I’m sure this is really about great nursing care and resident involvement. It’s a great place to be as a patient.”

Congratulations to Tom and the entire team for being recognized for the tremendous care they provided!

 

Winter Respiratory Virus Season Masking Guidance

As respiratory virus season ramps up, Duke’s Infection Prevention/Infectious Disease specialists anticipate another “tripledemic” related to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Patients, visitors, and team members should protect themselves and others using established prevention strategies.

We strongly recommend masking for patients, visitors, and team members during respiratory virus season – September 18, 2024, through March 1, 2025. Masking is still required in high-risk clinical areas, during clusters or outbreaks, and during the active COVID-19 infectious period.

For more details, masking guidance documents can be found on SharePoint.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month

Sept. 29: World Heart Day

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 1: No CGR today.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 2: No conference. Interview Day.

October 4: No conference.

October 9: EP Fellows’ Case Conference with Jonathan Kusner and Hannah Schwennesen. Noon, In-person, DN 2003 or via Zoom.

October 11: DHP Fellows’ Case Conference with Cosette Champion. Noon, via Zoom.

October 16:  No conference. Interview Day.

October 18:  Fellows’ Meet and Greet Lunch with visiting professor Bernard Gersh. Noon, DMP 2W91

October 23: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Mike Cosiano. Noon, DMP 2W96

October 25: No conference. Interview Day.

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

 

AAMC Professional Development Webinar

Wednesday, Oct. 2:  GFA Professional Development Webinar: Innovative Programs for Mid-Career Faculty in Academic Medicine, Noon-1 p.m. Register here.

Our own Cary Ward, MD, Associate Dean for Faculty Development for Duke School of Medicine will be a featured speaker during an AAMC webinar on Oct. 2 about faculty development programs for mid-career faculty in academic medicine. Registration is required.

 

 

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2025 funding cycle, priority will be given to ideas aligned with the thematic area of improving provider and staff experience, the patient journey, and clinical outcomes using advanced technology solutions.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

Application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over a one-year period.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

 

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations are now open for Duke’s first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. This initiative is inspired by Dr. King’s enduring legacy and will celebrate Duke Health faculty and staff who embody his vision of “It starts with me…” The award will honor those who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to a nonprofit’s mission in keeping with the principles of Dr. King.

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

 

SOM Leadership Development Programs Update

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News: 

September 20 — Christopher Granger

Cardiology Advisory

Rethinking Beta-Blocker Use Following Acute Myocardial Infarction

September 20 — Stephen Greene

tctMD

Yes, Clinical Inertia IS the Leading Cause of GDMT Underuse in HFrEF

September 20 — Harry Severance

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

The Crisis of Disruptive Workplaces in Healthcare: Insights from Dr. Harry Severance

September 22 — Michael Carboni

People magazine

College Student and Toddler She Babysits Share a ‘Special Bond’: They’re Both Heart Transplant Survivors (Exclusive)

September 23 — Duke Health (CT Surgery)

Becker’s Hospital Review

Top-ranked hospitals for coronary bypass, by state

September 24 — Ehsan Samei (Biomedical Engineering)

Cardiovascular Business

Space travel disrupts normal rhythm in heart cells

September 24 — Annemarie Thompson

American Heart Association News

How to manage heart and stroke risks before, during and after non-heart surgery

September 25 — Annemarie Thompson

HCP Live

AHA/ACC Update Guidelines on Cardiovascular Risk in Noncardiac Surgery

September 26 — William Kraus

GlobalHappenings.com

How to Turn Regular Walking into an Effective Workout: Advice from a Doctor of Science

September 26 — Duke Clinical Research Institute

Becker’s Hospital Review

The heart guideline lowering hospital burden, mortality

September 26 — Leanna Ross

American Heart Association News

‘Weekend warriors’ may gain same health benefits as people who spread out exercise

September 26 — Anita Kelsey

Blogs.Microsoft.com

A year of DAX Copilot: Healthcare innovation that refocuses on the clinician-patient connection

September 27 — Jeffrey Kuller

The New York Times

Risk of Heart Defects Higher in Babies Conceived With I.V.F.

Chief’s message:

This week in Duke Heart you will see the continued themes for our success (partnership with our community, focus on our people, team work for care, and innovation focusing on the use of data and AI partnerships).  This is all part of our work with our heart and vascular teams to ensure the discoveries and world class innovations get to all of our members in our community in this state and the region.  The week featured a trip to McLeod Regional Health System in Florence SC where we had a case review and great discussion with the cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons in that center.  They are doing some amazing care and we look forward to partnering with them to ensure the people of NC and SC get access to all of the cardiovascular care they need.

You will also see stories of our teams working across the health system to ensure patients get the care they need – often innovating ways with multiple services to ensure that happens.  We also highlight the data/AI work going on with a partnership with SAS Institute in Raleigh (part of our grand rounds speaker last week), and the ongoing collaboration with DIHI within the Heart Center with a new RFA across the health system to improve the care workflow and outcomes of our patients

Finally – fall is starting to get here with football, college starts, and running season.  Sunday is the 1st day of fall, and we had our resident Stead tread yesterday for those who could make it to support the medicine residency.  The upcoming week will have part 2 of our ESC cardiology meeting update for cardiology grand rounds and the launch of some new studies in our clinical group that we will highlight in the upcoming weeks.  The week culminates with Geoff Ginsburg, MD, PhD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer for the All of Us research program at the National Institutes of Health giving Medicine Grand Rounds.  Geoff is a former Duke Cardiology faculty member and currently is an adjunct professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke.

Highlights of the week

Celebrating APPs

This week is National Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Week, a celebration and awareness week honoring the contributions of Physician Assistants/Associates, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants. The theme this year is “Innovate, Elevate, Celebrate: The Power of APPs.”

This important group of providers throughout Duke Health and the U.S. elevates the fields of medicine and nursing to ensure our patients and communities receive safe, high-quality, evidence-based care.

Our Heart APPs are amazing, supportive, terrific colleagues, so be sure to thank an APP this week!

 

Heart APPs Supporting Cancer Walk & 5K

Speaking of APPs… yesterday a number of our Heart APPs participated in the Gail Parkins Memorial Ovarian Cancer Walk and 5K Run to honor and celebrate one of our team members. All had a great time – and beautiful weather! 

The walk-and-run event is intended to raise awareness of ovarian cancer, raise money to provide financial support to research efforts, and pay tribute to those touched by ovarian cancer. Funds raised by the event go to support the Duke Ovarian Cancer Research Program. 

The Walk & 5K was held at Sanderson High School in Raleigh.

Shown L-R in the smaller group photo are Kelley Reid, Ashley Barba, Nikki Phillips, Diane Sauro, Lauren Clise, Mallory Bailey, Virginia Coe, Keisha Hall, Hayley Karan

Great job, APPs!

 

Shout-out to Interventional, Vascular & Cardiac Anesthesia Team Members!

On behalf of Duke Heart & Vascular leadership and Schuyler Jones, a huge shout-out to team members who collaborated on a tough case last week:

“A complex vascular patient presented today with STEMI, and had a history of occluded aorta, occluded right brachiocephalic, and occluded left subclavian/axillary arteries. The interventional team – Dr. Raj Swaminathan (cath lab attending), Dr. Dennis Narcisse (IC fellow), Dylan Skiscim (DUH cath charge nurse), and Anna Mall (ANM-emeritus and general problem solver) worked together with Dr. Adam Johnson (vascular surgery) and Dr. Negmeldeen Mamoun (cardiac anesthesiology) to do a carotid cutdown, sheath insertion, coronary angiogram and LAD PCI in Cath Lab 5. We may not have made the door-to-balloon time metric for this patient, but it’s incredible to watch how this team worked together to solve a complex problem. Really great job to all involved!” – Schuyler Jones, MD

Phenomenal collaboration, everyone!!

 

Friday MGR to Feature Geoff Ginsburg

Please join us on Friday, Sept. 27 at 8 a.m. for Medicine Grand Rounds. The speaker will be our very own Geoff Ginsburg, MD, PhD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer for the All of Us research program at the National Institutes of Health and adjunct professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke.

His presentation, The All of Us Research Program: Advancing Precision Medicine for the Nation, begins at 8 a.m. Join us in Duke North 2002 or via Zoom.

 

 

 

Stablein Receives HFC SBR Award

Josh Stablein, a clinical research coordinator in the Duke Heart Center Clinical Research Unit, has been awarded a Top Study Coordinator Award by the Heart Failure Collaboratory (HFC) in partnership with the American Heart Association. He was nominated by a team from Bristol Myers Squibb for his outstanding performance on the MAVA-LTE clinical trial.

Stablien is one of 14 site-coordinator award recipients who will be recognized by the HFC on Sunday, Nov. 17 during the 2024 AHA Annual Scientific Sessions being held in Chicago.

Way to go, Josh!

 

 

It’s a Girl! Duke Heart Grows by One

Congratulations to Duke cardiovascular fellow Andrew Andreae and his wife Kathryn on the birth of their first child, Aspen, on Thursday evening.

We are thrilled to welcome her into our Duke Heart family! Mom and baby are healthy and doing well.

Exciting news, Andrew!

 

2024 Flu Campaign Underway & Updated Masking Guidance

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launched on Thursday, Sept. 19. The deadline for immunization compliance is October 29 at 10 a.m. Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

• DUHS employee vaccination sites

Keep in mind: Winter Respiratory Virus Season Masking Guidance

As respiratory virus season ramps up, Duke’s Infection Prevention/Infectious Disease specialists anticipate another “tripledemic” related to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Patients, visitors, and team members should protect themselves and others using established prevention strategies.

We strongly recommend masking for patients, visitors, and team members during respiratory virus season – September 18, 2024, through March 1, 2025. Masking is still required in high-risk clinical areas, during clusters or outbreaks, and during the active COVID-19 infectious period.

For more details, masking guidance documents can be found on SharePoint.

 

Duke Health and SAS Formalize Strategic Analytics and AI Collaboration

Duke Health has formalized a two-year collaboration with SAS, a global leader in data and AI, headquartered in Cary, N.C.

The strategic effort builds on the two organization’s previously announced collaboration to leverage cutting-edge technology to transform healthcare operations and patient care through advanced operational analytics, AI, and machine learning.

