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Yearly Archives: 2020
Duke Heart Week ending October 11th 2020
Chief’s message: The “Gut” Feeling
Running into my office after getting through some of the patients I was rounding on this Saturday, I logged onto the Fellows Zoom interview welcome session. There was a brief moment and then the screen clicked into the “Hollywood Stars” gallery view of zoom so I could see all the welcoming faces of potential cardiology fellow applicants.
This week we held our third zoom interview/ recruitment session for our cardiology fellows next year. In this year with all the changes, the recruitment season has also become another challenge and possible opportunity. We have had over 750 applicants for the 60-70 interviews that we conduct to get to our final matched 8-10 cardiology fellows. Each year we are reminded about the immense talent and dedication we have the honor of attracting as possible cardiology fellows. We have seen a rise in both the number applicants, the diversity, and the locations of training for the applicants to our fellowship.
Our fellowship lead by Anna Lisa Crowley with our associate program directors, Neha Pagidipatti, Rob Mentz, Chris Holley, and Camille Frazier-Mills along with numerous faculty and fellows have done an amazing in tailoring the experience for the perspective fellows. We have assigned “Big Sibs” to answer questions prior to the interview day, we have breakout zoom rooms, options for one on one, and group discussions, and most notably – we take the opportunity to introduce the applicants to each other. They are certainly the next generation of cardiovascular leaders that will shape the way we teach, discover, and deliver cardiovascular care. We have done videos of our fellowship and Duke/Durham – in an effort to flip the classroom so they can have the information before the visit. As with many things during COVID, some of these innovations will be long lasting.
I was reminded as we did our welcomes at how hard it must be to be making important life decisions this year. It was 20 years ago this year, that I started fellowship at Duke. Like many I had a pro/con list with all the facts and details around fellowship that would help make the rational decision. But, as I now tell the applicants, the other side of the leger is the “Gut” feeling about being at a place that fits/ seems right for the kinds of things you want to accomplish. Perhaps the largest part of that “Gut” feeling comes from the people, the co-fellows, the faculty, the nurses, the staff and the way they interact, joke, support, and most importantly care about each other. This is also potentially, our greatest strength and my biggest concern about the process. Without being present, how do we convey who we are through zoom. Hopefully, through the commitment, time, and discussions this will hopefully come through. Looking back – it was certainly the people in Duke Cardiology that were the most important for me. So, despite all the rational considerations our fellow applicants will have, we hope they get that “gut” feeling about our program to train the next generation of CV leaders. Thanks to all of our faculty, fellows, and staff during this important recruitment season.
Highlights of the week:
STS Star Rating for DUH Adult Cardiac Surgery Program
We are pleased to share with you that our Adult Cardiac Surgery program at Duke University Hospital has, for the first time, earned three simultaneous distinguished three-star ratings from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in the following areas: isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures; isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery, and isolated mitral valve replacement and repair (MVRR) surgery. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places our program among the elite for CABG, AVR and MVRR in the U.S.
“This is a significant validation of the quality and performance that we are able to deliver in cardiac surgery — the three-star rating means that our outcomes are in the top 10 percent of all centers in the United States,” said Peter K. Smith, MD, chief of the division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and co-director of Duke Heart Center. “That we have achieved this within each of the three most important domains of cardiac surgery — bypass surgery, aortic valve replacement, and mitral valve repair or replacement – is a tribute not just to the surgeons but our entire team of dedicated health care professionals in our Operating Room, Intensive Care Unit, and Step-down Units.”
The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the U.S. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) participant. We achieved a two-star rating in each of the remaining two areas of reporting: AVR+CABG and MVRR+CABG.
“Any scoring system has its limitations, but this is one of the most scientifically validated systems for heart surgery. It involves a huge amount of data from almost all centers in the U.S. and a very complicated and well thought out risk-adjustment model,” according to Carmelo Milano, MD, Chief of the Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery in the division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. “Not only are they looking at raw outcomes like survival, but they take into consideration the pre-operative conditions that may make certain cases much higher risk. This is a very well respected grading system for heart surgery.”
The latest analysis of data for CABG covers a 1-year period, from January 2019 to December 2019; the analysis of data for isolated AVR, isolated MVRR, AVR+CABG and MVRR+CABG surgeries covers a 3-year period, from January 2017 to December 2019.
“Achieving the elite STS three-star rating, one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, is a testament to our program’s commitment to quality improvement and safety across the cardiac surgical patient journey – from careful preoperative planning and optimization, to relentless attention to detail and coordination of intraoperative and postoperative decision making among multi-disciplinary heart team members,” added Mihai Podgoreanu, MD, chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology and Critical Care. “In these unprecedented times, we are united in our dedication, resilience, compassion, and innovative spirit to continue pursuing our highest purpose – excellence and quality care for patients in need of cardiac surgery and their families.”
“As an organization and a group – the STS three star rating is evidence of the dedication of our entire Heart Center around how we care for our patients with multi-disciplinary teams that start with the evaluation and identification of patients needing coronary revascularization or valve surgery all the way through recovery, rehab, and return to life,” said Manesh Patel, MD, chief of the division of Cardiology and co-director of Duke Heart Center. “I am excited that during these challenging times our teams have continued the dedication and work to stay focused on patient outcomes.”
The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The STS ACSD houses approximately 6.9 million surgical records and gathers information from more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists from more than 90 percent of groups that perform heart surgery in the US. The Database includes three other components: the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD), and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs). Duke has participated in the STS National Database since its inception.
We are extremely pleased and wanted to share this news with each of you, because without you this could not have happened. Thank you for your outstanding work and your dedication. This is very well deserved and the entire team is to be commended. Thank you and congratulations!
New CT Anesthesiologist, Sundar Krishnan
Earlier this week, Mihai Podgoreanu, chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, announced the hiring of Sundar Krishnan, MBBS, to the CT Anesthesiology faculty. A native of India, Sundar obtained his medical degree and anesthesiology residency from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, followed by fellowships in adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Iowa. He joined the faculty at University of Iowa in 2009, where he rose through the ranks to Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Education prior to being recruited to Duke. Sundar will start in the CTOR later this month, and in the CTICU in November.
Please join us in welcoming Sundar Krishnan to the faculty and to Duke Heart!
Celebratory Grand Rounds Held for Peterson
Duke Cardiology held a celebratory Grand Rounds for Eric Peterson this week with about 170 attendees and terrific presentations and tributes by Matt Roe, Sreek Vemulapalli, Jon Piccini, Tracy Wang, Neha Pagidipati and Ann Marie Navar. From his work as a clinician and researcher, to the influence of his work on health policy; his innovative thinking on how data is extracted and interpreted, to his mentorship and leadership over the years – each spoke to Peterson’s legacy in science, at Duke, in the field of cardiovascular disease, and on them professionally. It was a wonderful event and we thank all who were able to join us!
Best wishes, Eric!
Celebrating Duke Heart Physician Assistants
We’ve been celebrating National Physician Assistants Week, which runs through October 12, in recognition of the PA profession and its contributions to the nation’s health. In the midst of this challenging year, we are deeply grateful for the efforts and contributions of these vital members of the Duke Heart team and we remain particularly proud to celebrate the PA profession that began right here at Duke University.
Prior to becoming a week-long event, PA Day was first celebrated on October 6, 1987, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class of PAs from the Duke University PA program; October 6 is the birthday of the profession’s founder, Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD, former chair of the Duke Department of Medicine and founder of the Duke Cardiovascular Disease Research Database.
As part of highly skilled multidisciplinary care teams, PAs provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient care in virtually all medical specialties and settings. They have very diverse job descriptions and play important roles throughout patient care, medical education, health administration, leadership, and research studies.
We asked two of our PAs why they chose the profession and what they enjoy most as part of their affiliation with Duke Heart:
“I chose to become a PA so I could have a meaningful career helping people through some of the most challenging experiences of their lives,” said Joanna Newman, a PA on our Cardiothoracic Surgery Step-Down Unit. “Duke Heart is a special place to work because our outstanding team collaborates to offer hope and healing to patients with incredibly complex conditions that may have run out of treatment options elsewhere. I am proud of the work that we do and am honored to serve as part of the team.”
“I decided to become a PA after working as a Paramedic for several years, said Allen Stephens, a PA with Duke Cardiology at Southpoint. “I desired to be able to do more for patients than in the short amount of time I spent caring for them in the pre-hospital environment. The PA route was a perfect avenue to do that and provides
versatility and work-life balance. PAs get to practice medicine and develop a trusted relationship with their patients. Duke Heart is a great place to work as a PA. The team supports advanced practice providers, values the care we provide, and truly embodies team-based healthcare!”
A very special thank you to all PAs throughout Duke Heart for the great work
you’re doing!
Shout-Out: CICU Team Effort by Blumer, Banks, Gordon, Zwischenberger!
We received word of a particularly great save this week via Jamie Jollis and L. Kristin Newby. The note from Jollis reads, in part: “Just wanted to call your attention to a patient who was likely saved by the excellent intervention and decision making of CICU fellows this week:
JR is a 69 yo woman who was brought to the Duke ED by Orange county EMS with 1 week of progressive weakness and intermittent chest pain and an ECG showing ST elevation in V1-V3.
In the ED, the patients BP was recorded as 60/20, and an echo showed acute severe AR due to endocarditis, and a distal anterior septal wall motion abnormality.
Realizing the severity of the situation and likely impending complete hemodynamic collapse, Vanessa Blumer consulted CT surgery, and worked with the team to get the patient directly to the OR at 9 PM.
The patient received tissue aortic and mitral valves and a VG to the LAD. JR is now walking the floors and doing well.
I have no doubt the patient was “saved” by an excellent diagnostic approach and referral to surgery.
The note from Newby reads (in part), “Your work is a great example of the team culture we so highly value (and sometimes lose sight of) at Duke. It took a remarkable team effort to get this patient the care she needed.”
Many, many thanks to the quick thinking and teamwork of Vanessa Blumer, Adam Banks, Maggie Gordon of our sonography team, and Brittany Zwischenberger. Outstanding work, CICU fellows, surgeons and sonographers and to the full CICU staff for the care of this patient! Well done.
Duke Heart Grows By One!
We are very excited to welcome Celia Burgess Friede, to the Duke Heart family! She arrived on Oct. 2, at 7 lbs., 15 oz and 19 inches. “Mom, baby, and big sister are doing well!” according to dad (and cardiology fellow), Kevin Friede.
Congrats, Friede family!! We look forward to meeting her!
Wellness Tip: Why sending letters might help your loved ones
A recent article in The Washington Post suggests letter writing instead of Zoom calls as a mental health break and a good way to demonstrate you care. And who doesn’t appreciate ‘real’ mail that isn’t a bill or a campaign flyer?
Summary: Picture the recipient before you begin – what do you like about them? Why are you grateful to have them in your life? Focus on the future — share something you hope to do/experience in the future with this person; exude hope. Remember the elderly – they may be less tech-savvy and more prone to loneliness. A letter provides a means of connection.
To read the full article, visit: https://wapo.st/2GMap1M
Important Reminders
- Open Enrollment for Duke Benefits is October 19-30.
- Do not come to work if you are not well – if you are showing symptoms of a cold, of COVID, of influenza, etc. – stay home. Coming to work sick puts patients and colleagues at risk.
- Please get your Flu Vaccination: All team members must get their vaccination or otherwise demonstrate policy compliance by Tuesday, Nov. 10. Details and resources all available on the Duke Health Influenza Resources site (NET ID required): https://influenza.dh.dukehealth.org.
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Oct. 13: Approach to Antibody-Mediated Rejection in Heart Transplantation. Presenter: Michelle Kittleson, MD, PhD of Cedars-Sinai. 5 p.m., Webex. Details in email invitation.
Oct. 20: The Albert L. Williams Cardiovascular Genetics Lecture Series. Presenter: Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, of Columbia. 5 p.m., Webex. Details in email invitation.
Oct. 27: Cardiology Faculty meeting
Nov. 10: TBA
Nov. 17: No CGR. AHA Scientific Sessions
Conferences, Symposia & Webinars
Nov. 13: 12th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Noon – 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit this page. This event will be held virtually and is co-sponsored by Duke and the University of North Carolina in partnership with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association through the Building Medical Education in PH program. Please join us!
Nov. 13–17: AHA Scientific Sessions 2020, a virtual experience. Registration is now open. See the website for details.
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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 6 — DUHS is mentioned
Becker’s Hospital Review
CHIME names 2020 ‘Most Wired’ hospitals
https://bit.ly/36VP8NW
October issue — DUH & Cardiology are mentioned
Newsweek – special report/rankings
World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2021
https://www.newsweek.com/worlds-best-specialized-hospitals-2021
Duke Heart Week ending October 4th 2020
Chief’s message: The Public Health and the Scientific Method
This weekend my 15-year old son was working on building a toothpick bridge for his physics class in high school, and as I was instructed not to help him, I realized how little I know about some of basic principles of the challenge. In fact, his work building a prototype, refining it, and trying to improve based on observation was at times in stark contrast to the many of the ongoing events over the last several months, events that this week unfortunately included the President getting diagnosed with COVID-19 and being admitted to Walter Reed Hospital for care.
Increasingly, it seems that we need the scientific method to improve public health, but perhaps just as importantly, we need to develop ways to gain the acceptance and implementation across our colleagues and communities. This is not a new story. Many have likely heard the story of Ignaz Semmelweis, the Hungarian physician, who was functioning as an Assistant Professor at Vienna General Hospital in 1847 when he identified that puerperal fever (also known as childbed fever) could be dramatically reduced by using hand disinfection in the obstetrical clinics. Many of the medical students going from the cadaveric clinic to the obstetric clinic had higher mortality rates that were reduced with chlorinated hand washes. Unfortunately, his discovery was not met with great acceptance, and he grew increasingly outspoken and eventually had a nervous breakdown. He was admitted to an asylum where he died, ironically from a gangrenous wound to his right hand that he reportedly got from a beating in the asylum. After his death, with Louis Pasteur confirming the germ theory, Florence Nightingale and her mastery of data visualization and clear writing, and Robert Koch and his postulates on infection, the practice of hand washing started to become widespread. Even today, we have monitors in our hospitals watching to ensure our rates of hand washing going into and coming out of rooms remain high – habits that can save lives.
We have certainly come a long way with the scientific method, using the ‘gift of randomization’, blinded analysis, data safety monitoring boards, and regulatory and scientific groups to help us understand and put the latest scientific findings into context. However, now more than ever – on the eve of vaccines for a global pandemic, increased therapeutics for heart disease, and personalized cancer therapies, we need to develop ways to rapidly implement discoveries into practice. Work from our group (many faculty in our Division that are pioneers) at the Duke Clinical Research Institute along with behavior science and health policy have shown to be effective we need to engage people and communities, remove barriers, and above all provide transparent findings from our work in easy to understand communications.
As we hope for the speedy recovery of our President, and recovery of the many thousands dealing with COVID-19 in our country, this week underscored both the significance of the scientific method, and the importance of getting adoption of proven therapies aimed at our public health. In this week’s edition of the Pulse you will find several stories of our group working to help identify ways to play important roles in scientific discoveries.
Highlights of the week:
Duke Lead Enroller for ACTIV-3 Trial for COVID-19; Receives Kudos from Collins, Operation Warp Speed
A team of clinicians across Duke Health, led by Peter K. Smith, MD, chief of the division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and co-director of Duke Heart Center, are working diligently in a collaborative effort to enroll patients in ACTIV-3, a randomized, controlled trial testing a novel antibody treatment for COVID-19. Duke is currently the lead enroller in this international trial, with 42 out of 151 total patients enrolled in the U.S. and Europe thus far.
The team’s early success in the trial was recognized this week with a personal letter of gratitude from Francis Collins, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Janet Woodcock, MD, of Operation Warp Speed.
“Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is taking many lives, the ACTIV-3 trial is now more important than ever and is critical to progressing our understanding of safety and effectiveness of different monoclonal antibodies in treating COVID-19 in people who have been hospitalized with the infection,” the letter reads. “Rapid implementation and completion of this trial represents a very high priority for NIH and Operation Warp Speed. Your site was the second one opened, and has enrolled 27 [now 42] patients in 28 days, a truly remarkable performance.”
The ACTIV-3 trial tests the efficacy of a monoclonal antibody as a method of treatment, developed from the blood sample of a recovered COVID-19 patient.
