Chief’s message:
Hopefully you all will get a moment this weekend to enjoy the North Carolina “Snow.” As we reflect on MLK day, we remember the non-violent protests and consistent work of Dr. King to advocate and fight for justice and civil rights for all. I am including some of his words below to consider in our upcoming days of action and service.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.”
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
Rounding this last week in the CICU, I was again reminded by the tremendous dedication of our fellows, residents, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, APPs, faculty, and countless other staff that are continually working as teams to help care for our patients and each other. Thank you all for the unwavering dedication, professionalism, and clinical expertise.
Highlights of the week:
Rymer, Greene Selected for 2022 LEADER Program
Duke Heart faculty members Jennifer Rymer and Stephen Greene are among 36 Duke
physician scientists selected to the 2022 cohort for Duke’s course on Leadership Development for Researchers (LEADER). The faculty development program is an interactive 5-month series designed for junior faculty who are leading research teams. The leadership course is designed to help build critical skills for leading teams, such as conflict management, effective mentorship, negotiation skills, leading with emotional intelligence and balancing competing priorities.
Congratulations, Jenn and Steve!
7E Earns Beacon Award for Excellence
We are excited to share that our Duke Heart Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has received a Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)!
This national award recognizes caregivers in units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others across the country on their journey to excellent patient and family care. The application reviewers noted the unit’s strong sense of collaboration amongst teams to drive patient outcomes and improve quality of care.
Beacon Awards are national awards recognizing nursing excellence and speak to the caliber of nursing provided on the unit. A team must apply for consideration and must meet clearly defined criteria across five categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management and learning development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurements.
Only 20 Cardiac ICUs in the U.S. currently hold this designation. We are incredibly proud of 7 East!
Congratulations and way to go, team!!!
Kudos to Eleazu!
Kristin Newby shared a terrific note with us that she received this week about cardiology fellow Ijeoma Eleazu:
“Hi Dr. Newby,
I wanted to write a quick message singling out Dr. Eleazu for special praise. Our team had a difficult night last night, not only 
because of challenges in patient care, but also with the additional stress on everyone, largely because of Covid. Despite the multiple codes and many other challenges, Dr. Eleazu was a true leader, providing a steady and reassuring hand throughout. She demonstrated unflappability despite the increased stress and difficulties in patient care. For the housestaff, she was a tremendous advocate, stepping up when we needed input or a voice of support. Throughout it all, she continue to teach, challenging us to rise the occasion by allowing us to formulate our own plans rather than dictating.
I am thankful for her leadership and exemplary performance and wanted to make sure it was recognized.
Best regards, Hubie Haywood”
Great work, Ijeoma!
Kudos to Whitney Bakimli!
One of our excellent Cardiothoracic Surgery Step-down Unit nurses, Whitney Bakimli, has received a Great Catch from Duke University Hospital leadership!
Whitney noticed two identical orders for Lasix for a patient. While the total dose was not unusual, she was concerned that it might be too high for this particular patient. Whitney contacted the provider and learned that the order was mistakenly duplicated.
Great job, Whitney!
MLK Commemoration 2022
This year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. keynote address will take place at 3 p.m. today (Sunday, Jan. 16). How Long Must We Wait: Striving For the Beloved Community will be given by historian and social activist, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. The event, originally planned to occur in Duke Chapel, has been moved to a virtual event that will be live streamed due to the pending winter storm. There are several community service opportunities scheduled this week in honor of MLK Day. We encourage you to check them out. Information about both the keynote address and service opportunities are available on the Duke MLK Commemoration website (https://mlk.duke.edu).
COVID-19 Update
As of Friday, Jan. 14, Duke Health has moved from Tier 2 (Limited Access) to Tier 3 (Restricted Access) of our visitation guidelines. The transition was made based on recommendations from the CDC and our infectious disease experts due to the increased COVID infection rates in our community and among team members.
Documentation regarding visitation restrictions as well as the latest Clinical Operations updates regarding COVID-19 and links to the most recent DUHS Leadership Virtual Town Hall recordings can be found here: https://covid-19.dukehealth.org.