Building on Duke Health’s successful partnerships with industry leaders such as Microsoft and nference, the collaboration with SAS is set to expand Duke Health’s capabilities in operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making. The initiative aims to create innovative AI-powered tools that will drive healthcare delivery process improvements, ultimately enhancing the quality of care provided to patients.

“We are pleased to expand our relationship with SAS, our neighbor in the Research Triangle,” said Jeffrey Ferranti, MD, senior vice president and chief digital officer at Duke Health. “This relationship marks a significant milestone in enhancing our analytics capabilities by leveraging AI in a responsible and ethical manner. Together, we will unlock new opportunities to transform health care.”

(Full news release available here.)

 

Please Register to Vote!

Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!

Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:

North Carolina State Board of Elections

Durham County Board of Elections

Orange County Board of Elections

Wake County Board of Elections 

Thank you!

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

• Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month
• Sept. 23 to Sept. 27: National APP Week
• Sept. 29: World Heart Day

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Sept. 24: ESC Wrap-up 2024, part 2 with Christopher Granger and Bernard Gersh. 5 p.m., DN2002 or via Zoom.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

DCRI Research Forum

Tuesday, Sept. 24:  Fireside Chat with Dr. Holden Thorp.  Noon-1:00 p.m., via Zoom.

Duke Clinical Research Institute is excited to welcome Holden Thorp, PhD, as the featured speaker for their 2024-25 DCRI Research Forum series opener. Dr. Thorp is the Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals. Attend to learn more about the inner workings of the journals, how they maintain a robust scientific record, and the responsibility of journals for both fielding concerns and standing up for solid research.

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Sept. 25: No conference. Interview Day.

Sept. 27: DHP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Joshua Sink. Noon, via Zoom.

 

AAMC Professional Development Webinar

Wednesday, Oct. 2:  GFA Professional Development Webinar: Innovative Programs for Mid-Career Faculty in Academic Medicine, Noon-1 p.m. Register here. 

Our own Cary Ward, MD, Associate Dean for Faculty Development for Duke School of Medicine will be a featured speaker during this AAMC webinar — she’ll be speaking on faculty development programs for mid-career faculty in academic medicine. Registration is required.

 

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees, and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2025 funding cycle, priority will be given to ideas aligned with the thematic area of improving provider and staff experience, the patient journey, and clinical outcomes using advanced technology solutions.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

The application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over one year.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

 

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations are now open for Duke’s first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. This initiative is inspired by Dr. King’s enduring legacy and will celebrate Duke Health faculty and staff who embody his vision of “It starts with me…” The award will honor those who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to a nonprofit’s mission in keeping with the principles of Dr. King.

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

 

SOM Leadership Development Programs Update

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may interest our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News: 

September 13 — Christopher Granger

JAMA Network

Even After CPR, Surviving Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Might Be Influenced by Race, Sex

September 13 — Manesh Patel

Physician’s Weekly

OCEANIC-AF: Asundexian Does Not Meet Expectations for Stroke Prevention in AF

September 16 — Betty Tong

Medscape

Missed Opportunities for Early Lung Cancer Detection

September 16 — Robert Mentz

tctMD

Subcutaneous Furosemide Enables HF Patients to Address Congestion at Home

September 16 — Stephen Greene

Consultant Live

HCPLive Five at ESC 2024

September 17 — Nia Schwann Mitchell (internal medicine)

The Columbian (WA)

New tool targets high blood pressure

September 19 — Matthew Sparks (nephrology)

Medscape/InDiscussion Cardiorenal Metabolic Syndrome podcast

MRAs and Potassium Binders

September 19 — Payal Kohli

VerifyThis.com

Yes, you can get the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot at the same time

Chief’s message:

 This last week we had grand rounds from Andrew Grace in Cambridge on innovation in cardiac rhythm management.  This was a great way to start the year off an a good reminder of ways we can collaborate to innovate.  Today we also had the Invasive labs event at the Durham Bulls game with faculty, fellows, and staff at the game to spend some time and get to engage with our family and co-workers.  Pictured included below.  You will see highlights of this last week with Tri-Clip use in some patients and this upcoming week we have highlights that include the Stead Tread and research/grand rounds highlights.

Highlights of the week:

Two TriClip TEER Procedures Performed at Duke Health

Congratulations to cardiologist Andrew Wang, MD, and our entire structural heart team on the completion of Duke’s first TriClip cases – both performed on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Duke University Hospital. Duke is the second hospital in NC to initiate use of TriClip, but the first in the Triangle region and eastern part of the state.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the TriClip transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) system in April. The TriClip TEER procedure, performed in the cath lab, offers a minimally invasive approach designed to repair severe tricuspid regurgitation, or a leaky tricuspid valve, in patients with severe symptoms.

We’ll have a full story next weekend on the procedure, why it’s an exciting addition to our treatment offerings, and which patients could benefit most.

 

HFSA Scientific Statement on Device-Based Therapies in HF

Congratulations to Marat Fudim, Husam Salah, and co-authors on their latest publication in the Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF)!

The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Scientific Statement: Update on Device-Based Therapies in Heart Failure, published Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, provides a state-of-the-art scientific overview and update of the rapidly evolving field of device-based therapies for heart failure (HF), including a clinical pathway to implementation of these technologies alongside pharmacologic therapies.

While tremendous advances have been made to reduce hospitalizations and improve outcomes for patients with HF in the past decade, the residual risk of optimized guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) remains on par or worse than other major cardiovascular diseases. Some established medical devices, such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), are widely used alongside pharmacologic therapies. However, in some high-risk patients who exhibit an intolerance for certain drugs, novel device therapies may prove highly effective in producing promising outcomes.

The Update on Device Based Therapies in Heart Failure scientific statement defines how these novel device therapies may bridge current gaps in HF treatment and outcomes and proposes a clinical pathway to implement FDA-approved device-based therapies that align with current HF management workflow.

Great work!

 

Miller Announces Retirement from DUHS, Effective Sept. 30

After 37 years of service at Duke, Cory Miller has announced she will retire at the end of this month. Miller joined Duke in 1987 after working in California hospitals for three years.

Cory has seen remarkable changes through the years and achieved a great deal. She spent 27 years as a clinical nurse providing outstanding clinical care in Duke’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, becoming CCRN certified in 2013; she spent five years as a Clinical Nurse Educator, and five years in Duke Heart’s Center of Excellence helping to drive analytics and provide clinical expertise to support complex technical systems, including our outcomes databases.

During her time with Duke, she served as either Chair or Co-Chair of several committees, including Code Blue Oversight, Cardiac Monitoring, and the CICU Research committees. Over the years, she has evaluated the BLS skills of hundreds of team members across Duke Health –- possibly even yours!

Cory has served as a guest speaker more than 20 times, has had 17 poster presentations, co-authored five publications, and received at least seven honors and awards – including The Great 100 of North Carolina, a Triangle Business Journal Health Care Hero award, and in 2018 Duke’s Palliative Care Advocacy award. She has also traveled on several medical mission trips to Kenya since 2014.

Her fierce patient advocacy, excellent provider communications, great collaborative skills, coaching and learning skills, positive energy, compassion, dedication, ability to make people laugh, and to spark conversation and find commonalities between us all, will be sorely missed.

Cory… enjoy your retirement knowing you made a huge and lasting impact here at Duke!

Please drop her a line via email at cory.miller@duke.edu to congratulate her.

 

Kudos to Bowers!

Congrats to Midge Bowers for her presentation this past week at the 13th International Council of Nurses NP/APN Network Conference (ICN), held Sept. 9-12 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The ICN conference is one of the largest global forums for advanced practice nurses to network and collaborate on contemporary topics and future trends relevant to their practice. This year’s conference theme was “Advanced Practice Nursing: an invaluable investment for global health.”

Bowers and her team presented ‘Transatlantic Interrelations in Advanced Practice Nursing in Guideline Directed Heart Failure Management’.

Way to go, Midge!

 

Blue Celebrates 45 Years with Duke

The Heart Failure and VAD teams celebrated with Laura Blue this week – she is celebrating an incredible 45 years of service with Duke.

Congratulations, Laura!!!

 

HF Collaboratory Recognizes Duke’s ALLAY-HF Team

The Heart Failure Collaboratory (HFC) this week, in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, recognized our Duke Heart Center ALLAY-HF trial team as winners of their newest award, “Excellence in Site-Based Research” which will be awarded to sites, principal investigators, and site coordinators who consistently demonstrate excellence in their work and have received a previous site-based research award.

The HFC recognized Rob Mentz as a Top Principal Investigator, and Matthew Gray and Lacey Taylor as Top Site Coordinators. Marat Fudim is closely involved and instrumental in the trial.

Way to go, team!

 

New RFAs Announced

Two new requests for applications (RFA) were announced this past week – both great opportunities! Please note the application deadlines, as one of them is this week:

Heart Center Leadership Council Awards: Focus on Innovation and Collaboration

We are excited to announce that we will again have a Heart Leadership Council Award competition this year.

Eligibility: This award is available to Early Career Faculty in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery (defined as within 10 years of completing training). If residents or fellows apply -– they should have an early career faculty member mentoring or primarily involved in the project.

Award: Two awards providing $40K in support each will be awarded to two faculty for research in their selected fields. The awards will be determined based on finalist presentation to the Heart Center Leadership Council on Friday, November 8, 2024.

Application Process: Please provide your CV and a two-page application (one page proposal + one-page draft budget). The proposal should include any background or preliminary data, hypothesis, and proposed methods. As noted, the focus should be on innovation, high-risk – high-reward projects, and projects that cross-collaborate across the Heart Center.

Due Date: Proposals are due to christy.darnell@duke.edu by 5 p.m. September 20.

Notification: Finalists will be notified by October 4 for the presentation in November. Our team will work with finalists on the 10-minute presentation for the Heart Center Leadership Council.

 

Duke Institute for Health Innovation – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees, and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2025 funding cycle, priority will be given to ideas aligned with the thematic area of improving provider and staff experience, the patient journey, and clinical outcomes using advanced technology solutions.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

The application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over a one-year period.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

 

Please Register to Vote!

Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!

Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:

North Carolina State Board of Elections

Durham County Board of Elections

Orange County Board of Elections

Wake County Board of Elections 

Thank you!