“This trial crosses so many different boundaries,” says Smith. “We are grateful to the Department of Surgery’s infrastructure, and we have hospitalists and critical care physicians involved. We are not just working at Duke University Hospital, but also at Duke Raleigh and Duke Regional. Everyone is pulling more than their weight, working 24/7, and it is incredibly heartening to see these selfless contributions by so many people.”
Smith credits the recognition from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to the exceptional collaboration happening across Duke, including research coordinators Beth Hollister and Kathleen Lane, as well as clinical staff at all three hospitals.
Congratulations, Dr. Smith and team!!! To read more about this effort, see Duke Heart in the News, below.
DCD Heart Transplant Clinical Trial Update
Congratulations and many thanks to all members of the Duke Heart Transplant team. Not only did they perform the first adult donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart transplant in North America (December 1, 2019), but the Duke site was the lead enroller for the first phase of the clinical trial, dubbed the DCD Heart Trial.
The 90th DCD heart transplant was completed this week. Duke enrolled 34 total patients while the next leading site enrolled 20 as part of phase one. A second phase of the trial is expected to launch by the end of the year.
“Through a tremendous team effort, we continue to expand the donor pool and save lives,” said Jacob Schroder, director of Duke’s Heart Transplantation Program in an email to team members. He added a special thanks to Sarah Casalinova, the Duke’s DCD Heart Trial study coordinator, and all heart transplant coordinators.
Congratulations, team! We are incredibly proud of your work and dedication to advancing heart transplantation. Outstanding!
ACC Quality Improvement Summit
Jennifer Rymer, Angela Lowenstern, and Sunil Rao presented their quality improvement project titled “The Duke Renal Impairment Project (DRIP)” at the American College of Cardiology’s Quality Improvement Summit, held virtually on Sept. 30.
This project, funded by the American College of Cardiology, sought to reduce the incidence of acute kidney injury after cardiac catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention. Working with Schuyler Jones, Duke Cath Lab Director, and Jimmy Tcheng, Duke Heart Center Informatics, the team implemented a process where high risk patients would be identified and given appropriate pre- and post-procedure hydration, and would undergo a “renal timeout” that included a maximum safe level of contrast administration.
This successful project was chosen by the ACC-NCDR as a finalist in their competition for QI projects, and has led to the submission of two NIH grants for wider implementation of the protocol. Congratulations to the team!
Semi-Annual Kisslo Heart Dissection Session Held
The semi-annual Kisslo Heart Dissection Session was held in two parts – the first was last Saturday, Sept. 26 and the second (an advanced session) was held yesterday, Oct. 3 in the Duke South Amphitheater. The course was hosted by Joe Kisslo, MD, along with sonographers Danny Rivera, Ashlee Davis, Melissa Lefever, Batina Kight, Tracey Ralston and Carissa Marsiglio from our adult and pediatric labs across DUHS, as well as Cooper Moore from Biomedical Engineering.
The course was attended by fellows from Duke’s adult and pediatric Echo programs; Duke Biomedical Engineering students, sonographers, and fellows from the NC State Veterinary School. Attendees participated in an in-depth dissection session reviewing cardiac anatomy, electrical conducting system, coronary anatomy, and review of surgical procedures. Later in the day, participants applied their anatomical knowledge to echocardiography by cutting and cropping in 3D Echo.
This dissection session is always a favorite of fellows, students, and sonographers who join in, according to Ashlee Davis, chief technologist for the Clinical Diagnostic Unit.
Shown in photos are: Francis Ugowe, Vanessa Blumer, Josephine Harrington, and Karen Flores Rosario, along with teaching sonographer Batina Kight.
Duke Heart Grows By One!
We are thrilled to welcome James Rouse Peters, born Sept. 25 at 5:03 p.m., to the Duke Heart family. Cardiology fellow Anthony Peters reports that “Mom and baby are both doing well, and big sister Charlotte (2.5 years old) is loving taking care of her “new baby James”!
He’s adorable and we look forward to meeting him! Congrats, Peters family!
High Five for Hearon!
Delia Hearon, one of our outstanding Duke Heart case managers, has received a Duke Health High Five. She was nominated by Jamie McDermott, one of our NPs, who wrote:
“We were discharging a patient to a center that required education for their staff. Delia worked to understand the needs of the center and thought of creative ways to get them the education that they needed. She developed a strong relationship with the center by offering her support and patience. Our team is thankful and appreciated Delia’s hard work and dedication to this patient’s situation.”
Thanks for thinking outside the box for our patients, Delia. Way to go!
Passings: Felecia Monique Credle, RN, BSN
Felecia Credle, one of our Heart Center Communications (HCC) team members, passed away Sunday, Sept. 27. The cause was cancer. Ms. Credle began her career with Duke in 2004 working with the Outpatient Holding team. She was a member of the CVSSU from February 2007 until May of 2016 when she joined the HCC team. Credle had been in nursing for 30 years, 16 of them here at Duke. Her services were held yesterday at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church of MESIC. A link to her obituary can be found here.
We extend our condolences to her family and friends, and to her immediate co-workers in Heart Center Communications. We know she will be missed.
ICYMI:
Todd McVeigh and Callie Tennyson have a newly published article in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. You can check it out here:
McVeigh, Todd PA-C; Tennyson, Carolina DNP, ACNP-BC, AACC Understanding and recognizing cardiac amyloidosis, Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants: October 2020 – Volume 33 – Issue 10 – p 16-20 doi: 10.1097/01.JAA.0000697236.11386.3a
ICYMI: Celebrating Sheroes in the Department of Medicine
The Department of Medicine allowed nominations for “Sheroes” during the month of September as a way to showcase accomplishments of women physicians, scientists, educators, and leaders in medicine. Several Duke Heart faculty members (Anna Lisa Crowley, Terri Fortin, Svati Shah, Monique Anderson Starks and Cary Ward) and Sarah Goldstein, a cardiology fellow, were nominated. Read more about it here.
Important Reminders
- October 6-12 is PA Week.
- It’s Research Week! See link under Conferences, below.
- Saturday, Oct. 10 is the 2020 Triangle Heart Walk (virtual!). An online kick-off Pep Rally is planned for Friday, Oct. 9 from 12-12:30 p.m. Team captains and registered walkers should check their emails from Triangle AHA.
- October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month (the month formerly known as sonography month). Please thank a sonographer!
- Open Enrollment for Duke Benefits is October 19-30.
- Please get your Flu Vaccination: All team members must get their vaccination or otherwise demonstrate policy compliance by Tuesday, Nov. 10. Details and resources all available on the Duke Health Influenza Resources site (NET ID required): https://influenza.dh.dukehealth.org.
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Oct. 6: The Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, Distinguished Lecture. Presenter: Helen Hobbs, MD, investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor, Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics, UT Southwestern Medical Center. Noon – 1 p.m., part of Duke SOM Research Week. For more information, please visit: https://medschool.duke.edu/research/research-week.
Oct. 6: Special Cardiology Grand Rounds – A Tribute to Dr. Eric Peterson. 5 p.m. Virtual. Links available in Outlook invitation. Presenters:
- Matthew Roe, MD – Origins of CV Registries
- Sreek Vemulapalli, MD – Partnering with Professional Societies
- Jon Piccini, MD – Expanding the Scope: AF/Stroke Care
- Tracy Wang, MD – Implementation Science
- Neha Pagidipati – Possibilities in Prevention
- Ann Marie Navar, MD – Going Digital
- Eric Peterson, MD – The Future
Oct. 13: Michelle Kittleson, MD, PhD, of Cedars-Sinai.
Oct. 20: The Albert L. Williams Cardiovascular Genetics Lecture Series. Presenter: Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, of Columbia.
Oct. 27: Cardiology Faculty meeting
Nov. 10: TBA
Nov. 17: No CGR. AHA Scientific Sessions
Conferences, Symposia & Webinars
Oct. 5 – 8: Research Week. Sponsored by Duke School of Medicine. Series will be held virtually, via Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/92060873004. More information and a full agenda can be found here: https://medschool.duke.edu/research/research-week
Oct. 7: PROMISE trial webinar. Pam Douglas will lead an overview of the PROMISE trial cohort, and research plan, with insights and panel discussions. 4-6 p.m., To register for the Zoom link, please visit: https://duke.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wSz_1UcZRNy0cmqg8q6hgg. Sponsored by DCRI.
Nov. 13: 12th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Noon – 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit this page. This event will be held virtually and is co-sponsored by Duke and the University of North Carolina in partnership with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association through the Building Medical Education in PH program. Please join us!
Nov. 13–17: AHA Scientific Sessions 2020, a virtual experience. Registration is now open. See the website for details.
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
September 25 — Peter Smith
Duke DOS News
Duke Tests Novel COVID-19 Therapy, Is Lead Enroller in International Trial
https://surgery.duke.edu/news/duke-tests-novel-covid-19-therapy-lead-enroller-international-trial
September 26 — Cameron Wolfe (infectious diseases)
Medium.com
A Change of Heart: Why Covid-19 Myocarditis Seems Less Threatening to Athletes Now Than Before
https://bit.ly/2GpPt06
September 27 — Duke Clinical Research Institute
Triangle Business Journal (subscription required)
The future of clinical research: How DCRI is launching a direct-to-family trial
https://bit.ly/2SkQppb
October 1 — Peter Smith
Duke DOS News
Duke Researchers Testing Novel Therapeutics for Early and Acute Stages of COVID-19
https://surgery.duke.edu/news/duke-researchers-testing-novel-therapeutics-early-and-acute-stages-covid-19
Duke Heart Week Ending September 27th 2020
Chief’s message: Living in the time of COVID, electronic communication, and bad days.
I got an email from a Faculty member who reported something about the day and discussed how frustrating an issue was. I instinctively, responded and said that they were working very hard and I would call them to discuss how to help. I got a response that made me pause … the faculty member stated they were just venting and more were sending the note more of as a colleague and friend, rather than the Chief of the Division. Aside from getting a better understanding, I sent a note reporting some of the challenges I had faced that day and thanked the colleague for reaching out.
The story stuck in my head as I realized the challenges we are all facing in our Health system, in our communities and schools with the transition to electronic and virtual communication. We have had a large move to Zoom meetings, Grand Rounds and seminars on the web, all of the Scientific Meetings changing to virtual attendance (TCT in October and American Heart Association in November). In this time, even with video on – it becomes difficult to get a sense of the human interactions that makes us laugh, feel, and rejoice with each other’s successes and work to help with obstacles. We are all yearning for some routine and stability, and sometimes just someone to share the bad days and things going on.
The episode made me think of a favorite children’s book the we use to read to our kids, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Maybe the book for 2020 – a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. Sometimes, like Alexander – we all just need someone to hear about all the things that have gone bad in the day. This is not something that can easily be accomplished electronically. So, I have tried and will continue to try to ensure we get some socially distanced interactions, phone calls, and even zooms where we can share our trials and tribulations, but also hopefully the numerous amazing accomplishments despite the obstacles. This Pulse, is often an effort to note those and be part of our fabric in celebrating our fellows, colleagues, and partners.
And as Alexander’s Mother says in the book, “some days are like that … even in Australia”
I have copies in my office that I am willingly handing out to those with the worst days.
Highlights of the week:
Photo of the Week:
Those of you on campus during the early morning, evening or overnight hours may have noticed this gesture of thanks emanating from the Hock Building out to care providers. We think it’s a particularly fitting tribute to our Duke Heart team members! Photo is courtesy of Eric McClenny, Nurse Manager Operations, DMP 7 East.
Thank you to each and every team member in Duke Heart for being a part of our team and for doing all that you do for our patients, their loved ones and each other.
Note of Gratitude from Cynthia Pierce
Many of you will recall that in May, Cynthia Pierce’s daughter Sam died unexpectedly, leaving behind three young children. A number of you stepped up to help support Cynthia through contributions to a GoFundMe account (established by Dr. Tom Bashore). Cynthia is a former cardiac catheterization lab nurse and a current Duke Heart TAVR coordinator. She sent us a note this week to share with you:
Hello to all of you:
It has taken me time to process the passing of my daughter Samantha. I also want you all to know that I have thought constantly of the overwhelming gifts and support given to me and my family especially during these uncertain times. I was able to have a loving and respectful service for Samantha. I will forever be grateful. Please know that I am proud to know and work along great people. A special thanks goes to Dr. Thomas Bashore and Dr. Kevin Harrison for their leadership in accomplishing this.
Thank you over and over!
Always,
Cynthia Pierce
Shout-out to Nishant Shah
We received a really nice note of gratitude this week from the daughter of a patient regarding care provided by Nishant Shah. The note reads:
“My mother and my father cannot speak more highly of Dr. Shah. He graciously saw my mother without question as an add-on to his clinic, after she was unable to be followed up with the hospital system where she was originally seen in the ED and was discharged home.
After my mother’s appointment with Dr. Shah today, he personally called my mother to give her the results of the labs and the ECHO that he graciously added on for my mother.
Often-times, patients and their families do not complement good care to those in leadership and only complain when they can find fault or have an experience when things are even slightly suboptimal. I hope this email finds it to the inbox of those who are able to spotlight the good-hearted nature of physicians.
From the wonderful report my parents gave of Dr. Shah, it is obvious that he is very happy to work for Duke and the PDC. Thank you for allowing this to be an environment where physicians are happy to provide service to the community.”
Nishant responded, “Very sweet family and honored to care for them. Thanks as well to the wonderful South Durham staff for the swift care coordination.”
Nicely done, Nishant and the South Durham Clinic team! We are so glad to have all of you on the Duke Heart team!
Transplant Team Publishes HIV+ Survival Findings
Congratulations to Julie Doberne, Oliver Jawitz, Vignesh Raman, Ben Bryner, Jacob Schroder and Carmelo Milano on their latest publication. In a pre-proof released last weekend in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the team has published results of a study looking at HIV positive heart transplant recipients and showed that their survival is comparable to HIV negative recipients. HIV positivity is classically considered a contraindication to listing for heart transplant, so these findings are important; this is the first study to show this result on this scale. To see the journal article, please visit: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32946847.
Nicely done!
Respiratory Care Services Team Receives Statewide Recognition, Awards
We are pleased to announce that our Respiratory Care team recently presented a talk, Translating Literature to Bedside Practice, to the North Carolina Society for Respiratory Care (NCSRC) that was very well received. As a result, the team has been asked to speak in November and December to schools, the NC Board, and nationally for Respiratory Care Week. Presenters from our RCS team included Andrew Miller, Renee Bartle, Jhaymie Cappiello and Charlotte Reikofski; they were joined by fellow Dukies Dr. Dan Gilstrap (MICU Medical Director) and Angela Richardson (Wound Care).
Additionally, Charlotte Reikofski, Health System Director of Respiratory Care Services, has received the NCSRC’s 2020 Harvey Jacobs Leadership Award and Jhaymie Cappiello, Clinical Educator, has received the 2020 Gail Gane Educator of the Year Award.
This is wonderful news! Congratulations to Charlotte, Jhaymie and the entire RCS team! You’re doing outstanding work and it shows.
Abbott & Kurdelmeier Named Clinical Team Leads for 3100
The Duke Heart Leadership team is excited to announce Jessica “Jessie” Abbott and Megan Kurdelmeier as 3100 Clinical Team Leads. Jessie assumed her role on September 14th; Megan will assume her role on October 12th.
Jessie joined the 3100 team in March 2016. She earned her BSN from Duke University School of Nursing and also holds a BSN in health and physical education from Edinboro University. Jessie is currently a CN III and holds a PCCN certification. She has shown a strong interest in professional development by enrolling in a Master of Science in Nursing program and has served in charge nurse, preceptor, and skin care champion roles. She is also a member of the AACN.
Megan joined the 3100 team in August 2016. She earned her BSN from East Carolina University and also holds a BSN in nutrition sciences from North Carolina State University. Megan is currently a CN III and holds a PCCN certification. She is a highly engaged team member who has served in charge nurse, preceptor, and cardiac monitoring champion roles. Megan is also an environment of care super-user and an active member of the work culture committee. She is also a member of the AACN.
Please join us in congratulating Jessie and Megan in their new roles!
Shout-out to 7 East/Cardiothoracic Step-down Unit
On September 11th our 7 East team celebrated two years with NO Pressure Injuries! With utilizing the Dual Skin Assessment and collaborating with the WCON team and Angela Richardson, they were able to meet this amazing milestone, according to Amanda Rooney, Clinical Lead. “This shows the great dedication that the 7 East Team Members have to Quality Improvement and patient care,” she added.
Great job, 7 East!!!
