Chief’s message: ESC Cardiology Meeting

This week the European Society of Cardiology meeting was held in Barcelona with several presentations from Duke Faculty.  There were several presentations on late breaking trials and science including the presentation of the PACIFIC AMI study by John Alexander. Renato Lopes was the discussant of the INVICTUS study showing warfarin was superior in rhematic heart disease patients with atrial fibrillation. There were also several investigator and study meetings by Duke Heart Faculty and fellows.  Below you will find a photo of Kelly Arps presenting some data on bleeding risk in patients with Atrial Fibrillation on DOACs.  Additionally, Joey Harrington also had a presentation around the underdosing of these therapies, and Vishal Rao also had a poster presentation.

Also a photo of several of the faculty and fellows out with some past Duke residents and fellows who were at the meeting.

Highlights of the week:

Kudos to Flores Rosario, Decker and Gohman

We received a note this week from Anna Lisa Chamis regarding some outstanding care members of our team provided recently to a patient:

From Jeff Federspiel in Maternal-Fetal Medicine:

“I am so grateful to everyone who worked to coordinate keeping our patient safe. There are too many people to thank everyone individually, but I wanted to give a special thanks to the bedside team who stayed with our patient through delivery, monitoring and managing hemodynamics in real time and supporting her labor during what is always a difficult experience:

• Kelsey Decker and Natalie Gohman from the Duke Heart CTICU team
• Courtney Schultz from DBC
• Karen Flores Rosario from Duke Heart’s Advanced Heart Failure/Cardiology team

Richa Agarwal added the following comment: “Karen was involved in this emotionally challenging, complicated case. She was present bedside to help — really remarkable effort.”

 

We are proud of each of you — thank you for the teamwork and compassionate care you’re providing!

 

Kudos to Elliot

First-year cardiology fellow David Elliott was commended this week in a note to Anna Lisa Chamis. She shared the following message she received from Chris Holley:

“I just want to pass on this kudos about David Elliott: he is the first fellow I have ever seen do a personal review of a peripheral blood smear to check for schistocytes in working up hemolysis.”

Way to go the extra mile for your patient, David!

 

Shout-out to Shannon

Rick Shannon, MD, chief quality officer for DUHS, cardiologist and area chair of the 2022 Triangle Heart Walk, along with leaders from the Triangle American Heart Association affiliate, hosted an informative health-related Town Hall for employees with Lenovo. Shannon presented the latest information on key health measures and tips for preventing and managing cardiovascular disease. Lenovo employees were able to ask questions during a Q&A session. The virtual event was held on Thursday, Aug. 25. Lenovo is hosting a team at the upcoming Heart Walk — we’re looking forward to seeing them there.

Great job sharing important health tips to our community, Rick!

 

Be Aware: Extortion Scam Targeting DEA Registrants

An extortion scam continues to target healthcare providers across the US. Please note this reminder:

The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is aware that registrants are receiving telephone calls and emails by criminals identifying themselves as DEA employees or other law enforcement personnel. In an attempt to create the illusion that these criminals are DEA employees, they have masked their telephone number on caller id with a phone number for a legitimate DEA office. For example, these criminals have used the phone numbers for DEA’s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs and DEA’s 800 number which is used to provide direct support to DEA registrants.

Impersonating a federal agent is a violation of federal law. Registrants should be aware that no DEA agent will ever contact members of the public by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment or threaten to suspend a registrant’s DEA registration.

If you are contacted by a person purporting to work for DEA and seeking money or threatening to suspend your DEA registration, submit the information through “Extortion Scam Online Reporting” posted on the DEA Diversion Control Division’s website. For more information, please visit https://www.dea.gov/scam-alert.

Contact PDC Legal with further questions.

 

Coming Up: Influenza Vaccine Campaign

PDC and Duke University Health System (DUHS) require all healthcare workers to comply with our Healthcare Worker Flu Vaccination policy by either being vaccinated annually against the flu or receiving an approved exemption. Annual policy compliance is a condition of employment for all PDC and DUHS team members. Annual vaccination or policy compliance is also a condition of access to Duke Health facilities, including information systems, for those holding clinical privileges in a Duke Health facility and learners who wish to train in our facilities.

The DUHS annual flu vaccination campaign will begin on Thursday, September 15. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, limited mass flu vaccination clinics will be available at each hospital and at select off-campus work locations.

