CardioMEMs Program Launches at VA

The cardiology team at Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center launched their CardioMEMs program this week. This program, implemented by Rajesh Swaminathan, Paul Rosenberg, Tony Carnicelli, Sara Jensen, and Susan Roberts, aims to reduce hospital readmissions for veterans with congestive heart failure. Three patients underwent successful implantation of the CardioMEMs pressure monitor by Sunil Rao with help from fellows Tony Carnicelli, Jaidip Chakravarti, and Navid Nafissi. Congrats to the VA Cardiology Team – this will certainly be of big benefit to our veterans!

Joint Commission Site Visit Announced: Stroke

Joint Commission surveyors will be on site at Duke University Hospital on Dec. 2^nd and 3^rd to electively review our Comprehensive Stroke Program as part of our normal biennial review cycle. It is anticipated that the surveyor(s) will spend most of the time interviewing staff and providers that participate in the care of stroke patients in the ED, on Neuro units and in Radiology. They will evaluate care of patients that undergo carotid endarterectomy procedures. With current capacity restraints, stroke patients can be located throughout DUH; therefore, please be prepared for them to visit anywhere within Duke University Hospital.

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

We will not hold Cardiology Grand Rounds this week due to the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• December 3: Zach Wegermann
• December 10: (5 p.m.) Heart Center Grand Rounds on CTEPH
• December 17: (5 p.m.) Faculty Staff Meeting
• December 24: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!
• December 31: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!

 

January 17, 2020: Please plan to attend a special Medicine Grand Rounds in the Searle Center Lecture Hall. Damon Tweedy, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and author of Black Man in a White Coat, will present the annual Martin Luther King Jr. memorial lecture.

 

March 26, 2020: 15^th Annual Duke Quality & Safety Conference, Durham Convention Center.

The keynote speaker is Brent C. James, MD, MStat, a clinical professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, who will be presenting “Thriving under pay-for-value: the best clinical result at the lowest necessary cost.” The deadline for abstracts for the Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m.

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart 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 Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

November 16 — Pamela Douglas

TCTMD/the heart beat

ISCHEMIA: Invasive Strategy No Better Than Meds for CV Events

https://www.tctmd.com/news/ischemia-invasive-strategy-no-better-meds-cv-events

November 16 — L. Kristin Newby

Medscape

COLCOT: Colchicine Shows Promise to Reduce Events After MI

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/921460?src=rss

 

November 17 — Manesh Patel

TCTMD/the heart beat

More Adverse Events, Higher Costs With Impella: New Observational Studies

https://www.tctmd.com/news/more-adverse-events-higher-costs-impella-new-observational-studies

 

November 17 — E. Magnus Ohman

MedPage Today

Post-ISCHEMIA: Focus Turns to Testing for Stable Angina

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aha/83400

 

November 18 — Duke Clinical Research Institute is mentioned

Medscape

Vericiguat Hits Primary Clinical-Efficacy Endpoint in HFrEF

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/921492?src=rss

 

November 18 — L. Kristin Newby

ABC News/Associated Press

New, old drugs may offer fresh ways to fight heart disease

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/drugs-offer-ways-fight-heart-disease-67111590

 

November 20 — Renato Lopes

TCTMD/the heart beat

Some A-fib Patients May Need a Bit More Aspirin After PCI: AUGUSTUS

https://www.tctmd.com/news/some-fib-patients-may-need-bit-more-aspirin-after-pci-augustus

 

November 21 — Svati Shah

TCTMD/the heart beat

Apabetalone Falls Short in Diabetic ACS Patients With Low HDL: BETonMACE

https://www.tctmd.com/news/apabetalone-falls-short-diabetic-acs-patients-low-hdl-betonmace

 

November 21 – Duke Clinical Research Institute is mentioned

DICardiology.com

Investigational Drug Vericiguat Reduced the Risk of Heart Failure Hospitalization in VICTORIA Trial

https://www.dicardiology.com/content/investigational-drug-vericiguat-reduced-risk-heart-failure-hospitalization-victoria-trial

 

Duke Heart team members are attending the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia. Highlights have included the presidential address given earlier today by one or our own –  Robert Harrington; the annual Duke reception hosted by the Duke Clinical Research Institute and Duke Heart at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on Saturday evening, as well as our faculty and fellows participating in numerous important research presentations including the several late breaking science.