Triangle AHA Seeking Testimonial Videos to Help Kick-Off Heart Walk
Our local American Heart Walk affiliate is seeking short, 30-second to 2-minute testimonial videos (shot with your cell phone) of why you support the annual Heart Walk. The videos will be used at the Heart Walk kick-off event on Friday, Oct. 9. The Heart Walk is Saturday, Oct. 10.
Dubbed “Because of You videos” your testimonial should include the following:
- Introduce yourself: Share your name, the company you work or organization you’re with
- Share your why: Are you or a family member a survivor? Talk about the experience.
- Share the outcome starting with “Because of you…”
Examples: “Because of you, my dad is celebrating more birthdays.” “Because of you, my daughter is growing up strong and brave.” “Because of you, I can walk my daughter down the aisle.”
If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Burrows of the Triangle AHA, via email: Kimberly.burrows@heart.org. Video submissions are due by Thursday, October 1.
ICYMI:
Ashlee Davis, Richie Palma and Dave Adams have a newly published article – this time on AI. Check it out here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7289098
Davis A, Billick K, Horton K, et al. Artificial Intelligence and Echocardiography: A Primer for Cardiac Sonographers. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2020;33(9):1061-1066. doi:10.1016/j.echo.2020.04.025
Duke-wide Effort Urges Everyone to Register and Vote
An estimated 50 million eligible voters in the United States are not registered to participate in this important privilege and duty.
Duke has launched a University-wide effort to make it easy and convenient for everyone – faculty, staff and students – to register and to vote. The website vote.duke.edu is Duke’s online resource for how to register in North Carolina or other states, how to request an absentee ballot, and examples of ways you can get involved.
There will also be an early voting site on campus at the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center, October 15-31. (If you have not yet visited the new Alumni Center, it’s really beautiful and worth checking out. Location: 2080 Duke University Rd, Durham, NC 27708)
You can also view the recording of a recent Duke Health leadership virtual town hall to learn more about Duke Health’s voter registration and turnout initiatives for the 2020 elections.
Important Reminders
- Please get your Flu Vaccination: All team members must get their vaccination or otherwise demonstrate policy compliance by Tuesday, Nov. 10. Details and resources all available on the Duke Health Influenza Resources site (NET ID required): https://influenza.dh.dukehealth.org.
- Zoom Update: In response to the appeals of Duke and the higher education community, Zoom will NOT enforce the mandatory security requirement originally scheduled for September 27.
- October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month (the month formerly known as sonography month). Please thank a sonographer!
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Sept. 22: ESC Wrap-Up and Overview with the Experts. Christopher Granger and Bernard Gersh of the Mayo Clinic, 5 – 6 p.m.
Sept. 29: Managing Pregnancy and Pulmonary Hypertension: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a High Risk Patient. Presenters: Terry Fortin, Sarah Goldstein, Chad Grotegut, Marie-Louise Meng and Cary Ward. 5 p.m. Virtual. Links available in Outlook invitation.
Oct. 6: The Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, Distinguished Lecture. Presenter: Helen Hobbs, MD, investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor, Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics, UT Southwestern Medical Center. Noon – 1 p.m., part of Duke SOM Research Week. For more information, please visit: https://medschool.duke.edu/research/research-week.
Oct. 6: Special Cardiology Grand Rounds – A Tribute to Dr. Eric Peterson. 5 p.m. Virtual. Links available in Outlook invitation. Presenters:
- Matthew Roe, MD – Origins of CV Registries
- Sreek Vemulapalli, MD – Partnering with Professional Societies
- Jon Piccini, MD – Expanding the Scope: AF/Stroke Care
- Tracy Wang, MD – Implementation Science
- Neha Pagidipati – Possibilities in Prevention
- Ann Marie Navar, MD – Going Digital
- Eric Peterson, MD – The Future
Oct. 13: Michelle Kittleson, MD, PhD, of Cedars-Sinai.
Oct. 20: The Albert L. Williams Cardiovascular Genetics Lecture Series. Presenter: Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, of Columbia.
Oct. 27: Cardiology Faculty meeting
Nov. 10: TBA
Nov. 17: No CGR. AHA Scientific Sessions
Conferences, Symposia & Webinars
Sept. 21: Duke Orthopaedic and Rehab Seminar. 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Guest speaker is Shane Phillips, PT, PhD, FAHA, Professor and Associate Head of PT and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois-Chicago. His topic is Microvascular Function and Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Canary in the Coal Mine? Zoom seminar: https://duke.zoom.us/j/93436455711
Sept. 29: COVID-19 and the Telehealth Transformation, with Jedrek Wosik and Shijing Si. Noon – 1 p.m.
COVID-19 has led to the rapid adoption of telehealth strategies in order to maintain continuity of care. As compared to in-person visits, important changes in patient characteristics were seen in telephone and video visits as well as clinician ordering patterns. In addition, MyChart patient portal usage increased dramatically. We present select initial Duke clinic utilization data before and during COVID-19. To better understand the increasing number of unstructured MyChart messages, we apply both unsupervised and supervised machine learning tools to patient-generated messages. Specifically, 1) we utilize dynamic topic modeling to gain insight into message meaning and monthly trends for patients with (+) and (-) COVID and Flu results; 2) we leverage the state-of-the-art machine learning model (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers or BERT) to construct an automatic message triaging algorithm or classifier that outperforms other baseline methods.
Registration required to receive link and meeting information. To register, visit: https://training.oit.duke.edu/enroll/common/show/21/175250. This event is co-hosted by the Duke Center for Computational Thinking and Duke+DataScience.
Oct. 5 – 8: Research Week. Sponsored by Duke School of Medicine. Series will be held virtually, via Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/92060873004. More information and a full agenda can be found here: https://medschool.duke.edu/research/research-week
Oct. 7: PROMISE trial webinar. Pam Douglas will lead an overview of the PROMISE trial cohort, and research plan, with insights and panel discussions. 4-6 p.m., To register for the Zoom link, please visit: https://duke.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wSz_1UcZRNy0cmqg8q6hgg. Sponsored by DCRI.
Nov. 13: 12th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Noon – 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit this page. This event will be held virtually and is co-sponsored by Duke and the University of North Carolina in partnership with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association through the Building Medical Education in PH program. Please join us!
Nov. 13–17: AHA Scientific Sessions 2020, a virtual experience. Registration is now open. See the website for details.
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
September 18 — Erich Huang (Duke Forge)
U.S. News & World Report
Why Colleges Are Offering Data Science Programs
https://bit.ly/33Uxl6w
September 22 — Michel Zeitouni and Ann Marie Navar
Healio/Cardiology Today
In high-risk younger patients, cholesterol guideline suitability questioned
https://bit.ly/33T5tQ0
September 23 — Robert Califf
STAT
Fast, low-cost testing is essential for averting a second wave of Covid-19
https://bit.ly/3kN57kN
Duke Heart Week ending September 20th 2020
Chief’s message: RBG and Resilience
I try not to interrupt my kids (13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son) as they tell me about their day during dinner time. They go first so they get the most time, then my wife, and then me. This has become an even more important ritual during COVID-19 times and is one of the few things that we have fought hard to ensure we have time for. Given the stressful times for kids and parents, the ability to sit and hear the joys and struggles of each member of the family’s day has brought us even closer together if not sometimes led to other frustrations. It is with this backdrop that I was hesitant to interrupt my “daughter’s day” on Friday when I got the news at dinner that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed away. Both kids over the last two years for some reason had read the “Notorious RBG”, and shared with the parents her empowering statements, her writing through the night, the way she picked cases, and even making people like Bill Clinton cry. All politics aside, I knew she meant a lot to the country and she meant a lot to my children. So, I interrupted and said I had some bad news for the family to hear and told them that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away surrounded by family and friends. Both kids, and my wife, and my daughter in particular were saddened and took a moment. We shared some of the impact and accomplishments, and unfortunately were worried that this would further divide an already polarized community and country. As we cleaned up and started to plan what we might do for a “fun” Friday night, my daughter and son both asked if they could go use their cell phones to text and discuss her death with friends. My wife started getting texts from her high school girlfriends. An hour later we settled into watching a series we have been watching on Netflix, and my kids described ways in which they and their friends will try to carry on the lessons and legacy of RBG.
I share the story as I was struck by how much the Duke Heart community has had challenges and similar responses in 2020. We have faced as a community and group, the COVID-19 pandemic, continued evidence of racial injustice and health inequity, and other innumerable challenges in the ways in which we care for our patients and each other. These have included at times, some of our most trusted colleagues and partners getting sick, operational struggles in care delivery and research, limitations in how we can share and discuss both clinical care and our ongoing “days” and lives, and in some instances our colleagues taking important roles at other institutions. Through all of this, we are blessed to have the Duke Heart community – the people that every day support and work to carry out the mission and legacy of our group to discovery and deliver better health. 2020 is not over by any stretch and we will all be challenged more as we work to improve the structure and manner in which we care for patients and conduct science. But, I remain encouraged by the resilience of you all who support and continue to push our collective desire to for clinical and research excellence forward.
A few quotes from Ruth Bader Ginsburg – known for her Resilience
“Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”
“I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability.”
Highlights of the week:
Atwater Named Director, Cardiac Electrophysiology at Inova
We are excited to announce that Brett D. Atwater, Associate Professor of Medicine with Tenure in the Division of Cardiology will assume the role of Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Electrophysiology Research at the Inova Heart & Vascular Institute in Fairfax, VA, a position that is effective December 14, 2020.
Brett graduated from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, completed his internal medicine training at Duke, and completed his cardiology training at the University of Wisconsin. He returned to Duke for his electrophysiology fellowship and joined the faculty in 2010. Brett has been dedicated to patient care, education, and research. He has many accomplishments during his time here at Duke. He has served as the Director of Electrophysiology at the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center. He has also served as the Director of the EP Lab at Duke University Medical Center and led Duke’s Electrophysiology Services in Wake County. He has a great track record for helping to build and grow robust clinical programs. Moreover, through his leadership, he has also established new programs at Duke University Hospital, including the physiologic His pacing program and our clinical service line at Wake Med.
He is an internationally recognized clinical investigator in cardiac resynchronization therapy and electrocardiography and has co-authored more than 70 peer reviewed articles during his time at Duke. Recently, he performed the first in-man use of the His-Pro sheath for conduction system pacing lead implantation here at Duke. He has also served as a valuable teacher and mentor to many medical students, residents and fellows. He is leaving Duke to lead a talented EP section where he will work alongside several notable Duke alumni.
“This is a bittersweet moment for Duke EP,” said Jon Piccini, Duke’s director of Cardiac Electrophysiology. “While we will miss working with Dr. Atwater and learning from Dr. Atwater, we are extremely excited and thrilled so see him take on this important leadership opportunity in cardiac electrophysiology. Inova will be poised for exceptional success and innovation under his leadership.”
Atwater says he is especially grateful for the mentorship, partnership and friendship he has enjoyed with members of the Duke faculty and staff.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the opportunities to work with the exceptional physicians, fellows, APPs, nurses and staff,” said Atwater. “Duke is and will remain a very special place because of the talented, caring people who choose to work here.”
Atwater and Piccini are both looking forward to opportunities to strengthen collaboration between Inova and Duke.
Congratulations, Brett – you will certainly be missed at Duke!
Bonadonna Named Chief Perfusionist, Effective Oct. 1
Duke Heart is pleased to announce that Desiree Bonadonna has been named Chief Perfusionist for Duke Health. Bonadonna has led the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation program (ECMO) at Duke for the last seven years, and most recently has served as the Director of Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) for Duke University Hospital and Duke University Health System. In her director role, she coordinated medical center resources to efficiently deliver high quality respiratory and cardiac extracorporeal support — neonatal through adult — throughout the health system and our referral network.
She has provided clinical expertise and oversight of patient care for more than 250 ECLS cases per year and managed ECLS continuing education and care delivery training for 40 ECMO specialists and 34 perfusionists, as well as multidisciplinary teams serving four intensive care units, the operating rooms, and emergency services. She has built and maintained the relationships necessary to conceive and establish an inter-hospital ECMO transport program inclusive of ground, rotor, and fixed wing aircraft, which have supported more than 100 inter-hospital ECLS transports annually. Her collaborations with internal data and quality experts have allowed us to better benchmark outcomes, as well as identify and implement performance improvement and research opportunities, all of which have led to quality improvements.
Under her leadership, the ECMO Program has received an ELSO Award for Excellence in Extracorporeal Life Support and she will continue to support the ECLS program in her Chief of Perfusion role.
We welcomed Bonadonna to the Duke team in 2007 when she started as a perfusionist; she maintains clinical competence in both pediatric and adult cardiothoracic surgery and is actively involved in multiple perfusion societies, including the American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion, to which she was nominated as a Fellow earlier this year. She is widely published in the perfusion and ECMO literature, and has been an invited speaker regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Bonadonna earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh; she holds a Certificate in Cardiovascular Perfusion from the Center for Allied Health at Cooper University Health Care, and a Master of Perfusion Science degree from University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Congratulations, Desiree! We are very excited for you and for our Perfusion program!
Shout-Out to Wofford!
Brian Wofford, vice president of heart operations for Durham County, recently had the opportunity to plan and organize a special event featuring Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to be an Antiracist and director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University.
The event, A Conversation with Professor Ibram X. Kendi, was held Sept. 16 during the General Session of the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) 2020 Virtual Educational Conference, which Wofford co-chaired. NAHSE is a non-profit association of Black health care executives founded in 1968 for the purpose of promoting the advancement and development of Black health care leaders, and elevating the quality of health care services rendered to minority and underserved communities. (Fabian Stone, associate vice president of revenue cycle and health information management at DUHS, currently serves as President of NAHSE. Rhonda Brandon, chief human resources officer and senior vice president for the Duke University Health System, and Adia Ross, chief medical officer for Duke Regional Hospital also spoke at the event.)
Way to represent Duke Health and Duke Heart, Brian! Thank you for the work you are doing to support Duke Heart as well as the Moments to Movement initiative at Duke. To read more about Duke’s ties to NAHSE and our sponsored event with Kendi, please visit the Inside Duke Health story.
BBQ – Lunch
Thank you to Grateful cardiology patient and Duke fellow alum, Dr. Bob Bauman, cooked us an amazing pork barbeque pork lunch this week. Rich Krasuski noted “It was the best barbeque I’ve ever had!”
Important Reminders
- Please get your Flu Vaccination: All team members must get their vaccination or otherwise demonstrate policy compliance by Tuesday, Nov. 10. Details and resources all available on the Duke Health Influenza Resources site (NET ID required): https://influenza.dh.dukehealth.org.
- Moments to Movement wearables are available
- All members of the Duke University and Duke University Health System community are encouraged to register and vote in the 2020 election. For the most up-to-date information and resources on voting, visit the Duke Votes website: duke.edu
- DHTS has issued additional details related to the new Zoom meeting security requirements that are going into effect on Sept. 27. Please look these over, particularly if you are planning upcoming Zoom events. Attached is a PDF summary, if you can use it.
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Sept. 22: ESC Wrap-Up and Overview with the Experts. Christopher Granger and Bernard Gersh of the Mayo Clinic, 5 – 6 p.m.
Funding Opp: Translating Duke Health – CV Initiative – COVID-19
Duke Health has announced a request for innovative pilot project proposals for high risk/high impact research in the area of the heart disease and COVID-19. The intent of this RFP is to support one to four pilot projects that help us better understand how to prevent the transition from cardiovascular health to disease and/or facilitate the return to health.
We are especially interested in: (1) proposals that span multiple dimensions from basic to clinical to populations, (2) proposals that build new collaborations and/or new teams, and (3) proposals that might lead to extended productive and NIH-funded collaborations.
Applications are due TOMORROW, 9/21. Click here to see the full RFP and to find additional details about eligibility, funding, proposal requirements, selection process and review criteria.
Conferences & Symposia
Sept. 21: Duke Orthopaedic and Rehab Seminar. 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Guest speaker is Shane Phillips, PT, PhD, FAHA, Professor and Associate Head of PT and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois-Chicago. His topic is Microvascular Function and Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Canary in the Coal Mine? Zoom seminar: https://duke.zoom.us/j/93436455711
Sept. 29: COVID-19 and the Telehealth Transformation, with Jedrek Wosik and Shijing Si. Noon – 1 p.m.