 

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

In a letter to Duke Health team members this week, Antwan Lofton, vice president of human resources for DUHS, wrote:

More than 4,100 of our colleagues at Duke identify as Hispanic/Latino, and we join with them to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (also known as Latinx Heritage Month), which runs from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15.

During the month, I encourage you to take time to celebrate the diverse cultures, achievements, histories, and legacy of contributions by members of these vibrant communities.

As you know, inclusion is a core value at Duke, and one of the ways we live this value is by supporting Employee Resource Groups such as ¡DALHE! (Duke Advancing Latine-Hispanic Excellence). This group provides a welcoming and supportive environment for those who identify as Latino/a/x/é and/or Hispanic and their allies. The group is hosting various events and activities during the month, including a panel discussion on Sept. 16 called “Duke: Pasado y Perspectiva (Past and Perspective).” A similar group for DUHS team members called Juntos is also hosting events during the month.

For those of you looking for a stronger sense of belonging within this large and complex institution, I encourage you to connect with an ERG or learn more about how to start a new group that might bring together others who share common bonds and are bound by a commitment to advancing excellence at Duke.

 

2024 Flu Campaign Launches This Week

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19. 

Deadline for immunization compliance: October 29 at 10 a.m.

• DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
• Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
• Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Sept. 17: Update from ESC 2024 with Manesh Patel. 5 p.m., DN2002 or via Zoom.

 

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Sept. 18: HF/TX Fellows’ Case Presentation with Jemi Galani. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Sept. 20: Bradyarrythmia with Sana Al-Khatib. Noon, via Zoom.

Sept. 25: No conference. Interview Day.

Sept. 27: DHP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Joshua Sink. Noon, via Zoom.

 

2024 Annual Stead Tread 5K

Join the Duke Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program on Saturday, September 21 at 9 a.m. for the annual Stead Tread 5K Run/Walk, held at Solite Park, 4704 Fayetteville Rd, Durham. All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center dedicated to meeting the health care needs of medically underserved patients in Durham.

The event draws 300+ participants annually and is named in honor of former Dept. of Medicine Chairman Dr. Eugene Stead (1947-1967), and his legacy of community service and contributions to the Duke and Durham communities.

 

Entry Fees

For participants 13 and older, registration is $35 per person. For Lincoln patients and children 12 years and younger, registration is free.

Deadlines

Sign up by Friday, September 1 and you are guaranteed to receive a t-shirt. After September 1, t-shirt size and availability are not guaranteed.

Register and/or Donate

Visit steadtread.org to register. Can’t join us on September 21? Stead Tread also accepts individual and corporate donations of any amount (steadtread.org/donate). Contributions of $90 or greater are recognized on our website and at the event.

Questions?

For questions or additional information, contact Caroline Sloan, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine.

 

Catalyzing Climate Connections: Researcher Forum

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024

Time: 3:30-6:30 p.m.

Venue: Great Hall, Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education

Please register soon. Questions? Contact Blake Tedder.

The Office of Climate & Sustainability and the Climate Commitment Advisory Council invites the Duke research community to mark calendars for the Catalyzing Climate Connections Researcher Forum, a dynamic three-hour event designed to spark creativity and collaboration among Duke’s climate researchers and those interested in linking their research into the climate space. This forum will feature moderated panel conversations that explore broad climate research themes from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Attendees will also participate in engaging table conversations, offering deeper discussions and networking opportunities. With refreshments provided, there will be ample time for informal interactions and idea exchanges.

Who Should Attend:

• Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from all university schools and units
• Researchers and staff interested in expanding their research into the climate space.

Goals of the Event:

• Foster relationships and connectivity among Duke researchers.
• Inspire fresh ideas and creativity in addressing climate change.
• Spark new lines of research by emphasizing idea generation over specific expertise.
• Facilitate connections between climate and health researchers.

Why Attend?

This forum is a unique opportunity to build connections, inspire new lines of research, and effectively address the challenges of climate change. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this exciting event!

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may interest our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News: 

August 30 — Neha Pagidipati

ACC News

Semaglutide Improves Heart Health Outcomes Beyond Weight Loss

 

August 30 — Robert Mentz

First for Women

Fortified Eggs Won’t Affect Your Cholesterol Levels, a Recent Study Finds: What This Means for You

 

August 30 — Neha Pagidipati

Express (UK)

Scientists hail ‘remarkable’ drugs set to unlock ‘Fountain of Youth’ and slow ageing

 

September 1 — Renato Lopes

ESC News/Press Office

Wearable heart monitor increases diagnoses of common heart rhythm disorder by 50%

 

September 1 — Manesh Patel

ESC News/Press Office

Asundexian inferior to apixaban for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation

 

September 1 — Manesh Patel

Cardiology Now News

OCEANIC AF – Asundexian is inferior to apixaban for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation

 

September 1 — Manesh Patel

Healio/Cardiology Today

Asundexian did not prevent stroke, systemic embolism vs. apixaban in atrial fibrillation

 

September 2 — Renato Lopes

International Business Times (IN)

Wearable Monitor Boosts Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosis; What It Means For Cardio Care

 

September 2 — Renato Lopes

Medical Dialogues

Wearable Heart Monitor Increases Diagnosis of Irregular Heart Rhythm

 

September 2 — Renato Lopes

Technology Networks

Wearable Heart Monitors Detect More Atrial Fibrillation but Don’t Lower Stroke Rates

 

September 2 — Manesh Patel

tctMD

Asundexian for AF? More Details on the Sinking of OCEANIC-AF

 

September 2 — Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Don’t Miss a Beat: Finerenone’s Role in Heart Failure from ESC Congress Data

 

September 2 — Renato Lopes

pharmaphorum

iRhythm wearable heart monitor raises AFib diagnoses by 52%

 

September 2 — Renato Lopes

Tribune India

New wearable heart monitor to boost irregular heart rhythm diagnosis

*also carried by 20+ news affiliates in India

 

September 3 — Neha Pagidipati

Neuro Rehab Times (UK)

Semaglutide improves heart health outcomes beyond weight loss

https://duke.is/g/8m8c

 

September 3 — Manesh Patel

EP Lab Digest

Asundexian Inferior to Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation

https://duke.is/v/e4tn

 

September 4 — Renato Lopes

Health Day News/United Press International

In new study, wearable heart monitor increases A-fib detection

 

September 6 — Christopher Granger

tctMD

STEEER-AF: Educating Healthcare Workers Improves Adherence to Guidelines

 

September 6 — Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Cardiology Month in Review: August 2024

 

September 6 — DCRI/Rob Mentz

Women’s World magazine

Cholesterol Myths and Facts Debunked: Varieties, Age, More | Woman’s World

 

September 11 — William Kraus

Alimente (Spain)

Ni aceitunas ni pistachos: un cardiólogo explica cuál es el aperitivo que siempre recomienda para cuidar el corazón

 

September 11 — Duke Children’s (Heart Center)

BVM Sports

Duke Tennis Teams Launch Fundraiser for Children’s Heart Center

 

September 11 — Robert Lefkowitz

The Brainy Business (podcast)

Episode 427. The Mentorship Mindset: Nobel Insights with Dr. Bob Lefkowitz

 

September 12 — Renato Lopes

Healio/Cardiology Today

Mass ECG screening for atrial fibrillation in older adults does not seem to prevent stroke

 

 

 

 

Chief’s message:

 We had the Triangle Heart walk this morning with over 150 people from Duke Health joining teams from around the triangle to celebrate and raise awareness for heart disease.  This is the centennial for Duke University and the 100 year anniversary for the American Heart Association.  The event featured survivor stories, CPR training tents, a Kids Zone, and the Duke Health Tent with games and meet ups. We were lucky to have family, pets, and many of our own patients that we serve that joined us in the Heart walk.  It was esepcially rewarding to see team members across the Duke Health, from all three hospitals, from the EMS services, primary care, ED, DHTS, DCRI, and Duke Heart center all at the Heart walk.  Some photos are below to show some of the fun.  Duke Health System was one of three companies in the triangle and the only Health system that raised over 100K dollars for the AHA for this event.  Thanks to all of you who came out to walk, those of you who joined my team Duke Heart and Sole, and all of you that work everyday to improve the cardiovascular health of our community.

Triangle Heart Walk Celebrated Today

 

 

 

Highlights of the week:

ESC24:  Wearable Heart Monitor Increases Diagnosis of Irregular Heart Rhythm

Wearable, long-term continuous heart monitors helped identify 52 percent more cases of atrial fibrillation compared to usual care, but that did not lead to a reduction in hospitalizations due to stroke, according to a study led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

The findings, reported Sept. 1 at the European Society of Cardiology meeting and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, provide inconclusive data about whether atrial fibrillation screening lowers stroke rates. The COVID pandemic led to an early halt of the study before fully enrolling, so it did not have enough participants to establish definitive results about stroke.

“Atrial fibrillation is often undiagnosed and can increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which is largely reversible by oral anticoagulation,” said lead author Renato Lopes, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine in cardiology and member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

 “We still need definitive evidence that diagnosis of atrial fibrillation through systematic screening can lead to subsequent treatment with oral anticoagulation and therefore, lower stroke risk,” Lopes said.

The study enrolled approximately 12,000 patients in the U.S. who were at least 70 years old with no history of atrial fibrillation. Roughly half the patients were randomly assigned to receive a long-term (14 days) continuous monitoring device, and the other half usual care.

Over a median of 15 months of follow-up, the study reported a 52 percent increase in the number of cases of atrial fibrillation diagnosed among the device-wearers compared to those in usual care. There was no increase in rates of hospitalization for bleeding, and no significant reduction in the rate of hospitalizations for all stroke compared with usual care.

The study was originally designed to enroll 52,000 patients, which would have given it the power to determine whether screening reduces the number of strokes. A large study population is needed because strokes occur in a subset of patients with atrial fibrillation.

“Despite the inconclusive results, we have a lot of lessons learned that might inform future studies,” Lopes said. He said the study’s design, which enabled patients to be enrolled and screened online in a virtual format with self-applied patch devices in their homes with only remote support, could be duplicated in future studies.

In addition to Lopes, study authors include Steven J. Atlas, Alan S. Go, Steven A. Lubitz, David D. McManus, Rowena J. Dolor, Ranee Chatterjee, Michael B. Rothberg, David R. Rushlow, Lori A. Crosson, Ronald S. Aronson, Michael Patlakh, Dianne Gallup, Donna J. Mills, Emily C. O’Brien, and Daniel E. Singer.