Reminder: All Duke University Health System (DUHS) and Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC) team members, regardless of work location, are required to receive and provide documentation of a completed COVID-19 booster vaccination by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, or within 28 days of their eligibility under CDC and state guidelines. More details are available in this email that was sent to all staff on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
Critical Need for Blood Donations
On Tuesday, the American Red Cross announced a national blood crisis – the worst shortage in more than 10 years. If you’d like to donate, there are several upcoming blood drives scheduled to take place in The Great Hall at Trent Semans Center:
- Thursday, Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Tuesday, Feb. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m
The best way to locate a drive in your area and to schedule a donation is by visiting: https://www.redcrossblood.org/.
ICYMI: Durham County Offering Boosters to Ages 12-15, Third Doses to Ages 5-11; Pfizer Booster Waiting Period Reduced to Five Months
As of Monday, January 10, the Durham County Department of Public Health expanded COVID-19 vaccination eligibility at its vaccination clinic. They will offer booster doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for all people ages 12-15, and third doses of Pfizer vaccines for children ages 5-11 who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Additionally, booster vaccinations will now be available for all people 12 and older five months after they complete a primary Pfizer vaccination series, reducing the waiting period from its previous length of six months. To learn more, visit: https://bit.ly/3qsa4Fm.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
January 18: The Ultimate ‘Anti-Racism Statement’ Medicine Can Make is to Diversify its Ranks with Quinn Capers, IV of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. 5 p.m. via Webex.
January 20: Road to Heart Transplantation: Challenges, Opportunities, New Frontiers with Mary Keebler, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. 5 p.m., Webex.
January 25: Palliative Care Grand Rounds with Carmelo Milano, Chet Patel and Tony Galanos. Time and location TBA.
February 1: Topic TBA. Presenter will be Caitlin Drescher.
February 10: Topic TBA. Our guest will be AAMC President, Dr. David Skorton.
February 15: Topic TBA. Presenter will be Toi Spates.
Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global Health
Wednesday, Jan. 26: Restoring Global Solidarity on the Road to Pandemic Recovery — A Conversation with Dr. Agnes Binagwaho and Dr. Paul Farmer. Noon – 1:30 p.m., Zoom. Registration required: https://bit.ly/3tbw7SM.
Global health crises require global responses. But in the effort to control COVID-19, rising tides of nationalism have threatened collective action and deepened health inequities for many countries. In the face of these challenges to global health solidarity, the Duke Global Health Institute presents a probing discussion with two of the world’s preeminent global health experts – Dr. Agnes Binagwaho and Dr. Paul Farmer – on how the world failed to cooperate to fight the pandemic and how to chart a new vision to achieve health equity.
This interactive webinar will span two continents, with our featured speakers appearing at the University of Global Health Equity in Butaro, Rwanda. Dr. Gavin Yamey, professor of the practice of global health and public policy, will moderate the conversation from Duke, fielding questions from the online audience. Attendees will join using Zoom webinar, space permitting.
Call for Applicants: 2022 AAMC Early-Career Women Seminar
The Department of Medicine and Program for Women in Internal Medicine (PWIM) are pleased to announce sponsorship for one faculty member to attend the in-person AAMC Early-Career Women Seminar on July 19-22, 2022. This popular and highly interactive seminar provides women at the assistant professor level with foundational leadership knowledge and skills to help achieve career goals and thrive as successful leaders in academic medicine and science. If interested in being considered for sponsorship, please send an email to Kimberly Dorman (kimberly.dorman@duke.edu) by January 31, 2022. Members of the office of the Vice-Chair for Faculty Development and Diversity (Drs. Laura Svetkey and Daniella Zipkin) will select one faculty member to nominate to attend and will notify the applicant by email.
Duke Research Week 2022
January 31 – February 4: Registration is now open for Duke Research Week 2022. Join us virtually for a week-long celebration of research underway at Duke! There is an excellent lineup of faculty lectures, panel discussions, “flash talks” with graduate students, trainees and postdoctoral fellows, and guest presenters for the Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, Distinguished Lecture and Daubechies Lecture. Check out the full agenda here: https://dukeresearchweek.vfairs.com/en/#distinguishedlectures
National Wear Red Day
Friday, Feb. 4: National Wear Red Day. Help increase awareness of the impact cardiovascular disease has on all of us — wear red on Friday, Feb. 4! We would love to have individual and team photos of you sporting your awareness gear to share in Pulse!!
Kisslo Spring Courses Announced
The 2022 Echo Techs Anatomic & Computer Dissections Course will be held on Saturday, Feb. 5 (Basic) and Saturday, Feb. 12 (Intermediate) for fellows, echo techs and attendings.