COVID-19 has led to the rapid adoption of telehealth strategies in order to maintain continuity of care. As compared to in-person visits, important changes in patient characteristics were seen in telephone and video visits as well as clinician ordering patterns. In addition, MyChart patient portal usage increased dramatically. We present select initial Duke clinic utilization data before and during COVID-19. To better understand the increasing number of unstructured MyChart messages, we apply both unsupervised and supervised machine learning tools to patient-generated messages. Specifically, 1) we utilize dynamic topic modeling to gain insight into message meaning and monthly trends for patients with (+) and (-) COVID and Flu results; 2) we leverage the state-of-the-art machine learning model (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers or BERT) to construct an automatic message triaging algorithm or classifier that outperforms other baseline methods.
Registration required to receive link and meeting information. To register, visit: https://training.oit.duke.edu/enroll/common/show/21/175250. This event is co-hosted by the Duke Center for Computational Thinking and Duke+DataScience.
Oct. 5 – 8: Research Week. Sponsored by Duke School of Medicine. Series will be held virtually, via Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/92060873004. More information and a full agenda can be found here: https://medschool.duke.edu/research/research-week
Nov. 13: 12th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Noon – 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit this page. This event will be held virtually and is co-sponsored by Duke and the University of North Carolina in partnership with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association through the Building Medical Education in PH program. Please join us!
Nov. 13–17: AHA Scientific Sessions 2020, a virtual experience. Registration is now open. See the website for details.
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
September 14 — Manesh Patel
Becker’s Hospital Review
The most concerning disparities in heart care outcomes: 2 cardiologists discuss
https://bit.ly/2HeAp5
Division of Cardiology Publications: September 10-16, 2020
Aberra T, Peterson ED, Pagidipati NJ, Mulder H, Wojdyla DM, Philip S, Granowitz C, Navar AM. The association between triglycerides and incident cardiovascular disease: What is “optimal”? J Clin Lipidol 2020;14(4):438-447. PM:32571728
AbouEzzeddine OF, Kemp BJ, Borlaug BA, Mullan BP, Behfar A, Pislaru SV, Fudim M, Redfield MM, Chareonthaitawee P. Myocardial Energetics in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction. Circ Heart Fail 2019;12(10):e006240. PM:31610726
Al-Bawardy R, Vemulapalli S, Thourani VH, Mack M, Dai D, Stebbins A, Palacios I, Inglessis I, Sakhuja R, Ben-Assa E, Passeri JJ, Dal-Bianco JP, Yucel E, Melnitchouk S, Vlahakes GJ, Jassar AS, Elmariah S. Association of Pulmonary Hypertension With Clinical Outcomes of Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(1):47-56. PM:31746963
Bach RG, Cannon CP, Blazing MA. Interpreting the Benefit of Simvastatin-Ezetimibe in Patients 75 Years or Older-Reply. JAMA Cardiol 20201;5(2):235-236. PM:31895449
Bae JA, Curtis LH, Hernandez AF. National Hospital Quality Rankings: Improving the Value of Information in Hospital Rating Systems. JAMA 2020;324(9):839-840. PM:32730574
Bennett AV, Jonsson M, Chen RC, Al-Khatib SM, Weinfurt KP, Curtis LH. Applying patient-reported outcome methodology to capture patient-reported health data: Report from an NIH Collaboratory roundtable. Healthc (Amst) 2020;8(3):100442. PM:32919581
Choi AY, Mulvihill MS, Lee HJ, Zhao C, Kuchibhatla M, Schroder JN, Patel CB, Granger CB, Hartwig MG. Transplant Center Variability in Organ Offer Acceptance and Mortality Among US Patients on the Heart Transplant Waitlist. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(6):660-668. PM:32293647
Daubert MA, Sivak J, Dunning A, Douglas PS, Coyne B, Wang TY, Mark DB, Velazquez EJ. Implications of Abnormal Exercise Electrocardiography With Normal Stress Echocardiography. JAMA Intern Med 2020;180(4):494-502. PM:31985749
DeVore AD, Braunwald E, Morrow DA, Duffy CI, Ambrosy AP, Chakraborty H, McCague K, Rocha R, Velazquez EJ. Initiation of Angiotensin-Neprilysin Inhibition After Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: Secondary Analysis of the Open-label Extension of the PIONEER-HF Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(2):202-207. PM:31825471
Ding EY, Svennberg E, Wurster C, Duncker D, Manninger M, Lubitz SA, Dickson E, Fitzgibbons TP, Akoum N, Al-Khatib SM, Attia ZI, Ghanbari H, Marrouche NF, Mendenhall GS, Peters NS, Tarakji KG, Turakhia M, Wan EY, McManus DD. Survey of current perspectives on consumer-available digital health devices for detecting atrial fibrillation. Cardiovasc Digit Health J 2020;1(1):21-29. PM:32924024
Fanaroff AC, Peterson ED, Kaltenbach LA, Cannon CP, Choudhry NK, Henry TD, Anstrom KJ, Cohen DJ, Fonseca E, Khan ND, Fonarow GC, Wang TY. Agreement and Accuracy of Medication Persistence Identified by Patient Self-report vs Pharmacy Fill: A Secondary Analysis of the Cluster Randomized ARTEMIS Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(5):532-539. PM:32129795
Fanaroff AC, Peterson ED, Kaltenbach LA, Cannon CP, Choudhry NK, Henry TD, Anstrom KJ, Cohen DJ, Fonseca E, Khan ND, Fonarow GC, Wang TY. Association of a P2Y12 Inhibitor Copayment Reduction Intervention With Persistence and Adherence With Other Secondary Prevention Medications: A Post Hoc Analysis of the ARTEMIS Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(1):38-46. PM:31721978
Fiuzat M, Ezekowitz J, Alemayehu W, Westerhout CM, Sbolli M, Cani D, Whellan DJ, Ahmad T, Adams K, Piña IL, Patel CB, Anstrom KJ, Cooper LS, Mark D, Leifer ES, Felker GM, Januzzi JL, O’Connor CM. Assessment of Limitations to Optimization of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy in Heart Failure From the GUIDE-IT Trial: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(7):757-764. PM:32319999
Fudim M, Ali-Ahmed F, Parzynski CS, Ambrosy AP, Friedman DJ, Pokorney SD, Curtis JP, Fonarow GC, Masoudi FA, Hernandez AF, Al-Khatib SM. Periprocedural Risk and Survival Associated With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Placement in Older Patients With Advanced Heart Failure. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(6):643-651. PM:32211811
Harskamp RE, Alexander JH, Lopes RD. Clinical Considerations Prior to Transition From Triple Antithrombotic Therapy to Dual Antithrombotic Therapy-Reply. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(1):111-112. PM:31799984
Inohara T, Kohsaka S, Spertus JA, Masoudi FA, Rumsfeld JS, Kennedy KF, Wang TY, Yamaji K, Amano T, Nakamura M. Comparative Trends in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Japan and the United States, 2013 to 2017. J Am Coll Cardiol 2020;76(11):1328-1340. PM:32912447
Kelsey MD, Newby LK. In older patients with NSTE-ACS, clopidogrel safely reduced bleeding compared with ticagrelor at 1 year. Ann Intern Med 2020;173(6):JC28. PM:32926825
Kendsersky P, Krasuski RA. Intensive Care Unit Management of the Adult with Congenital Heart Disease. Curr Cardiol Rep 2020;22(11):136. PM:32910318
Khan MS, Shahid I, Siddiqi TJ, Khan SU, Warraich HJ, Greene SJ, Butler J, Michos ED. Ten-Year Trends in Enrollment of Women and Minorities in Pivotal Trials Supporting Recent US Food and Drug Administration Approval of Novel Cardiometabolic Drugs. J Am Heart Assoc 2020;9(11):e015594. PM:32427023
Liu Y, Baker O, Schuur JD, Weiner SG. Effects of Rescheduling Hydrocodone on Opioid Prescribing in Ohio. Pain Med 2020;21(9):1863-1870. PM:31502638
Lopes RD, Hong H, Harskamp RE, Bhatt DL, Mehran R, Cannon CP, Granger CB, Verheugt FWA, Li J, Ten Berg JM, Sarafoff N, Vranckx P, Goette A, Gibson CM, Alexander JH. Optimal Antithrombotic Regimens for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Updated Network Meta-analysis. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(5):582-589. PM:32101251
Lowenstern A, Alexander KP, Hill CL, Alhanti B, Pellikka PA, Nanna MG, Mehta RH, Cooper LS, Bullock-Palmer RP, Hoffmann U, Douglas PS. Age-Related Differences in the Noninvasive Evaluation for Possible Coronary Artery Disease: Insights From the Prospective Multicenter Imaging Study for Evaluation of Chest Pain (PROMISE) Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(2):193-201. PM:31738382
Madhavan M, Holmes DN, Piccini JP, Freeman JV, Fonarow GC, Hylek EM, Kowey PR, Mahaffey KW, Pieper K, Peterson ED, Chan PS, Allen LA, Singer DE, Naccarelli GV, Reiffel JA, Steinberg BA, Gersh BJ. Effect of Temporary Interruption of Warfarin Due to an Intervention on Downstream Time in Therapeutic Range in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (from ORBIT AF). Am J Cardiol 2020;132:66-71. PM:32826041
Mahmoudi M, Nicholas Z, Nuttall J, Bresser M, Maishman T, Berry C, Hlatky MA, Douglas P, Rajani R, Fox K, Curzen N. Fractional Flow Reserve Derived from Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography in the Assessment and Management of Stable Chest Pain: Rationale and Design of the FORECAST Trial. Cardiovasc Revasc Med 2020;21(7):890-896. PM:31932171
Mahmud E, Dauerman HL, Welt FGP, Messenger JC, Rao SV, Grines C, Mattu A, Kirtane AJ, Jauhar R, Meraj P, Rokos IC, Rumsfeld JS, Henry TD. Management of Acute Myocardial Infarction During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Position Statement From the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the American College of Emergency Physicians. J Am Coll Cardiol 2020;76(11):1375-1384. PM:32330544
Marquis-Gravel G, Roe MT, Robertson HR, Harrington RA, Pencina MJ, Berdan LG, Hammill BG, Faulkner M, Muñoz D, Fonarow GC, Nallamothu BK, Fintel DJ, Ford DE, Zhou L, Daugherty SE, Nauman E, Kraschnewski J, Ahmad FS, Benziger CP, Haynes K, Merritt JG. Rationale and Design of the Aspirin Dosing-A Patient-Centric Trial Assessing Benefits and Long-term Effectiveness (ADAPTABLE) Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(5):598-607. PM:32186653
Nanna MG, Peterson ED. Translating the Secondary Prevention Therapeutic Boom Into Action. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(2):215-216. PM:31895445
Nathan AS, Xiang Q, Wojdyla D, Khatana SAM, Dayoub EJ, Wadhera RK, Bhatt DL, Kolansky DM, Kirtane AJ, Rao SV, Yeh RW, Groeneveld PW, Wang TY, Giri J. Performance of Hospitals When Assessing Disease-Based Mortality Compared With Procedural Mortality for Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(7):765-772. PM:32347890
Navar AM. Questioning the Benefit of Statins for Low-Risk Populations-Medical Misinformation or Scientific Evidence?-Reply. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(2):233-234. PM:31876926
Navar AM, Mehran R. High Rates of Off-label Prescribing and the Urgent Need for a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(6):692-693. PM:32319997
Nelson AJ, Navar AM, Mulder H, Wojdyla D, Philip S, Granowitz C, Peterson ED, Pagidipati NJ. Association Between Triglycerides and Residual Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Established Cardiovascular Disease (From the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes [BARI 2D] Trial). Am J Cardiol 2020;132:36-43. PM:32773223
Olivotto I, Oreziak A, Barriales-Villa R, Abraham TP, Masri A, Garcia-Pavia P, Saberi S, Lakdawala NK, Wheeler MT, Owens A, Kubanek M, Wojakowski W, Jensen MK, Gimeno-Blanes J, Afshar K, Myers J, Hegde SM, Solomon SD, Sehnert AJ, Zhang D, Li W, Bhattachar. Mavacamten for treatment of symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (EXPLORER-HCM): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet 2020;396(10253):759-769. PM:32871100
Ortega RF, Mehran R, Douglas PS. The Conundrum and Opportunity of Gender Equity for Evidence Generators. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(6):623-624. PM:32267464
Pandey A, Keshvani N, Khera R, Lu D, Vaduganathan M, Joynt Maddox KE, Das SR, Kumbhani DJ, Goyal A, Girotra S, Chan P, Fonarow GC, Matsouaka R, Wang TY, de Lemos JA. Temporal Trends in Racial Differences in 30-Day Readmission and Mortality Rates After Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Medicare Beneficiaries. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(2):136-145. PM:31913411
Prabhakaran D, Perel P, Roy A, Singh K, Raspail L, Faria-Neto JR, Gidding SS, Ojji D, Hakim F, Newby LK, Stępińska J, Lam CSP, Jobe M, Kraus S, Chuquiure-Valenzuela E, Piñeiro D, Khaw KT, Bahiru E, Banerjee A, Narula J, Pinto FJ, Wood DA, Sliwa K. Correction: Management of Cardiovascular Disease Patients With Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 in Limited Resource Settings. Glob Heart 2020;15(1):54. PM:32925986
Prabhakaran D, Perel P, Roy A, Singh K, Raspail L, Faria-Neto JR, Gidding SS, Ojji D, Hakim F, Newby LK, Stępińska J, Lam CSP, Jobe M, Kraus S, Chuquiure-Valenzuela E, Piñeiro D, Khaw KT, Bahiru E, Banerjee A, Narula J, Sliwa K. Management of Cardiovascular Disease Patients With Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 in Limited Resource Settings. Glob Heart 2020;15(1):44. PM:32923338
Reynolds HR, Shaw LJ, Min JK, Spertus JA, Chaitman BR, Berman DS, Picard MH, Kwong RY, Bairey-Merz CN, Cyr DD, Lopes RD, Lopez-Sendon JL, Held C, Szwed H, Senior R, Gosselin G, Nair RG, Elghamaz A, Bockeria O, Chen J, Chernyavskiy AM, Bhargava B, Newman J. Association of Sex With Severity of Coronary Artery Disease, Ischemia, and Symptom Burden in Patients With Moderate or Severe Ischemia: Secondary Analysis of the ISCHEMIA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(7):773-786. PM:32227128
Rudski L, Januzzi JL, Rigolin VH, Bohula EA, Blankstein R, Patel AR, Bucciarelli-Ducci C, Vorovich E, Mukherjee M, Rao SV, Beanlands R, Villines TC, Di Carli MF. Multimodality Imaging in Evaluation of Cardiovascular Complications in Patients With COVID-19: JACC Scientific Expert Panel. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2020;76(11):1345-1357. PM:32710927
Samsky MD, Lin L, Greene SJ, Lippmann SJ, Peterson PN, Heidenreich PA, Laskey WK, Yancy CW, Greiner MA, Hardy NC, Kavati A, Park S, Mentz RJ, Fonarow GC, O’Brien EC. Patient Perceptions and Familiarity With Medical Therapy for Heart Failure. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(3):292-299. PM:31734700
Soloveva A, Fedorova D, Villevalde S, Zvartau N, Mareev Y, Sitnikova M, Shlyakhto E, Fudim M. Addressing Orthostatic Hypotension in Heart Failure: Pathophysiology, Clinical Implications and Perspectives. J Cardiovasc Transl Res 2020;13(4):549-569. PM:32748206
Soloveva A, Fudim M. A Contemporary Picture of Congestion in Heart Failure: from Dropsy Impression to Multifaceted Reality. J Cardiovasc Transl Res 2020;13(4):507-508. PM:32367342
Song Y, Zhou X, Zhang M, Zhao W, Liu Y, Kardia SLR, Roux AVD, Needham BL, Smith JA, Mukherjee B. Bayesian shrinkage estimation of high dimensional causal mediation effects in omics studies. Biometrics 2020;76(3):700-710. PM:31733066
Sumarsono A, Vaduganathan M, Ajufo E, Navar AM, Fonarow GC, Das SR, Pandey A. Contemporary Patterns of Medicare and Medicaid Utilization and Associated Spending on Sacubitril/Valsartan and Ivabradine in Heart Failure. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(3):336-339. PM:31738371
Tahhan AS, Vaduganathan M, Greene SJ, Alrohaibani A, Raad M, Gafeer M, Mehran R, Fonarow GC, Douglas PS, Bhatt DL, Butler J. Enrollment of Older Patients, Women, and Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups in Contemporary Acute Coronary Syndrome Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(6):714-722. PM:32211813
van de Hoef TP, Lee JM, Echavarria-Pinto M, Koo BK, Matsuo H, Patel MR, Davies JE, Escaned J, Piek JJ. Non-hyperaemic coronary pressure measurements to guide coronary interventions. Nat Rev Cardiol 2020;17(10):629-640. PM:32409779
Wang TY. Lowering Dietary Sodium Intake-Implementing and Studying the Effectiveness of Public Health Interventions. JAMA Intern Med 2020;180(6):887. PM:32338702
Waweru-Siika W, Barasa A, Wachira B, Nekyon D, Karau B, Juma F, Wanjiku G, Otieno H, Bloomfield GS, Sloth E. Building focused cardiac ultrasound capacity in a lower middle-income country: A single centre study to assess training impact. Afr J Emerg Med 2020;10(3):136-143. PM:32923324
Yancy CW, Fonarow GC, Hernandez AF. Does Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy for Heart Failure Offer Benefits After LVAD Placement?-A Call for a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(2):183. PM:31738365
Yano Y, Reis JP, Lewis CE, Sidney S, Pletcher MJ, Bibbins-Domingo K, Navar AM, Peterson ED, Bancks MP, Kanegae H, Gidding SS, Muntner P, Lloyd-Jones DM. Association of Blood Pressure Patterns in Young Adulthood With Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in Middle Age. JAMA Cardiol 2020;5(4):382-389. PM:31968050
Duke Heart Week ending September 13th 2020
Highlights of the week:
New Faculty Spotlight: Jennifer Rymer, MD, MBA, Cardiac Interventional Team
Back in July, we welcomed Jennifer Rymer, MD, MBA, to the Duke faculty as an assistant professor of medicine in the division of cardiology. We spoke recently about her decision to join the Duke faculty, her experiences during fellowship, and her research.