Team members will have the opportunity to get vaccinated through any of the following means:

• Peer vaccination in clinical work areas will be available as in years past.
• West Campus of Duke University in Blue Devil Tower providing healthcare and university worker vaccinations by appointment on various dates throughout October.
• Entity-based vaccine clinics will be established; schedules will be posted and shared.
• Staff member’s primary care physician or at a local pharmacy.

Peer-to-Peer Vaccination

This year’s peer-to-peer initiative will be identical to last year. Although we will not be holding a vaccination drill, we do ask that you prepare to vaccinate your team members as early as possible. As always, we ask you to be thoughtful of any DUHS staff member who frequents your unit or work area. This may include EVS staff, patient transporters, or supply chain team members who will need to be vaccinated this year.

Please complete the following flu vaccination supply survey by close of business on Wednesday, August 31^st if your work area will be participating in the peer vaccination program.  https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cGCkAI3W8o8c8sK

Please note these key dates for this flu vaccination season:

Thursday, September 15: Launch of Flu Vaccination Season

Tuesday, November 1: Deadline for applications for Medical or Religious Exemption should be submitted before this date. This will allow sufficient time for review and for communication of the review decision. Please note: Due to the availability of an egg-free formulation of the flu vaccine, egg allergy is not a reason for a medical exemption.

Tuesday, November 15, at 10 a.m.: Deadline for policy compliance through vaccination or granted medical or religious exemption.

We will be using an updated Duke VaxTrax QR, a digitized flu vaccination consent and health screening platform. You and your vaccinator will complete documentation of vaccination using this digital platform or, if you are vaccinated by your primary care provider or at a local pharmacy, you must submit evidence of vaccination to https://duke.is/vxsfu

If you have questions about the flu vaccine or its availability, please contact StopTheFlu@dm.duke.edu or EOHWflu@dm.duke.edu.

Thank you for your commitment to keeping our patients, each other and our community safe and healthy.

           

Heart Walk: Sunday, Sept. 25

We are getting excited for the upcoming Triangle Heart Walk scheduled for Sunday, September 25 at PNC Arena. The annual Walk is a great opportunity to come together to celebrate one another, to represent Duke Health, and to reinvigorate the commitment we have for living a heart-healthy lifestyle. Incredibly, this event is only one month away!

We are in the final stretch and could use more help from across DUHS. Won’t you consider joining us? Let’s make sure we have plenty of Duke Blue visible at PNC Arena and that we outshine our friends from Carolina and Wake Med on September 25!

Registering is quick and easy.

1. Visit TriangleHeartWalk.org
2. Select the “Create new team” or the “Join a Team” button. Then complete the registration page.
3. Personalize your page with a photo and send emails inviting others (colleagues, friends and family) to join the team and donate.

Contact Sangeetha Menon at sangeetha.menon@heart.org for help getting started or with any questions you might have about the Heart Walk.

Did you know?

As a part of the AHA’s Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN), Duke principal investigator Svati Shah, MD received funding from the AHA from 2017-2021 to study microbiota related to molecular pathways in pediatric obesity. A subsequent publication highlighted novel metabolic pathways associated with heterogeneity in response to weight loss interventions, and related biomarkers which could be used in future studies of personalized approaches to weight loss interventions.

Our work to support the AHA Heart Walk comes back to us via grant funding for site PI’s.

Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to participate. If you can’t join us in person, please consider a contribution of any amount to one (or more!) of the nine teams representing Duke Heart.

Help us meet our overall DUHS fundraising goals! Duke Heart’s teams can be found here: https://duke.is/6jpdp

Photos of the Week
As noted – some of our faculty were in Barcelona this weekend for ESC Congress 2022. We’ve seen a number of posts on Twitter – (don’t forget to tag @DukeHeartCenter!) – we enjoyed this shot of Rob Mentz with Mike Felker, “looking like a celebrity that hates selfies with his fans.” Spot on!

COVID-19 Update

Please continue to practice safe COVID-19 protocols in your day-to-day interactions with others. Be particularly vigilant about masking, and avoid eating indoors in group settings. The health of our team members and our patients remains a priority as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 trends throughout our community.

Stay home if you are not feeling well. Employees who begin to experience any COVID-19 symptoms should report symptoms through the Duke SymMon app, which is available in both the Apple and Google app stores.

Donate blood if you’re able to. Click here for Duke-sponsored blood drives through the Red Cross.

