Chief’s message: Quickly Changing Times.

What a difference a week makes?  Last Saturday we had the Duke vs. UNC game and a sense that the COVID-19 virus would require some changes in our life and practice of medicine, but an amazing amount of change has occurred in one week.  The NBA followed by the NCAA and all major league sporting events have been cancelled.  All organized events with 50 people are cancelled and many Universities have sent students home, state schools are shutting down, and we are coming to terms with a new life.  We have started to quickly learn terms like social distancing, flattening the curve of the spread, and mitigating the accumulated risk to our population, patients, and our team.  Potentially the hardest for many of us in healthcare is balancing the need and want to help care for patients and to support efforts against the pandemic while determining the most efficient way and safest way to do this.  Additionally, we are also advising non-medical family and friends and sometimes describing the world we live in to our children.  So take the time this Sunday to spend a moment with those that you care about and think about ways in which we can all lean in to help our community and country fight this pandemic.  For many it will be coming up with a routine that allows some sense of normalcy while you spend time at home with family, food, and activity.  For our members on the Duke Heart Care teams, administrative and support staff, thank you all for the offers to support, the willingness to immediately organize and volunteer to step in for others, and most of all for caring for our patients and each other.  In the upcoming weeks we will have some trying times to get through, but as I often humbly say, I would not choose any other cardiovascular group in the world that I would want to be a part of to take care of patients, teach the next generation, and learn and shape the future of CV research.  There is some hope in our local and national communities around the concerted efforts of Duke Health, the PDC, and NC public Health groups.  See the figures included that show the case counts in the US similar to Italy but the case fatality rate to date closer to South Korea.  Additionally, we know as of 5 pm Sunday that the number of cases in NC is 32. According to NC Department of HHS, the state is operating as if it has community spread, but as of today all of the positive cases in North Carolina can be traced to a known positive contact. Below you will find some COVID-19 Resources and updates on the Duke Heart Activities this week.

COVID-19 Resources

All the latest official information regarding coronavirus/COVID-19 response for Duke Health entities is available on the Duke Health intranet site (NET ID required). Consistency in messaging is imperative, so please refer to the resources there for the latest information and policy updates.

• The COVID-19 Leadership Taskforce is sending periodic emails with summaries of the latest updates. They’re short and informative – be on the lookout.
• Additional restrictions on hospital and clinic visitors go into effect Monday, March 16.
• You should receive a Learning Management System e-mail notification with a link to an important workforce capabilities questionnaire. Please complete ASAP.
• Zoom video conferencing service is now available to anyone at Duke who needs access. (There are important restrictions regarding meetings that may include PHI, so review before using.)
• Check out this handy tech resource list (NET ID required) offered by our colleagues with DHTS. It includes a particularly useful Technology Guide for Working Remotely.

Information for patients appears on DukeHealth.org; alerts are being shared via Duke MyChart and email. Information specific to Duke University’s coronavirus response can be found here.

 

Managing in Uncertain Times

An article in this week’s Leadership Café had some great tips for self-care. So we’ll pause for a mental health break with Michael Nanna’s new puppy, a shot of Bosco and… an Oak Island sunset.  Social isolation with pets, walks and sometime to catch up with others via phone are all good ways to be well.

 

Good Catch, Mitchell!

Please insert 1 photo of Mitchell here

Erica Mitchell with the heart transplant team received a “good catch award” on Thursday. She recognized that ordered labs were not done on transplant evaluation cases. Turned out there was an error in an order set. This has now been fixed and patients receive the appropriate care. Great job and congratulations, Erica! Many thanks to Murat Fudim for the head’s up!

ACC.20/WCC Goes Virtual

The free ACC.20/WCC Virtual Experience will take place Saturday, March 28 – Monday, March 30 and will offer three days of science and learning, with “live” access to 23 educations sessions that include Late-Breaking Clinical Trials, Featured Clinical Research, Young Investigator Awards and keynotes. If you were notified that you’ve been selected as a virtual presenter, please let either Jennifer Rumbach or Tracey Koepke know. Thank you!

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• Cancelled through April
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai
• May 19: Mark Newman, University of Kentucky
• May 26: Svati Shah

 

Duke-J&J Nurse Leadership Program Accepting Applications

The Duke-Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Program is now accepting applications for the 2020-21 program year. Advanced practice nurses (APNs) and their team members–committed to collaborating together on a health improvement initiative–are invited to participate in this program. The 10-month leadership development program trains APNs and their team members to be better equipped to meet the challenges of the evolving health care environment. Up to 35 health care teams will be selected to participate for the 2020-21 program year.

The application period will close May 11. Read more about the application process.

Informational webinars about the program will be held via Zoom 12-1 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 10 and 12-1 p.m. ET Thursday April 16.

 

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:

 

March 9 — Jonathan Piccini

belmarrahealth.com

People with Atrial Fibrillation Who Get Regular Exercise May Live Longer Life

People with Atrial Fibrillation Who Get Regular Exercise May Live Longer Life

 

March 10 — Jonathan Piccini and Christopher Granger

The Washington Post

Even with atrial fibrillation, exercise linked to longer life

https://wapo.st/3cZQYxF

 

March 10 — Christopher Granger

Medscape

Further Support for Limiting Antiplatelets in AFib: GARFIELD-AF

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/926546

 

March 11 — Manesh Patel

Medscape

Apixaban Preferable to Rivaroxaban in AF?

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/926600

 

March 12 — John Alexander and Michel Zeitouni

tctMD/the heart beat

New ARISTOTLE Data ‘Reassuring’ on Lower Apixaban Dose

https://www.tctmd.com/news/new-aristotle-data-reassuring-lower-apixaban-dose

Chief’s message:

Small distractions. The Duke – UNC this weekend with many in attendance or watching the yearly rival on TV provided just such a distraction from the ongoing changing world.  We will need more of these to provide respite as we continue to work on ways to stay focused on the ever changing world around us with clinical care and possible viral pandemic.  Find photos from the game this weekend – including some with colleagues and friends as we found Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon (both ex players and NCAA champions).  Hopefully more good games to come in March.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another week of COVID-19 preparations by the health system and all of our faculty and fellows.  We know that keeping social distances, washing hands, screening for travel right now, and working with our hospital and PDC leadership to ensure we follow plans will be our main way forward.  Below you will find the updates from the Duke Health System

 

 

Updates from the week:

COVID-19 Updates

Centralized resources and information regarding Duke University Health System preparedness for COVID-19 is available on the Duke Health intranet site (NET ID required). Consistency in messaging is imperative, so please refer to these resources for the latest official information and policy updates.

Information for patients has been posted to DukeHealth.org (note the COVID-19 button under “What’s New” on the home page) and will be updated regularly; alerts and updates for patients are being shared via Duke MyChart and emails are being sent directly to patients considered most at risk. Information specific to Duke University’s coronavirus response can be found here.

U.S. News/Best Hospitals Voting is Open

Voting is open in Doximity for U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals”. Please visit your Doximity account and enter your vote. Thank you!

Owensby, Fitzhugh Earn ACS Designation

The Duke Heart Cardiac Diagnostic Unit is proud to announce that two of our sonographers, Jon Owensby and Robert “Curtis” Fitzhugh, successfully passed the Advanced Cardiac Sonographer (ACS) examination. ACS sonographers practice at an advanced level in the echocardiography laboratory improving lab quality and efficiency; performing advanced echocardiograms and mentoring fellows, students, residents and staff; developing and implementing educational plans; facilitating continuous quality improvement, and coordinating cardiac ultrasound research.

Jon and Curtis join the ranks of Danny Rivera, Jian Zhang, Alicia Armour, Hillary Hrabak, Batina Kight, Mike Foster, Ashlee Davis, Josh Lander, John Toptine and David Adams as sonographers who have all achieved the ACS certification during their time at Duke.

The regular advancement in learning and achievement demonstrated by our sonography team is one of the reasons Duke is able to provide the highest levels of care to our patients.

Great job and congratulations!

Purposeful Rounding Pilot Go Live: Unit 3300

Duke Heart Unit 3300 was selected to participate in the second cohort of the Duke University Hospital Responsiveness- Purposeful Hourly Rounding Project. Key components of the project focused on hardwiring standard work related to purposeful hourly rounding of HUC’s, RN’s, and NCA’s. This involved a multidisciplinary team consisting of Performance Improvement team members, unit champions, and Tracy Gosselin. Goals of the initiative are for staff to proactively manage and control their day, positive patient outcomes, decrease call bell use, increase quality time with patients, decrease harm, and increase patient education and charting time.

Staff were coached on utilization of proactive communication and bundling of care during purposeful hourly rounds as well as establishing patient expectations. The initiative kicked off on February 26. Dedicated time will be spent monitoring weekly Press Ganey responsiveness data, staff observations of purposeful rounding, and assessing the need for additional support.

Good Catch, Sowinski!

Many thanks to Katelyn Sowinski, one of our amazing nurses on Unit 3300. She noticed that a patient did not have a central line for their prescribed medication. Our Duke Heart Leadership team wrote: It is an honor for the Duke Heart leadership team to recognize and thank you personally for your “Good Catch” award for identification of a medication safety issue for a Duke Heart patient. Your dedication and commitment to your team and Duke Heart patients and families enables us as an organization to deliver on our Core Value and strive towards Zero Harm. Please take time to celebrate your personal and professional accomplishments today.”