The study received funding support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Alliance.

 

Tuesday: CGR Returns

We are thrilled to announce the start of a new season of Cardiology Grand Rounds. We are kicking off this week with Dr. Andrew Grace, professor of experimental cardiology in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Grace will present Innovation, Impact and the Cardiac Rhythm  at 5 p.m. Join us in DN 2002 or via Zoom.  The event is also listed below.

 

 

 

Please Register to Vote!

Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!

Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:

North Carolina State Board of Elections

Durham County Board of Elections

Orange County Board of Elections

Wake County Board of Elections 

Thank you!

 

2024 Flu Campaign

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19.

Deadline for immunization compliance: October 29 at 10 a.m.

• DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
• Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
• Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

We’re back! Please join us for a new season of CGRs:

Sept. 10: Innovation, Impact and the Cardiac Rhythm with Dr. Andrew Grace of the University of Cambridge. 5 p.m., DN2002 or via Zoom.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Sept. 11: EP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Nishkala Shivakumar and Mugdha Joshi. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Sept. 13: No Conference. Interview Day.

Sept. 18: HF/TX Fellows’ Case Presentation with Jemi Galani. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Sept. 20: Bradyarrythmia with Sana Al-Khatib. Noon, via Zoom.

Sept. 25: No conference. Interview Day.

Sept. 27: DHP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Joshua Sink. Noon, via Zoom.

 

2024 Annual Stead Tread 5K

Join the Duke Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program on Saturday, September 21 at 9 a.m. for the annual Stead Tread 5K Run/Walk, held at Solite Park, 4704 Fayetteville Rd, Durham. All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of medically underserved patients in Durham.

The event draws 300+ participants annually and is named in honor of former Dept. of Medicine Chairman Dr. Eugene Stead (1947-1967), and his legacy of community service and contributions to the Duke and Durham communities.

Entry Fees

For participants 13 and older, registration is $35 per person. For Lincoln patients and children 12 years and younger, registration is free.

Deadlines

Sign up by Friday, September 1 and you are guaranteed to receive a t-shirt. After September 1, t-shirt size and availability are not guaranteed.

Register and/or Donate

Visit steadtread.org to register. Can’t join us on September 21? Stead Tread also accepts individual and corporate donations of any amount (steadtread.org/donate). Contributions of $90 or greater are recognized on our website and at the event.

Questions?

For questions or additional information, contact Caroline Sloan, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine.

 

Catalyzing Climate Connections: Researcher Forum

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024

Time: 3:30-6:30 p.m.

Venue: Great Hall, Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education

Please register soon. Questions? Contact Blake Tedder.

The Office of Climate & Sustainability and the Climate Commitment Advisory Council invites the Duke research community to mark calendars for the Catalyzing Climate Connections Researcher Forum, a dynamic three-hour event designed to spark creativity and collaboration among Duke’s climate researchers and those interested in linking their research into the climate space. This forum will feature moderated panel conversations that explore broad climate research themes from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Attendees will also participate in engaging table conversations, offering the opportunity for deeper discussions and networking. With refreshments provided, there will be ample time for informal interactions and idea exchanges.

Who Should Attend:

• Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from all university schools and units
• Researchers and staff interested in expanding their research into the climate space.

Goals of the Event:

• Foster relationships and connectivity among Duke researchers.
• Inspire fresh ideas and creativity in addressing climate change.
• Spark new lines of research by emphasizing idea generation over specific expertise.
• Facilitate connections between climate and health researchers.

Why Attend?

This forum is a unique opportunity to build connections, inspire new lines of research, and effectively address the challenges of climate change. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this exciting event!

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Registration is open. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News: 

News coverage returns next weekend!

Chief’s message:  European Cardiology Meeting, New Faculty Profiles, and One week to Heart Walk

Hopefully many of you are getting a restful Labor Day weekend.  This weekend also has had the European Society of Cardiology meeting in London with many of our faculty and fellows presenting. We will share highlights and updates in upcoming weeks from the meeting where the science, the interaction with colleagues, and the ability to think about the future of cardiovascular care has been invigorating.  (some photos included)

This week we also start our new faculty highlight series with Dr. Samantha Minc joining our vascular surgery division.  We are excited to have her join.  Finally, we are one week away from the AHA heart walk next Sunday – please sign up, come out and enjoy that day with a walk and support for the AHA. Pets, kids,  grandparents – all welcome. 

Highlights of the week:

Minc Among Newest Faculty to Join Duke Heart & Vascular

Samantha Minc, MD, MPH joined Duke’s vascular surgery faculty as of August 12. She is an alumna of Tufts University, where she received a BA in anthropology with a minor in astrophysics, and went on to earn her MD. She earned both a Certificate of Research in Health Disparities and a Master of Public Health from the University of Chicago. She trained in general surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and in vascular surgery at the University of Chicago. Minc joined us from West Virginia University at Morgantown where she served as associate professor in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.

Minc’s research focus is on health disparities and the application of community-engaged research principles to prevent amputation in patients with diabetes and vascular disease. Her current NIH-funded research is focused on creating a community-based intervention to allow vascular surgeons to collaborate with community providers and patients in high-risk rural areas to provide education, coordinate care, and empower communities to reduce amputation rates and decrease disparities.

She will primarily see patients at Duke Regional Hospital where she is serving as the site lead for Vascular Surgery, and will be responsible for leading DRH strategic initiatives including threatened limb optimization and hemodialysis access. Nationally, Minc serves on the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Vascular Quality Initiative.

Welcome to Duke, Sam!

As of August 1, additional new faculty members within Duke Heart & Vascular are:

Araba Ofosu-Somuah, MD, recently completed a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology with the University of North Carolina Health System. She officially joined our cardiology faculty on August 12.

Karen Flores Rosario, MD, a recent graduate of our Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology fellowship program, officially joined the cardiology faculty on August 19.

Willard Applefeld, MD, a recent graduate of our Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program and the 2024 recipient of the annual Brandt and Belinda Louie Award. He officially joined the cardiology faculty on Friday, Aug. 30.

Stay tuned for additional profiles on Araba, Karen, and Willard in an upcoming Pulse.

 

Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Program Graduation Held

Congratulations to the following students who graduated last weekend from the Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program:

Mariah Byington, Madison Kidd Daniel, Alexandra King, Sarah Lahie, Anna Lise McGowan, Vy Nguyen, Morgan Osborne, and Ashton Webster.

Speakers included Manesh Patel, Anita Kelsey, Richard Palma, and Joseph Kisslo as well as Osborne and McGowan, who each spoke as representatives of their class.

The annual Outstanding Service Awards for Clinical Instructors were presented to Dylan Davis and Janay Key. The Joseph Kisslo Outstanding Student in Cardiac Ultrasound award was given to Anna Lisa Mc Gowen.

We are very pleased to announce that we again had a 100 percent pass rate for national certification. Three of our graduates have taken positions here at Duke and the rest are spreading out to Charlotte, Tennessee, Cleveland, Oregon, and Florida.

Earlier this year, three of our graduates were recognized nationally with scholarships and grant awards to attend the 35^th annual American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) Scientific Sessions, held June 14-15 in Portland, OR.

Morgan Osborne received the Cardiac Credentialing International (CCI) Aaron White Scholarship. This is the second consecutive year a student from our program has received this award. Congratulations, Morgan!

Mariah Byington received a 2024 Alan D. Waggoner Student Scholarship award, given annually by the ASE Foundation. Anna Lisa McGowen received the Katanick Student Scholarship Award, established in honor of Sandy Katanick, RN, RVT, CAE for her more than 25 years of service as CEO of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. The Katanick Award, given annually by the ASE Foundation, recognizes the highest-ranking Waggoner scholarship applicant in the country. Congratulations, Mariah and Anna Lisa!

This is the 3rd consecutive year that students in our program have received these top honors. Impressive!

Congratulations to each of our graduates and to our gifted instructors and program leaders. We are so excited for all of you!

 

ICYMI: Fajardo Study Published in JCF

Please join us in congratulating Johana Fajardo and colleagues on their newly published research paper, “Clinical Outcomes of Chronic Intravenous Inotropic Support in Cardiac Amyloidosis” published online in the Journal of Cardiac Failure on Aug. 21.

Fajardo, clinical services director of the Duke Precision Cardiomyopathy Program, conducted the study along with colleagues from MedStar Washington Hospital, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis while she was with MedStar Washington Hospital.

Congratulations, Johana! We are thrilled to have you with us at Duke helping to advance our care of patients!

 

 

Hitting With Heart Tournament Results

We had a terrific turnout of fans supporting last weekend’s Hitting with Heart Annual Softball tournament! Thanks to all who joined us.

We are pleased to announce the overall champions for 2024: Duke Health Engineering & Operations. Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tournament included 13 teams vying to become our 8th trophy winners. Teams represented a range of areas across Duke Health: teams from DMP, DUH, Duke Birthing Center, DRAH Sleep Lab, Vascular IR, and E&O.

Huge kudos to Jessica Seabrooks and Jason Stokes, who have been outstanding co-planners for the annual tournament since its beginning! A very special shout-out to Jessica Seabrooks and her husband Claude, Annie Jaeger, Ashley Anderholm, and Stephanie Stokes (who filled in for Jason) who helped manage the day. Stephanie did a great job filling in for Jason, who unfortunately had to miss the tournament due to illness.

We are excited to announce the tournament raised approximately $1500.00 to support Duke’s fundraising effort for next weekend’s AHA Triangle Heart Walk. Great job everyone and congrats once again to Duke Health E&O!

 

CVRC Gets Visit from Local AHA Team

Duke’s Cardiovascular Research Center invited presenters from the Triangle American Heart Association (AHA) to meet with them this past week so they could learn how to support local AHA efforts and how the national AHA helps to support Duke.

Jake Williams, development director, and Allison Gubitz, senior development director, both of the Triangle AHA joined a regular CVRC team gathering on Wednesday afternoon in the CARL building. Drs. Howard Rockman and Doug Marchuk each shared the important positive impact AHA funding has had on their labs and careers.

Many thanks to Maria Price-Rapoza, executive director of the CVRC, for welcoming the AHA to speak to the group!

 

 

Heart Walk 2024 – Next Weekend!