Following the Duke reception, Tom Bashore was presented the Laennec Master Clinician Award by the American Heart Association. This honor is given annually in recognition of a lifetime achievement in patient care and teaching in cardiology. Congratulations, Tom!

As with most of the meetings – I am reminded by the tremendous impact that Duke has on our clinical and research communities.  It is present at the sessions – with the science, the interactions with leaders in the field, and of most notably with continuous work by our fellows.  The meeting had over 125 presentations or talks by Duke related people.  Included are some photos – intended to highlight the contributions of the Duke group.

Shout-out to Sipa Yankey

One of our cardiology fellows, Sipa Yankey, rescued a patient this week. A Duke employee lost consciousness in the hallway when Sipa happened to be walking by. Sipa was able to get the patient to the Duke University Hospital emergency department where he was found to be having a large inferoposterior MI. The cardiac catheterization lab team was activated; Sunil Rao and interventional fellow Jenn Rymer were able to stent the artery quickly. It was Sipa’s rapid triage that really saved the patient, according to Rao. We are happy to report that the patient is doing very well! Great teamwork, everyone!

 

DUCCS Leadership Transition

We are pleased to announce that Richard Krasuski will be taking on the role of the Director of the Duke University Cooperative Cardiovascular Society (DUCCS). Rich received his medical school degree from Harvard before completing internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He first came to Duke as a Cardiology fellow in 1997 and completed additional training in adult congenital heart disease. After several years on faculty at Cleveland Clinic, we were fortunate to recruit him back to Duke in 2015 as the Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Center. He has a busy clinical practice spanning a wide spectrum of heart problems from simple shunt lesions like patent foramen ovale to more complicated disorders, like tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries and single ventricles. He is also heavily involved in the Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease and initiated a program in balloon pulmonary angioplasty for thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. He has also been extensively involved in both clinical research and medical education here at Duke, nationally and internationally. In recent years, he has served as an active Board Member for DUCCS and he is very excited to take on this new leadership role.

We look forward to having Rich serve in this new role to further enhance the unique network and collaboration represented by the DUCCS membership.

We thank Robert Mentz who has served as the Director of DUCCS since joining the cardiology faculty in 2014. During his five years in this role, he has done a tremendous job enhancing the DUCCS program. His efforts were instrumental in key initiatives such as the Visiting Professor Program as well as the Big-Sib program where current fellows are paired with like-minded external mentors. The DUCCS network has been pivotal for fellows transitioning to their first faculty position and for continued networking throughout careers. The well-attended annual DUCCS dinners at AHA and ACC represent another cornerstone of the program. Moreover, the DUCCS clinical research network has continued to grow and was a leader enrolling in recent and ongoing trials such as TOPCAT, PROMISE, PRIME-HF and TRANSFORM-HF. Educational efforts have also grown significantly including the upcoming 20th Anniversary Andrew Wallace Cardiology Symposium scheduled for May 2, 2020 at the Washington Duke Inn. All are invited to join for this exciting upcoming symposium, which will feature many members of the DUCCS network highlighting key practice changing data across cardiovascular disease. We’re thrilled to announce that one of our keynote speakers for this symposium will be Dan Ariely, the well-known Duke behavioral economist made famous for his TED talks and three New York Times best-sellers (http://danariely.com/).

Finally, Rob has provided important leadership enhancing connections with the broad membership of DUCCS and striving to enhance membership diversity. We are grateful for the work he has done. Great job!