Thank you again for all you do each and every day to make Duke Heart a great place for our patients, their loved ones, and each of our staff!

 

Triangle Heart Ball 2020

The American Heart Association’s 35^th Triangle Heart Ball was held on Feb. 28 at the Raleigh Convention Center. It’s one of the largest fundraisers of the year for our local AHA affiliate. The event raised over $1 million for research, public education and more. The impact was felt in the room when a 23-year-old stroke survivor shared his story. His stroke at age 18 left him with aphasia, but he continues to work towards his goal of getting his college degree. Shown here, L-R are: Kasey Williams, Elizabeth Watts, Laura Dickerson, Charlotte Reikofski and Amanda Rooney.

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week we welcome Arun Ganesh, Albert Sun, and Marat Fudim. The title of their talk is Management of Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia in the Critically Ill Patient. Please join us on Tuesday, March 10 at 5 p.m., DN 2002.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• March 17: Mark Lindsay, Massachusetts General Hospital
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• March 31: Cardiology Faculty Meeting
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

 

Duke-J&J Nurse Leadership Program Accepting Applications

The Duke-Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Program is now accepting applications for the 2020-21 program year. Advanced practice nurses (APNs) and their team members–committed to collaborating together on a health improvement initiative–are invited to participate in this program. The 10-month leadership development program trains APNs and their team members to be better equipped to meet the challenges of the evolving health care environment. Up to 35 health care teams will be selected to participate for the 2020-21 program year.

The application period will close May 11. Read more about the application process.

Informational webinars about the program will be held 12-1 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 10 and 12-1 p.m. ET Thursday April 16.

 

Update: ACC DCRI/Duke Heart Annual Reception

We are looking forward to seeing the Duke team at the upcoming ACC Scientific Sessions in Chicago! The location of the DCRI/Duke Heart annual reception has changed. It will be held in the Regency A Ballroom. Please make sure you update your calendar! Also, gentle reminder, this is a Duke-only event.

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:

March 4 — Chris Granger, Robert Califf and Manesh Patel

MDmag.com

Burden of Atrial Fibrillation and Transition to NOACs

http://bit.ly/39uN8up

March 5 – Chris Granger and Jonathan Piccini

Reuters Health

Even with atrial fibrillation, exercise linked to longer life

https://reut.rs/32TK5JN

This story also appeared in The New York Times, London Free Press and KFGO (Fargo, ND)

Chief’s message:

It’s increasingly difficult to keep things in perspective as the world rapidly changes around us.  The Coronavirus disease 2019 COVID-19 news and daily information from the CDC, WHO and local authorities keeps our utmost attention.  Yet we are all working to balance and continue our ongoing care for patients and each other.  The latest information from a scientific perspective can be found @ JAMA Current.

The JAMA resource center has interviews with CDC, NIH, and Chinese officials including an interactive map.  The case reports of the first 72,314 cases from China can also be found here.   https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/coronavirus-alert

Over the upcoming days, weeks, and likely months we will all be following and working together to help manage and provide care/support to those in need.

As with all crises, we balance this with our ongoing lives which we attempt to keep moving as much as possible.  This week for Duke Heart our highlights included the AHA Heart Ball, discoveries and publications, expanding and partnering around EP lead extraction management, and continued recognition of several of our faculty and fellows.  Thanks to all of the members of the Duke Heart group that work to help us carry out our missions.

Highlights of the week:

U.S. News/Best Hospitals Voting is Open

Voting is open in Doximity for U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals”. Please visit your Doximity account and enter your vote. Thank you!

Lead Extraction Program Expands to Wake Med/HCP+

Congratulations go out to the Duke Electrophysiology (EP) team for the expansion of their lead extraction program to include patients at Wake Med. As part of our HeartCarePlus+ partnership, Sean Pokorney is conducting laser lead extractions at Wake Med with Judson Williams, executive medical director of the Wake Med Heart & Vascular program and an adjunct faculty member in Duke’s Department of Surgery; Williams completed his cardiothoracic surgery training here at Duke.

Pokorney is providing his expertise in lead extraction as well as Duke’s model of care, which utilizes a combined lead extraction team with an EP, a cardiothoracic surgeon and a cardiac anesthesiologist working alongside a highly skilled support team of APPs and imaging technicians. Pokorney’s team performed their first laser lead extraction at Wake Med on Feb. 21 and is currently the only team in Wake County using a laser during lead extractions and the only one using the combined team approach.

Duke EP is a regional referral center for lead extractions. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this patient population, these are patients with implanted pacemakers or defibrillators who have an electrical lead that has either become infected or who require one or more leads to be removed for other medical reasons. Patients with lead infections must be treated. Often, patients with lead infections will receive antibiotics, but this isn’t a viable long-term solution as it will not cure the underlying problem and patients will need repeated courses of antibiotic therapy. Without extraction, patients with infections have a significant one-year mortality rate compared to those who do have the lead removed.

Removal of the leads is complicated process. Scar tissue commonly develops around leads, making them difficult to remove without causing tears or punctures to the delicate heart tissue – complications of which can be catastrophic — which is why the skill level of practitioners is critically important. Lead extractions done by highly skilled EPs have become very safe with good outcomes.

There are approximately 30,000 pacemaker lead infections annually in the U.S. and an estimated 12,000 lead extractions done per year. Duke has one of the highest volume lead extraction programs in the world. In 2019, Duke’s EP team performed 120 lead extractions, its highest volume to date. With high patient volumes and the strongest safety protocols in place, Duke’s program offers access to the most technically skilled electrophysiologists in the U.S., partnering with highly experienced cardiothoracic surgeons and anesthesiologists who are ready for any type of complication that could arise.

The Duke team has been performing both laser and mechanical approaches to lead extraction and is highly skilled in both methods. The team plans to expand again soon when Rob Lewis begins taking on cases later this year with a combined team at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Richard Palma Joins Duke Heart

We are pleased to welcome Richard Palma, BS, RDCS, RCS, ACS, FSDMS, FASE, to the Duke Heart team. Palma joined us in January as director and clinical coordinator of the Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program (see below).

Palma comes to Duke from St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford, CT where he served as the director and clinical coordinator of the School of Cardiac Ultrasound at the Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute.

He brings a wealth of experience to Duke not only as a cardiac imaging specialist, but as a program director with the skills to build a program from scratch, having built the program at St. Francis.

He has worked in the field of cardiac imaging since 1990 and was one of the first in the U.S. to earn the Advanced Cardiac Sonographer (ACS) credential and one of the first to become a fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography. In 2011, he received the Distinguished Educator award from the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS); he was induced as a fellow of the SDMS in 2016.

An author or co-author of numerous papers and educational materials, Palma lectures nationally and internationally on adult echocardiography and contrast.

He holds a BS in Education from Northeastern University with a concentration in cardiovascular health and exercise. He and his wife, Terri, reside in Durham. Terri is a physical therapist here at Duke. They have three adult children: Chloe, a physician assistant; Lucas, a manager at Oracle, and Sydney, who is in her third year of nursing school in Philadelphia.

Please offer him a warm welcome when you see him!

 

Duke Heart Launches Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program

We are excited to announce that Duke Heart is partnering with the Duke University School of Medicine to offer a Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program. The program will be led by Anita Kelsey, medical director and Richard Palma, director.

The one-year, full-time, allied health certificate program will train post-Bachelors students to become knowledgeable cardiovascular professionals who perform adult cardiac ultrasound procedures.

The program will matriculate its first class of eight students this year in September. Applications are now available online and will be accepted through June 1. To learn more, please visit: https://medicine.duke.edu/divisions/cardiology/education-and-training/duke-cardiac-ultrasound-certificate-program.

ICYMI

Terrific write-up on Svati Shah late last week (see News, below, or click here). Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, authored the piece which appeared on Thrive Global.

CRT 2020

Duke was well represented at the Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) 2020 interventional conference held Feb. 22-25 at Gaylord National Convention Center, National Harbor, MD.

Shown here are Marc Samsky, Rajesh Swaminathan, Tracy Wang, Mitch Krucoff, David Kong and Sunil Rao.

Thanks to Sunil for the photo!

 

Out & About

Marat Fudim was able to have dinner and attend a Duke men’s basketball game last weekend with none other than Richard Schatz, interventional cardiologist at Scripps Clinic. Schatz is the 2019 recipient of the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, presented by the National Academy of Engineering and Ohio University for his seminal role in the development of heart stents. Fudim said they both enjoyed the game, adding, “how could one not with those seats?”

Good Catch, Hutter!

The Duke Heart leadership team recognized Kimberly Hutter of 7 East with a Good Catch award. Hutter identified a medication safety issue for a Duke Heart patient.

The team wrote, “Your dedication and commitment to your team and Duke Heart patients and families enables us as an organization to deliver on our Core Value and strive towards Zero Harm. Please take time to celebrate your personal and professional accomplishments today.

Thank you again for all you do each and every day to make Duke Heart a great place for our patients, their loved ones, and each of our staff!”

Way to go, Kimberly!

Heart Stepdown Units Celebrate Quality Milestones

Special recognition to the 3100 and 7300 on reaching significant quality milestones!