Registration is required. Seats fill fast and space is limited. Boxed breakfast/lunch will be provided (as allowed per Covid restrictions). If you would like more information or want to register, please email Dawne Smith. A calendar invitation to confirm registration will be sent to you or you may be added to a waitlist if the sessions are filled. First time participants are given priority. Please let her know if you have taken the course before. If you register and your plans change, please cancel as soon as possible by declining the calendar invite or contacting Dawne so that the open seat can be offered to someone on the waitlist.
The Basic Course on Feb. 5 will take place in the Duke South Amphitheater located across from the Duke South cafeteria entrance. The Intermediate Course on Feb. 12 will take place in the Main Lecture Hall in the Searle Center. Directions for access will be provided closer to the course date. Questions? Dawne can be reached at 919-668-1524 or dawne.t.smith@duke.edu.
Newly Announced CME
April 23: Duke Sports Cardiology & Sudden Death in Athletes Symposium with course directors Jim Daubert and Bill Kraus. Virtual. For information or to register, contact Christy Darnell christy.darnell@duke.edu or 919-880-8686.
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. Submissions by Noon, Wednesdays, to be considered for weekend inclusion.
Duke Heart in the News:
January 7 — Robert McGarrah
The Washington Post
https://duke.is/gmcqy
January 8 — Duke University Hospital (Carmat)
Healio/Cardiology
Most read in HF of 2021: Empagliflozin for HFpEF, COVID-19-related myocarditis and more
https://duke.is/gmcqy
January 12 — Maitreya Thakkar
Healio/Cardiology
New perspectives on CV risk assessment of prospective kidney recipients, donors
https://duke.is/6738f
Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed January 6-12, 2022
Bishawi M, Milano C, Gaca J, Carr K, Wang A, Glower DD. The outcome of mitral repair for degenerative versus ischemic mitral regurgitation using a single complete ring. J Card Surg 2022;37(2):290-296. PM: 34665478.
Califf RM, Wong C, Doraiswamy PM, Hong DS, Miller DP, Mega JL. Biological and clinical correlates of the patient health questionnaire-9: exploratory cross-sectional analyses of the baseline health study. BMJ Open 2022;12(1):e054741. PM: 34983769.
Devore AD, Schlendorf KH. HCV Positive Allograft Use in Heart Transplant: A Silver Lining to an Epidemic. J Card Fail 2022;28(1):42-43. PM: 34628017.
Fox KAA, Virdone S, Bassand JP, Camm AJ, Goto S, Goldhaber SZ, Haas S, Kayani G, Koretsune Y, Misselwitz F, Oh S, Piccini JP, Parkhomenko A, Sawhney JPS, Stepinska J, Turpie AGG, Verheugt FWA, Kakkar AK. Do baseline characteristics and treatments account for geographical disparities in the outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation? The prospective GARFIELD-AF registry. BMJ Open 2022;12(1):e049933. PM: 34996784.
Friedman DJ, Overmann JA, Fish JM, Gaeta SA, Tranter JH, Thao R, Piccini JP. Continuous and discontinuous radiofrequency energy delivery on the atrial free wall: Lesion transmurality, width, and biophysical characteristics. Heart Rhythm O2 2021;2(6Part A):635-641. PM: 34988509.
Lala A, Mentz RJ. The JCF Reviewer Mentorship Program. J Card Fail 2022;28(1):1-2. PM: 35000756.
Lam KY, Reardon MJ, Yakubov SJ, Modine T, Fremes S, Tonino PAL, Tan ME, Gleason TG, Harrison JK, Hughes GC, Oh JK, Head SJ, Huang J, Deeb GM. Surgical Sutureless and Sutured Aortic Valve Replacement in Low-risk Patients. Ann Thorac Surg 2022;113(2):616-622. PM: 33794164.
Oshunbade AA, Lirette ST, Windham BG, Shafi T, Hamid A, Gbadamosi SO, Tin A, Yimer WK, Tibuakuu M, Clark D, Kamimura D, Lutz EA, Mentz RJ, Fox ER, Butler J, Butler KR, Garovic VD, Turner ST, Mosley TH, Hall ME. Hypertensive Diseases in Pregnancy and Kidney Function Later in Life: The Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) Study. Mayo Clin Proc 2022;97(1):78-87. PM: 34565606.
Packer DL, Mark DB, Lee KL. CABANA: underpowered and with detrimental protocol changes: is ‘ablation salvation’?-Reply by the authors of the CABANA trial. Europace 2022;24(1):3. PM: 34792125.