All the latest Clinical Operations updates related to COVID can be found at https://covid-19.dukehealth.org. Patient-facing resources on DukeHealth.org can be found here: https://www.dukehealth.org/covid-19-update/resources. Duke University maintains a resource page as well, which can be accessed here: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/updates/for-staff.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 8: The Art and Science of Leadership with David Skorton, MD, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). 5 p.m. in Duke North Room 2002 and via WebEx.

CME & Other Events

September 12: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium. This is the third webinar of a four-part series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. To learn more, please visit: https://duke.is/mbpte

September 25: Triangle Heart Walk. PNC Arena, Raleigh. Check-in and festivities start at 11 am. Walk begins at Noon. Join us!

October 14: Cardio-Oncology in the Era of Precision Medicine. Symposium to be held at the J.B. Duke Hotel, Durham, NC. Registration is open: https://bit.ly/CardioOnc22. Email Beth Tanner with questions: beth.tanner@duke.edu.

November 4: 14th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Save the date! This will be an in-person event at the Durham Convention Center. Registration required. To learn more and register, visit: https://duke.is/jag2b

 

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:

August 19 — John Alexander and Manesh Patel

Geriatricarea

Bayer organiza un encuentro para mejorar el abordaje de los pacientes cardiovasculares complejos

https://duke.is/nwmkv

August 22 — Joe Turek and Louise Markert

RadioLab (NPR/PRI)

My Thymus, Myself

https://duke.is/547zd

August 23 — Jonathan Piccini

Medscape

Early AF Rhythm-Control Advantage Climbs With Comorbidity Burden: EAST-AFNET4

https://duke.is/b5735

August 24 — Michel Khouri and Stephen Greene

Practical Cardiology

In Patients with Cancer and Diabetes, SGLT2 Inhibitors Could Provide Cardioprotection Against Anthracyclines

https://duke.is/96ygs

Highlights of the week:

Celebrating Magnus Ohman

It is hard to believe, but Magnus Ohman’s last official day at Duke was August 5. Pulse readers know that we ran an extensive piece about him on Sunday, June 12 and that an in-person gathering was held on July 14^th at the Washington Duke Inn.

Ohman has retired from clinical medicine and will now serve as vice-president of Global Development of Cardiometabolic Therapeutics for Amgen. We reached out to a number of our team members (current and former) for some reflections on Magnus and his time with us.

Here is what they shared:

From Pam Douglas:

“When I first came to Duke, Magnus had left to try his hand at being chief of cardiology at UNC. However his loyalty to Duke and his colleagues made him an easy ‘boomerang’ recruit. He took over our outpatient clinics—a difficult and often thankless job—but pulled off a major overhaul streamlining schedules, referrals and other aspects to make it much more patient and provider friendly.

Magnus’s own outpatient practice was remarkable. He thrived on clinical complexity and even set up a center for ‘end stage’ CAD, while also counting many luminaries and donors among his patients.

Never one to attract attention to himself, he quietly ran international trials and site based research, serving as a sought after mentor for many at DCRI and in the cath lab. I have always highly valued his wise counsel, perspective and insights, and will greatly miss his good cheer, intelligence, and can-do attitude! I’m sure that Amgen doesn’t yet know how amazing a gem they have recruited, but they will soon find out.”

From Kristin Newby:

“I first met Magnus when I was an intern on cardiology, during his first year of cardiology fellowship, and still remember many of the things he taught me! Years later, as I moved from the basic lab to clinical research as I came on faculty, Magnus was among several clinical research faculty who were instrumental in supporting my transition and providing enthusiastic mentorship and guidance throughout my career. We connected over biomarkers, especially through his seminal work on troponins as a prognostic marker, and I had the thrill of conducting with him one of the earliest studies of a multi-marker assessment tool for patients with chest pain (CHECKMATE) that was accepted for publication in Circulation as is, without any revisions! Through the years, I have watched him mentor numerous other fellows and early career faculty with the same enthusiasm and passion, and am especially proud of the role he has played in mentoring and sponsoring women fellows and early career faculty. These aspects, and his clinical presence, will certainly be missed at Duke, but I look forward to continuing our friendship and seeing him flourish in the next phase of his career. And, we still have a lot of golf to play—including bringing the William Harvey Trophy back to the US in 2024, through which Magnus has also been and a terrific friend and valued sponsor and mentor!”