Congratulations to team 3100 for 814 days since their last Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection! We appreciate the measures staff, Hospital Acquired Infection Champions (Taylor Smith, Missy Sturdivant, Tyler Adcock), and 3100 nursing leadership (Heather McKinney, Beth McChesney, Sarah Tucker) have implemented to provide quality care to our patients. Shown here are members of 3100. Nice job! Keep up the great work!

Congratulations to the 7300 team for 372 days since their last Pressure Injury and 309 days since their last Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection!  We appreciate measures staff, Skin Care Champions (Danielle Rogers, Erin Reilly, Leah Shannon), Kelly Smith (WOC), Hospital Acquired Infection Champions (Emily Towery, Salome Williams, Tiffany Gibson), and 7300 nursing leadership (Monica Harper, Abby Ratliff, Leah Shannon) have implemented to provide quality care to our patients. Shown here are members of 7300. Way to go!

ACC Scientific Sessions

Are you presenting at the ACC 2020 Scientific Sessions in Chicago? Please drop a note to Tracey Koepke, director of communications so that she can track your work. If you are on a late-breaker and you think there may be some press coverage, give her a head’s up. Thanks!

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week we welcome Duke cardiology fellow Anthony Carnicelli who will present Clinical Reasoning Conference. Please join us on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• March 10: Heart Center Grand Rounds
• March 17: Faculty Meeting at 5 p.m.
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

Update: ACC DCRI/Duke Heart Annual Reception

We are looking forward to seeing the Duke team at the upcoming ACC Scientific Sessions in Chicago! The location of the DCRI/Duke Heart annual reception has changed. It will be held in the Regency A Ballroom. Please make sure you update your calendar! Also, gentle reminder, this is a Duke-only event.

 

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:

 

February 21 — Manesh Patel

ABCNews.com

FDA approves drug that lowers cholesterol in a new way

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/fda-approves-drug-lowers-cholesterol-69132201

 

February 24 — Tazeen Jafar (Duke Global Health Institute)

Futurity

Community Health Worker Home Visits Cut Blood Pressure

http://bit.ly/3ab0rjF

 

February 25 — Renato Lopes

Healio/Cardiology Today

SECURE-PCI: Atorvastatin loading in planned PCI fails to reduce 12-month MACE

http://bit.ly/3cdWX1p

 

February 25 — Sunil Rao

tctMD/the heart beat

PCI-Related MIs Not Linked to Mortality at 1 Year: Onyx ONE

https://www.tctmd.com/news/pci-related-mis-not-linked-mortality-1-year-onyx-one

 

February 26 — Duke is mentioned

Heart.org

After heart attack, mini-stroke and stroke, survivor has some advice

http://bit.ly/3cheaHg

 

February 27 — DCRI is mentioned

tctMD/the heart beat

Positive Early Data for TAVR in Low-Risk Patients With Bicuspid Valves

https://www.tctmd.com/news/positive-early-data-tavr-low-risk-patients-bicuspid-valves

 

February 28 — Svati Shah

Thrive Global

Her parents taught her grit, caring for others. She’s using those traits to fight heart disease.

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/her-parents-taught-her-grit-caring-for-others-shes-using-those-traits-to-fight-hear

 

Chief’s message:

How do we keep up with it all?

Every week I am asked how do you/we keep track of all the things that the Cardiology Division, Duke Heart is doing.  In fact, this is often after someone has highlighted either something that we missed or something that we were able to capture and highlight for our faculty and friends of Duke Heart.  This weekend for instance – we had the following events:

• The Duke Cardio-Oncology Symposium with Oncology leaders like Susan Dent partnering with Chiara Melloni, Michel Khouri, Igor Klem and others to present the evolving science and care to 151 registrants
• Visit from Richard Schatz, a duke medical student and mentee of Joe Kisslo, who gave a great talk Friday night to faculty and fellows on his toughest cases including lessons learned. Amazing cases, saves, and technology in one of our Pioneers in interventional Medicine
• CRT Meeting in Washington DC with many of our Faculty and Fellows attending – including a Shock Symposium on Saturday with Sunil Rao, Mitch Kruckoff, Marc Samskey, Jason Katz, Jacob Schroder and other in attendance.
• American College of Cardiology SAP and MOC question writing in DC with Cary Ward and Maitreya Thakkar attending
• CTO2020 meeting in NYC with Izzy Othman and others in attendance
• Duke playing Virginia Tech at Home with lots of enthusiasm and interest after our last game against NC State.

Of course this list is not complete and doesn’t capture all the faculty and fellows who were on-call and taking care of the sick patients that we all strive to help.  I got so see several of them in action on STEMI call this weekend and would say again – we are blessed by the faculty, fellows, and staff that we have the opportunity to work with.

Nevertheless, its humbling to see the amazing interactions, impact and passion that turns into action from Duke Heart.  Each week Tracey Kopke diligently helps me try to wrangle all the stories and news and we hope that this brief update and set of highlights provides all with a bit of community to share and celebrate our collective work.

Highlights of the week:

U.S. News/Best Hospitals Voting is Open

Voting is now open in Doximity for U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals”. Please visit your Doximity account and enter your vote. Thank you!

Sketch to Receive Humanism in Medicine Award

We are pleased to announce that Michael Sketch has been selected as a recipient of the 2020 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. This award is sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and has been supported by Leonard Tow since 2003. Winners of this award demonstrate compassion in the delivery of care, respect for patients, their families, and healthcare colleagues, as well as clinical excellence. The committee found this year’s nominees exceptionally impressive, making it extremely difficult to select just one recipient for this award, so the committee decided to award the prize this year to two recipients (Sketch and Adeyemi Olufolabi of Duke Anesthesiology).

The award will be presented by Dean Mary Klotman at the annual Spring Faculty Celebration, which will be held at the Doris Duke Center, Duke Gardens on May 5.

We can think of no better choice for this award. Congratulations, Mike! You are a gifted clinician and a wonderful colleague.

 

Wrapping Up Heart Month

This is the last week of February… Thanks again to all of you who have helped celebrate Heart Month throughout Duke! Every single member of the Duke Heart team is a contributor to our success – from those who schedule appointments to those checking patients in; from those who transport them, to those providing imaging tests and direct care; from those who keep calendars for our busy MDs, to those who collect and interpret data for the many registries in which we participate; from those who schedule OR time to those who are managing our spaces and teams within the clinics and hospitals; from those who help support us with grants and contracts to those who mentor trainees…

We could go on, but you get the picture: we’re a huge squad doing some pretty amazing work. Maybe take a minute to recognize one another for the good stuff. You could make someone’s day!

Many thanks to our team in Lumberton for sharing some of their heart month photos with us! Chris Walters was the guest speaker at a community event held on Thursday, Feb. 13 at Biggs Park Mall. He presented “Heart Disease: Fact or Fiction” and participated in a community mall walking event called “Walk with a Doc”. The event was offered as part of a health fair sponsored by Southeastern Health. Walters is a Duke cardiologist providing non-Invasive cardiology services at Southeastern Health hospital’s Heart & Vascular clinic.

And finally, a shout-out to Jill Engel and Manesh Patel for sporting their red footwear during February!

 

CTICU Earns AACN Beacon Award, Gold Level

The Duke Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) at Duke University Hospital has earned a gold-level Beacon Award of Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

The Beacon Award for Excellence — a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments — recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with gold, silver or bronze designations meet national criteria consistent with Magnet® Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.

The AACN will honor the Duke CTICU and other Beacon Award for Excellence recipients with announcements in AACN Bold Voices, their monthly magazine, and will honor awardees at the 2020 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI), the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. The NTI will be held May 4-7 in Indianapolis.

This is an outstanding achievement by the Duke CTICU. They earned the gold-level as first time applicants! There are more than 150 RNs on this unit, plus pharmacists, intensivists, surgeons, respiratory therapists, perfusionists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists and other staff members who comprise the CTICU team at Duke. This is a great example of Duke Heart teamwork in action.

The Duke CTICU is currently the only Beacon Award recipient unit at Duke. They are one of nine gold level ranked units, and one of only two ICU units, in North Carolina. To see a list of Beacon units, please visit: http://bit.ly/32kM4Xk.

Wonderful job, CTICU team. You make us proud!

.

Shah Elected to AAP

Congratulations to Svati Shah for her recent election to the Association of American Physicians (AAP). The AAP was established in 1885 as an elected society of America’s leading physician-scientists who exemplify the pinnacle of pioneering and enduring, impactful contributions to improve health. It was established by seven physicians, including Dr. William Osler and Dr. William Henry Welch, for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.” The competitively selected membership currently includes more than 1700 active members and approximately 600 emeritus and honorary members from across the world. The current AAP president is none other than Duke’s Mary Klotman.

This is great news and well deserved, Svati!

 

 

Shout-Out to Southpoint Sonography/CDU team

Thanks to a note from Andrew Wang to Sreekanth Vemulapalli, we learned about the great teamwork shown by our sonographers and CDU team – this time at the Southpoint clinic.