Patel MR, Jeremias A, Maehara A, Matsumura M, Zhang Z, Schneider J, Tang K, Talwar S, Marques K, Shammas NW, Gruberg L, Seto A, Samady H, Sharp ASP, Ali ZA, Mintz G, Davies J, Stone GW. 1-Year Outcomes of Blinded Physiological Assessment of Residual Ischemia After Successful PCI: DEFINE PCI Trial. JACC Cardiovasc Interv 2022;15(1):52-61. PM: 34991824.
Rao VN, Obeid MJ, Rigiroli F, Russell SD, Patel CB, Molinger J, Gupta RT, Agarwal R, Fudim M. Pericardial Adipose Tissue Volume and Left Ventricular Assist Device-Associated Outcomes. J Card Fail 2022;28(1):149-153. PM: 34274515.
Rasmussen PV, Pallisgaard JL, Hansen ML, Gislason GH, Torp-Pedersen C, Ruwald M, Alexander KP, Lopes RD, Al-Khatib SM, Dalgaard F. Treatment of older patients with atrial fibrillation by morbidity burden. Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes 2022;8(1):23-30. PM: 32857834.
Rimbach R, Yamada Y, Sagayama H, Ainslie PN, Anderson LF, Anderson LJ, Arab L, Baddou I, Bedu-Addo K, Blaak EE, Blanc S, Bonomi AG, Bouten CVC, Bovet P, Buchowski MS, Butte NF, Camps SGJA, Close GL, Cooper JA, Das SK, Dugas LR, Ekelund U, Entringer S. Total energy expenditure is repeatable in adults but not associated with short-term changes in body composition. Nat Commun 2022;13(1):99. PM: 35013190.
Sharma A, Zheng Y, Ezekowitz JA, Westerhout CM, Udell JA, Goodman SG, Armstrong PW, Buse JB, Green JB, Josse RG, Kaufman KD, McGuire DK, Ambrosio G, Chuang LM, Lopes RD, Peterson ED, Holman RR. Cluster Analysis of Cardiovascular Phenotypes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Established Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: A Potential Approach to Precision Medicine. Diabetes Care 2022;45(1):204-212. PM: 34716214.
Steinberg BA, Zhang M, Bensch J, Lyons A, Bunch TJ, Piccini JP, Siu A, Spertus JA, Stehlik J, Wohlfahrt P, Greene T, Hess R, Fang JC. Quantifying the Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on Heart Failure-Related Patient-Reported Outcomes in the Utah mEVAL Program. J Card Fail 2022;28(1):13-20. PM: 34324927.
Tamirisa KP, Al-Khatib SM, Mohanty S, Han JK, Natale A, Gupta D, Russo AM, Al-Ahmad A, Gillis AM, Thomas KL. Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Management of Atrial Fibrillation. CJC Open 2021;3(12 Suppl):S137-S148. PM: 34993443.
Tanawuttiwat T, Stebbins A, Marquis-Gravel G, Vemulapalli S, Kosinski AS, Cheng A. Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulant and Outcomes in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Insights From the STS/ACC TVT Registry. J Am Heart Assoc 2022;11(1):e023561. PM: 34970918.
Tcheng JE, Nguyen MV, Brann HW, Clarke PA, Pfeiffer M, Pleasants JR, Shelton GW, Kelly JF. The Medical Device Unique Device Identifier as the Single Source of Truth in Healthcare Enterprises – Roadmap for Implementation of the Clinically Integrated Supply Chain. Med Devices (Auckl) 2021;14:459-467. PM: 34992475.
Wang P, Castellani CA, Yao J, Huan T, Bielak LF, Zhao W, Haessler J, Joehanes R, Sun X, Guo X, Longchamps RJ, Manson JE, Grove ML, Bressler J, Taylor KD, Lappalainen T, Kasela S, Van Den Berg DJ, Hou L, Reiner A, Liu Y, Boerwinkle E, Smith JA, Peyser PA. Epigenome-wide association study of mitochondrial genome copy number. Hum Mol Genet 2021;31(2):309-319. PM: 34415308.
Warraich HJ, Kitzman DW, Nelson MB, Mentz RJ, Rosenberg PB, Lev Y, Whellan DJ. Older Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Who Live Alone: An Analysis From the REHAB-HF Trial. J Card Fail 2022;28(1):161-163. PM: 34147611.
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