From Jim Daubert:

“Magnus has been a frequent and treasured colleague of mine since returning to Duke in 2009. It was great reconnecting with him in clinical care after forging close bonds with him during our Fellowship some years ago!  Over the last 13 years I have very much valued consulting on his uniquely challenging patients and soliciting his insights on especially gnarly coronary and other cases. I will truly miss interacting with him in the clinical realm. His wisdom, judgement and insight cannot be replaced. Fortunately, Amy and I will look to continuing our highly valued friendships with Magnus and Elspeth, not to mention going to Hurricanes games together!”

From Jennifer Rymer:

“It has been a true opportunity to get to work with Magnus from start to near finish on a large multi-site registry over the past two years. Magnus is extremely talented in collaborating with and building relationships with industry partners and external collaborators. He taught me so much about how to develop relationships with collaborators and run a registry, even when we were faced with challenges during COVID. His network runs deep, and always amazed me how he was able to stay in touch with colleagues and collaborators from projects years prior. I have valued his mentorship and appreciate that I had the privilege to work with someone who has done so much in CV research and for Duke. He has been an advocate for me from the beginning, and I know will continue to be a mentor even while at Amgen.”

From Mike Sketch:

“Magnus and I began our cardiology fellowship at Duke the same year, and it has truly been an honor to be his friend and colleague over the past 35 years. He has truly excelled in every aspect of his career and is so committed to our academic mission. He is so supportive of young faculty and wants to see others prosper and grow. He is always thinking outside the box and asking novel questions. Through his example, he has taught so many faculty and fellows how to think creatively. He is very highly respected both inside and outside of Duke. He has developed so many amazing relationships with external partners. He loves patient care, and his patients adore him. Finally, he beams with pride whenever he talks about his family, Elspeth and his three kids.

Magnus, you will be so missed!”

From Tracy Wang:

“Magnus’ career has changed so much for so many of us in medicine. One characteristic of his career I’ve always admired is that he’s not afraid to tackle the tough questions when they need to be answered. He just won’t take “no” for an answer, and many a time, has called up company CEOs to convince them to do the right thing scientifically. Another aspect I and many other others have enjoyed is his sincere interest and support of early careers. I don’t think there’s a recently Duke-trained interventional fellow out there who’s not received an invitation to write a paper with Magnus. He is a tireless advocate for his mentees, and a fervid supporter of supporter of women in cardiology. Magnus, we wish you all the best in the next phase of your career. Don’t forget us at Duke!”

From Chris Granger:

“As a fellow starting in 1989, I met Magnus as a bright, savvy, well spoken (and the accent helped as well), and personable fellow from Ireland who had worked with the Oxford University team — at the time, the most successful clinical trial group in the world. Moreover, Magnus was engaging and entertaining and fun. Life was richer when working with Magnus, as a member of a steering committee or on call for the clinical service. I, like many of us, was in awe and wanted to work with him and be with him. In fact, Magnus and I began to share a room at the major cardiology conferences as fellows because we could not afford to have our own rooms, and then kept doing it throughout our careers because we enjoyed it so much as friends as well as a way to keep up with what was going on at the meetings.  He grew into one of the most successful and influential researchers and clinicians in the history of Duke cardiology. He has been recognized several times as one the most highly-cited researchers in all of Duke. He has led many important clinical trials. He served on FDA advisory panels. He was an important bridge between U.S. and European cardiology, being one the few people to serve on clinical practice guideline committees (including in leadership positions) on both sides of the Atlantic. Duke has been very fortunate to have Magnus who has been a terrific ambassador for Duke around the world. He is personal friends not only with those of us at Duke and those that he has trained, but also with many of the leaders of cardiology around the world. Like so many trained in the British Isles, Magnus is a world-class clinician and his patients love him. In short, Magnus has been a giant in his years working in the Heart Center. He has been a loyal, dedicated, beloved member of the Duke team. He will always be an important part of the Duke cardiology family.”

From Blue Dean:

“I did not have a chance to meet Magnus in person when I interviewed at Duke.  Instead, he and I spoke by phone and I still remember our conversation. He didn’t ask about my experience; he asked about my children, my husband, and what we enjoyed doing as a family. He talked about the local community, Duke as a place to work, and what set the Duke Heart Center apart from peer institutions.

Shortly after my arrival, Chris O’Connor suggested that I work with Magnus as the point person for the Duke Heart Center’s development efforts. Little did I know that Magnus and I would spend the next eight years working together and in partnership with many faculty physicians to raise funds in support of the Duke Heart Center and Department of Medicine. We spent countless hours in the car crisscrossing North Carolina, Florida, California, and wherever else a donor visit might send us. I most often was the driver which caused me to jokingly referring to our arrangement as Driving Miss Daisy. I’m not sure Magnus appreciated being called Miss Daisy, but it was all in good fun!