Use of Tracking Numbers on DukeHealth.org Heart Pages

Starting Wednesday, November 20, you may notice “new” phone numbers listed on some of our DukeHealth.org web pages. The Duke Health marketing team will begin using a tracking phone number on pages related to Duke Heart service locations and provider pages. The only listings that will be impacted will be those that use the Heart Center Communications phone number (919-681-5816). Please note that we are not discontinuing the HCC number or hub. It will still be an active phone number and all phone calls will still route to the Heart Center Communications team.

Use of the tracking number will allow the marketing team to match specific phone calls to website viewing sessions in order for them to get a better sense of what users are doing on the site prior to placing a call. This plan has already been implemented for Primary Care, Weight Loss Surgery and Urgent Care.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact Tracey Koepke, Director of Communications at tracey.koepke@duke.edu or Greg Shelton at greg.shelton@duke.edu.

 

Duke Heart Holiday Party: Save the Date

Be sure to check your email (especially the “clutter” folder!) for your emailed invitation to the annual Duke Heart holiday party, which will be held December 6. Invitations were extended to all cardiology and CT surgery faculty, fellows and residents, as well as hospital clinical team leads and higher. Questions? Contact Tracey Koepke, Director of Communications. RSVPs are due by November 22.

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, we’ll hold a cardiology faculty meeting. Please join us!

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• November 26: No Grand Rounds. Happy Thanksgiving!
• December 3: Zach Wegermann
• December 10: (5 p.m.) Heart Center Grand Rounds on CTEPH
• December 17: (5 p.m.) Faculty Staff Meeting
• December 24: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!
• December 31: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart 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 Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

November 8 — Mitchell Krucoff

tctMD/the heart beat

Conversations in Cardiology: Should Interventional Cardiologists Get Paid for Being On Call?

https://www.tctmd.com/news/conversations-cardiology-should-interventional-cardiologists-get-paid-being-call

 

November 8 — Renato Lopes

Medscape

‘Simple’ Way to Stop, Restart DOACs for Surgery in Patients With Atrial Fib

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/921015

 

November 12 — L. Kristin Newby

Medical News Today

Late evening eating may compromise women’s heart

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326990.php#1

 

November 14 — Ann Marie Navar

Healio/Cardiology Today

FDA panel unanimously supports CV event risk reduction indication for icosapent ethyl

http://bit.ly/2OhM9o2

 

November 14 — Thomas Ortel (Hematology)

MedPage Today

FDA Advisors All In on Vascepa for CV Risk Reduction

https://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/prevention/83352

 

 

Chief’s Message:

Thank you to all of our Veterans this week for the sacrifices they have made for all of our freedoms.  Some of the best health care experiences our faculty and fellows have are around caring for this special group of women and men.  We hope to continue to play a role in their lives from our relationship with the Durham VA and our great team of cardiologists that serve them, to the increasing interactions across the health system we have with veterans.

NP Week: November 10-16

Nurse Practitioner Week starts today. It is held annually to celebrate these exceptional health care team members and is promoted by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the primary national organization working to advocate for the profession. Our Duke Heart NPs are awesome, so please remember to give them some thanks this week!

ACC Legislative Conference Held

Representing North Carolina, a contingent of physicians and advanced practice providers including Jimmy Tcheng participated in the 2019 ACC Legislative Conference, November 3-5, in Washington DC.  The highlight of the conference was the day spent on Capitol Hill visiting our congressional legislators and staffers. This included visits to the offices of Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, and Representatives G.K. Butterfield, George Holding, Dan Bishop, Patrick McHenry, Mark Meadows, and Alma Adams. Talking points centered around the need for legislative action to decrease clinician administrative burden and promote clinician well-being, to modernizing anti-kickback statutes to eliminate barriers to participation in alternative payment models, accelerating the timeline for APPs to order and supervise cardiac rehabilitation (from 2024 to 2020), and to raise the tobacco and vaping products minimum purchase age to 21.