The 2024 Triangle Heart Walk is next weekend, Sunday, Sept. 8 at PNC Arena. Please note the Walk will take place earlier this year – we’re kicking things off at 9 a.m. when all festivities will open to teams and other supporters. The walk itself will take place at 10:30 a.m.

The Triangle chapter of the American Heart Association is still accepting registrations for volunteers who would like to help out at the Walk – if you or anyone you know is interested please check out the online form located here. Duke volunteers who register using their Duke email address can be stationed at the Kids Zone, which Duke Heart is sponsoring.

Yes, you can still join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole!

Register Here!

The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event – and it’s a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients and their families. Together, we are making a significant impact.

To see some of the many reasons Duke team members are participating this year, please check out this recent story posted on Duke Health Now: “Why I walk” featuring stories about experiences with heart disease by Heart Walk Coaches across the Health System.

Cardiovascular disease hits home for so many of us. Thanks to all who are participating next weekend!

 

Shout-out to Hughes!

We received the following note this week regarding cardiology fellow Seamus Hughes. It was originally shared with Schuyler Jones and Anna Lisa Crowley, who shared it with us:

“Good morning! I’m reaching out to you to share with you some extraordinary work by one of our diagnostic fellows, Seamus Hughes.

I’m sure you heard about our call case Monday evening – we were paged out a few moments after clocking out from our scheduled day of work for a STEMI and ultimately worked that case until 0130 the next morning. This patient was initially asymptomatic, but was found to have a 100% proximal RCA occlusion and after shooting the coronaries became bradycardic and hypotensive, which he remained for the majority of the case. During that time, we defibrillated at least six times, placed a TVP and then an IABP, started dopamine and later norepinephrine, intubated, fixed, placed a MAC and leave-in Swan, did a right heart catheterization, debated ECMO cannulation and placed an RP Flex.

Seamus was the CCU Fellow that night, and he did something that I have not seen another CCU Fellow do – he stayed the entirety (over six hours!) of the case with us, and was in the room in lead, helping titrate drips, managing the IABP, assisting with calling additional resources and monitoring our patient. Even with his assistance, Sarah and I were without a free moment – I cannot stress enough that there is absolutely no way that we would have been able to provide that level of care without his assistance.

We want to make sure he gets the praise he deserves!” — Grateful, Melissa Rogan

Excellent teamwork, Seamus – way to go!

 

Registration Now Open: Cardiac Imaging Symposium

Registration is now open for the Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium being held at the Trent Semans Center on October 12. You can access registration here and further down under ‘Upcoming Events & Opportunities.’ Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

 

Forbes Names DUHS Among North Carolina’s Top Workplaces for 2024

Duke University and Duke University Health System have been named to the Forbes 2024 list of “America’s Best Employers By State.” The list recognizes workplaces where employees feel satisfied and that are considered desirable destinations for workers in the state.

“This recognition is a testament to the exceptional dedication and compassion of our Duke Health talent force,” said Duke University Health System Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Rhonda Brandon. “It reflects our steadfast commitment to putting our people first and our pride in knowing that they choose Duke Health as their preferred workplace and care provider.”

Earlier this year, DUHS was also included on the Forbes 2024 list of “America’s Best Employers for Women,” and its “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” list.

Thank you to all of our team members and leaders who make our organization an amazing place to work!

 

New to NC? Register to Vote!

Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!

Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:

North Carolina State Board of Elections

Durham County Board of Elections

Orange County Board of Elections

Wake County Board of Elections 

Thank you!

 

2024 Flu Campaign

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19.

Deadline for immunization compliance: October 29 at 10 a.m.

• DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
• Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
• Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume later this month. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Sept. 4: NO CONFERENCE. Interview Day.

Sept. 6: Hemorrhagic Shock Management with Nazish Hashmi. Noon, via Zoom.

Sept. 11: EP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Nishkala Shivakumar and Mugdha Joshi. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Sept. 13: No Conference. Interview Day.

Sept. 18: HF/TX Fellows’ Case Presentation with Jemi Galani. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Sept. 20: Bradyarrythmia with Sana Al-Khatib. Noon, via Zoom.

Sept. 25: No conference. Interview Day.

Sept. 27: DHP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Joshua Sink. Noon, via Zoom.

 

2024 Annual Stead Tread 5K

Join the Duke Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program on Saturday, September 21 at 9 a.m. for the annual Stead Tread 5K Run/Walk, to be held at Solite Park, 4704 Fayetteville Rd, Durham. All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of medically underserved patients in Durham.

The event draws 300+ participants annually and is named in honor of former Dept. of Medicine Chairman Dr. Eugene Stead (1947-1967), and his legacy of community service and contributions to the Duke and Durham communities.

Entry Fees

For participants 13 and older, registration is $35 per person. For Lincoln patients and children 12 years and younger, registration is free.

Deadlines

Sign up by Friday, September 1 and you are guaranteed to receive a t-shirt. After September 1, t-shirt size and availability are not guaranteed.

Register and/or Donate

Visit steadtread.org to register. Can’t join us on September 21? Stead Tread also accepts individual and corporate donations of any amount (steadtread.org/donate). Contributions of $90 or greater are recognized on our website and at the event.

Questions?

For questions or additional information, contact Caroline Sloan, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine.

Catalyzing Climate Connections: Researcher Forum

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024 

Time: 3:30-6:30 p.m.

Venue: Great Hall, Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education

Please register soon. Questions? Contact Blake Tedder.  

The Office of Climate & Sustainability and the Climate Commitment Advisory Council invite the Duke research community to mark calendars for the Catalyzing Climate Connections Researcher Forum, a dynamic three-hour event designed to spark creativity and collaboration among Duke’s climate researchers and those interested in linking their research into the climate space. This forum will feature moderated panel conversations that explore broad climate research themes from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Attendees will also participate in engaging table conversations, offering the opportunity for deeper discussions and networking. With refreshments provided, there will be ample time for informal interactions and idea exchanges.

Who Should Attend:

• Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from all university schools and units
• Researchers and staff interested in expanding their research into the climate space.

Goals of the Event:

• Foster relationships and connectivity among Duke researchers.
• Inspire fresh ideas and creativity in addressing climate change.
• Spark new lines of research by emphasizing idea generation over specific expertise.
• Facilitate connections between climate and health researchers.

Why Attend?

This forum is a unique opportunity to build connections, inspire new lines of research, and effectively address the challenges of climate change. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this exciting event!

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Registration has recently opened for both events, as indicated by the links above. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

August 23 — Rajesh Swaminathan

tctMD

Study Supports Cost-effectiveness of Renal Denervation for Hypertension

August 24 — Nia Schwann Mitchell (internal medicine)

The Star (Malaysia)

Looking at high blood pressure complication risks when it comes to drugs

August 24 — William Kraus

Primecia (Venezuela)

¿Por qué el maní sin sal es un snack saludable?

August 26 — Renato Lopes

tctMD

AUGUSTUS Analysis Clarifies Antithrombotic Choice for ACS in AF Patients

Chief’s message:  Pipelines and the Next Generation of CV Leaders

 Increasingly in medicine, especially academic medicine, there is an urgent need to keep and attract the best and brightest minds. This is likely in all professional fields, but in a field where people spend so much of their time training to become some of the most qualified, experienced professionals, the ability to have these individuals meaningful impact our future will be critical for our continued success.  In fact, as health systems and universities, like all organizations, work through the ups and downs of changing economies and healthcare finances, finding ways to support and engage people in the clinical and academic mission as lifelong careers will be our highest priority.  We are blessed in Duke Heart in that we have many such leaders in our faculty and leadership the help exemplify our goals for patient care, discovery, and training.  We will be working to highlight our cross cutting programs, see the Sonography School Graduation and CVRC summer research programs for future scientists in this weeks edition, along with the fellows and faculty that continue to strive and accomplish our mission.  We appreciate all of you who support our faculty and trainees.

In the upcoming weeks we will have some busy times and important updates.  This next weekend will have the European Society of Cardiology meeting with several cardiovascular presentations by our faculty, and the following week we will have the AHA Triangle Heart Walk.  We will spend the upcoming weeks providing updates on these events and time highlighting all the new faculty joining our team.

Highlights of the week:

Regan Secures NHLBI K38 Award to Study CHIP

Congratulations to Duke cardiology fellow Jessica Regan! We learned this week that she has been awarded a K38 award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) in cardiovascular disease.

CHIP is the age-related presence of expanded somatic clones in hematopoietic stem cells and represents a hyperinflammatory state associated with cardiovascular disease. Regan plans to test CHIP and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) associations in samples from the STRRIDE and HF-ACTION cohorts.

“We hope to determine if CHIP is associated with impaired CRF, a marker of poor CV outcomes and if CHIP can predict heterogeneity in response to exercise training,” Regan says. “Additionally, we will test associations of CHIP and targeted metabolomics data to determine if dysregulated metabolism mediates the relationship between CHIP and impaired CRF.”

Regan hopes this work will identify CHIP as a novel risk marker for impaired CRF and that they will uncover dysregulated metabolic pathways that may give insight into future therapeutic targets for patients with CHIP.

More broadly, she says, “I hope to treat patients with CHIP and cardiometabolic disease and discover ways to improve cardiovascular outcomes.”

Regan became interested in the role of genetics in cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a sophomore undergraduate student at the University of Arizona while studying sarcomeric mutations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). As a medical student, she learned more about the role of inflammation in CVD. As an internal medicine resident in 2018, learning about the intersection of CHIP, inflammation and CVD piqued her interest in this space and, she says, felt like a perfect intersection with her prior work.

The two-year award for Regan’s project, Age-Related Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) in Exercise Responsiveness will begin Sept. 1.

Congratulations, Jessica!

Cardiac Sonography Graduation Held this weekend

Four years ago in the midst of COVID-19, we had Anita Kelsey and Richie Palma start the cardiac sonographer school after lots of work and support from the SOM and Health system to get this program going.  This Saturday we held the annual graduation that helps train and provide world-class cardiac sonographers for our health system and many others around the country.  Joe Kisslo provided some words on lifelong learning, and we had awards for the best instructors along with national awards and recognitions for our graduates.  In the upcoming week we will highlight some of these individuals – but wanted to ensure we shared some of the photos from this weekends event.