“Just want to give some positive feedback for the sonographers and CDU staff at Southpoint clinic. In the last two days, there have been three cases where I’ve been very impressed with the quality and access of echo studies:

• Patient who came for TTE to r/o structural heart issue and the images were so thorough and high quality, including visualization of the coronary ostia origins as requested. Had exercise treadmill test too. Jamie also called me about the results in real time. Family member commented on how attentive staff was.
• Patient for whom we made a late request for stress echo which was performed with very helpful info
• Late request for echo (during snow fall, no less!) to evaluate AS severity b/c of patient travel distance; echo was done

“Please extend my appreciation to the staff.  Also, as we think about CDU services at other clinics in the near future, hopefully this level of clinical care can be duplicated in those new settings.”

A big shout out to the full sonography and CDU team at Southpoint clinic! Shown here are a few of the team members: (L-R) Noelle Abbott, Amanda Morley, Stephen Shipman, Brenda Sedberry, Carter Davis, Jayne Cleve. Way to go, everyone!

Thakkar, Ward Serving on ACC SAP MOC Committee

Maitreya Thakkar was recently invited to become a performance question writer for the American College of Cardiology Self-Assessment Program Maintenance of Certification (SAP MOC) exams. The performance question writer committee is at the Heart House in Washington this weekend. Thakkar says it was a pleasant surprise when he met Cary Ward at the airport on his way to DC. Ward has been on the SAP MOC committee as a question writer and is it the same sub-group as Thakkar this weekend. “It has been a great experience being on the other side writing, reviewing and editing the questions,” Thakkar wrote to us. “Appreciate the support and encouragement from Cary. Proud to be a part of such a wonderful group of people at Duke!”

 

 

Duke CTSI Expansion

Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) celebrated their expansion with a ribbon cutting and celebration on Wednesday, Feb. 19 on the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, NC. Duke doubled its presence on the campus to 10,100 square feet, all of it home to the Translational Population Health Research Center, or “TransPop.”

Read more about it here. Congratulations to Kristin Newby, Ebony Boulware and team. Great job!

 

Heart Transplant Team Celebration

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, the Duke Heart Transplant team in 2019 performed the highest number of heart transplants in the history of the program. As a combined adult, pediatric and multi-visceral program, the team performed over 90 heart transplant procedures.

The outcomes of these procedures have, to date, been excellent. They continue to expand their experience with transplantation in patients with congenital heart disease and use of the Transmedics Organ Care System. The team also became the first program in the U.S. to perform a Donation after Circulatory Death heart transplant and have completed five such procedures.

These are significant accomplishments due in no small part to incredible teamwork and a foundation of surgical and medical excellence built over many decades at Duke. In celebration of their banner year, the team held a celebration Thursday, Feb. 13 at Cucciolo Osteria in Durham. Incredible work, team!

 

ACC Scientific Sessions

Are you presenting at the ACC 2020 Scientific Sessions in Chicago? Please drop a note to Tracey Koepke, director of communications so that she can track your work. If you are on a late-breaker and you think there may be some press coverage, give her a head’s up. Thanks!

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week we’ll be having a faculty meeting. Please join us on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• March 3: Anthony Carnicelli, Clinical Reasoning Conference
• March 10: Heart Center Grand Rounds
• March 17: Faculty Meeting at 5 p.m.
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

 

Update: ACC DCRI/Duke Heart Annual Reception

We are looking forward to seeing the Duke team at the upcoming ACC Scientific Sessions in Chicago! The location of the DCRI/Duke Heart annual reception has changed. It will be held in the Regency A Ballroom. Please make sure you update your calendar! Also, gentle reminder, this is a Duke-only event.

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:

 

February 14 — Renato Lopes

Medscape

GI Bleeding on Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fib Foremost a Colon Cancer Red Flag

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/925291?src=rss

 

February 15 — Monique Starks

ThePilot.com (Southern Pines, NC)

Column: Do You Have the Heart for Life Quality Over Quantity?

http://bit.ly/2V2D6MI

 

February 17 — Andrea Coviello (Endocrinology)

WRAL Tech Wire

Personalized digital wellness helping people prevent, manage chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease

http://bit.ly/2wsZu7v

 

February 19 — Brett Atwater

Medscape

Declining Physical Activity May Herald HF Hospitalization, Death

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/925441?src=rss

 

February 20 — Manesh Patel

MDmag.com/HCP Live

Manesh Patel, MD: Lessons Learned from the Beaumont Conference

https://www.mdmag.com/conference-coverage/beaumont-2020/manesh-patel-md-lessons-learned-from-the-beaumont-conference

 

February 20 — L. Kristin Newby and Ebony Boulware

Salisbury Post

Duke University doubles office space at NC Research Campus in Kannapolis

Duke University doubles office space at NC Research Campus in Kannapolis

Highlights of the week:

Heart PFAC Recruiting, Promoting Heart Month

Volunteers from the Duke Heart Patient & Family Advisory Council joined us outside of Duke University Hospital’s Atrium Café this week. They hosted an information booth to promote the work of our PFAC and encourage patients and family members to consider joining. They also worked to provide information around heart disease and the importance of regular blood pressure screenings. Many thanks to Kathryn Daily, Tommy Humphries and Jim Taylor, our PFAC volunteers, and to Tracey Koepke, director of communications, for coordinating the space and materials.

Cardiovascular Academic Accelerator Fellows Course

We had the 5th year of our Fanatastic faculty – Andrew Wang, Tracy Wang, Sunil Rao, Adam DeVore, Mike Felker, Sreek Vemulapalli, Penny Hodgson, and others helping our next generation learn how to present, write, and evaluate academic studies.  Great to see the interaction and enthusiasm.

Ward Presentation at Grand Rounds

Cary Ward led an interactive Cardiology Grand Rounds on the important topic of clinician burnout. She did an excellent job summarizing the issue and leading a discussion on possible solutions. One easy takeaway, stop work and have lunch with a Heart Center colleague!

 

Every Heartbeat Matters Award

Carmelo Milano and the Duke Heart for Honduras team has been awarded the Thoracic Surgery Foundation Every Heartbeat Matters Award for their outreach work in Honduras. The team will receive $30,000 in grant funding which is made possible through the support of the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation.

The Duke Heart for Honduras team made a trip in July 2019 to the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to perform heart surgeries at Instituto National Cardiopulmonar. Another trip is being planned for later this year. The TSF grant award will provide critical funding toward offsetting costs of the next trip.

In the award notification, the TSF noted that, “Members of the Charitable Outreach Initiatives Committee and the TSF Board are very excited about your surgical outreach project, and we know that your contributions to our specialty, and to underserved populations, will be significant.”

Congratulations to the full team! Great job and we look forward to watching the program continue to grow.

 

Al-Khatib Elected to AUC

Congratulations to Sana Al-Khatib on her election into the Association of University Cardiologists, a professional organization limited to an active membership of 135 academic cardiologists from across the U.S.

Members, who are elected by their peers, are leaders and top investigators in academic cardiology. We are pleased to see Sana’s thought leadership and commitment to academic medicine recognized by this highly selective association.

What a tremendous honor, Sana. Well deserved!

Perfusion News:

We are happy to share some great news from our perfusion team:

• Travis Siffring is now a Fellow of Pediatric Perfusion. He joins Greg Smigla, Dave Kaemmer, Rich Walczak and Desiree Bonadonna in use of the “FPP” credential.
• Scott Snider has been re-elected as Treasurer of the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (AmSECT).
• Desiree Bonadonna has been nominated and approved as a Fellow of the American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion, joining Ian Shearer, Greg Smigla, and Rich Walczak as AACP fellows.

 

Shown here are Siffring, Snider and Bonadonna (L-R). Congratulations and way to represent Duke Heart!

Cardiovascular Professionals Week

Feb. 9 -15 was Cardiovascular Professionals Week, a national week of recognition for professionals working in cardiovascular care across all specialties. Shown here are photos of some of our cardiovascular teams. Shown from L-R, top to bottom: the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit (CDU), 7200; CDU, Southpoint; CDU, 2K; and Cardiac MRI.

 

We are grateful for each of our team members and the care they provide to our patients. Thanks so much for sharing these photos with us!

 Duke Basketball back in gear with great game and past athletes coming.

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week, Chris Longenecker of Case Western Reserve University is our guest speaker. His topic is “Innovations in CVD Prevention for People Living with HIV” Please join us on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

 

Upcoming Duke Heart sponsored CME Events:

February 22: Third Annual Cardio-Oncology Symposium: Improving Cancer Outcomes and Optimizing Cardiovascular Health. Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC.

April 18:  Seventh Annual Duke Sports Cardiology Symposium. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. (Registration coming soon.)

May 2: Twentieth Anniversary Andrew G. Wallace Symposium in Preventive Cardiology: My How Times Have Changed. Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC.

June 4-5: Duke-Stanford Cardiovascular Research Symposium. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

July 8: Heart Safe Choices. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

 

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:

 

February 7 — Monique Starks

Healio/Nephrology

In-hospital cardiac arrest care, outcomes similar in patients on dialysis, general population

http://bit.ly/2Hhm8Cd

 

February 10 — Duke is mentioned

USA Today

Here’s how to solve the looming shortage of doctors: Nurse practitioners.

http://bit.ly/2SK3R5x

 

February 13 — Duke is mentioned

Carolina Journal

Effort toward reforming CON laws to promote competition meets resistance

Effort toward reforming CON laws to promote competition meets resistance

Highlights of the week:

AHA Go RED for Women: Wear Red Day

Thanks to all those who wore red on Friday (Feb. 7) to support Wear Red Day! Here are a few shots shared by our team members throughout Duke Heart.