Shown here, left to right: James Tcheng, Thomas Stuckey, Senator Thom Tillis, Hadley Wilson, Olivia Gilbert, William Abernethy, Bhavani Balaravi, James Zidar, Stephanie Martin, Amy Winiger. Way to go, Jimmy!

ACC Type II MI Roundtable

James Tcheng, Kristin Newby, Jennifer Rymer and Tracy Wang were invited to contribute to the American College of Cardiology Type II Myocardial Infarction Roundtable held at the ACC Heart House in Washington, DC on November 4. The Roundtable focused on three topic areas: definition and diagnosis of Type II MI, documentation and coding, and patient management and clinician education. Newby gave a presentation entitled “4th Universal Definition of MI – Is Further Clarification Needed?” and Tcheng described the Duke experience in his talk “Revisiting the Inclusion of Type 2 MI Code in AMI MS-DRG”. Tcheng and Rymer were also on the Planning Committee for the Roundtable. Action items identified were several, including the need for additional educational resources for clinicians about hsTn and Type II MI, criteria to operationalize the 4^th Universal Definition of MI, changes to the ICD-10 coding system (specifically to add a code for myocardial injury), advocacy to remove Type 2 MI from MI DRGs, and even an “app” focused on Type II MI.

Shown here, from left to right (Planning Committee): James Tcheng, James de Lemos (UT Southwestern), Jennifer Rymer, Abhinav Goyal (Emory – and former Duke Cardiology Fellow), Severa Chavez (ACC), Dharam Kumbhani (UT Southwestern), Gregory Dehmer (Carilion), James Januzzi (Mass General), Ty Gluckman (Providence).

Great work, everyone!

 

Perfusion Team Lounge Area Opens

We are excited to announce that our perfusion team received a surprise when the new perfusion team lounge opened this week! It’s located in room 7243. Duke has one of the largest perfusion teams in the country and care for some of our most complex patients. A big shout out for the team on getting their well-deserved space!

 

Life is Why Cooking Class Kick-off

Duke Heart is the local American Heart Association Life Is Why sponsor. As part of our multi-year sponsorship, we are offering cooking classes and blood pressure screenings to help manage heart disease risks in our community. The first round of cooking classes kicked off this week and participants appeared to really enjoy the opportunity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

7W Staffer Wins Duke MBB Tix

Eugene Washington, MD, Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University; President and CEO, DUHS has started raffling off Duke Men’s basketball tickets. Jeremy James, one of our amazing staff members on DMP 7West, won a pair in the first round of the raffle! The tickets were presented to him on Wednesday. Congrats, Jeremy — enjoy the game! Go Duke.

National Radiologic Technology Week: Nov. 3-9

This past week was National Radiologic Technology Week, an effort promoted by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. The ASRT celebrates this week each year to recognize the vital work of radiation therapy professionals play in patient care and health care safety. We’d like to thank the radiology technologists who work throughout Duke, but especially those who support patients and practitioners here in Duke Heart. In particular, the Duke Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Center, which is led by Duke Cardiologists Raymond Kim and Robert Judd, employs radiology technologists with an advanced degree in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, allowing us to offer highly specialized imaging of the heart and vasculature, leading to improved diagnostics and treatment capabilities. Thanks for all of the great work you all do!

 

Poster Display Regulations

Just a quick reminder that posters are not allowed to be displayed on easels throughout the Medical Center (Duke South, Cancer Center, Duke Medicine Pavilion, and Duke University Hospital). Easels are not permitted in these areas as they pose a safety risk. If you’re interested in submitting content for display on digital signs throughout Medical Center, you can email hospitalcommunications@duke.edu. If you’re interested in placing a poster in one of the display cases in the Medical Center, you can make that request through the Hospital Communications team. Please note that all designs must be submitted for approval before going to print. If you would like assistance with the overall process, you can also direct questions to Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart. Thank you!