“While I wasn’t fully decided on my path when entering fellowship, my experiences at the DCRI and in the Duke cath lab made me know that academic cardiology/interventional cardiology was the route for me,” said Rymer. “I wanted to be in a place that has the type of infrastructure that allows for clinical lab time as well as research – and Duke has such a large infrastructure for research within the DCRI, population health and within the Heart Center. I had really amazing mentors as a resident and fellow, and building on those relationships made staying at Duke a really easy decision.”
During medical school, Rymer did not envision pursuing fellowship in cardiology. After an extra-long cardiology rotation during her intern year, where she was paired with Joe Rogers, Tom Gehrig, Mike Blazing and Chet Patel, she changed her mind. With that group, she found a kinship – a place and a group of people that felt like a good fit for her. Early on in residency, she began working on research projects with Tracy Wang, who has served as her primary research mentor for more than seven years.
“I remember thinking halfway through my internship year that these were the people I wanted to work with; this was a team of people I respected and I hoped to develop into the kind of doctor that I saw them model,” Rymer reflected. “I think oftentimes careers are decided based not only on clinical and research interests, but also based on the role models you work with.”
She has joined the cardiac catheterization team at Duke University Hospital and will see patients at our Henderson location as well as in South Durham. She will also have research time at the DCRI.
Rymer is currently working on the SOS-AMI trial with Manesh Patel, and the CAMEO Registry with Tracy Wang and Magnus Ohman. Rymer is currently finishing up work funded by several grants. She is co-investigator for the Duke Renal Impairment Initiative to reduce contrast-induced nephropathy in the Duke Cardiac Cath Lab, which is supported by an ACC Foundation Process Improvement Grant. She is principal investigator for work on understanding racial disparities in invasive MI management for patients with AMI and chronic kidney disease, which was supported by the ACCF Merck Award and the DCRI Executive Director Pathway funding. She is also finishing several projects related to BD-STAR and AD-STAR funding. She will be completing her MHS degree this fall based on work she started at the DCRI.
“Duke is a very rare place. It combines a high-volume tertiary care center delivering excellent clinical care with an extraordinarily talented faculty and a world-class research enterprise,” Rymer said. “I feel very lucky to have done training at Duke, and to be transitioning into a faculty role.”
Originally from Tennessee, Rymer received both her MD and MBA in 2011 at Vanderbilt University, where she had done her undergraduate work. She arrived at Duke later that same year to begin her internal medicine residency with Duke School of Medicine. She completed fellowship in cardiovascular medicine here at Duke in 2019 and her fellowship in interventional cardiology at the end of June, just prior to joining our faculty as of July 1.
Rymer has earned a number of accolades while at Duke, including the DCRI-Robert Harrington Award for Excellence in Clinical Research (2019), the Walter Floyd Award for Clinical Excellence in Cardiology (2017); the Joseph R. McClellan, Chief Resident of the Year award (2016); the AHA Women in Cardiology Training award (2015); and was a finalist for the AHA Laennec Young Clinician award (2017). She was a chief resident at Duke University (2015) and clinical chief cardiology fellow (2018). She is a co-author of 48 peer-reviewed publications; serves as a reviewer on five journals (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, American Heart Journal and Vascular Medicine) and sits on several committees, including the AHA Council Operations Committee and the ACC Peripheral Vascular Intervention R&P Committee.
Rymer has recently taken over Adam DeVore’s former role with managing cardiology grand rounds (CGR). She is eager to continue working to make that a great forum for everyone – especially while it continues to be offered virtually. She says the CGR team is looking for feedback and suggestions on how to make the virtual platform more successful and engaging – so please reach out to her with your ideas.
Rymer’s husband, Daniel, is an investment banker at FMI Capital in Raleigh. She has two children, William (age 6) and Caroline (age 2). She enjoys discovering new restaurants around the Triangle, and being outdoors with her family.
We are very pleased to have her on the Duke Heart faculty. Congratulations, Jenn!
Passing of William Sweezer, Jr., MD
Earlier this week, Allan Kirk, MD, PhD, Vice Dean for the Section of Surgical Disciplines at Duke announced the following to the team:
“It is with great sadness that we announce the untimely death of Dr. William P. Sweezer, Jr., our former partner and faculty member in the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. Bill was an outstanding physician and surgeon, and an exceptional human being. He was an AOA graduate of Meharry Medical College, and trained in surgery at Baylor, Henry Ford Hospital, and Wayne State University for cardiac surgery. After a long and successful career in practice, he joined the Duke faculty in 2010 to serve the Danville, Virginia community.
Those who knew Bill well can speak to his incredible devotion to his patients, his colleagues, his co-workers, and to the Danville community. Although he left for a short while, he returned to his Danville roots with the vigor and enthusiasm that defined him as a physician and the demeanor that defined him as an outstanding human being. Throughout, he maintained close contact with the Duke community of thoracic and vascular surgeons in his unending effort to elevate care for his patients to the highest possible level.
The Duke Surgical community is in shock at this abrupt, tragic, and premature loss. The world would be a far, far better place with Bill Sweezer in it.”
A celebration of life for Sweezer, who died Aug. 26 at age 70, was held on Sept. 5 in Houston. He was interred in Forest Park Woodlands Cemetery in Woodlands, Texas. A news story can be found here: https://bit.ly/3mqcu3w.
Our condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues – and our Danville Medical Community
CVRC Seminar Series Renamed
We are pleased to share with you that the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center’s (CVRC) Mandel Seminar Series has been renamed the Victor J. Dzau Lecture Series in Cardiovascular Research supported by the Mandel Foundation.
“This name change is in recognition of Dr. Victor Dzau’s commitment to cardiovascular research and the longstanding partnership between Dr. Dzau, Duke, and the Mandel Foundation,” said Howard Rockman, MD, the Edward S. Orgain Professor of Cardiology and Director of the CVRC. “I am pleased to implement this name change and we expect that it will continue as long as the Mandel Foundation provides funding support for the seminar series.”
This lecture series has been an important means of sharing knowledge and inspiring further discovery and collaboration within the CVRC and with research partners across the U.S.
“I am honored by this recognition of my role in driving and championing cardiovascular research at Duke including the founding of the CVRC, and the many years of relationship with the Mandel Foundation,” said Victor Dzau, MD, the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Chancellor Emeritus of Health Affairs at DUHS.
The request for renaming was made by the Edna and Fred L. Mandel, Jr. Foundation, a major supporter of the CVRC and of cardiovascular research throughout Duke. The Foundation has provided regular funding of research projects at Duke Health since 2005, when Dzau first arrived at Duke to serve as Chancellor of Health Affairs. Edna Mandel began supporting Dzau’s research during his tenure at Stanford University; her philanthropic support followed him to Boston when he moved back to Harvard and then to on to Duke University.
Upon her death in 2002, the Edna and Fred L. Mandel, Jr. Foundation was established through her estate to support basic scientific research efforts into the causes and treatment of hypertension, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. The foundation is administered by three trustees.
Since 2005, all of the Mandel Foundation’s philanthropic efforts, totaling $12,235,594 has gone to projects within the Duke University School of Medicine. In recent years, the annual grant amount has ranged from $800,000 to $900,000, including direct and indirect costs. This funding includes support for the following in the School of Medicine, the Division of Cardiology, and the CVRC:
- Mandel Seed grants for Duke University School of Medicine faculty members
- Mandel Research Fellowship
- Mandel Scholar Award
- Interdisciplinary research grant
- CVRC Small Animal Physiology Core research vouchers
- Translational research award
- Major support for the Duke-Stanford Cardiovascular Research Symposium
- A seminar series co-hosted by the Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC)
The CVRC was formed in 2011 to provide an intellectual home for cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary, bench-oriented research. Their mission is to solidify, enhance and support outstanding cardiovascular research from the basic discovery end of the translational research spectrum.
FAST FACTS! Did you know?
Most of our 20 CVRC faculty members are housed in co-localized research space in the CARL building, directly connected to Duke University Hospital. They have a combined 33,048 square feet of lab space, giving them one of the largest spaces dedicated to basic cardiovascular research in the U.S. “Our cardiology investigators hold greater than $25 million in active research award funding,” according to Maria Price Rapoza, PhD, Executive Director of the CVRC, “and Duke is in the top five nationally for basic science research funding in the cardiovascular space, based on 2014-2018 data.”
Very impressive, CVRC!
Smith Elected to Associate of the ACC
Congratulations to Brenda Smith, RN-BC, CSNIII one of our all-star nurses on the clinical cardiac electrophysiology (EP) team, on her election to Associate of the American College of Cardiology! She will receive this honor during the annual convocation ceremony at the 70th Annual Scientific Session in Atlanta, currently scheduled for March 20-22, 2021.
Smith has worked with Duke EP for 25 years as an outpatient nurse clinician. She is a Fellow in the Heart Rhythm Society, and board certified in cardiac-vascular nursing.
Please join us in congratulating Brenda on this important career milestone!
You & Your Wellness Matter!
Early in the pandemic, infectious disease experts buzzed that this would be a marathon not a sprint. Are you needing a bit of encouragement to keep on going – to keep doing all the good and difficult things you are doing? We could all use some encouragement and perhaps reminders (and permission) that we need breaks. Our wellness matters.
One thing we hope to do with our Duke Heart team this fall is to encourage each one of us to find ways to support our wellness – whether that means giving ourselves a chance to add more movement to our day; providing ourselves time to get to sleep earlier; taking an opportunity to turn off phones and email for a little while; or choosing a healthier meal or buying fewer carb-laden snacks at the grocery store (#guilty).
As a major sponsor of the Triangle Heart Walk, we would, of course, love for you to sign up as a team captain or as a walker. However, we understand that participation might be too much on top of everything else going on right now. What matters more is every member of our team doing something good for themselves and their health. That means you. Your wellness matters.
Stay tuned over the coming weeks and months as we provide tips, reminders and encouragement to address areas of wellness in your life. Do you have tips or a story to share with Pulse readers? What has helped you the most over the past six months? Drop us a note with Wellness in the subject line. We’d like to use your stories to encourage our entire team.
Something to consider this week: Could you make time to add 15-20 more minutes of healthy activity to your week? Or, perhaps you could pick a night to get to sleep 15-20 minutes earlier? Schedule this in your Outlook calendar along with an alarm to prompt you.
If you’re interested and able to do so, sign up as a Heart Walk team captain or join an existing team as a walker so that Duke Heart is well represented. You can register at www.triangleheartwalk.org/duke. If you are already registered, thank you!
Shout-out to CVSSU & our Patient Transport Team!
We learned this week from Kelly Valencia, MSN, FNP-BC, RN-BC, one of our cardiology APPs, that we had a situation develop in a post-PCI (no intervention) patient who was being discharged from the Cardiovascular Short Stay Unit (CVSSU) in Duke University Hospital. The patient was being wheeled out by the transporter when the patient started to complain of lightheadedness. Patient was still in the CVSSU hallway. Jessie Smith, a transporter, turned the wheelchair around and returned the patient to their room; patient became diaphoretic, clammy, and had changes in their level of consciousness. The CVSSU team rushed into action and took excellent care of the patient. A cardiology fellow and attending evaluated the patient event, which was determined to be a vasovagal episode. Our patient did well and has since been discharged safely. “Everyone worked together so well and showed exemplary teamwork!” according to Valencia. Special thanks to Jenna, Britney, Cayley, Amy, Tara, Sharise, Julie and Taylor of the CVSSU for responding immediately. (There were lots of hands on deck, and things moved quickly, so we hope we have included everyone here.)
Well done, team! Hat tip to Stephanie Barnes for the share!
More Good News:
Mollie Kettle, Kelly Kester, Allen Cadavero, Amanda Ornell, Maggie Meyer, Maria Carroll, Jill Engel and Bradi Granger are co-authors on a paper appearing in the Fall 2020 issue of AACN Advanced Critical Care journal. Their article, “COVID-19: Mobilizing Quickly for a Rapid Response,” can be accessed here. Great work, team!
Oliver Jawitz, Jill Engel and Judson Williams have a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Critical Care Clinics. The article, “How to Start an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Program in Critical Care,” can be accessed here. Their co-authors include William Bradford, Gina McConnell, and Jessica Allender, all of Wake Med. Congratulations!
Important Reminders
- Please get your Flu Vaccination: All team members must get their vaccination or otherwise demonstrate policy compliance by Tuesday, Nov. 10. Details and resources all available on the Duke Health Influenza Resources site (NET ID required): https://influenza.dh.dukehealth.org.
- REACH Equity Center seeking candidates – see last week’s post
- Moments to Movement wearables are available
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Duke Health Town Hall
Sept. 14: Voter Registration/Town Hall. 4:30 p.m. via Zoom: Link
Monday afternoon, the Duke Health Town Hall will focus on Duke Health’s voter registration and turnout initiative for the 2020 elections. A representative from You Can Vote, a non-partisan voter education organization, will be on hand to provide helpful information and resources. The session begins at 4:30 p.m.
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Sept. 15: Social Media and Academic Cardiology. Panelists include Sunil Rao, Manesh Patel, Adrian Hernandez, Jonathan McCall, and Brian Southwell, 7:15 – 8:15 a.m.
Sept. 22: ESC Wrap-Up and Overview with the Experts. Christopher Granger and Bernard Gersh, 5 – 6 p.m.
Funding Opp: Translating Duke Health – CV Initiative – COVID-19
Duke Health has announced a request for innovative pilot project proposals for high risk/high impact research in the area of the heart disease and COVID-19. The intent of this RFP is to support one to four pilot projects that help us better understand how to prevent the transition from cardiovascular health to disease and/or facilitate the return to health.
We are especially interested in: (1) proposals that span multiple dimensions from basic to clinical to populations, (2) proposals that build new collaborations and/or new teams, and (3) proposals that might lead to extended productive and NIH-funded collaborations.
Applications are due Sept. 21, 2020. Click here to see the full RFP and to find additional details about eligibility, funding, proposal requirements, selection process and review criteria.
Conferences & Symposia
Oct. 5 – 8: Research Week. Sponsored by Duke School of Medicine. Series will be held virtually, via Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/92060873004. More information and a full agenda can be found here: https://medschool.duke.edu/research/research-week
Nov. 13: 12th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Noon – 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit this page. This event will be held virtually and is co-sponsored by Duke and the University of North Carolina in partnership with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association through the Building Medical Education in PH program. Please join us!
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
September 7 — Renato Lopes
Physician’s Weekly
ESC: BRACE CORONA Provides Data to Ease ACEi/ARB Worries in Pandemic
https://www.physiciansweekly.com/esc-brace-corona-provides-data-to-ease-acei-arb-worries-in-pandemic/
September 9 — Ann Marie Navar and Duke Clinical Research Institute
EurekAlert/AAAS (news release)
Generic cholesterol drugs save medicare billions of dollars, study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/usmc-gcd_1090820.php
Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed September 3-9, 2020
Ahn S, Shenoy SK, Luttrell LM, Lefkowitz RJ. SnapShot: ?-Arrestin Functions. Cell 2020 Sep 3;182(5):1362-1362. PM:32888497.