And, we did have fun. Magnus is an excellent storyteller and a lover of music. He would keep me entertained (and awake) with both. During one of our trips to Florida, I lost my voice – completely lost my voice – and Magnus was quick to jump in and comfortably navigate the gift conversations on my behalf.  Donors loved working with Magnus; they appreciated his enthusiasm and passion for Duke, as well as his commitment to excellent patient care.

I was very fortunate to work with Magnus and remain thankful for all he taught me. Fundraising, like so many professions, can be stressful. Magnus was always quick to lighten the mood with a good laugh and an appropriate story. And, on occasion, a really good bottle of wine!

Cheers to Magnus – here’s to a wonderful run and best wishes for great things to come!”

From Penny Hodgson:

“When Rob Califf invited me to take a job in 1992 editing the manuscripts that came out of the GUSTO trial, I had no idea what the job would turn into. One of the first faculty members to come say hello was Magnus Ohman. He was very supportive of the idea of having someone take his draft manuscript and polish it iteratively to the point of publication. And we did this over and over again, to the tune of more than 130 GUSTO manuscripts over the years; Magnus was likely a coauthor of at least a third of them.

As the Communications group grew, adding editors and graphic designers at first, Magnus welcomed them and put them to work. And he was unfailingly grateful and fun, making great suggestions for improving the slides and illustrations that were used to explain the results of our trials in print and in person.

I have two recollections about Magnus and the European Society of Cardiology meetings. One year he received a phone call from his daughter Elsa telling him that a hurricane was about to hit North Carolina and he needed to come home right away! He shared that story widely at that meeting.

The second remembrance is of being in Vienna the day following the end of the meeting and finding that Magnus was also there. We decided to see if we could get tickets to whatever was going on at the Vienna Symphony Hall, and we could. We had amazing seats with lots of legroom, and Magnus fell asleep before the end of the introduction. He woke up for the intermission and went immediately back to sleep afterwards. He agreed that the Russian pianist had been fabulous, although I’m not sure he heard a single note she played.”

From Bob Harrington:

“Hard to believe but I have now known Magnus for 33 years, since the time I arrived at Duke for my own fellowship. Magnus initially was some sort of very special “super fellow” from Ireland. We heard about him but didn’t see him much. I really got to know Magnus when I went to the Databank as a fellow and then for years had an office next to him and Chris Granger. We spent lots of late nights in the Databank then in the DCRI because none of us had a good internet connection at home. With Magnus, there was always loud rock music (yes, he is a Led Zeppelin fan) and great conversations about research and life. He taught me a lot about both! And talked me off more than a few ledges.

Traveling internationally with Magnus was always a memorable experience.  First, he traveled in a suit jacket and tie, even on the overnight! Second, he was through immigration lines very quickly because he would use either his EU/Irish passport or his US one, whichever had the shorter line and so he was usually waiting for us. But he always had a car lined up and he always knew the best hotels in any European city. If you need travel advice, check with Magnus (but don’t ask or listen to Chris Granger, Magnus’ frequent roommate on the road).

Magnus is a creative thinker in research and the cath lab. That can get you in trouble, but Magnus always has a way of pulling himself out of those tricky situations. He’s been a terrific friend and colleague over these many years. And, he has a great wine cellar that he is always happy to share. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in this next part of his professional journey and I’m definitely looking forward to greeting him more regularly on the left coast! Good luck Magnus.”

Magnus has certainly had an impact on so many of us as well as on Duke and the overall field of cardiology. He has touched most of the faculty and fellows during his time.  He mentored many of us during both good and bad times.  We will miss seeing him on campus, but we wish him all the best and look forward to many more stories and collaborations over the coming years!

Kudos to Cara Hoke

Anna Lisa Chamis shared a terrific note she received this week from Nishant Shah regarding cardiology fellow Cara Hoke:

“Hi Anna Lisa,

I wanted to let you know that Cara completed an elective on PAC this past week and did an outstanding job! We had a busy service all week which she took the lead on. She was calm, collected, thoughtful, and well prepared. Her communication with other team members, consulting providers, patients, and families was very clear and she was always approachable/available for questions. Furthermore, her bedside manner was outstanding! Both patients and families felt very comfortable with her care. Cara would routinely review all the imaging on service herself including echos, cMRIs, nuclear studies, cath films before making her plans for the day. Her interpretations for the imaging studies would be spot even before the formal reads. Her assessments and plans were extremely well thought out and she also kept disposition/outpatient follow up plans always in the back of her mind as she led the service. The APPs on the PAC team also loved working with Cara and enjoyed learning from her on rounds. She really exemplified quality patient care, being an outstanding educator, as well as a superior team leader! Best, Nishant”

Great work, Cara!!!