 

Duke Heart Holiday Party: Save the Date

Be sure to check your email (especially the “clutter” folder!) for your emailed invitation to the annual Duke Heart holiday party, which will be held December 6. Invitations were extended to all cardiology and CT surgery faculty, fellows and residents, as well as hospital clinical team leads and higher. Questions? Contact Tracey Koepke, Director of Communications. RSVPs are due by November 22.

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Coming up: AHA Scientific Sessions!

The annual Duke reception at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions will be held on Saturday, November 16, from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, located conveniently across the street from the conference center. An appointment request was sent by the DCRI planning team. Be sure to look for that and accept to RSVP.

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Medicine Grand rounds this last week has Kim Eagle, MD from Michigan presenting.  He gave a wonderful talk on Peri-operative management and also lots of life lessons.  We enjoyed having Dr. Eagle visit with our faculty and fellows.

 

 

 

 

This week we welcome Javed Butler from the University of Mississippi for Lessons Learned in Drug Development. Please join us on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5 p.m., DN, 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• November 19: Faculty Staff Meeting
• November 26: No Grand Rounds. Happy Thanksgiving!
• December 3: Zach Wegermann
• December 10: (5 p.m.) Heart Center Grand Rounds on CTEPH
• December 17: (5 p.m.) Faculty Staff Meeting
• December 24: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!
• December 31: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart 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 Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged.

 

Duke Heart in the News:

November 1 — Project Baseline mention

Investor Place

Why Alphabet’s Acquisition of Fitbit Is a Master Move

Why Alphabet’s Acquisition of Fitbit Is a Master Move

 

November 4 — J. Kevin Harrison

MedPage Today

Novel TAVR Technique: Single-Side Vascular Access

https://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/pci/83116

 

November 7 — General Duke mention (Leapfrog Safety Grades)

WRAL

Watchdog group gives 2 Triangle hospitals ‘C’ grades

https://www.wral.com/watchdog-group-gives-2-triangle-hospitals-c-grades/18750228/

Chief’s message:

Every week, I spend the Sunday looking to put together the stories of the week with the help of Tracey Koepke who has faithfully captured all the news and updates that faculty and fellows send.  This Sunday ritual provides me time to review and understand the amazing work and promise of our cardiovascular group.  This week the edition is considerably more difficult as a member of our division deals with the unimaginable and sudden loss of family over the last week.  Many have reached out for ways to support and help, and this weekend we saw the entire community come together to support him and his family. With this in mind, I am grateful for the compassion of the Duke Cardiology and Health community.  We will continue to use our collective strength by being present and providing support now, and importantly, in the future to help our colleague as he needs us.

 

Highlights of the week:

Precision Medicine Update: Durham VAMC

As part of the PHarmacogenomics Action for cancer SuRvivorship (PHASeR) program, the VA launched its first interruptive clinical decision support tools for selected opioid medications this week in the Durham VAMC. These real-time alerts evaluate a patients pharmacogenetic test results when a prescription for codeine or tramadol is initiated. In patients whose genetic profile indicates a higher risk for toxicity or lack of pain relief, these alerts will notify the ordering provider of the nature of the drug-gene interaction and propose alternatives prescriptions. Over the next year, similar alerts for roughly 30 additional medications will be implemented nationwide. The VA PHASeR program, directed by Deepak Voora, launched in 2019 and is a clinical program bringing preemptive pharmacogenetic testing to up to 250,000 Veterans across the VA. To learn more about this great program, check out these videos: https://tinyurl.com/phaser-playlist.

 

ICYMI: TCTMD Highlights Lowenstern; Katz to Return; Newby Named Medical Director, CICU

Duke Heart fellow Angela Lowenstern was highlighted as TCTMD’s featured fellow on October 18 on their website. Check out the posting below in our Duke Heart in the News section.

Be sure to view our October 28 Pulse post announcing the return of Jason Katz, MD, as well as a new appointment for Kristin Newby. Lots of good things happening across Duke Heart. Thanks for all the great work each of you are doing.