Bakovic M, Thakkar D, DeBenedittis P, Chong DC, Thomas MC, Iversen ES, Karra R. Clonal Analysis of the Neonatal Mouse Heart using Nearest Neighbor Modeling. J Vis Exp 2020 Aug 22;(162):10.3791/61656. PM:32894270.
Chen MH, Raffield LM, Mousas A, Sakaue S, Huffman JE, Moscati A, Trivedi B, Jiang T, Akbari P, Vuckovic D, Bao EL, Zhong X, Manansala R, Laplante V, Chen M, Lo KS, Qian H, Lareau CA, Beaudoin M, Hunt KA, Akiyama M, Bartz TM, Ben-Shlomo Y, Beswick A. Trans-ethnic and Ancestry-Specific Blood-Cell Genetics in 746,667 Individuals from 5 Global Populations. Cell 2020 Sep 3;182(5):1198-1213. PM:32888493.
Douglas PS, Walsh MN. Increasing Diversity in Cardiology: It Will Take a Village. J Am Coll Cardiol 2020 Sep 8;76(10):1223-1225. PM:32883416.
Fudim M, Boortz-Marx RL, Ganesh A, DeVore AD, Patel CB, Rogers JG, Coburn A, Johnson I, Paul A, Coyne BJ, Rao SV, Gutierrez JA, Kiefer TL, Kong DF, Green CL, Jones WS, Felker GM, Hernandez AF, Patel MR. Splanchnic Nerve Block for Chronic Heart Failure. JACC Heart Fail 2020 Sep;8(9):742-752. PM:32535123.
Greene SJ, DeVore AD. The Maximally Tolerated Dose: The Key Context for Interpreting Subtarget Medication Dosing for Heart Failure. JACC Heart Fail 2020 Sep;8(9):739-741. PM:32800507.
Hahn VS, Yanek LR, Vaishnav J, Ying W, Vaidya D, Lee YZJ, Riley SJ, Subramanya V, Brown EE, Hopkins CD, Ononogbu S, Perzel Mandell K, Halushka MK, Steenbergen C, Rosenberg AZ, Tedford RJ, Judge DP, Shah SJ, Russell SD, Kass DA, Sharma K. Endomyocardial Biopsy Characterization of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Prevalence of Cardiac Amyloidosis. JACC Heart Fail 2020 Sep;8(9):712-724. PM:32653448.
Parcha V, Patel N, Kalra R, Arora G, Januzzi JL, Felker GM, Wang TJ, Arora P. Racial Differences in Serial NT-proBNP Levels in Heart Failure Management: Insights From the GUIDE-IT Trial. Circulation 2020 Sep 8;142(10):1018-1020. PM:32897749.
Vuckovic D, Bao EL, Akbari P, Lareau CA, Mousas A, Jiang T, Chen MH, Raffield LM, Tardaguila M, Huffman JE, Ritchie SC, Megy K, Ponstingl H, Penkett CJ, Albers PK, Wigdor EM, Sakaue S, Moscati A, Manansala R, Lo KS, Qian H, Akiyama M, Bartz TM, Ben-Shlomo. The Polygenic and Monogenic Basis of Blood Traits and Diseases. Cell 2020 Sep 3;182(5):1214-1231.e11. PM:32888494.
Zink MD, Chua W, Zeemering S, di Biase L, Antoni BL, David C, Hindricks G, Haeusler KG, Al-Khalidi HR, Piccini JP, Mont L, Nielsen JC, Escobar LA, de Bono J, Van Gelder IC, de Potter T, Scherr D, Themistoclakis S, Todd D, Kirchhof P, Schotten U. Predictors of recurrence of atrial fibrillation within the first 3 months after ablation. Europace 2020 Sep 1;22(9):1337-1344. PM:32725107.
Duke Heart week ending September 6th 2020
Highlights of the week:
Fudim to Receive Zipes Award at ACC 2021
We are pleased to share that Marat Fudim, MD, MHS, one of our three newest faculty members in the Division of Cardiology, has been notified of his selection as the recipient of the 2021 Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award. He is the first Duke nominee to receive the honor.
The Zipes award is presented annually at the ACC Scientific Sessions to recognize a young scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine and who has amassed an impressive body of scientific research in either the clinical or basic domain.
“This is exciting for Marat, the Division and for all of the people who have mentored him,” said Manesh Patel, MD, chief of the Duke division of cardiology. “I think it speaks to his tireless work ethic and some of the innovation he has done in the early part of his career. Importantly, it also speaks to a great group of people at the divisional level who have taken an interest in mentoring and truly supporting others who are trying to do research, sometimes in different ways.”
Fudim’s nomination was centered upon the body of work he has accumulated researching the use of splanchnic nerve blockade in patients with congestive heart failure.
“I feel very honored to be selected,” Fudim said. “I consider this the highest award that I could qualify for at this stage of my career. It’s very exciting for me and I’m particularly happy for our research team and my mentors as this project was supported and made possible by a diverse group of investigators.”
Robert Mentz, MD, chief of Duke’s heart failure section, served on the ACC Selection Panel for the award and recused himself from voting.
“There was a very high quality group of applicants overall,” Mentz said. “But it was clear amongst the others who were part of the voting that Marat was the ideal recipient for this. The panel members recognized his hypothesis-driven research that really has the potential to change how we approach our understanding of heart failure physiology.”
When asked to reflect on Fudim’s work and his selection for the award, Patel added, “There are a combination of things that were probably very enticing to the panel — the first is a new physiologic principal or opportunity to treat heart failure by thinking about the splanchnic compartment as a vascular sink. The second is the translational work of having the idea, testing it first in humans with a variety of blocks and then taking it to actual clinical trials.”
The award will be presented during the ACC’s Convocation Ceremony of the College’s 70th Annual Scientific Session, currently scheduled for Monday, March 22, 2021 in Atlanta, GA. The Session runs March 20-22. Fudim’s travel, housing, and registration expenses will be paid by ACC. He will also receive a $1,000 monetary prize, and a chance to present his scientific work at ACC.21.
Congratulations, Marat! Way to go!
FAST FACTS: Did you know?
Douglas P. Zipes, MD, is distinguished professor emeritus at Indiana University. He did his postgraduate training at Duke from 1964 to 1968, and in 2007 was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Duke University Medical Alumni Association. He is also a regular contributor to the Saturday Evening Post as a health columnist. To read more about his lifetime achievements, please visit https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty/6515/zipes-douglas.
Virtual ESC Congress 2020 Wraps Up
The European Society of Cardiology’s 2020 Congress wrapped up this week.
Renato Lopes presented results from BRACE CORONA:
The trial sought to examine whether a 30-day suspension of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) would improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients. The primary outcome of the study was the number of days a patient spent alive and out of the hospital through the 30-day follow-up period. The study was sponsored by the D’Or Institute for Research and Education and the Brazilian Clinical Research Institute.
“These therapies have well-known benefits for patients with hypertension and heart failure, and this trial supplies high-quality randomized evidence to guide their usage while treating hospitalized patients with mild and moderate cases of COVID-19,” Lopes said. “Our trial found no clinical benefit to routinely suspending these medications, and this supports the recommendation that they should generally be continued for those who rely on them for managing hypertension or heart failure.”
Sean Pokorney presented on IMPACT-AFIB:
Although the intervention tested as part of IMPACT-AFib was found not to be effective, the design and implementation of the trial showcased the effective use of a new electronic data system to conduct a large-scale pragmatic trial.
The trial was the first to use the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) FDA-Catalyst System and Sentinel System network of electronic health record (EHRs) and insurance claims data from a diverse group of data partners. The trial enrolled 80,000 patients with atrial fibrillation who were at high risk of stroke and not taking medication.
COMBINE AF was presented by our Cardiology Fellow – Tony Carnicelli who has worked many hours across many institutions to put together the 4-5 large randomized atrial fibrillation trials. This effort represents several years of work and hopefully we will start to soon see some of the important analyses from this work and the ESC presentation.
Registration for ESC was free – don’t forget that all presentations will be available in the ESC Congress platform with access to slides, videos and abstracts until September 30.
Duke Heart Grows By One!
Congratulations to the Pomeroy family! Jordan Pomeroy, a cardiology fellow, and his wife Summer, welcomed their son, River Scott Pomeroy, on Aug. 28 at 4:17 a.m. Jordan said they are all doing well and that “Everyone, including big sister — Parker Rose (17 months) — are excited to have the little man join our family!”
We are so happy for you and we can’t wait to meet him!
More Good News:
John Alexander was one of 243 people world-wide to be elected this year as a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. Congratulations, John!
Robert Harrington has been awarded the American Heart Association’s Distinguished National Leadership Award for contributions to the association. Harrington’s many contributions to the organization have earned him the AHA’s Distinguished National Leadership Award. He will be honored on Oct. 27 in a livestreamed ceremony at the AHA 2020 National Volunteer Awards Event. Congratulations, Bob!
Zak Loring has a paper published online, ahead of print, in Europace this week. The article, “Machine learning does not improve upon traditional regression in predicting outcomes in atrial fibrillation: an analysis of the ORBIT-AF and GARFIELD-AF registries” can be found here. Jon Piccini and Eric Peterson are among his coauthors.
Marat Fudim and team have a paper in the September issue of JACC: Heart Failure. The article, “Splanchnic Nerve Block for Chronic Heart Failure” can be found here. Duke co-authors include Richard Boortz-Marx, Arun Ganesh, Adam DeVore, Chet Patel, Joseph Rogers, Aubrie Coburn, Inneke Johnson, Amanda Paul, Brian Coyne, Sunil Rao, J. Antonio Gutierrez, Todd Kiefer, David Kong, Cynthia Green, Schuyler Jones, Mike Felker, Adrian Hernandez and Manesh Patel.
Forbes has named both Duke University and DUHS among the “Best-in-State Employers” in North Carolina in 2020. According to the rankings released on Monday, Duke Health System placed sixth and the University 26th out of 100 employers in North Carolina.
All three DUHS hospitals have been recognized as LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for perfect scores across areas of patient-centered care, support services, and inclusive health insurance policies for LGBTQ+ patients.
ICYMI: Duke University and Duke University Health System will not be implementing the payroll tax deferment program announced three weeks ago by Presidential Memorandum. Duke will continue to collect payroll taxes on behalf of all employees in order to avoid potential confusion, undue hardships, or other complications that might otherwise emerge during the filing of taxes for 2020 by our employees next year.
Duke Health Heart Walk Rally Day: Thurs. Sept. 10
On Thursday, Sept. 10, Duke will host a Heart Walk Rally Day. DUHS has set a goal to recruit at least 500 participants for this year’s Heart Walk. Ongoing support from those who are already registered for the Heart Walk, and all those who join us on our Rally Day, helps further the American Heart Association’s mission.
Please consider starting a team or joining one so that the Heart Center is well represented. You can register at www.triangleheartwalk.org/duke. If you are already registered as a team captain, between now and Thursday, please encourage your colleagues to join your team.
The local American Heart Association team will host three 15-minute Pep Rallies throughout the day to share more about this year’s event. Feel free to join one of the sessions via Zoom. The Pep Rallies will be held at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. and your team members are welcome to attend: Heart Rally Zoom meeting link.
Show Your Care for One Another: Moments to Movement Wearables
In the Duke Health family, we treat people with respect. We value each other‘s differences. We care for each other through kindness, inclusion, and compassion. We do this because it’s the right way to be—and because it’s the first step in giving our patients the excellent care they deserve.
To help demonstrate our commitment, we are offering two ways you can show your personal support for our collective humanity:
- A Black Lives Matter badge reel holder
- A pin featuring the anti-racism ribbon
These items were developed by a team of four Duke Health team members who sought a concrete way to stand up for our values. Read their story here.
Duke Heart has received an initial supply of both items, with more on the way. Our initial batch is available starting Tuesday. For DUH-based heart teams, please see a nurse manager to obtain one or both items, along with a companion card that explains what the items mean.
Wearing these is completely voluntary. You can choose to wear one or both to take a stand for our values. Recognizing that many employees are working from home, we’re also providing virtual Zoom backgrounds and email signature files featuring the emblems. Look for them in an upcoming edition of Inside Duke Health (expected this week).
Flu Vaccination Campaign Began Sept. 1
Annual vaccination against the flu (or an approved medical or religious exemption) is a condition of employment at Duke University Health System. All team members must get their vaccination or otherwise demonstrate policy compliance by Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Details and resources all available on the Duke Health Influenza Resources site (NET ID required): https://influenza.dh.dukehealth.org.
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Cardiology Grand Rounds Returns (Virtually)!
Grand Rounds returns — this week we will have an M&M Conference with Kevin Friede. Please join us on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 5 p.m. via Webex. Meeting number: 120 364 2432. Password: hScPc638mjC.
REACH Equity Center Seeking Candidates
The Duke Center for Research to Advance Healthcare Equity (REACH Equity) seeks candidates to co-lead the Research, Education, Training (RET) Subcore.
The RET Subcore is responsible for: (1) Facilitating opportunities for health disparities investigators across the campus at all levels (students, trainees, faculty) to share their work, find collaborators, and identify mentors or mentees. (2) Administer programs to support research education and fund small pilot awards related to the Center’s theme.
Programs currently led by the RET Subcore include:
- REACH Equity Summer Undergraduate Research Program (RESURP): An eight-week summer undergraduate health disparities education and mentored research program
- Research Voucher, Research Scholars Development, Transdisciplinary Think Tank pilot award programs which provide funding for faculty and trainees conducting research related to the Center’s theme
- RWIP: Bi-monthly Research Works in Progress interactive seminar series
- Annual Health Disparities Research Colloquium
Additional administrative duties include participation in monthly Executive Operating Committee meetings, annual Internal Advisory Board, Stakeholder Advisory Board, and Steering Committee meetings, and other activities related to achieving the Center’s aims.
Faculty selected for this position will co-lead the core with Kevin Thomas and work closely with the REACH Equity Director, Kimberly Johnson, to continue current activities and expand activities of the RET Subcore in response to increased interest in health disparities research among trainees and faculty across the campus. The position includes funding to support time associated with the role (approximately 10% effort support).
For more information on the RET Subcore, please visit: https://sites.duke.edu/reachequity/cores/research-education-training-subcore/
Eligibility Criteria:
- Assistant or Associate Professor in any Department, Division, Center, or School
- MD or PhD or equivalent
- Any discipline
- Clinical research experience, preferably in health disparities
If you are interested, please submit your CV and a letter describing your interest in the position and detailing relevant experience (prior leadership roles, research experience, research education and training experience, mentorship, etc.) by October 2 to Cheryl Miller, cheryl.j.miller@duke.edu
REACH Equity faculty will interview a small number of applicants. While there is some flexibility, selected candidate may start position as early as November 1.
Please contact Cheryl Miller for more information: chery.j.miller@duke.edu
NOTE: Duke Heart’s Larry Jackson is a current awardee and can provide details about the experience
DIHI: Request for Applications (RFA 2021 Innovation Projects)
Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and funding cycle for innovative ideas and projects. Proposed projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients and their loved ones and represent urgent health challenges nationally. For the upcoming funding cycle, DIHI is specifically interested in innovations in areas that: (a) Improve value of care through novel strategies, (b) Create digital solutions for care and monitoring (home monitoring, wearables etc.), (c) Advance health equity, (d) Enhance provider and staff experience and well-being, (e) Accelerate population health solutions and strategies, and (f) Enhance patient engagement and experience.
Please visit https://dihi.org/events/dihi-rfa for additional information and instructions. The deadline for submitting applications is midnight October 9, 2020. All proposals are required to have a Duke Health operational lead as a cosponsor to be accepted for review. If the DIHI team can be of any assistance in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. We look forward to your innovative solutions.
2020 Triangle Heart Walk Going “Digital”; Will Be Held Oct. 10
Sign up is open for the 2020 Triangle Heart Walk which is going virtual! Instead, the American Heart Association is planning for a nation-wide digital experience across several weeks leading up to the main event on October 10. You can register at: www.TriangleHeartWalk.org/Duke. Pep Rally Day is Sept. 10 – watch your email this week for messages from Dr. Tom Owens, chair of our local Heart Walk.
12th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium
November 13: Zoom Webinar. Noon – 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit this page.