February is heart month, so keep sharing your photos with us as you find ways to celebrate!

Also on Friday, Neha Pagidipati was the guest speaker at the American Heart Association Triangle area Go Red Breakfast. Thank you for representing Duke Heart!

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

This week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness week (Feb. 7-14) and we’d like to give a big shout-out to Andrew Lodge, Rachel Gambino, Chris Lappe and Michelle Figuerres who just returned from a medical mission trip in La Paz, Bolivia. The team travelled to the Hospital del Nino in La Paz under the sponsorship of Gift of Life International to provide heart defect surgery to underprivileged children who otherwise would not receive this type of care. The team performed ten surgeries in five days (nine pump cases and one coarctation).

Upon their return, Dr. Lodge shared the following about his team members with their respective leadership within Duke Heart:

Rachel Gambino, perfusionist: “First, it was an absolute pleasure to work with her. Second, her preparation for the mission was meticulous. She looked into every conceivable detail before we left and spent weeks salvaging tubing that would have been otherwise discarded to bring with her to construct circuits and/or donate to the hospital there. Third, on site she was extremely conscientious in her preparation for each case and worked seamlessly with the local perfusionist there (who was also excellent). Rachel shared much of her knowledge and practice with Valeria, her Bolivian counterpart, but did so in a constructive and educational manner, never making the local staff feel inadequate or substandard in any way. She was able to troubleshoot any problems that arose, including adapting to the high altitude physiology that we encountered. (La Paz is at about 12,000 feet above sea level)

Chris Lappe, respiratory therapist:  “From the first day, he made an immediate impact on the care of the patients in the ICU. Not only did he help to take care of the patients that underwent surgery as part of the mission, but he also participated in the care of all of the other patients in the unit. Two notable examples were his involvement with a chronically ventilated patient who underwent heart surgery in October of last year and a patient who had repair of a tracheo-esophageal fistula some weeks ago. This latter infant has had problems with right lung collapse and the surgical team was contemplating pneumonectomy. Within hours of Chris’ involvement with the patient, the lung was re-expanded. He worked tirelessly throughout the mission, frequently putting in 14 hour days, and worked seamlessly with the local staff and the rest of our team.”

 

 

Michelle Figuerres, OR nurse: “Michelle has accompanied our team on previous mission trips to the Philippines. To her credit and as an indicator of her level of performance on these prior missions, she was requested by name by the sponsoring organization for this trip. She spent weeks ahead of time gathering supplies and helped me tremendously by keeping a detailed inventory for us and for the sponsor. Her performance in the OR was excellent as usual. She also worked closely with the local operating room staff. She had a big impact on their practice there, helping them to learn how to set up for a case quickly and efficiently to the point that they now will be comfortable using one scrub nurse instead of two for cardiac cases.”

 

Our congenital heart surgery team is incredibly gifted. Thank you for all that you do to make Duke Heart one of the premiere programs in the country and for sharing your gifts with those who would not otherwise receive this type of care. Way to go!

Heart Failure Awareness Week

This week also happens to be Heart Failure Awareness Week (Feb. 9-15). In recognition of our heart failure team and the work they do, we’d like to share that in 2019, the Duke Heart Transplant Program transplanted 93 people and led the nation with innovative techniques such as donation after circulatory death (DCD) transplantation. This was our highest volume year for heart transplants since the program began in 1985 and we have now successfully transplanted just over 1,400 people.

Another impressive fact? The team implanted 102 HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs), making Duke the largest LVAD center by volume in the United States. Amazing work continues to be done at Duke on behalf of patients with heart failure!

If you’re on Twitter, share your love of our heart failure team this week! #HFWeek2020

Shout-out for Duran

A shout-out this week for cardiology fellow Jessie Duran from Dan Mark:

“I rounded with Jessie Duran on her first ever Duke CICU fellow call day/night a few days ago and just wanted to comment that she hit it out of the park. I am not easily impressed but she handled herself in such a calm, organized, assured way, even teaching a bit on rounds, that I thought I should mention it to you. Her clinical thinking on complex patients is very advanced for her level of training. She did the double black diamond run like she had been skiing it for years.”

Way to go, Jessie! Many thanks to Anna Lisa Crowley for sharing this note with us. Keep up the great work, fellows!

 

Good Catch Award for Dorris!

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week, Cary Ward will be speaking on an important topic to the entire division, clinician wellness. The title of her talk is, “Where did all the Wellness Go?” Please join us on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• February 18: Chris Longenecker, Case Western
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

Upcoming Duke Heart sponsored CME Events:

February 22: Third Annual Cardio-Oncology Symposium: Improving Cancer Outcomes and Optimizing Cardiovascular Health. Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC.

April 18:  Seventh Annual Duke Sports Cardiology Symposium. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. (Registration coming soon.)

May 2: Twentieth Anniversary Andrew G. Wallace Symposium in Preventive Cardiology: My How Times Have Changed. Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC.

June 4-5: Duke-Stanford Cardiovascular Research Symposium. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

July 8: Heart Safe Choices. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

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:

January 31 — Monique Starks

The New York Times

CPR, by Default

January 31 — Yuichiro Yano

Medical News Today

Blood pressure: Why averaging readings may be dangerous

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/variable-blood-pressure-heart-disease-risk

February 4 — Michael Nanna

AARP

Why a Woman’s Heart Disease Is Different From a Man’s

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/women-heart-attacks.html

February 5 — Duke is mentioned

MD Magazine/HCPLive

Inactivity Causing Problems for Older Adults

https://www.mdmag.com/medical-news/inactivity-problems-older-adults

It’s February! National Heart Month

February is national Heart Month. Here are the key dates:

• 7^th: Wear Red Day. If you’re on social media and interested in posting, please tag our local AHA affiliate by using #goredtriangle.
• 7^th –14^th: Congenital Heart Defect Week
• 9^th – 15^th: Heart Failure Awareness Week (#HFWeek2020)
• 28^th: Triangle Heart Ball, Raleigh Convention Center

Duke Heart Grows by Four

Just in time for Heart Month!!! We are delighted to share the newest members of our Duke Heart family. Please join us in welcoming the following babies – all of whom were born in January to Duke Cardiology fellows:

• Emily Black-Maier, born Jan. 11^th to Eric and Allison Black-Maier. (upper left)
• Amelia Grace Carnicelli, born Jan. 19^th to Anthony and Ashli Carnicelli. (upper right)
• Arya Loungani, born Jan. 19^th to Rahul and Leena Loungani. (lower left)
• Layton Paul Rehorn, born Jan. 27^th to Michael and Laurel Rehorn. (lower right)

   

 

All babies and parents are doing well. Congratulations to all!

Kisslo to Receive ASE Award for Outstanding Achievement

Joseph Kisslo will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Perioperative Echocardiography Award at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) Foundation’s 11th Annual Research Awards Gala on Sunday, June 21, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, CO.

Kisslo was the first to use phased array ultrasound imaging in the human body and the first to describe most of the disease for which the technique is now commonplace. Not only has his work shaped the field of echocardiography, it helped establish Duke Heart as one of the premier cardiovascular treatment centers in the world. Congratulations, Dr. Kisslo!

 

Agarwal Named to ABIM Writing Task Force

Richa Agarwal has been named to the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Writing Task Force for Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology beginning March 1. Way to go, Richa!

 

 

 

 

STS 2020 Held in New Orleans

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons 56th Annual Meeting and Exhibition was held Jan. 25^th to 28th at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.

Duke Heart presenters included Jill Engel; Betty Tong; G. Chad Hughes; Julie Doberne; Matt Hartwig; Brittney Zwischenberger; Jatin Anand, and Oliver Jawitz.

Great job, everyone — the CT Surgery team has had a tremendous year!

     

Michos Visits Duke Heart

We welcomed Erin Michos, director of Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Johns Hopkins as our Cardiology Grand Rounds presenter this past week. The title of the talk was “Sex and Gender and their Impact on the Cardiovascular Health of Women.”

Thanks to everyone who joined us!

Shown here are Michos and those who joined for the visiting professor luncheon.

 

Hamill Named Medicine CRU Associate Director

Jennifer Hamill, RN, MSN will become the Medicine Clinical Research Unit (CRU) Associate Director effective March 2. Hamill has been with the Duke Heart Center CRU for the past nine years, initially as a clinical research coordinator, then as Research Practice Manager and most recently as Director of Research Development. She has been instrumental in leading efforts to streamline processes in the Heart Center and across Duke, collaborating with both the Duke Office of Clinical Research to standardize hiring in clinical research, and the Duke SOM Office of Regulatory Affairs and Quality and DUHS to improve patient access to investigational new drugs via an Expanded Access service program created at Duke.

Congratulations, Jennifer! They are lucky to be gaining your expertise. Thanks for all you’ve done for Duke Heart and our CRU!