Importantly, thank you for all of the support and care you show to one another not only professionally, but on a personal level throughout the year. This has been greatly needed especially over the past few weeks.

 

NCYIF 2019: Northwestern Cardiovascular Young Investigator Forum

Eric Peterson, Lauren Truby, Zak Loring and Jordan Pomeroy (pictured here L->R) attended the 15th Annual Northwestern Cardiovascular Young Investigator’s Forum. Held in Chicago from Oct. 31-Nov. 2, the annual forum targets young investigators conducting basic or clinical research on arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, heart failure, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, thrombosis, and valve disease. Dr. Peterson was a faculty judge, Lauren and Zak presented in the Fellow Clinical Research category and Jordan presented in the Fellow Basic Science categories. Nice job and thanks for representing Duke Heart!

 

 

 

Rooney Named Clinical Lead, 7 East, Effective November 11^th

Duke Heart is pleased to announce that Amanda Rooney, BSN, RN, PCCN will become Clinical Lead for Duke University Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Stepdown-7 East Unit, effective Monday, November 11. Amanda joined the Duke Heart team in 2013 as a staff nurse on 3300. Amanda was part of our team opening DMP 7 East and has continued to aid in the building of our team as a Unit Preceptor, Charge Nurse, Diabetes Champion, Insulin Safety Committee member, and Unit Scheduling Committee Chair.

Amanda earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from East Carolina University in 2012, a Masters in Health Education and Promotion from East Carolina University in 2008, and Bachelors of Science in Athletic Training from East Carolina University in 2005.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Amanda to her new role.

 

Fall Meeting: Heart Leadership Council

Many thanks to our faculty and fellow presenters who attended the Fall meeting of the Duke Heart Center Leadership Council which took place on Friday, Nov. 1 at the J.B. Duke Hotel. Svati Shah presented an overview of her genetics work and discussed the genetics clinic and the important role it plays for families; Fellows Muath Bishawi, Kevin Friede, G. Titus K. Ngeno, and Zachary Wegermann presented their work pecha kucha style. All presentations were very well received by our Council members and generated great discussion. Thanks to Jillian Ream and the development team for planning the meeting and to the members of Duke Heart Leadership who provided updates to the Council. Note: Gary Davis, one of our Council members is running for public office in S.C. – you can read more about him below in the “News” section.

 

11^th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium Held

The 11^th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium was held on Friday, Nov. 1 at the Durham Convention Center. Lead by course directors Terry Fortin and Jimmy Ford (UNC), and supported by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, this symposium had over 200 registered attendees from the region, as well as more than 100 patients and caregivers who attended a concurrent session designed specifically for them. Keynote speakers were Marc Humbert, MD, PhD, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the South Paris University (Université Paris-Saclay) in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France who spoke on PH Associated with Myeloproliferative and Hematologic Disorders, and Anna Hemnes, MD, of Vanderbilt, who spoke on Precision Medicine in PAH. Additional presenters from Duke included: Aimee Babiera, Amanda Coniglio, Talal Dahhan, Kishan Parikh, Sudarshan Rajagopal and Rebecca Richard. To see the full symposium agenda, please visit: https://medicine.duke.edu/sites/medicine.duke.edu/files/field/attachments/ph-symposium_web_brochure%5B1%5D.pdf

 

Euan Ashley Visit

We had a wonderful visit from Euan Ashley, MD, of Stanford. He presented the Williams lecture this past week. Thanks to all who joined us for his presentation, “Towards Precision Medicine.”  The lecture was an amazing walk from the initial description of the Human Genome to the current day full genome sequencing and clinical uses and possible pathways coming.

 

 

 

DUHS Bi-Annual RN Hiring Event

The DUHS Bi-Annual RN Hiring Event was held at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham on October 25. There were more than 200 attendees. Health System nursing leadership team members had the opportunity to interact with both experienced and new candidates interested in employment opportunities at DUHS. Pictured here are members of our Duke Heart nursing leadership team at the event. Thanks for working to recruit more talent our way!!