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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.
Something Just for Fun:
Thanks for reading to the end! Hope each of you have a glorious Labor Day! Let’s wrap it up with our colleagues who made the news this week:
Duke Heart in the News:
August 24 — Richard Krasuski
SI.com/Sports Illustrated
SI Survey: Doctors Say They’d Play in the NBA and NHL, but not NFL and MLB
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/08/24/doctor-covid-survey-daily-cover
August 30 — Renato Lopes
Healio/Cardiology Today
Invasive approach to stable ischemic heart disease may benefit in HF, LV dysfunction
https://www.healio.com/news/cardiac-vascular-intervention/20200830/invasive-approach-to-stable-ischemic-heart-disease-may-benefit-in-hf-lv-dysfunction
August 31 — Jonathan Piccini
MDEdge
RATE-AF trial boosts digoxin for rate control in permanent AFib
https://www.mdedge.com/familymedicine/article/227714/arrhythmias-ep/rate-af-trial-boosts-digoxin-rate-control-permanent
August 31 — Renato Lopes
tctMD/the heart beat
Revascularization Benefits ISCHEMIA Patients With Mild LV Dysfunction or HF
https://www.tctmd.com/news/revascularization-benefits-ischemia-patients-mild-lv-dysfunction-or-hf
September 1 — Renato Lopes
MedPage Today
‘Definitive Data’: Continuing ACE/ARB Tx Safe in COVID-19
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/esc/88399
September 2 — Renato Lopes
MDedge/Cardiology News
First randomized trial reassures on ACEIs, ARBs in COVID-19
https://www.mdedge.com/cardiology/article/227885/hypertension/first-randomized-trial-reassures-aceis-arbs-covid-19
September 2 — Renato Lopes
Managed Healthcare Executive
Duke Scientist: Patients With COVID-19 Should Stay on ACE Inhibitors, ARBs
https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/duke-scientist-patients-with-covid-19-should-stay-on-ace-inhibitors-arbs
September 2 — Sean Pokorney
Medscape
IMPACT-AFib: Single Mailing Fails to Budge Oral Anticoagulant Uptake for AFib
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/936781
September 3 — Sean Pokorney
tctMD/the heart beat
Got Mail? Letter-Based Intervention Doesn’t Boost OAC Initiation for A-fib
https://www.tctmd.com/news/got-mail-letter-based-intervention-doesnt-boost-oac-initiation-fib
Duke Heart Week Ending 8-30-2020
Virtual ESC Congress 2020 through Tuesday
A number of Duke Heart team members are scheduled speakers during the European Society of Cardiology’s 2020 Congress, being held virtually. The event began this weekend and runs through Tuesday. Speakers include Sana Al-Khatib, Renato Lopes, Neha Pagidipati, Manesh Patel, Adrian Hernandez, Ann Marie Navar, Anthony Carnicelli and Sean Pokorney. Registration this year is free and all presentations will be available in the ESC Congress platform with access to slides, videos and abstracts until September 30.
Some of the news items coming out of ESC include Renato Lopes presenting on the ISCHEMIA trial (title: Initial Invasive versus Conservative Management for Stable Ischemic Heart Disease with a History of Heart Failure or Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Insights from the ISCHEMIA Trial, which was presented yesterday.
Also, some good news for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – information from the EXPLORER-HCM clinical trial were presented yesterday as a late breaker. Results were presented by lead investigator Iacopo Olivotto, MD, of Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy. The findings showed the drug, Mavacamten, improves heart function and symptoms in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
“The findings represent a breakthrough, first-in-class drug for patients with HCM,” said Andrew Wang, director of the Duke Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Clinic. “Duke had major roles in enrollment as well on as the Steering Committee, which included Matt Roe, Michael Felker and myself, as well as members of the DCRI stats team.”
Duke’s involvement with the trial goes back to 2014, when we had several of the first patients in the world with HCM receiving the drug. This could be the first drug available specifically indicated for the treatment of obstructive HCM – currently all other drugs in use are being used off-label.
Also released at ESC so far, 2020 ESC guidelines for the management of adult congenital heart disease (https://bit.ly/2Gc6Dyd); 2020 ESC Guidelines on sport cardiology and exercise in patients with cardiovascular disease (https://bit.ly/3b4tqau), 2020 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation (https://bit.ly/31M9QNj), as well as the 2020 ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) (https://bit.ly/3joftXC)
Coming up on the schedule over the next two days: Hernandez, Navar, Carnicelli and Pokorney!
Bed Expansion Coming for Heart Services
As many of you know, we have been working over the last several months to improve our hospital access for our heart patients in the community. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the need for more dedicated heart space. The requirements have included both needs for stepdown beds and intensive care unit beds and space. Additionally, as we look to our future, we have been looking to determine the best way to build innovative care spaces that improve the quality of care, education, and provide a way to inform future practice.
Recently, with moves of the Neuro ICU and Neuro stepdown units to the new bed tower, we have had an opportunity to pitch our vision for more beds and coordinated services to the health system. These chances for additional beds do not come up very often, and as a cardiology group and service line, we felt it was essential to our long-term success. We have been fortunate that our request has been supported by Duke Hospital leadership as part of the overall plan for growth of Heart Services at Duke Health.
Over the last several weeks we have engaged our CICU faculty and leaders to review the possibility of moving the CICU to 7 East (24 beds), next to 7 West (CTICU). We would look to keep 7700 to improve our Stepdown/intermediate bed capacity (17 beds; net increase of 5 beds), help move some of our short stay to 7200, and improve our CDU footprint for work in 7200. No spaces are perfect for each patient care group, but individually and in total we see this as opportunities to improve our patient care and experience.
In order to move our care to the future space with input from our faculty, fellows and staff, a team led by our CICU leadership and to include fellows, CICU faculty, other divisional vice-chiefs and faculty section leaders, and nursing leadership will be meeting to review and map out steps of transition and consider coverage models. We are committed to ensuring we have enough staffing and resources before increasing bed capacity even after the move.
This growth and need is a testament to all of you, your expertise, your dedication, and the care we provide to our patients as a team. We are fortunate to have more patients wanting to come to Duke and these moves allow us to better fulfill our mission, vision and values.
Thank you for your patience as we work to optimize patient access at DUH and Duke Heart. Please watch for local meetings and zooms for further updates and opportunities to discuss how we make this effort a complete success for everyone.
Shout-out: Matt Carlisle
We received a shout-out this week for Matt Carlisle, first year cardiology fellow this week. Sunil Rao had this to say, “Just wanted to drop you a note that Matt Carlisle did a great job in VA clinic this week. He did several days covering for his colleagues who were taking the Medicine boards. His presentations were terrific and his management plans were spot on.” Hat tip to Anna Lisa Crowley for the share, who added that Matt is terrific and conscientious. Carlisle responded by sharing that “The entire class has covered each other this month for boards, have a great group to work with!” Great job, Matt!!! We have amazing fellows in our program – we’re glad to have each and every one of you here at Duke Heart and we appreciate all that you’re doing!
Good Catch, Oxendine!
One of our amazing team members from 7100/7200 has received a Good Catch award. Way to go, Melissa Oxendine, (RN CNII)!! She noticed that valacyclovir po was still active in eMAR when patient was placed NPO and IV form was ordered. Many thanks to Laura Dickerson and Antoniette Embler for alerting us! Keep up the great work!
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Sept. 4: Weight Management Case Conference. Noon- 1 p.m. via Zoom
Presented by weight management experts from:
- Duke Diet and Fitness Center
- Duke Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
- Duke Healthy Lifestyles Clinic
- Duke Keto Medicine Clinic
- Duke Primary Care and
- Duke Cardiology, Duke Cardiometabolic Prevention Program & Duke Heart
Join Zoom Meeting
https://duke.zoom.us/j/96782978813?pwd=aVVURVRnNFVmVlZrTlRqalg1eC96Zz09
Meeting ID: 967 8297 8813
Passcode: 293321
DIHI: Request for Applications (RFA 2021 Innovation Projects)
Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and funding cycle for innovative ideas and projects. Proposed projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients and their loved ones and represent urgent health challenges nationally. For the upcoming funding cycle, DIHI is specifically interested in innovations in areas that: (a) Improve value of care through novel strategies, (b) Create digital solutions for care and monitoring (home monitoring, wearables etc.), (c) Advance health equity, (d) Enhance provider and staff experience and well-being, (e) Accelerate population health solutions and strategies, and (f) Enhance patient engagement and experience.
Please visit https://dihi.org/events/dihi-rfa for additional information and instructions. The deadline for submitting applications is midnight October 9, 2020. All proposals are required to have a Duke Health operational lead as a cosponsor to be accepted for review. If the DIHI team can be of any assistance in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. We look forward to your innovative solutions.
Duke Health is excited to announce a request for innovative pilot project proposals for high risk/high impact research in the area of the heart disease and COVID-19. The intent of this RFP is to support one to four pilot projects that help us better understand how to prevent the transition from cardiovascular health to disease and/or facilitate the return to health. We are especially interested in: (1) proposals that span multiple dimensions from basic to clinical to populations, (2) proposals that build new collaborations and/or new teams, and (3) proposals that might lead to extended productive and NIH-funded collaborations.
Translating Duke Health (TDH) plans to fund zero to four awards in response to this request for proposals. One of the awards will be in concert with the Design Health program – a program in which learners work with engineering to solve clinical problems. For the joint award, there is an additional goal to facilitate the formation of a new collaboration between faculty in the Schools of Medicine and Engineering. This request for proposals is not meant to provide bridge funding or be supplementary funding for existing projects.
The funding amount is up to $100,000 per award. Some faculty effort may be included (not to exceed 20% of the budget). The proposed research should be appropriate to the budget and must be accomplished within one year. Proposals have a 4-page limit.
Applications are due September 21st 2020. Click here to see the full RFP and to find additional details about eligibility, funding, proposal requirements, selection process and review criteria. Questions should be directed to translatingdukehealth@duke.edu.
Translating Duke Health is one of the signature programs animating Advancing Health Together, our Duke Health Strategic Planning Framework. Translating Duke Health is a multiyear, multidisciplinary program to capitalize on our collective strengths in research, clinical care and population health to address major health challenges. Additional information about Translating Duke Health is available at www.translatingdukehealth.org.
2020 Triangle Heart Walk Going “Digital”; Will Be Held Oct. 10
Sign up is open for the 2020 Triangle Heart Walk which is going virtual! Instead, the American Heart Association is planning for a nation-wide digital experience across several weeks leading up to the main event on October 10. You can register at: www.TriangleHeartWalk.org/Duke. Message from Tom Owens: https://duh.dh.duke.edu/president-notes/triangle-heart-walk-goes-virtual-2020 (NET ID required)
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
August 23 — Neha Pagidipati
Healio/Endocrinology
SGLT2s, GLP-1s benefit both sexes despite greater CV risks among women with diabetes
https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200823/sglt2s-glp1s-benefit-both-sexes-despite-greater-cv-risks-among-women-with-diabetes
August 25 — Duke University Hospital
Becker’s Hospital Review
Top 10 Hospitals for Consumer Loyalty
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/top-10-hospitals-for-consumer-loyalty-2.html
August 29 — Jonathan Piccini
MedPage Today
Impressive Results With Early-Rhythm Control in AFib
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/esc/88349
August 30 — Jonathan Piccini
Healio/Cardiology
Cryoballoon ablation may be better first-line treatment vs. drug therapy in paroxysmal AF
https://bit.ly/2Gd3Uo4
August 30 — Renato Lopes
Healio/Cardiac-Vascular Intervention
Invasive approach to stable ischemic heart disease may benefit in HF, LV dysfunction
https://www.healio.com/news/cardiac-vascular-intervention/20200830/invasive-approach-to-stable-ischemic-heart-disease-may-benefit-in-hf-lv-dysfunction
Duke Heart Highlights – Week ending August 23rd 2020
Highlights of the week:
Edward P. Chen, MD to Serve as Chief of CT Surgery, Effective Jan. 2021
On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the Duke Section of Surgical Disciplines formally announced the appointment of Edward P. Chen, MD, as the incoming Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. He will join the team in January, 2021.
Dr. Chen is currently serving as the Section Head of Adult Cardiac Surgery and Director of Thoracic Aortic Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine. His other roles there have included Associate Program Director for the Thoracic Surgery Residency, Site Director for Resident Education at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital and Executive Director of the Emory Healthcare Aortic Center Planning Steering Committee.
“We are excited to have Dr. Chen join us in this critically important role,” said Allan D. Kirk, MD, the David C. Sabiston, Jr. Distinguished Professor and Chair of Surgery, and Surgeon-in-Chief for the Duke University Health System. “Dr. Chen is a caring physician and superb technical surgeon who has always exhibited a personal dedication to his patients. He is revered as a teacher and mentor to a generation of surgical trainees. His work in complex cardiac and aortic reconstruction is unparalleled, and he has been deeply engaged in improving cardiac surgery through his participation in numerous landmark trials. He is an experienced leader who has successfully navigated important local, regional and national administrative roles. Most importantly, he has exceptional maturity and has developed a reputation for respectful and thoughtful engagement in all of his interactions, truly living our institutional values of respect, teamwork and ownership.”
Chen’s research focuses on outcomes in cerebral protection for aortic arch surgery, aortic dissection, aortic valve surgery and aortic root replacement. He has led multiple federally funded grants and prospective clinical trials for more than 14 years.
A 1988 graduate of Stanford University, Chen received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine in 1992. He went on to complete his general surgery residency at the University of California, San Francisco in 2000, followed by his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Emory University in 2003 and fellowship in Aortic Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston later that year. Chen is board certified in thoracic surgery and specializes in surgery of the thoracic aorta, including aortic root replacement, aortic aneurysms, high-risk cardiac surgery, minimally invasive valve surgery, and mitral valve repair.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Chen to the Heart Center as a partner and clearly a leader in the field of cardio-thoracic surgery,” said Manesh Patel, MD, chief of Duke Cardiology and co-director of Duke Heart Center. “His tremendous commitment to education and patient care will serve the Division and Heart Center well for years to come.”
Dr. Chen will take over the reins from Peter K. Smith, MD, Mary and Deryl Hart Professor of Surgery. Smith has served as Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery since 1994 as well as a founding co-director of Duke Heart Center – a position that allowed him to grow and shape the strong collaboration between Duke cardiac surgery, cardiology, and cardiac anesthesiology.
Under the leadership of Dr. Smith, the CT Surgery division has become one of the most highly ranked cardiothoracic surgery programs in the country with world-renowned heart and lung transplantation programs as well as top-echelon adult and congenital heart surgery teams. The division’s thoracic surgery residencies and fellowships are some of the most highly reputable and competitive programs in the world.
Considered a luminary in the field, Smith is a highly-regarded international leader in cardiothoracic research. He has led the Cardiothoracic Surgery Clinical Trials Network and multiple clinical trials to improve outcomes in coronary artery bypass grafting and mitral valve surgery. He is a nationally recognized expert in bleeding and inflammatory complications, outcomes in cardiac surgery, and coronary artery disease.
Over the years, Dr. Smith has served as a mentor and educator to many leaders in thoracic surgery and cardiovascular care.
“Peter Smith has been a guiding light for the Heart Center and Cardio-Thoracic Surgery,” Patel added. “He has been a role model for me and ‘a north star’ for how we accomplish all of our missions within Heart Services, something that we anticipate he will continue to provide in years to come.”
Dr. Kirk added that no one is more dedicated to Duke Surgery than Smith, and that it would be impossible to capture all he has done for Duke or for the field.
“Dr. Smith continues to be an internationally recognized and impressively productive authority in cardiac surgery,” said Kirk. “He has an exceptional understanding of the challenges facing healthcare more broadly, with dedicated national service as Chair of the American Medical Association’s Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, the advisory body that establishes the value of essentially all physician services. He also has tirelessly served our veterans as a primary surgeon at the Durham VA Medical Center. I anticipate that this transition will afford Dr. Smith an opportunity to focus his deep and broad subject matter expertise on Departmental and Institutional challenges.”
Dr. Chen says he is looking forward to returning to Durham. As a School of Medicine alum, this is where he began his medical career.
“It will be a true privilege to serve this world-class Division”, says Dr. Chen. “Duke is one of the most storied, accomplished, and visible programs in the entire global landscape of CT Surgery. At Duke is where I first learned to embrace the tripartite academic mission and understood its vital importance to the overall advancement of healthcare. Those early lessons have ultimately served as fundamental core values and guiding principles for me throughout my entire career. I am fully aware of the magnitude and importance of this position and want to thank Dr. Kirk for the confidence he has shown in selecting me for this critically important role.