 

 

Shah to Kick Off ‘Before They Were Stars’ Forum

Svati Shah, MD, MHS, Ursula Geller Distinguished Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases, will be the featured speaker on Sept. 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. as the Department of Medicine kicks off their ‘Before they were Stars’ series for 2024-2025.

Shah will share her story as a world-renowned researcher, educator, and clinician. The series is open to all DOM faculty and trainees. Light food and refreshments will be served. RSVP to Pamela Williams, senior program coordinator, by August 30.

 

 

 

Noon Conference Hits a High Note with Dr. Kate Lee’s Music Therapy Performance

When Senior Resident Kate E. Lee, MD, MS, picked up a flute for the first time in third grade, she never imagined that one day as a physician she would use it as a therapeutic tool to soothe critically ill ICU patients waiting for heart transplants. 

In her recent Senior Associate Resident (SAR) Noon Conference presentation, “Music for Healing,” Dr. Lee’s out-of-the-box topic resonated with all those in attendance—along with each bright note she coaxed from her flute. 

“I play music but I don’t think music therapy research is something that comes up often in our rounds in the hospital,” said Dr. Lee, her nimble fingers dancing over the keys in a blur as she warmed up to perform. “The hospital can be a very difficult place, stark and sterile, but when you are able to bring a little piece of your outside life and share that with patients and staff, it makes for a very unique, whimsical bonding experience. I’ve had some of my best patient-doctor interactions from that.” 

This story was published last week on the Dept. of Medicine website. To read this story in its entirety, click here.

 

Empowering Future Scientists: CVRC Summer Programs Foster Research and Confidence

The following undergraduate perspective article was written by Duke Heart/CVRC summer intern, Charity Smith, who was participating in the Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC) Summer Internship Program.

On May 20^th, 2024, twelve students entered the doors of Duke’s Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) open to exploring cardiovascular research through the lens of a physician-scientist. Students got the unique opportunity to see how research that can ultimately affect patients starts in the laboratories of Duke’s physician-scientists. It puts everything within perspective being able to see how research begins its journey toward the patients you hope to treat.

“Duke is an incredible place… there’s not another group where you can walk around and there’s two dozen labs all in the same building that share equipment, and most of them are run by physician-scientists who see patients. That is special, and it means better science for us — science that can reach the bedside,” says Andrew Landstrom, MD, PhD, a pediatric cardiologist and a principle investigator with the CVRC who worked with undergraduates this summer.

This motivation and experience are seen throughout their astounding projects that were cultivated from mentorship and diligence. After they each presented their research to the CVRC faculty and staff, undergraduates left feeling supported, career-driven, and proud of their independent research work.

Duke Cardiovascular Research Center offers two summer internship programs for undergraduate students over the course of ten weeks: the Cardiovascular Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) and the Supporting Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE).

CURE Program

The Cardiovascular Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) is an Edna and Fred L. Mandel Jr. Foundation-funded program for Duke undergraduate students who want to further enrich their knowledge and skill set at the CVRC. The program is only for Duke undergraduate students who want to focus on their independent research with their CVRC primary faculty member. The goal is to foster an environment where students can hone in on their unique research projects, network, and be with peers along the same pathway. At the end of the program, students present their work to the CVRC faculty and staff.

SURE Program

The Supporting Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) is an American Heart Association (AHA) funded program for undergraduate students from underrepresented communities pursuing cardiovascular research. Each intern will be assigned a CVRC primary faculty member based on their research interests. Throughout the program, there are multiple enrichment and networking events that allow the students to gain access to the CVRC mentorship, and expertise from various physician-scientists, and connect with peers.  At the end of the program, students present their work to the CVRC faculty and staff and at a virtual AHA symposium for SURE students at multiple institutions across the nation.

Why do Summer Research at the CVRC?

The CVRC is unique due to the center’s leading physician-scientists who are more than willing to provide mentorship to the next generation. Sudarshan Rajagopal, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in cardiology and co-director of the Duke Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center remarked on his time as a mentor and director of the SURE program:

“It’s important to provide guidance to folks into different career options. There’s almost too much information now. It’s saturated with the internet and social media. At the end of the day, what really needs to guide people is their experience and their personal experience in a particular area. That’s what our goal is here — to provide undergraduate students with that experience to see what it looks like to work in a lab.” 

“It’s great when someone has this experience and they realize they want to have a career in medicine or research, Rajagopal adds. “It’s also good when someone goes through this experience and says, ‘This isn’t for me,’ because regardless, it will help them on their path.”

Students, in turn, benefitted from the expertise of the CVRC faculty mentors. This year’s participants say they found the internship to be enriching, helping them bridge the gap between the classroom and research through developing their own research projects, along with recognizing and coping with their imposter syndrome. In an interview, Jor’Dan Whitt, a rising junior at North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University (NC A&T) a part of the SURE program, mentioned her feelings of overcoming imposter syndrome for the first time:

“To be honest, I didn’t know what imposter syndrome was until recently…. NC A&T had these speakers that came in that talked about imposter syndrome… I’ve never been in certain spaces before to feel that way, and when I came into the internship, I definitely felt that way. I felt like I didn’t deserve to be here, and I’m in a space where people were so much more educated than me. I have had moments like yesterday where people were like, ‘Wow you’ve really taught me something new.’ It’s like, oh I belong here.”

 

These summer programs not only help students develop research skills but allow them to be more confident in who they are in spaces where their brilliant minds can be explored.

Additional cardiology faculty members involved with the CVRC summer undergraduate programs are Chris Holley, MD, PhD, and Svati Shah, MD, MHS.

For more information about the SURE or CURE program, visit the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center Website under Cardiovascular Undergraduate Research Experience.  For any additional questions or comments, please contact CVRC executive director Maria Rapoza, PhD or Cheryl Woodard, program coordinator for the CVRC.

 

Updated: Heart Walk 2024 – Less Than a Month Away!

The Triangle chapter of the American Heart Association is currently accepting registrations for volunteers who would like to help out at the Walk – if you or anyone you know is interested please check out the online form located here. Duke volunteers who register using their Duke email address can be stationed at the Kids Zone, which Duke Heart is proudly sponsoring this year.

Additionally, Walker recruitment and fundraising are still underway. We are just a few weeks out from the event! The 2024 Triangle Heart Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8 at PNC Arena. Please consider joining us – it is not too late!

Earlier start time! Please note the Walk will take place earlier this year – we’re kicking things off at 9 a.m. when all festivities will open to teams and other supporters. The walk itself will take place at 10:30 a.m.

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial but Duke University’s 100^th birthday. Please join us!

Register Here!

To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.

Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.

The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. Thanks to all who are participating!

 

New to NC? Register to Vote!

Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!

Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:

• North Carolina State Board of Elections
• Durham County Board of Elections
• Orange County Board of Elections
• Wake County Board of Elections 

Thank you!

 

DUHS Leadership Announcement

Kelly Sullivan, DNP, RN, NE-BC has been named Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services, Ambulatory for Duke University Health System. Kelly brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership in nursing and healthcare management. In this role, Kelly will report to Terry McDonnell, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services for DUHS.

Kelly has been an integral part of Duke Primary Care since 2014, where she has held various leadership roles, including Associate Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Nursing and Patient Care Services. Her dedication to improving healthcare delivery and processes, coupled with her dynamic leadership skills, has significantly contributed to DPC operations.

In her new role, Kelly will be working to continue improving our ability to serve the growing communities across the ambulatory platform, including DHIP, DPC, and Hospital-Based Clinics. She will work in partnership with medical leadership, operations, and human resources to develop the patient care services staff of the future and system standards that meet the unique needs of Ambulatory Care. This work supports our vision and strategic plan to better align across the health system to meet the needs of our people — excellent physicians, APPs, clinical staff, and team members — in the ever-growing and increasingly complex and diverse ambulatory environment. This role will help us continue to improve access for the communities we serve and to grow Duke Health as the preferred place to receive care in our region.

 

2024 Flu Campaign

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19. Deadline for immunization compliance: October 29 at 10 a.m.

• DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
• Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
• Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

 

2024 Annual Stead Tread 5K

Join the Duke Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program on Saturday, September 21 at 9 a.m. for the annual Stead Tread 5K Run/Walk, held at Solite Park, 4704 Fayetteville Rd, Durham. All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of medically underserved patients in Durham.

The event draws 300+ participants annually and is named in honor of former Dept. of Medicine Chairman Dr. Eugene Stead (1947-1967), and his legacy of community service and contributions to the Duke and Durham communities.

It’s A Family Affair!

The event is open to the entire family! Pets and strollers are welcome on the course. There are options to participate with or without official chip timing.

Entry Fees

For participants 13 and older, registration is $35 per person. For Lincoln patients and children 12 years and younger, registration is free.

Deadlines

Sign up by Friday, September 1 and you are guaranteed to receive a t-shirt. After September 1, t-shirt size and availability are not guaranteed.

Bragging Rights?

Of course! Only chip-timed participants will be eligible for awards including top 3 overall, fastest Duke Internal Medicine resident, fastest faculty, fastest stroller, fastest pet, and so many more.

Recognition will also be given to the Medicine Division or non-Medicine Department with the most participants. Anyone ready to take the trophy from Dermatology?

Register and/or Donate

Visit steadtread.org to register. Can’t join us on September 21? Stead Tread also accepts individual and corporate donations of any amount (steadtread.org/donate). Contributions of $90 or greater are recognized on our website and at the event.

Questions?

For questions or additional information, contact Caroline Sloan, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume after Labor Day. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Aug. 28: Post Arrest Care with Rob Harrison. Noon, 2W96.

Aug. 30: Fellows Forum with Paula Rambarat. Noon, via Zoom.

Sept. 4: NO CONFERENCE. Interview Day.

Sept. 6: Hemorrhagic Shock Management with Nazish Hashmi. Noon, via Zoom.

 

Catalyzing Climate Connections: Researcher Forum

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024

Time: 3:30-6:30 p.m.

Venue: Great Hall, Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education

Please register soon. Questions? Contact Blake Tedder.

 

The Office of Climate & Sustainability and the Climate Commitment Advisory Council invites the Duke research community to mark calendars for the Catalyzing Climate Connections Researcher Forum, a dynamic three-hour event designed to spark creativity and collaboration among Duke’s climate researchers and those interested in linking their research into the climate space. This forum will feature moderated panel conversations that explore broad climate research themes from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Attendees will also participate in engaging table conversations, offering the opportunity for deeper discussions and networking. With refreshments provided, there will be ample time for informal interactions and idea exchanges.