 

 

 

 

 

Duke Heart Holiday Party: Save the Date

Be sure to check your email (especially the “clutter” folder!) for your emailed invitation to the annual Duke Heart holiday party, which will be held December 6th  2019. Invitations were extended to all cardiology and CT surgery faculty, fellows and residents, as well as hospital clinical team leads and higher. Questions? Contact Tracey Koepke, Director of Communications.

 

Recognition Month: Sonographers

We recognize our sonography team this weekend and apologize for missing Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month, which is held annually in October. The awareness month is a joint effort of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, American Society of Echocardiography, Cardiovascular Credentialing International, Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Society for Vascular Ultrasound.

There are 48 people on the sonography team in the Duke Heart Cardiac Diagnostic Unit. The CDU sees about 120 patients per day between echocardiograms, vascular ultrasound studies, stress studies, pharmacological studies, TEEs and Echo-guided biopsies. The team also supports guided imagery done in the catheterization lab for mitral clips and other device placements, balloon valvuloplasties, septal defect closures, and HCM ablations. All labs are accredited by the Inter-societal Accreditation Commission.

A high level of competency is required in order to succeed as a team member here at Duke because of the diverse pathology in the cardiovascular cases and our high patient volume. Because of this, each member needs to be able to work accurately and independently as well communicate effectively within the team and with physicians and other providers.

Our sonographers are amazing and we are so very fortunate to have such skilled team members providing this resource to us. Thank you for all that you do!

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Coming up: AHA Scientific Sessions!

The annual Duke reception at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions will be held on Saturday, November 16, from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, located conveniently across the street from the conference center. An appointment request was sent by the DCRI planning team. Be sure to look for that and accept to RSVP.

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week we have two great opportunities to hear the latest in cardiology research. First, we welcome Renato Lopes who is presenting “AF and PCI: Triple Trouble? Double Therapy? Where do we stand in 2019.” Please join us on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 5 p.m., DN, 2003.

On Friday (Nov. 8), we welcome Kim Eagle, Director of the Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan. He’s presenting the Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD, Lecture as part of Medicine Grand Rounds at 8 a.m. in the Trent Semans Great Hall. Title of his talk is, “Cardiac Risk of Non-Cardiac Surgery: A Piece of my Mind.”

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• November 12: Javed Butler, University of Mississippi
• November 19: Faculty Staff Meeting
• November 26: No Grand Rounds. Happy Thanksgiving!
• December 3: Zach Wegermann
• December 10: (5 p.m.) Heart Center Grand Rounds on CTEPH
• December 17: (5 p.m.) Faculty Staff Meeting
• December 24: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!
• December 31: No Grand Rounds. Happy Holidays!

Talent from All Corners Symposium, Nov. 4

Tomorrow! Panel discussion, Talent from all corners: how immigration helps shape American scientific leadership. A group of prominent and highly promising scientists, led by Duke cardiologist and Nobel Laureate Professor Robert Lefkowitz, will share their own stories as first, second, or third-generation immigrants, their research and its significance, and their perspective on immigration and its role in shaping American scientific leadership. 3-6 p.m., Searle Center. Registration required. Refreshments will be served. To learn more or to register, please visit: https://scienceandsociety.duke.edu/events/talent-from-all-corners-how-immigration-helps-shape-scientific-leadership/

Duke Heart Safe Choices, Nov. 6 – Cancelled

The Duke Heart Safe Choices workshop that was scheduled for this week has been cancelled. Please contact Christy Darnell with questions.

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart 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 Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged.

Duke Heart in the News:

October 18 – Angela Lowenstern

TCTMD/the heart beat

Featured Fellow: Angela Lowenstern, MD

https://www.tctmd.com/news/angela-lowenstern-md

October 29 — Gary Davis (Heart Leadership Council Member)

The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)

Editorial: Endorsements in Tuesday’s Mount Pleasant Town Council elections

http://bit.ly/2PKLTAa