“I also want to acknowledge the tremendous service and leadership which Dr. Smith has given to Duke during his highly distinguished and accomplished career. It is my full intent to build upon these accomplishments and to keep Duke at the forefront for all the missions of quality, innovation, discovery and education in CT surgery. I am extremely energized by the opportunity to serve the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, its highly accomplished faculty members, support staff, the Department of Surgery and Duke University Medical Center as a whole. I look forward to working collaboratively and collegially with all the institutional stakeholders who are dedicated to the cardiovascular and thoracic service lines to further advance our models of care delivery and quality. I very much look forward to being part of the Duke Team.”
We look forward to welcoming Dr. Chen to the Section of Surgical Disciplines in January 2021, and we look forward to celebrating Dr. Smith over the months to come!
Eric Peterson, MD, MPH, Leaving Duke; Will Lead Clinical Research at UT Southwestern
It is bittersweet to announce that Eric D. Peterson, MD, MPH, the Fred Cobb Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and former Executive Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), will leave Duke to become the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) inaugural Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, a position that is effective Nov. 1. He also will serve as the Vice President for Health System Research and hold the Adelyn and Edmund M. Hoffman Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
As you all have experienced since Eric arrived at Duke, 28 years ago, he has affected many of the lives of the cardiologists that we train, the care that we deliver to our patients, and the way in which we think about implementation. His passion and drive to improve how we study, discover, and deliver healthcare has been a driving force for the tremendous expansion in how we perform research and deliver healthcare both at Duke Heart and the DCRI. During his time at Duke Heart, he has continuously excelled at carrying out our mission of patient care, research excellence, and mentorship.
Notably, he was awarded our fellowship mentorship award, has personally overseen our quality work, and excelled at clinical research both in leading the DCRI and in shaping careers of many of our faculty. With over 1,400 peer-reviewed publications, he ranks among the top one percent of published researchers in clinical medicine. He has been recognized with numerous awards including the American Heart Association’s Meritorious Achievement, Distinguished Achievement, and Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Awards.
Beyond these considerable accomplishments, Eric has been a proponent of thinking differently, pushing what is possible, and has been a positive force in our division. He has been magnanimous, has worked to ensure we promote our junior faculty, and continues to provide guidance to many mentees. The position at UTSW will provide him an amazing opportunity to impact health care through clinical research, something that he is uniquely suited to do. Although we will miss his wisdom, perspective, and drive for excellence, we will look forward to new found collaborations.
Please join us in congratulating and wishing him well! We look forward to celebrating with him prior to his departure.
Duke Heart Grows by Two!
We are excited to welcome two new faces to our Duke Heart family. Please join us in congratulating the Snow and Wegermann families on their newest members:
Miles Bessho Snow was born in the morning on August 14th weighing in at 7lbs 13oz. First year cardiology fellow Sarah Snow (and Miles’ mother) report that she, her husband Anson, and baby Miles are doing well!
Ilsa Helen Wegermann, daughter of fourth year cardiology fellow, Zach Wegermann, was born on August 18th. Mom Kara, Dad Zach, and big sister Ingrid are doing well!
DRH, DUH Receive Chest Pain – MI Registry Performance Achievement Awards
Congratulations to our teams at Duke Regional and Duke University Hospital! Duke Regional Hospital (DRH) has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2020 and is one of only 124 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
Duke University Hospital has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2020, one of only 140 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The awards recognize Duke’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that our hospitals have reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that almost 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.
WAY TO GO! This is well deserved and so important for the patients in our community.
Shout-out: Duke Regional Cardiology Team
A big shout-out to the cardiology team at Duke Regional Hospital — they received their Echo Lab Accreditation with no improvement recommendations in their findings. We are so proud of the team! Congratulations, everyone!
Mentz, Pagidipati Among Speakers at #HID2020
The 4th annual Heart in Diabetes conference (#HID2020) is running through tomorrow and is, of course, being held virtually due to the pandemic. Faculty speakers include Robert Mentz and Neha Pagidipati. To learn more, visit: https://www.heartindiabetes.com.
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Aug. 24, 27, 31 & Sept. 3 – The Building Research Programs: Perspectives from Outstanding Mentors
Updated information from last week! See flyer for registration information.
This is a seminar series forged within the partnership of Aga Khan University (AKU), Duke Heart and Duke Clinical Research Institute; the series will offer the opportunity to study pathways that leaders have taken to develop research capacity around the world. Over the last several decades AKU has been at the forefront of developing researchers from and for the developing world. AKU’s collaborating partner, Duke, has trained many of AKU’s graduates and is a known global powerhouse of research. This seminar series will bring together scientists from both AKU and Duke with established research careers to talk about their journey from early career researchers to established, world renowned experts.
Building Research Programmes_F
2020 Triangle Heart Walk Going “Digital”; Will Be Held Oct. 10
As you have likely heard, the 2020 Triangle Heart Walk will not be an in-person event. Instead, the American Heart Association is planning for a nation-wide digital experience across several weeks leading up to the main event on October 10. You’ll hear more about that in the coming days in a more formal announcement from Dr. Tom Owens, who is chair of this year’s event. Registration is open if you’d like to sign up as a walker or a team captain. You can register at: www.TriangleHeartWalk.org/Duke. Stay tuned for more details!
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
August 12 — Geoffrey Ginsburg
Magnify (Duke SOM)
Early Detection of COVID-19: How Your Smartwatch Could Help
https://bit.ly/32iN52f
August 14 — Eliana Perrin (pediatrics)
NBC News
Kids in the U.S. are eating more fast food, the CDC reports
https://nbcnews.to/3aNvt2z
August 17 – Duke University Health System
Associated Press
Politics slows flow of US virus funds to local public health
https://bit.ly/3hnSvPL
Duke Heart Week ending August 16th 2020
Highlights of the week:
Al-Khatib Named Director of DCRI Fellowship Program
Please join us in congratulating Sana Al-Khatib, MD, MHS, who was recently named director of the DCRI Fellowship program. Since its inception, the program has welcomed more than 300 fellows, many of whom have remained at Duke and the DCRI. Adam Goode, PhD, DPT, will join as Associate Director for the program, and Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH, will continue in her role as Associate Director for the third year. The new appointments were announced on Aug. 5.
“Of all my job responsibilities, nothing excites me as much as mentoring and coaching fellows and seeing them grow and be successful,” said Al-Khatib. “I have served as the primary mentor for 15 post-doctoral fellows and a co-mentor for seven other research scholars. My goal for the Fellowship Program mirrors the goals of the DCRI—to disrupt the status quo through innovation, collaboration, inclusiveness, and diversity.”
Al-Khatib brings significant experience to her new role. Of the 22 people she has mentored, 10 currently hold a position at an academic institution, nine are still in training, and three are working in non-academic settings. Al-Khatib also serves as the co-director of the NHLBI-funded Duke T32 grant for Postdoctoral Training in Cardiovascular Clinical Research. She is the recipient of the 2013 Robert Califf Award for Outstanding Research Mentorship and the 2015 Duke Cardiology Fellows’ Award for Outstanding Mentorship.
The DCRI has a longstanding commitment to developing the next generation of clinical researchers and leaders, and its fellowship program is of one of the most unique research fellowship programs in the world. It offers a living laboratory for promising clinical research investigators, combining access to faculty experienced in all facets of clinical research with a supportive, collaborative environment that contributes to a unique and successful fellowship experience.
In her role, Al-Khatib will convene a leadership team that provides oversight of the development of post-doctoral fellows in broad-based, multi-disciplinary research across multiple clinical and methodological domains.
“I look forward to pulling together the leadership team and working with our fellows to build upon the program’s legacy of educating the next generation,” said Al-Khatib. “I want to recognize my colleagues for their leadership and contributions to the program over the past years. Finally, I want to thank all my mentors, my mentees, and my colleagues who have believed in me and supported me over the years.”
Congratulations, Sana! We know the program will benefit from your leadership and passion for mentoring!
Duke EP Becomes First Team in NC to Implant WATCHMAN FLX
On Tuesday, Duke’s Electrophysiology (EP) team became the first in North Carolina to implant the WATCHMAN FLX™ Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Device, the newest iteration of Boston Scientific’s WATCHMAN implant. The team implanted two WATCHMAN FLX devices in separate cases at Duke on August 11.
“Both patients had a great result (complete closure with zero leak) that would not have been possible with the previous technology,” according to Jon Piccini, MD, associate professor of medicine in cardiology and Director of Electrophysiology.
The WATCHMAN FLX device is indicated to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who need an alternative to oral anticoagulation therapy by permanently closing off the left atrial appendage – the area of the heart where stroke-causing blood clots commonly form in NVAF.
For patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), oral anticoagulation therapy is a very effective and important treatment strategy to reduce the risk of stroke. AF patients are at higher risk of stroke than the general population and strokes in AF patients tend to be larger and lead to more disability than non-AF related strokes, he added. However, about 10 to 20 percent of atrial fibrillation patients cannot tolerate long-term oral anticoagulation medications.
“For nearly four years, we have been using the original WATCHMAN device which has been very helpful to treat those who are not good candidates for long-term oral anticoagulation treatment,” Piccini says. “However, there were patients whose anatomies just would not allow for use of the WATCHMAN.”
The new technology features a new, fully rounded design that offers electrophysiologists the ability to safely enter, and maneuver within, the left atrial appendage. It is the first LAAC device that can be fully recaptured, repositioned and redeployed for precise placement, and the new frame design allows for optimal device engagement with the tissue for long-term stability and a faster, more complete seal.
Piccini says that not only is the WATCHMAN FLX a better device all around and easier to implant, but it expands the patient anatomies that the device can appropriately cover and treat.
Notably, Duke’s EP team was also the first in NC to implant the original WATCHMAN device when it launched in 2016.
Piccini issued a broad note of thanks to the team earlier in the week. “Thank you to everyone on the team who made today possible, including all of the echo team, the lab team and nurses, cardiac anesthesia, and all of the Duke physicians who got their training done despite busy schedules.”
The device received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in July; it is currently available at a limited number of centers in the U.S.
Great job and hearty congratulations to the entire Duke EP team!
FAST FACTS! Did you know? Duke Electrophysiology has one of the largest electrophysiology faculty teams in the U.S., with 14 faculty members (two of whom are women). It is home to the Duke Center for Atrial Fibrillation, one of the largest atrial fibrillation centers in the country. The team treats well over 15,000 patients with atrial fibrillation and performs an average of 450-550 catheter ablations per year. Way to go!
Duke Students Return to Campus Amidst Pandemic
Duke University has launched its comprehensive COVID-19 testing program by administering 3,116 tests to the first undergraduate and graduate students who have returned to campus since Aug. 1. As of last week, a total of four positive results have been reported. Any student who tests positive is required to isolate until getting medical clearance to access campus facilities.
All incoming students are required to get a COVID-19 test before they are permitted to enter university housing or attend class on campus. In addition to the mandatory testing, move-in protocols were modified this year, with students arriving in shifts over a week-long period, limited visitors and requirements for face coverings and other health and safety protocols.
Starting tomorrow, Aug. 17, testing will begin for half of the undergraduate students residing on campus and be expanded in subsequent weeks to include all on- and off-campus students, undergraduate, graduate and professionals. Duke will conduct regular surveillance testing of students and other campus community members who do not have any symptoms to assist in the early detection and response for potential COVID-19 cases on campus.
To learn more, visit Duke Today.
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:
Aug. 24, 27, 31 & Sept. 3 – The Building Research Programs: Perspectives from Outstanding Mentors
This is a seminar series forged within the partnership of Aga Khan University (AKU), Duke Heart and Duke Clinical Research Institute; the series will offer the opportunity to study pathways that leaders have taken to develop research capacity around the world. Over the last several decades AKU has been at the forefront of developing researchers from and for the developing world. AKU’s collaborating partner, Duke, has trained many of AKU’s graduates and is a known global powerhouse of research. This seminar series will bring together scientists from both AKU and Duke with established research careers to talk about their journey from early career researchers to established, world renowned experts.
Specifically, this series aims to highlight the importance of leadership in the domain area of research facilitation to advance knowledge, with the idea that experts are ‘made and not born.’ Therefore, the Seminar series will explore themes such as mentorship and training; development of research infrastructure/environment within universities; and building new research programs.
In our inaugural session, a panel of esteemed scientists will be asked to give brief presentations where they reflect on research programs and mentors that supported them on their journey, and highlight specific milestones in their respective careers which they believe they could not have achieved without the support of mentors and formal research programs (or a lack of mentors/programs which pushed them to establish these during their careers). Experts will also be asked to look forward and reflect on what Universities need to do to in order to develop the next generation of researchers. Presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with a Q and A session from the audience.
Registration details are to be announced this week. Please save the dates and stay tuned for updated information next weekend.
Thank you to Jerry Bloomfield for sharing this info with us!
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:
August 10 — Duke University Hospital (Lung Transplant Program)
WTKR (Coastal VA/Northeastern NC)
Kill Devil Hills mother who received third double lung transplant finally returns home
https://bit.ly/3kT80RZ
August 10 — Tracy Wang
Wired
Covid-19 Drug Research Is a Big Huge Mess
https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-drug-research-is-a-big-huge-mess
August 11 — J. Matthew Brennan
Heart.org/AHA News
Black people get fewer heart valve replacements, but inequity gap is narrowing
https://bit.ly/3ayuKlM
August 12 — Duke University Health System
Triangle Business Journal
Duke files plans for new medical complex at former Macy’s in Durham
https://bit.ly/31RPl0k
August 13 — Stephen Green and Adam DeVore
tctMD/the heart beat
HF Care Gaps May Stem From Patient-Specific Factors, Canadian Study Finds
https://www.tctmd.com/news/hf-care-gaps-may-stem-patient-specific-factors-canadian-study-finds
Duke Heart Week ending August 9th 2020
Thank-you, Duke Heart Providers & Staff!!
Thank you to all of our Duke Heart staff members and provider teams for your dedication and extraordinary efforts throughout the pandemic. This has not been an easy time for any of us and we know you’re working extremely hard under difficult and often confusing circumstances, be it in the clinics, the hospitals, our research facilities or you’re working from home. It might be virtual; it might be in person and behind a mask – either way, we see you and we know you’re giving us your all. We have an incredible team within Duke Heart (we think it’s the best one at Duke!) – thank you everyone. We truly appreciate what you do each and every day.
Shout-out to Sandoval
Duke Cardiac Sonographer Eddy Sandoval was caught going the extra mile for our patients this week – not only by expertly acquiring and interpreting cardiac images, but then following all of that up by wheeling a patient back to her car.
Hat tip to James Jollis for the photo!
MURDOCK C3PI Study Update
We learned this week that more than 1,300 people have enrolled in the MURDOCK Cabarrus County COVID-19 Prevalence and Immunity (C3PI) Study since June 9, including 300 participants co-enrolled in a testing cohort.
The MURDOCK C3PI Study is a partnership between Duke, study participants, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to understand the community prevalence of COVID-19 and to monitor the disease over time. The study is part of a statewide effort to learn more about what percentage of people have no symptoms and better understand the true number of COVID-19 infections in North Carolina.
Located at the Duke CTSI office in Kannapolis, the Translational Population Health Research (TransPop) group set up a drive-through testing site in a parking lot at the North Carolina Research Campus to observe participants self-administer their initial nasal swab test. They will do subsequent nasal swabs at home every other week for at least six months to detect COVID-19 infection. Serology testing is also underway to detect antibodies that could indicate prior, potentially asymptomatic, exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and possible immunity.
To read more about this project, please visit: https://www.ctsi.duke.edu/news/murdock-c3pi-study-covid-19-testing-serology-underway-kannapolis
COVID-19 Updates:
All the latest official DUHS information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response at the following locations:
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:
August 2 — L. Kristin Newby and Chris Woods (Global Health, CTSI)
Independent Tribune
Testing begins in Duke CTSI’s COVID-19 study
https://bit.ly/3guRBRf
August 3 — Ann Marie Navar and Michael Zeitouni (Duke Clinical Research Institute)
Healio/Cardiology
Cholesterol guideline suitability questioned in younger patients with, at risk for MI
https://bit.ly/3fEwPx7
August 3 — Duke University Hospital
Becker’s Hospital Review
Top hospitals for cardiology by state, ranked by US News
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/cardiology/top-hospitals-for-cardiology-by-state-ranked-by-us-news.html
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