Shout-out to Duke Raleigh’s Heart Walk Team!

The team at Duke Raleigh Hospital held a Carnival Day that helped to raise $1600 in just three hours for their Heart Walk team. The funds raised will go to the American Heart Association. Way to go!

Note: Our own Sean Pokorney spent some time in the dunking booth that day – we’re not sure how many times he was dunked or how much was raised as a result, but what a team player!

Hot tip: Heart Walk T-Shirts

Speaking of the Heart Walk… tomorrow, we will be announcing to all DUHS employees that if you sign up by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24 as a walker (or team captain) for the upcoming Triangle Heart Walk you will receive a Duke team t-shirt. This is a hard deadline and you’re among the first to know!

If you can’t join us in person, please consider a contribution of any amount to one (or more!) of the nine teams representing Duke Heart. Help us meet our overall DUHS fundraising goals! Duke Heart’s teams can be found here: https://duke.is/6jpdp

Reminder: The Triangle Heart Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25 at the PNC Arena.

Photos of the Week

It was a great week to be working in the CICU! Not one but two celebrations were held for cardiology fellow Willard Applefeld‘s birthday. Happy belated birthday!!

Also, a good week to be a member of the PWIM group – they gathered at Ponysaurus in Durham for some networking and camaraderie. Shout out to Jenn Rymer for her work with this amazing team of women!

COVID-19 Update

Please continue to practice safe COVID-19 protocols in your day-to-day interactions with others. Be particularly vigilant about masking, and avoid eating indoors in group settings. The health of our team members and our patients remains a priority as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 trends throughout our community.

Stay home if you are not feeling well. Employees who begin to experience any COVID-19 symptoms should report symptoms through the Duke SymMon app, which is available in both the Apple and Google app stores.

Donate blood if you’re able to. Click here for Duke-sponsored blood drives through the Red Cross.

All the latest Clinical Operations updates related to COVID can be found at https://covid-19.dukehealth.org. Patient-facing resources on DukeHealth.org can be found here: https://www.dukehealth.org/covid-19-update/resources. Duke University maintains a resource page as well, which can be accessed here: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/updates/for-staff.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 8: The Art and Science of Leadership with David Skorton, MD, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). 5 p.m. in Duke North Room 2002 and via WebEx.

 

CME & Other Events

September 12: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium. This is the third webinar of a four-part series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. To learn more, please visit: https://duke.is/mbpte

September 25: Triangle Heart Walk. PNC Arena, Raleigh. Check-in and festivities start at 11 am. Walk begins at Noon. Join us!

October 14: Cardio-Oncology in the Era of Precision Medicine. Symposium to be held at the J.B. Duke Hotel, Durham, NC. Registration is open: https://bit.ly/CardioOnc22. Email Beth Tanner with questions: beth.tanner@duke.edu.

November 4: 14th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Save the date! This will be an in-person event at the Durham Convention Center. Registration required, but is not yet live. Stay tuned for updates.

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:

August 15 — Derek Chew

Health Day

Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Favored for Some A-Fib Patients

https://duke.is/5ufpt

August 17 — Derek Chew and Jonathan Piccini

tctMD

Stroke, Bleeding Risks Key for Assessing Potential LAAO Benefit

https://

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed August 11-18, 2022

Allen LaPointe NM, Ali-Ahmed F, Dalgaard F, Kosinski AS, Sanders Schmidler G, Al-Khatib SM. Cardiac resynchronization therapy outcomes with left ventricular lead concordant with latest mechanical activation: A meta-analysis. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2022 Aug;45(8):930-939. PM: 35687711.

Altin SE, Gitto M, Secemsky EA, Rao SV, Hess CN. Sex-Based Differences in Periprocedural Complications Following Lower Extremity Peripheral Vascular Intervention. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2022 Aug;15(8):e011768. PM: 35938403.