Who Should Attend:

• Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from all university schools and units
• Researchers and staff interested in expanding their research into the climate space.

Goals of the Event:

• Foster relationships and connectivity among Duke researchers.
• Inspire fresh ideas and creativity in addressing climate change.
• Spark new lines of research by emphasizing idea generation over specific expertise.
• Facilitate connections between climate and health researchers.

Why Attend?

This forum is a unique opportunity to build connections, inspire new lines of research, and effectively address the challenges of climate change. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this exciting event!

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics are applicable to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Registration has recently opened for our Nov. 1 event, indicated by the links above. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

August 19 — Monique Starks

Daily Montanan

Rescue from above: How drones may narrow emergency response times

August 19 — Daniel Edmonston (DCRI)

tctMD

Both SGLT2 and GLP-1 Drugs Help Heart and Kidneys in Type 2 Diabetes

August 20 — Robert Mentz

Cardio Nerds podcast

(Episode 388) Ironing out the Data: Iron Deficiency in Heart Failure with Dr. Robert Mentz

August 20 — Leanna Ross

The Financial Express (India)

What to do with excess belly fat?

August 21 — Jennifer Rymer and Manasi Tannu

JAMA Surgery

Quality of Life and Clinical Outcomes in Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease (Invited Commentary)

August 22 — Manasi Tannu

Medpage Today

Counseling for PAD Walking Issues Might Hold Cardiovascular Benefit

August 23 — Nishant Shah

infobae.com

Por qué es vital comenzar a ejercitarse antes de los 30 años

August 23 — Michael Pencina

STAT News

AI in medicine: A national registry could help increase transparency, experts say

Duke Heart Pulse – August 18, 2024

Chief’s message:  Summer coming to a close as the new Academic Training Season Starts

As we get into the full swing of the Academic training year – the summer comes to an end with many kids starting school and/or college in the next few weeks.  This time each year marks the work of ensuring all of our families are supported as they work to transition into the next academic year for their children.  Similarly, we continue to support and welcome our new trainees, residents, and fellows.  This weekend we had a wonderful event at Dr. Milano’s house where the new residents and fellows in cardiothoracic surgery and their families were welcomed to Duke.  It was a nice opportunity to get to know the residents and fellows in a relaxed atmosphere and get to know their families that will support them through this last step in training.  Betty Tong (pictured) welcomed the trainees and had them share fun facts about themselves – which demonstrated just how talented and diverse our trainees in CT surgery are. 

This week we also had our teams continued to innovate with patients including enrolling a patient into Drain HF (evaluating a new possible device for heart failure) – thanks to Marat Fudim.  In the next few weeks we will also have a few more advances shared by our CT surgery and Advanced Heart Failure teams for patients awaiting heart transplantation.  Additionally, our cardiovascular teams are preparing for the European Cardiovascular Society Meeting at the end of the month.  We will have several faculty and fellow presentations we will share after the meeting.  This week we also had some important leadership changes in cardiology as we continue to maximize the way we integrate our clinical practice while continuing to discover and deliver the future of cardiovascular science and health.  Exciting to see such great people willing to help us continue our tradition of cardiovascular excellence and take these important next steps. 

Finally, I want to thank all of our operational teams in the cardiology and the heart center including Mike Blazing our faculty leader at the Arringdon clinic, as they worked to help with the surprise pipe bursting and flooding the clinic on the second floor and some of the first floor.  All week we were able to see patients and help move them to locations to be seen.  Thanks to all of our faculty and staff to continue to support caring for our patients.

Highlights of the week:

Camille Frazier-Mills MD, MHS named as Vice Chief for Clinical Services in Cardiology

Camille will serve as our Vice Chief for Clinical Services. In this role she will oversee the in-patient and outpatient clinical practice. This will include supporting our section chiefs and procedural & imaging lab spaces and optimizing clinical programs and operations. Camille will also meet regularly with Department of Medicine Vice-Chief group and support the Heart & Vascular Service line when needed around clinical integration and care. Camille brings a wealth of experience and interest in this role having helped set up the syncope clinic, the outpatient monitoring of cardiovascular devices program, directing electrophysiology clinics and aligning their clinical practice with general cardiology clinics.

 

As noted at the faculty meeting last month, I would personally like to thank Andrew Wang, MD who most recently led our Clinical mission as Vice Chief.

Svati Shah, MD, MHS named as Vice Chief for Research in Cardiology

Svati will serve as the Vice Chief for Research in the Division of Cardiology. She currently also serves as the Associate Dean for Translational Research and Director of the Precision Genomics Collaboratory and Center for Precision Health.  In this new role for the Division, Svati will help enhance support for our investigators, especially junior and mid-career faculty, and work with our leaders across DCRI, CVRC, CRU, CTSI, and Heart Innovation Hub to help develop and implement our research strategy. This work will help bring multi-disciplinary faculty and trainees together around key research initiatives and build infrastructure to support our faculty in competing for transformative research grants.

Anita Kelsey, MD, MBA to serve as Vice Chief for Faculty Affairs and Operations in Cardiology

Anita will serve as Vice Chief for Faculty Affairs and Operations in Cardiology.  In this new role for the Division, she will be the leader responsible for comprehensive faculty affairs and division operations of significant impact, with delegated authority from the Division Chief. In this role she will establish and support an inclusive culture of excellence in the development of our talent and operating performance. Anita will oversee and lead efforts across missions and working with our section chiefs and other division leaders to lead our overall divisional faculty hiring, management and support. Anita will work closely with other Vice Chiefs to ensure overall excellence in Cardiology.

Schuyler Jones, MD named as Director of Invasive Labs across Duke University Health System

Schuyler will serve as the director of our Invasive labs across Duke University Health System.  In this role he will collaborate with individual site cath lab and EP lab directors across the different health system procedural spaces to develop and support the staff, faculty, and administrative teams to deliver Duke Heart & Vascular care to patients undergoing invasive procedures.  As we look to both innovate and deliver on our legacy of high-quality care, he will work with our teams to ensure integration of our missions in our procedural lab spaces.  Schuyler will continue to serve as the DUMC cath lab director and will collaborate with our Network Services teams to ensure our procedural spaces and clinicians in Duke Heart affiliated labs are engaged and supported. 

Please welcome these individuals in these new roles, and we are excited to have them help Cardiology and our Heart and Vascular Service line continue to excel in the upcoming years.

 

Invented at Duke to Feature Califf

The 6^th Annual Invented at Duke celebration has been scheduled for Nov. 20, 2024, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Duke’s Penn Pavilion. The featured speaker will be none other than Duke cardiology-trained U.S. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf. The event will showcase groundbreaking inventions and provide networking opportunities with the entrepreneurial community at Duke and beyond – all with an added “Centennial flair” (HBD, Duke U!).

Invented at Duke is a yearly celebration of the incredible inventors and innovations of the Duke community. It’s organized by the Duke Office for Translation & Commercialization. Registration is free, but required.

Come learn more about our innovation ecosystem and hear an informative presentation by Dr. Califf.

Thanks to all of you that expressed interest and met with our team for the leadership positions discussed at the recent faculty meeting.  In an effort to continue to improve the effectiveness of our Division and Service Line, we have worked to strengthen and enhance our organizational structure. This evolution will support the next phase of growth in Cardiology across all missions. As we have witnessed in our faculty celebrations & visiting lectures, Duke Cardiology has a tremendous legacy of innovation, excellence, and teamwork.  I am excited about the future of Heart & Vascular discovery and delivery at Duke, advancing into new frontiers and ensuring equitable care in all places we are privileged to care for patients and their families.

 

Great Catch, Morin!

Kristin Morin, CNIII, of 7 West was recognized this week with a Great Catch award. Morin noticed a medication ordered for her patient was not in the Alaris Infusion Pump Guardrails library, a safety mechanism to support safe medication delivery. As a result, she had to pursue a workaround to administer the drug as ordered by using the basic infusion setting on the infusion pump. This increased the potential for error or harm if settings were manually entered incorrectly. After careful review and ensuring accuracy, Kristin escalated this safety concern via SRS to help prevent potential future mistakes and/or harm to patients due to incorrect infusion settings for this medication. As a result of this SRS report, the Pharmacy will adjust Alaris pump guardrails to better support future administration of this medication.

Way to go, Kristin!

 

Shout-out to the Cardiology Team at Arrington

You never know what surprises a Monday morning may hold.

Last weekend, a water pipe burst on the second floor of the cardiology clinic at Arringdon, flooding the second and much of the first floor. The cardiology team jumped into action early Monday morning converting in-person appointments to telehealth visits, and moving patients to other clinics in the area. Clinic staff helped direct patients to their appointments and kept operations moving smoothly. Our providers were adaptable to the unexpected change and flexible to meet the needs of our patients. Special recognition to our scheduling team for their hard work in contacting hundreds of patients!

Construction crews worked around the clock all week to repair damaged drywall with hopes of the clinic being operational again this coming week.

Your efforts truly exemplify the excellence of our Duke Cardiology team. Outstanding teamwork, everyone!

 

Softball Tourney Next Weekend

The annual Duke Hitting with Heart Softball Tournament takes place next Saturday, August 24, at Valley Springs Park in Durham. The games begin at 8 a.m. and will be played across all three of the Valley Springs softball fields. The park is located at 3805 Valley Springs Road.

Which teams are vying for a title? 7 West (Team A); 7 West (Team B); Duke Birthing Center; Unit 3100 (Team A); Unit 3100 (Team B); 6 East; DRAH Sleep Lab; DRAH; PRT/BRT; Vascular IR, Duke Hospital Medicine; Duke Engineering & Operations, and Unit 6300! Our 13 teams are set and ready to compete. Spectators are welcome and encouraged to cheer them on!

Our event organizers have arranged for Ta Contento, Smash Masters, and Kona Ice to be at the tournament to sell refreshments to all our fans, so bring your appetite, your enthusiasm, and some cash!

Yes, you can also bring your pup — dogs are permitted. Restrooms and picnic areas are available.

A portion of the proceeds will go to support overall Duke fundraising for the 2024 Triangle Heart Walk. Go Duke!