Shout-outs for Coniglio, Arps

Anna Lisa Crowley shared a note with us that she received this week from Jordan Pomeroy regarding Amanda Coniglio:

“I wanted to send out some kudos to Amanda Coniglio for helping me greatly on my last CICU shift (Jan 25th-26th). Amanda was the overnight hospitalist who helped with several floor related RRT/Codes…she continued to provide outstanding care for the Code Blue patient once transitioned to the CICU. This occurred as we had simultaneous Code Blues in the CICU requiring all hands on deck to provide care. Furthermore, she assisted with a new patient admission to the CICU while the residents were rounding and I was placing emergent central/arterial lines.  Amanda exemplified dedication to her patients and extraordinary support for her fellow. Please let folks know how appreciative I am!”

In another great note Anna Lisa Crowley shared with us, Nazish Hashmi (Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine) recognized Kelly Arps:

“I wanted to send you a quick note recognizing Dr. Arps. She was the fellow on EP and was consulting on a few of my patients last week while I was on 7W. We had a particularly tough patient together and she went above and beyond to help us manage her. She helped us brainstorm and think outside the box to determine this patient’s etiology for shock. I really appreciated the time she took to go through this patient’s history and made suggestions beyond the cardiovascular system. All your fellows are excellent, but Dr. Arps stands out. Just wanted to give her a shout out for a job done with so much care and pride.”

We have incredible fellows and a terrific fellowship program and it shows!!! Many thanks to Amanda Coniglio and Kelly Arps for representing Duke Heart so beautifully this week.

 

Speaking of Trainee News…

Congratulations to Dennis Narcisse, Jr. and to Jessica Regan for being named Chief Residents for 2021-2022. Narcisse will join the Duke Cardiology fellowship program in July; Regan is the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center’s 2020 Mandel Fellow.

Three Chief residents are selected in their final year of residency and typically complete one year of fellowship before returning to start their chief resident year. The three are:

Dennis Narcisse, MD, MS, Durham VA Medical Center

Dennis is a graduate of Mississippi State University and The University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He will be a fellow in Cardiology in 2020-21.

Jessica Regan, MD, Duke University Hospital

Jessica is a graduate of the University of Arizona and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. She will be completing the R38 Research Pathway for residents in 2020-21.

Nancy Yang, MD, Duke Regional Hospital/Ambulatory Medicine

Nancy is a graduate of Duke University and The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She will be a fellow in Gastroenterology in 2020-21.

 

ICYMI

Congratulations to Melissa Daubert, Joseph Sivak, Allison Dunning, Pamela Douglas, Brian Coyne, Tracy Wang, Dan Mark and Eric Velasquez for their article, Implications of Abnormal Exercise Electrocardiography With Normal Stress Echocardiography, published January 27^th, online, in JAMA Internal Medicine. You can view the article online and/or download the PDF here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2759744

**Novel Coronavirus/University Requirement**

The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 4 – Do not Travel to China advisory and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. As a result, all individuals returning to the U.S. from mainland China are asked to self-isolate for 14 days. In addition, all foreign nationals (other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents) who have been to mainland China in the last 14 days are temporarily banned from entering the country.

All Duke University/Duke Health students, faculty and staff who will return to the U.S. from China after 12 p.m. on Sunday, February 2, 2020, are expected to immediately self-isolate and complete the following survey: http://duke.is/P6zI4D. (All information provided on this survey will be secure and kept confidential.)

All members of the Duke community are encouraged to monitor the Duke coronavirus website for the latest updates.  Please share this information with others as appropriate. Thank you!

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week, Duke Cardiology fellow Titus Ngeno will present on central line-associated bloodstream infections. Please join us on Tuesday, Feb. 4. 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• February 11: Cary Ward
• February 18: Chris Longenecker, Case Western
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

 

Upcoming Duke Heart sponsored CME Events:

February 22: Third Annual Cardio-Oncology Symposium: Improving Cancer Outcomes and Optimizing Cardiovascular Health. Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC.

April 18:  Seventh Annual Duke Sports Cardiology Symposium. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. Registration coming soon.

May 2: Twentieth Anniversary Andrew G. Wallace Symposium in Preventive Cardiology: My How Times Have Changed. Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC. Registration available: https://medicine.duke.edu/education-and-training/continuing-medical-education/events/20th-anniversary-andrew-g-wallace

July 8: Heart Safe Choices. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. Registration available: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9SMO19RPQRIlD5r

August 19: Heart Safe Choices. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. Registration available: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cZloVF33mF9IeYl

September 19: Third Annual Duke Heart Symposium for Advanced Practice Providers. J.B. Duke Hotel & Thomas Executive Conference Center, Durham, NC. Registration coming soon.

November 11: Heart Safe Choices. Trent Semans Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. Registration available: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byjHXJyNzeulaJv

November 13: Twelfth Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Research Triangle Park, NC. Registration coming soon.

 

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:

January 27 — Melissa Daubert

Healio/Cardiology Today

Positive ECG, negative echocardiography may identify patients with elevated cardiac risk

http://bit.ly/38S7tZG

January 28 — Duke University is mentioned

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tips to be fit: Is your doctor treating your issues or age?

http://bit.ly/2GLbbZ2

J.J. Bax Visits Duke Heart as Inaugural Pamela S. Douglas, MD Duke CV Imaging Visiting Scholar

Jeroen J. Bax of Leiden University in the Netherlands presented our Cardiology Grand Rounds last week. Bax is the immediate past president of the ESC and highly regarded as leading clinical cardiologist in Europe.  Bax joined us as the inaugural Pamela S. Douglas, MD Duke CV Imaging Visiting Scholar.

The visit highlighted the importance of putting imaging, clinical research and clinical care all in one path and practice.  The DCRI noon lecture and the Grand Rounds were amazing were amazing examples of how imaging and clinical research can be done.  They served as a great example to honor the work that Dr. Douglas has done throughout her career.

Piccini to Lead Electrophysiology Section

We are excited to announce that Jonathan Piccini, MD, MHS, Associate Professor of Medicine with Tenure will assume the role of Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Section in Duke’s Division of Cardiology. Jon graduated from the Northwestern University Medical School, completed his internal medicine training at Johns Hopkins, and completed his cardiology and electrophysiology fellowships here at Duke.

Since joining the faculty in 2011, Jon has been dedicated to patient care, education, and research. He has many accomplishments during his time here at Duke, but most remarkable has been his ability to establish and grow both clinical and research programs. He has spearheaded the lead management program, now one of the world’s largest programs, through team-based collaboration with the cardiothoracic surgery and radiology programs to achieve a remarkable safety record. He has also established new programs at Duke, including the Arrhythmia Core Lab at the DCRI and expanded others including the Duke Center for Atrial Fibrillation. He has also been a champion for collaboration including working with Duke Anesthesia and the heart failure section to develop the Neurocardiology Service. Jon is a recognized leader in the field of electrophysiology, serving as the chair and PI for several national and international clinical studies testing new treatments for heart rhythm disorders. Most importantly he has mentored and guided several EP fellows into successful academic medicine careers.

We are very excited to see Jon lead our electrophysiology group. Jon expressed that he is “honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve the Duke EP community in its mission to discover and deliver outstanding and innovative care to those with heart rhythm disorders. I am excited and thankful to work with our EP group to continue and build on the great legacy of Duke EP.”

Daubert Named Senior Vice Chief, Division of Cardiology

We are excited to announce that Jim Daubert, MD, has agreed to take on the role of Senior Vice Chief for the Division of Cardiology in the Duke Department of Medicine. In this role, he will serve as a key leader in the redesign of our heart service line as we look to deliver high quality care and value to patients across the region, Duke University Health System and Duke Heart Network. 

Jim was a Duke Chief Resident, Cardiology and Electrophysiology (EP) fellow. Following fellowship, he started the EP program at the University of Rochester Medical Center in 1992, where he helped lead the influential MADIT trials, before returning to Duke in 2009 to head up the EP section. Over the last 10 years, Jim has led the significant growth in the EP section, recruited many of our current EP faculty, and overseen our expansion of clinical and research programs.  Jim has done all of this while remaining a leader in the field of electrophysiology receiving the JACC Simon Dack Award for Outstanding Scholarship; Serving as Associate Editor, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology since 2014; serving as a Member of the Governance Committee of the Heart Rhythm Society; and Chair of the Program Directors Subcommittee of the Fellowship Committee of Heart Rhythm Society. Perhaps most importantly, Jim has been a thoughtful leader who has helped our Division grow the next generation of EP leaders while ensuring quality arrhythmia care. He will join the ABIM CCEP Exam Committee in 2020.

We look forward to having Jim be a part of Heart Leadership.

Mentz to Lead Heart Failure Section

We are delighted to announce that Robert J. Mentz, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Population Health will assume the role of Director of the Heart Failure Section. Rob graduated from the Emory University School of Medicine, completed his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and completed his cardiology and heart failure fellowships here at the Duke Heart Center. He has numerous accomplishments as a clinician and as a cardiovascular investigator. He currently serves as an Associate Editor at Circulation: Heart Failure and has been named a rising star by the American College of Cardiology. We are excited about his willingness to serve as Director. His tremendous work in the heart failure community and as a clinical trialist has significantly advanced the care and outcomes of patients with heart failure. From an early stage, Rob has demonstrated skills and success as a mentor that have shown his passion and ability as a leader. Rob has demonstrated these talents in his service to the Division as the Director of the Duke University Cooperative Cardiovascular Society (DUCCS), which he revitalized with new energy. He has also shown his ability to successfully mentor in the Duke Heart Center, the DCRI, and the Department of Population Health – in addition to his role as an Associate Program Director for the Cardiology Fellowship Program. We look forward to having Rob work with the leadership team to execute the vision for the future of our heart failure section and its role in leading the country in patient care, medical education, and clinical investigation.