Attar R, Wu A, Wojdyla D, Jensen SE, Andell P, Mahaffey KW, Roe MT, James SK, Wallentin L, Vemulapalli S, Alexander JH, Lopes RD, Ohman EM, Hernandez AF, Patel MR, Jones WS. Outcomes After Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Peripheral Artery Disease (from the TRACER, TRILOGY-ACS, APPRAISE-2, and PLATO Clinical Trials). Am J Cardiol 2022 Sep 1;178:11-17. PM: 35835600.

Carlisle MA, Piccini JP, Fudim M. The interplay between autonomic tone and atrial arrhythmias. Clin Auton Res 2022 Aug;32(4):223-225. PM:35882685.

Chaitman BR, Cyr DD, Alexander KP, Pracoń R, Bainey KR, Mathew A, Acharya A, Kunichoff DF, Fleg JL, Lopes RD, Sidhu MS, Anthopolos R, Rockhold FW, Stone GW, Maron DJ, Hochman JS, Bangalore S. Cardiovascular and Renal Implications of Myocardial Infarction in the ISCHEMIA-CKD Trial. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2022 Aug;15(8):e012103. PM: 35973009.

Chew DS, Li Y, Cowper PA, Anstrom KJ, Piccini JP, Poole JE, Daniels MR, Monahan KH, Davidson-Ray L, Bahnson TD, Al-Khalidi HR, Lee KL, Packer DL, Mark DB. Cost-Effectiveness of Catheter Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation: The CABANA Randomized Clinical Trial. Circulation 2022 Aug 16;146(7):535-547. PM: 35726631.

Chunawala ZS, Qamar A, Arora S, Pandey A, Fudim M, Vaduganathan M, Bhatt DL, Mentz RJ, Caughey MC. Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Polyvascular Disease in Patients Hospitalized With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: The ARIC Study. J Card Fail 2022 Aug;28(8):1267-1277. PM: 35045321.

Denslow S, Wingert JR, Hanchate AD, Rote A, Westreich D, Sexton L, Cheng K, Curtis J, Jones WS, Lanou AJ, Halladay JR. Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID- 19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. PLoS One 2022 Aug 17;17(8):e0271755. PM: 35976813.

Dungan JR, Qin X, Gregory SG, Cooper-Dehoff R, Duarte JD, Qin H, Gulati M, Taylor JY, Pepine CJ, Hauser ER, Kraus WE. Sex-dimorphic gene effects on survival outcomes in people with coronary artery disease. Am Heart J Plus 2022 May;17:100152. PM: 35959094.

Fagundes A, Berg DD, Park JG, Baird-Zars VM, Newby LK, Barsness GW, Miller PE, van Diepen S, Katz JN, Phreaner N, Roswell RO, Menon V, Daniels LB, Morrow DA, Bohula EA. Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes Admitted to Contemporary Cardiac Intensive Care Units: Insights From the CCCTN Registry. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2022 Aug;15(8):e008652. PM: 35862019.

Fordyce CB, Hill CL, Foldyna B, Douglas PS. Eligibility for Noninvasive Testing Based on the 2021 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Stable Chest Pain: Implications From the PROMISE Trial. Circulation 2022 Aug 16;146(7):582-584. PM: 35969650

Fudim M, Fail PS, Litwin SE, Shaburishvili T, Goyal P, Hummel SL, Borlaug BA, Mohan RC, Patel RB, Mitter SS, Klein L, Rocha-Singh K, Patel MR, Reddy VY, Burkhoff D, Shah SJ. Endovascular ablation of the right greater splanchnic nerve in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: early results of the REBALANCE-HF trial roll-in cohort. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Aug;24(8):1410-1414. PM: 35598154.

Goldstein DJ, Puskas JD, Alexander JH, Chang HL, Gammie JS, Marks ME, Iribarne A, Vengrenyuk Y, Raymond S, Taylor BS, Yarden O, Orion E, Dagenais F, Ailawadi G, Chu MWA, DiMaio JM, Narula J, Moquete EG, O’Sullivan K, Williams JB, Crestanello JA, Jessup M, Rose EA, Scavo V, Acker MA, Gillinov M, Mack MJ, Gelijns AC, O’Gara PT, Moskowitz AJ, Bagiella E, Voisine P. External Support for Saphenous Vein Grafts in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2022 Aug 1;7(8):808-816. PM: 35675092.

Granger BB, Kaltenbach LA, Fonarow GC, Allen LA, Lanfear DE, Albert NM, Al-Khalidi HR, Butler J, Cooper LB, Dewald T, Felker GM, Heidenreich P, Kottam A, Lewis EF, Piña IL, Yancy CW, Granger CB, Hernandez AF, Devore AD. Health System-Level Performance in Prescribing Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy for Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: Results From the CONNECT-HF Trial. J Card Fail 2022 Aug;28(8):1355-1361. PM: 35462033.