 

Updated: Heart Walk 2024 – Less Than a Month Away

The Triangle chapter of the American Heart Association is accepting registrations for volunteers who would like to help out at the Walk – if you or anyone you know is interested please check out the online form located here. Duke volunteers who register using their Duke email address can be stationed at the Kids Zone, which Duke Heart is proudly sponsoring this year. 

Additionally, Walker recruitment and fundraising are still underway. We are just a few weeks out from the event! The 2024 Triangle Heart Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8 at PNC Arena. Please consider joining us – it is not too late!

Earlier start time! Please note the Walk will take place earlier this year – we’re kicking things off at 9 a.m. when all festivities will open to teams and other supporters. The walk itself will take place at 10:30 a.m.

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial but Duke University’s 100^th birthday. Please join us!

Register Here!

To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.

Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.

The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. Thanks to all who are participating!

 

New to NC? Register to Vote!

Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!

Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:

• North Carolina State Board of Elections
• Durham County Board of Elections
• Orange County Board of Elections
• Wake County Board of Elections 

Thank you!

 

Registration is Open for 2024 PH Symposium

The online registration page is now available for the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium being held on Nov. 1, 2024, at the Durham Convention Center from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are cardiologist Dr. Terry Fortin of Duke and pulmonologist Dr. Jimmy Ford of UNC. To learn more and register, please visit: PH Symposium.

 

Did you know? Duke Explore App

Interested in the history of Duke? There’s an app for that! A new little gem is now available for history buffs, Duke alums, fans of Durham, and anyone who enjoys a good self-guided walking tour.

In celebration of Duke’s Centennial, a new Campus History Tour section launched this week in the Duke Explore app. To read all about the newest tour, check out the Duke Today story here.

Oh wait, you didn’t know about the Duke Explore app?! Neither did we! The Duke Explore app offers several guided tours, including one for employees new to DUHS — pretty handy! Duke Explore is free and available in the App Store.

 

2024 Flu Campaign

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19.  

Deadline for immunization compliance: October 29 at 10 a.m.

• DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
• Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
• Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Our regular Cardiology Grand Rounds season has ended. We will resume after Labor Day. All Duke CGR recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Aug. 21: Diagnostic Coronary Angiogram with Andrew Wang. Noon, 2W96.

Aug. 23: Topic TBD with TBD. Noon, via Zoom.

Aug. 28: Post Arrest Care with Rob Harrison. Noon, 2W96.

Aug. 30: Fellows Forum with Paula Rambarat. Noon, via Zoom.

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

Schedule:

Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: All pathways

Oct. 23 — 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.: Clinician/clinical researcher pathway

—  9:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Basic scientist in clinical department pathway, and Basic scientist in a basic science department pathway

Breakfast and lunch are provided on each day.

At registration, you will be prompted to select the pathway that best describes your faculty role. These pathways are suggestions to take the guesswork out of registration and ensure the content you receive is tailored toward how you spend your time. See a session that is outside your pathway but feels relevant? E-mail facdev@dm.duke.edu and they will provide you with the details.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Registration has recently opened for our Nov. 1 event, as indicated by the link above. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may interest our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

August 8 — William Kraus

El Comercio (Peru)

El snack que te recomienda consumir un cardiólogo para proteger tu corazón y bajar de peso

 

August 9 — Duke Health

Becker’s Clinical Leadership

2024 charts multiple 1sts in transplantation

 

August 12 — Nia Schwann Mitchell (internal medicine)

MSN News/AHA News

New cardiovascular risk tool could guide who needs medication for high blood pressure

 

August 12 — Daniel Edmonston (nephrology)

Healio

Kidney, CV outcomes similar for SGLT2 inhibition vs. GLP-1s for diabetes

 

August 14 — Nishant Shah

Time.com

The 1 Heart-Health Habit You Should Start When You’re Young

 

August 15 — Stephen Greene

tctMD

Only Small Minority of Eligible Patients Prescribed SGLT2 Inhibitors

 

August 16 — William Kraus

La Opinión A Coruña (Spain)

Los cardiólogos recomienda este fruto seco para proteger el corazón y adelgazar

Highlights of the week:

Thakkar, Shah Present at IANANC Event

Duke Cardiology fellow Aarti Thakkar, MD, MPH, and cardiologist Nishant Shah, MD were keynote speakers at a community education event sponsored by the North Carolina chapter of the Indian American Nurses Association (IANANC). The event, “Heart Matters,” aimed at raising awareness of cardiovascular risks in South Asian populations was held yesterday, Aug. 10, 2024, at the Lourdes Matha Catholic Church in Apex, NC.

“Being of South Asian ethnicity is a risk enhancer in the current prevention guidelines,” says Shah. “Many South Asians are unaware of how high their cardiovascular risk is and frequently would benefit from preventive therapies early to avoid premature cardiovascular events.” 

Thakkar and Shah spoke about risks specific to South Asian populations and management strategies to optimize cardiovascular risk. 

Established in 2010, the IANANC has held numerous community events to help raise awareness of critical healthy habits. Sheela Sajan, a cardiovascular nurse manager with the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, currently serves as local chapter president. Sajan, who works closely with cardiology faculty members at the VAMC, is particularly passionate about promoting community awareness around cardiovascular health issues.

Way to go, Aarti and Nishant! Thanks for supporting our community and for taking the time to spread reliable health information!

Kevin Cox Named to NC Great 100

Congratulations to Kevin Cox! He has been named to the 2024 Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina.

Additional 2024 recipients from Duke include Lorraine Wilson Batts of Duke Regional Hospital; Charmaine Duckie of Duke Primary Care; Amie Koch of Duke University School of Nursing; Carolina Kroninger of Duke University Health System, and Malinda Teague of Duke University School of Nursing.

Recipients will be celebrated at the 2024 Gala scheduled to be held on Sept. 28 at the Hilton Embassy Suites in Concord.

The Great 100 Nurses is a grassroots organization established in 1989 to celebrate nursing excellence in North Carolina and is designed to recognize the importance of RNs in diverse practice settings, positively impact the image of nursing and nursing as a profession, acknowledge 100 NC nurses annually who demonstrate excellence in practice and commitment to their profession and, importantly, to contribute funds for scholarships for RN education in NC.

Recipients are selected for their outstanding professional ability and for the contributions they have made to improving healthcare services in their community. Cox joins a distinguished list of Duke nurses selected for this honor over the years, including Bradi Granger, Myra Ellis, Laura Dickerson, Miranda Flowers, Jill Engel, Laura Blue, Cory Miller, Rex Ruiz, and many others from our cardiovascular teams.

Congratulations, Kevin!

Welcome to Tran! 

Please welcome Lillian Tran, MD to Duke Heart & Vascular as of August 1!

Tran is a 1st year fellow (PGY-6) in the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Training Program. She has joined us from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Tran earned her MD at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2016 and is a 2010 University of California Los Angeles graduate.

Welcome to Duke, Lillian!

 

 

 

Shout-out to the ‘Fantastic Fifty’

A big shout-out to all those who participated in what has been described as a “Hail Mary” late-day case in the OR at Duke Hospital on Thursday.

Surgeon David Harpole, who led the case, described exceptional collaboration among at least 50 people from a variety of cardiovascular specialties and support teams including CT surgery, electrophysiology, nursing, anesthesiology, respiratory therapy, perfusion — all of whom dropped what they had been doing elsewhere to come together and support a difficult patient case, resulting in a good outcome.

Harpole says everyone was amazing and demonstrated incredible teamwork and determination. He says the case underscores just how unique a place Duke is, adding “This couldn’t have happened anywhere else because no one has the expertise available and all the necessities ready to go the way we do.”

We hope to share more about this case in the coming weeks but in the meantime… Dr. Harpole extends his deepest gratitude to all who assisted in the OR. For now, we’ll call this group the ‘Fantastic Fifty’ but names are forthcoming!

Way to go, team!!!

Shout out for Cardiology and CT surgery caring for Acute PE patient:
This week we also had Dr. Imran Aslam work with our CT surgery team and star trainees Drs. Dan Loriaux in cardiology and Andrew Vekstein in CT surgery to care for a sick patient with a massive pulmonary embolism.  They were able to deploy ECMO and do suction thrombectomy of large clot in the lung arteries leading to improvement in the patient’s condition (such that ECMO could be decanulated at the end of the case).  The CDU with Dr. Nishant Shah helped with TEE and overall all the staff and team worked to help with this complex patient.  Kudos to Drs. Aslam, Loriaux, Vekstein, and Shah along with cath and perfusion / ECMO teams to help this patient.

 

Heart Walk 2024 – Less Than a Month Away!

Walker recruitment and fundraising are still underway as we get ever closer to the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8. Please consider joining us – it is not too late!

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100^th birthday. Please join us!

Register Here!

To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.

Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.

The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!

2024 Flu Campaign

The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19. The deadline for immunization compliance is October 29 at 10 a.m.

• DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
• Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
• Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume after Labor Day. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Aug. 14: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.

Aug. 16: EKG Review with Michelle Kelsey. Noon, via Zoom.

Aug. 21: Diagnostic Coronary Angiogram with Andrew Wang. Noon, 2W96.

Aug. 23: Topic TBD with TBD. Noon, via Zoom.

Aug. 28: Post Arrest Care with Rob Harrison. Noon, 2W96.

Aug. 30: Fellows Forum with Paula Rambarat. Noon, via Zoom.

 

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

Schedule:

Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: All pathways

Oct. 23 — 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.: Clinician/clinical researcher pathway; 9:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Basic scientist in clinical department pathway, and Basic scientist in a basic science department pathway

Breakfast and lunch will be provided each day. During registration, you will be prompted to select the pathway that best describes your faculty role. These pathways are suggestions to take the guesswork out of registration and to make sure the content you receive is tailored toward how you spend your time. See a session that is outside your pathway but feels relevant? E-mail facdev@dm.duke.edu and they will provide you with details. All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

 

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Registration/landing pages are not yet available but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

August 2 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

Boston Children’s performs elective partial heart transplant

August 6 — Robert Mentz

Everyday Health

Weight Loss and Diabetes Drug Tirzepatide Slashes Heart Failure Risks

August 6 — Nishant Shah

Cosmopolitan

Beta Blockers Can Calm Your Nerves Before a Big Event—Here’s What You Need to Know

August 7 — Monique Starks

VPM.org/NPR

Rescue from above: How drones may narrow emergency response times