Please join us in recognizing and thanking G. Michael Felker, MD, MHS, Professor of Medicine, who has served in this role since 2013. While serving as the Heart Failure section Chief, Mike was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in 2014, led and coordinated several multi-center trials, and was awarded the Robert M. Califf Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2017. He currently serves as the principal investigator for the NIH funded Heart Failure Network and the Center Director for the Duke AHA Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN) grant studying the overlap of HF and Diabetes. He has also been an Associate Editor for JACC-HF since 2012 and is the co-editor of Heart Failure, the leading heart failure textbook.

As Section Chief, under Mike’s leadership the section has grown from 8 to 19 faculty and we have experienced a dramatic growth in both Heart Transplant and VAD care. He also led the redesign of the HF inpatient services (Tx, VAD, HFS) in the setting of this ongoing clinical growth. Additionally, he helped start the Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiology ACGME Fellowship. Mike has identified and supported several junior and mid-career faculty, and has mentored over 23 past and current fellows.  Over 60 percent of these fellows have attained academic appointments. Additionally, more than 50 percent of the HF section faculty have NIH funding. Mike is currently also serving as the DCRI Transformation Strategic Planning leader and on the DCRI Executive Director Search Committee. He has done all this with humility, humor, and truly a servant mindset. We thank Mike for his incredible leadership of the HF Section and look forward to his continued leadership in the Division.

 

DUHS CAREhub Initiative

Over the past few months, Duke University Health System has begun an effort to figure out how we can better use our beds across all three hospitals. Termed CAREhub, this effort has four main groups (see image). Several members of the Duke Heart team have been involved in this work, as have team members from other service lines. We’ll provide updates as their work continues. The overall goal is to help all service lines achieve their goals while making their day-to-day processes easier to manage (i.e. reduction in transfer delays, fewer bed holds, etc.).

Shout-out to Spates, Yankey

Anna Lisa Crowley shared the following this week, from Kim Nolte, a PA in Duke Gynecologic Oncology: “I wanted to let you know about the fantastic job your fellows did today. I had a patient coming to the cancer center for a problem visit, who fell when she was walking in. Dr. George Yankey and Dr. Toi Spates stopped and helped my patient. They assessed her acutely and then helped her to check in at the cancer center. She was so appreciative of how kind they were to her and what a great job they did taking care of her. After they ensured the patient was taken care of they came and found me in clinic to let me know what happened. They both really went above and beyond to ensure the patient was taken care of and that appropriate hand-off had been given.”

Sipa and Toi, you’re superstars! Way to represent Duke Heart!!

2019 Year in Review: Last Call for Accomplishments

Final call for your 2019 accomplishments! We are looking for important discoveries, grants, papers of note, clinical programs, or innovations that we can highlight for the School of Medicine and the Health System.

Please send your list via email to Tracey Koepke and Manesh Patel by tomorrow, Jan. 27, so that we can work to catalog your accomplishments from the past year. Many thanks to those of you who have shared your work with us so far!

Duke Health ‘Live’: The Power of You

This week!!! Join Dr. Eugene Washington, Chancellor, and your Duke Health colleagues for the chancellor’s annual address.

Tuesday, January 28

4 -5 p.m.

Great Hall, Trent Semans Center

Reception to follow

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

GME Special Visiting Professor, Carol Bernstein

The Office of Graduate Medical Education has invited Carol Bernstein, MD, Vice Chair for Faculty and Well-Being at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein School of Medicine, to visit Duke this week. She is a psychiatrist, co-chaired the ACGME’s Task Force on Physician Well-Being and is the recipient of many teaching and professional awards.  She is a national expert on the topics of burnout, depression, and physician suicide.

The plenary session on Monday afternoon, Stress, Burnout & Depression Among Physicians: Challenges & Opportunities, will be live-streamed and recorded. (Click here to access.) This is a good opportunity to learn from a national authority on a truly important and relevant topic.

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week we welcome Erin Michos, director of Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Johns Hopkins, for Sex and Gender and their Impact on the Cardiovascular Health of Women. Please join us on Tuesday, Jan. 28. 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• February 4: Fellow presentation by Titus Ngeno. Topic: central line-associated bloodstream infections
• February 11: Cary Ward
• February 18: Chris Longenecker, Case Western
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

 

National Heart Month

February is national Heart Month. Key dates to make note of are:

• 7 – Wear Red Day. If you’re on social media and interested in posting, please tag our local AHA affiliate by using #goredtriangle.
• 7-14: Congenital Heart Defect Week
• 28: Triangle Heart Ball, Raleigh Convention Center

 

Save the Date: ACC 2020 Reception, Chicago!

The annual Duke ACC Reception will be held March 28 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Grant Park Room at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago.

 

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:

January 17 — E. Magnus Ohman

Medscape

‘Uber of Interventional Cardiology’ Pushes Stents Over Surgery

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/923926?src=rss

January 22 — Yuichiro Yano (Family Medicine & Community Health)

Health Day

‘Yo-Yo’ Blood Pressure Numbers in Youth a Bad Sign for Health Later

http://bit.ly/2TVtq6a

 

 

Highlights of the week:

This week we welcome Jeroen J. Bax of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Bax is the inaugural Pamela S. Douglas, MD Visiting Scholar. The title of his talk is “Comprehensive Multimodality Imaging in Coronary Artery Disease”. Please join us on Tuesday, Jan. 21. 5 p.m., DN 2003. A reception will follow at the Nasher Museum of Art starting at 6:15 p.m.

2019 Year in Review: Call for Accomplishments

It’s not too late! We are still accepting your submissions as we capture your accomplishments and highlights for 2019. We are looking for important discoveries, grants, papers of note, clinical programs, or innovations that we can highlight for the School of Medicine and the Health System.

Please send an email to Tracey Koepke and Manesh Patel so that we can work to catalog your accomplishments from the past year. Once we have them all compiled, we will share the 2019 highlights with you all. Many thanks to those of you who have shared your work with us so far!  We hope to finalize all of the updates by January 27^th 2020.

Tucker to Serve as Clinical Lead, DUH CT Stepdown – 3100, Effective March 16^th

We are pleased to announce that Sarah Tucker, RN, PCCN will become Clinical Lead for Duke University Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Stepdown – 3100 Unit, effective Monday, March 16. Tucker joined the Duke Heart team in 2013 as a staff nurse on 3100 and is poised to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington at the beginning of March.

Tucker has previous experience as a nursing care assistant in the Emergency Department at Duke Regional Hospital. She has been an integral part of building our successful team through her commitments as a unit preceptor, charge nurse, IV Champion, CPC Committee Tri-Chair, Unit Orientation Committee member, and Unit Scheduling Committee member. She is an active member of AACN and has been nominated for several awards including NC Great 100 and Friends of Nursing.

Tucker holds an Associates of Health Sciences degree from Mount Olive (2013) and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from North Carolina State University (2009).

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Sarah to her new role!

 

Duke Health ‘Live’: The Power of You

Please join Dr. Eugene Washington, Chancellor, and your Duke Health colleagues for the chancellor’s annual address on January 28 to learn more about the vital role each of us play in the success of Duke Health, and how we will continue to excel in 2020. Note: many of the highlights include work done by our Duke Heart team members!

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

4 -5 p.m.

Great Hall, Trent Semans Center

Reception to follow

 

The event will be available through a live stream for those who cannot join in person. We hope to have details for you next weekend on how you and your staff can view the live stream. All faculty, staff and students from Duke Health are invited and encouraged to attend.

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• January 28: Erin Michos, Johns Hopkins. Sex and Gender and their Impact on the Cardiovascular Health of Women.
• February 4: Fellow presentation by Titus Ngeno
• February 11: Cary Ward
• February 18: Chris Longenecker, Case Western
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

 

Save the Date: ACC 2020 Reception, Chicago!

The annual Duke ACC Reception will be held March 28 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Grant Park Room at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago. The DCRI event planning team will be sending additional information later this week. Be sure to check your email!

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:

January 10 — Patrick Pun (Nephrology; DCRI)

Medpage Today

Dialysis Patients at No Disadvantage After In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

https://www.medpagetoday.com/nephrology/esrd/84294

January 13 — Michael Nanna and Eric Peterson

Cardiovascular Business

99% of MI patients eligible for newer secondary prevention therapies

https://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/acute-coronary-syndrome/many-mi-patients-eligible-newer-therapies

January 13 — Duke University Hospital (DCD heart transplant)

Cardiovascular Business

DCD donor hearts could help ease organ shortages

http://bit.ly/2R3X8nJ

January 15 — Jacob Schroder

Healio/Cardiology Today

Q&A: New heart transplant protocol could expand donor pool

http://bit.ly/2R572Fv

January 16 — Jacob Schroder

STAT

‘Donation after cardiac death’: New heart transplant method being tested for the first time in the U.S.

http://bit.ly/373TOOT

January 16 — Jonathan Piccini

Healio/Cardiology Today

Key opinion leaders discuss top news from 2019

http://bit.ly/2tjecwZ

Matt Roe to Leave to become Chief Medical Officer of Verana Health

This week we share the bittersweet news around the transition of one of our Faculty members. Matthew Roe will be leaving the Duke at the end of January to join Verana Health as their Chief Medical Officer, an exciting new role created within this dynamic start-up company. Although we surely will miss Matt, this is a notable opportunity for him to leverage his wealth of experience to help lead an up-and-coming company in the health data science sector.

Matt has been a real leader at Duke both in clinical care and a champion for the DCRI. He has  led significant trials and studies across the organization over the past 20 years, in addition to serving as a senior cardiologist at Duke Heart. Matt established his legacy here with outstanding clinical care and leadership of the DCRI Fellowship program, the reinvigoration of the DCRI Think Tanks program, and his role helping to co-lead the innovative ADAPTABLE trial along with other faculty and operational colleagues. Furthermore, Matt has been dedicated to building new and exciting partnerships with our industry sponsors and global academic collaborators.

Matt will be adjunct faculty position in the Division of Cardiology, and he intends to catalyze new partnership and collaboration opportunities for the DCRI in his new role.  Matt has been a selfless team member, leader, and role model for many of our fellows and faculty.  He will be missed, but we look forward to working with him in the future.  When you see him – please wish him the best.

2019 Year in Review: Call for Accomplishments

We are in the process of capturing our accomplishments and highlights for 2019. We don’t always capture or hear about all the great things you are doing. We are looking for important discoveries, grants, papers of note, clinical programs, or innovations that we can highlight for the School of Medicine and the Health System.

Please send an email to Tracey Koepke and Manesh Patel so that we can work to catalog your accomplishments from the past year. Once we have them all compiled with will share the 2019 highlights with you all. Many thanks to those of you who have shared your work with us so far!

Faculty and Fellows Gather to Get Ready for next phase of Cardiovascular Critical Care Trials Network

Thanks Chris and Bradi for hosting – sounds like it was a great time.

Meng Joins CT Anesthesia Faculty

Please join us in welcoming Marie-Louise Meng, MD to the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology faculty. Meng obtained her medical degree from Harvard and completed residency and fellowships in adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and Obstetrical Anesthesiology at Columbia University, where she was on faculty for three years prior to joining our Duke team this month. She brings unique areas of expertise in the management of high risk obstetric patients with advanced cardiac conditions and in peripartum hemorrhage. She will divide her time between providing Cardiothoracic and Obstetric anesthesia care. Many thanks to Mihai Podgoreanu for sharing this great news with us. Welcome to Duke, Marie-Louise!

 

Shout-out to the CTICU APP team:

Our inpatient Cardiology APP team leaders would like to recognize and thank the CTICU APP team leaders for working creatively and collaboratively to cover shifts during a last minute staffing shortage in Cardiology. When no one from the Cardiology APP team was able to cover a shift where we were down by two staff members, Lynn McGugan and Peg Murphy were able to float a staff member, Dayana Ramos, to the Cardiology team. This led to much safer care for the patients. Hats off to Dayana for joining our team for two days in a row! We appreciate the camaraderie and team work. – Stephanie Barnes, Todd McVeigh. Great job, everyone – this is what being on a team is all about!

CT Surgery Evidence Based Care Update

Heart nursing leadership team members from Duke Regional and Duke University Hospitals met up this week for a dress rehearsal and final planning for rolling out the Duke CT Surgery Evidence Based Care; the rollout will take place on February 10. The multidisciplinary committee met January 9 for a final approval and implementation planning session that included updated order sets and patient and staff educational materials.

A special thanks to the project leaders including Jill Engel, Myra Ellis, Ashley Barba, Kelly Kester, and Drs. Annemarie Thompson, Jeff Gaca, Peter Smith and Carmelo Milano. This is an amazing example of teamwork and Duke Heart leading in the field!

Many thanks to the planning team members who were able to join our dinner event on Jan. 9^th.

 

Duke Health ‘Live’: The Power of You

Duke Health reached new heights of excellence and impact this past year. Whether in patient care, research, education or building healthy communities, we advanced health together. And there is a reason we’ve been so successful. Please join Dr. Eugene Washington, Chancellor, and your Duke Health colleagues on January 28 to learn more about the vital role each of us play in the success of Duke Health, and how we will continue to excel in 2020. Note: many of the highlights include work done by our Duke Heart team members!

SAVE THE DATE:

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

4 -5 p.m.

Great Hall, Trent Semans Center

Reception to follow

The event will be available through a live stream for those who cannot join in person; details for how to view the live stream will be shared prior to the 28^th. All faculty, staff and students from Duke Health are invited and encouraged to attend.

Duke Cardio-Oncology Conference, Feb. 22

The Duke Cardio-Oncology Conference: Improving Cancer Outcomes and Optimizing Cardiovascular Health will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Washington Duke Inn & Conference Center, Durham, NC. To learn more or to register, please visit: http://www.dukecancerinstitute.org/events/duke-cardio-oncology-conference-0

ICYMI

Congratulations to Todd McVeigh and Chelsey Moore, two of our Duke Heart physician assistants, for their recent paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. They submitted a complicated patient case write up, “What is causing this patient’s recurrent cough and dyspnea?” Their paper can be found here: https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=01720610-202001000-00012. Nice job!

Shout-out to Capps

We are sending a belated shout-out to Gabrielle Capps, RN for quickly identifying an OSH transfer who needed immediate triage and escalation of care, and helped with a smooth RRT on the evening of Dec. 27. You did a great job, Gabrielle, and we thank Jordan Hausladen and Stephanie Barnes for letting us know. Keep up the great work!

 

Upcoming Opportunities/Save the Date:

Cardiology Grand Rounds

This week, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Karen Alexander and an invited patient/clinical trial participant will discuss the ISCHEMIA trial results. Please join us! 7:15 a.m., DN 2003.

Upcoming Grand Rounds:

• January 21 5 pm (Special Time): Jeroen Bax, Leiden University, Netherlands – Visiting Pam Douglas Lecture in Cardiovascular Imaging.  There will be a reception to follow.
• January 28: Erin Michos, Johns Hopkins
• February 4: Fellow presentation by Titus Ngeno
• February 11: Cary Ward
• February 18: Chris Longenecker, Case Western
• March 24: Carolyn Lam, Duke-NUS
• April 14: Ryan Tedford, MUSC
• May 12: Michelle Kittleson, Cedars Sinai

Save the Date: ACC 2020 Reception, Chicago!

The annual Duke ACC Reception will be held March 28 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Grant Park Room at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago. The DCRI event planning team will be sending additional information later this week. Be sure to check your email!

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:

December 21 — Adam DeVore

Medscape

Sacubitril/valsartan Switch Further Curbs NT-proBNP Levels in HF Patients

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/922916

December 27 — Richard C. Becker/Duke School of Medicine (adjunct)

Medscape

Many US Adults Unaware of Basic MI Symptoms

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/923166?src=rss#vp_2

December 28 — Jacob Schroder

Live Science

How Long Can Organs Stay Outside the Body Before Being Transplanted?

https://www.livescience.com/how-long-can-donated-organs-last-before-transplant.html

December 30 — Duke mention

WRAL Tech Wire

Duke University gets $130 million in funding to accelerate drug discovery

Duke University gets $130 million in funding to accelerate drug discovery

 

December 30 — Audrey Blewer (Family Medicine & Community Health)

HealthDay

AHA News: Bystander CPR Less Common in Hispanic Neighborhoods

http://bit.ly/39Y8yR5

January 1 — Renato Lopes

Reuters

Cutting out alcohol may reduce atrial fibrillation episodes

https://reut.rs/36CwxDy

January 6 — Chiara Melloni

HealthDay/AHA News

AHA News: Statins May Do Double Duty on Heart Disease and Cancer

http://bit.ly/35BwEOo

January 7 — Chiara Melloni

Beloit Daily News (Madison, WI)/AHA News

Statins May Do Double Duty on Heart Disease and Cancer

https://www.beloitdailynews.com/article/20200106/AP/301069856

January 7 — Duke University Health System mention

Becker’s Hospital Review/Hospital CFO Report

7 health systems with strong finances

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/7-health-systems-with-strong-finances-01072020.html

January 7 — Cris Slentz

International Business Times

Remove Dangerous Belly Fat By Performing This Exercise Every Day

https://www.ibtimes.com/remove-dangerous-belly-fat-performing-exercise-every-day-2897001

 

January 8 — Patrick Pun (Nephrology)

Healio/Nephrology

Patients with ESKD had lower resuscitation scores, similar cardiac arrest survivorship vs controls

http://bit.ly/2R1nFAz

 

January 9 — DCRI mention

Bloomberg.com

Two Big Drug Flops Show How Health-Care Economics Have Changed

https://bloom.bg/37YjkF5

 

January 9 — Sunil Rao

TCTMD/the heart beat

Diabetes Does Not Appear to Hinder FFR Insights for CAD

https://www.tctmd.com/news/diabetes-does-not-appear-hinder-ffr-insights-cad