Greene SJ, Lautsch D, Yang L, Tan XI, Brady JE. Prognostic Interplay Between COVID-19 and Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction. J Card Fail 2022 Aug;28(8):1287-1297. PM: 35597512.

Hernandez AF, Albert NM, Allen LA, Ahmed R, Averina V, Boehmer JP, Cowie MR, Chien CV, Galvao M, Klein L, Kwan B, Lam CSP, Ruble SB, Stolen CM, Stein K. Multiple cArdiac seNsors for mAnaGEment of Heart Failure (MANAGE-HF) – Phase I Evaluation of the Integration and Safety of the HeartLogic Multisensor Algorithm in Patients With Heart Failure. J Card Fail 2022 Aug;28(8):1245-1254. PM: 35460884.

Kelsey MD, Newby LK. Recommendations for use of ezetimibe and/or PCSK9 inhibitors in patients with elevated LDL-C. Ann Intern Med 2022 Aug;175(8):JC86. PM: 35914252.

Lala A, Mentz RJ. Translating Nursing Partnerships in Clinical Care to Scientific Publishing. J Card Fail 2022 Aug;28(8):1243-1244. PM: 35961730.

Mentz RJ, Lautsch D, Pulungan Z, Kim S, Hilkert R, Teigland C, Yang M, Djatche L. Medication Trajectory and Treatment Patterns in Medicare Patients With Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction. J Card Fail 2022 Aug;28(8):1349-1354. PM: 34930657.

Moulson N, Petek BJ, Churchill TW, Drezner JA, Harmon KG, Kliethermes SA, Mellacheruvu P, Patel MR, Baggish AL. Cardiac Troponin Testing as a Component of Return to Play Cardiac Screening in Young Competitive Athletes Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection. J Am Heart Assoc 2022 Aug 16;11(16):e025369. PM: 35929475.

Stingl C, Dvergsten JA, Eng SWM, Yeung RSM, Fritzler MJ, Mason T, Crowson C, Voora D, Reed AM. Gene Expression Profiles of Treatment Response and Non-Response in Children With Juvenile Dermatomyositis. ACR Open Rheumatol 2022 Aug;4(8):671- 681. PM: 35616642.

Highlights of the week:

Celebrating Sunil Rao

Please join us in wishing Sunil Rao, MD, professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke and section chief of cardiology at the Durham VA Medical Center all the best as he departs Durham and heads to NYU Langone Health System to serve as their director of interventional cardiology! He was recently celebrated by his team at the Durham VAMC. He has been the Chief of Cardiology at the VA since 2014. He initiated and grew the transradial catheterization program there and around the country. He also supported a number of VA programs including the Women’s Heart Health Program, Home-Based Cardiac Rehab, CardioMEMs, and robotic PCI (just to name a few). He has won numerous teaching and mentorship awards and supported successful VA Career Development Awards. He is leaving after 26 years at Duke and 18 years of VA service.

Sunil’s last official day at Duke and the VA was August 5. We had an opportunity to speak with him about his upcoming transition and his time at Duke. Here is some of what he shared with us:

“I did all my training at Duke and then joined the faculty in 2004. What I will remember most, obviously, are the people I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with during my time here. The people who mentored me, the fellows that I’ve interacted with, the junior faculty that I’ve worked with, the nurses, the nurse practitioners, the cath lab techs… Duke is a great place with incredible research and incredible clinical care, but at the end of the day, it’s the people that make the place. I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to work here,” he says. “When I was a medical student at Ohio State, the first two clinical rotations I did, the physicians that I interacted with had trained at Duke. When I was applying for residency programs, I knew that I wanted to be a cardiologist who had trained at Duke.

“I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have been able to train here and I feel really, really fortunate to have been able to work with all the people that I have while at Duke, and now to be able to take these lessons and apply them to my new position in New York.”

A big part of Sunil’s career has been his work at the Durham VAMC. He has been affiliated with the VA since completing his training 18 years ago.

“It is a huge privilege to be able to take care of veterans, I consider it an honor. The people that I’ve worked with at the VA have been phenomenal, too. They’ve always had the veterans best interests at heart and we’ve been able to do some really innovative things at the VA and develop, I think, what can only be described as really cutting-edge, innovative care. One of the things we’re very proud of is that the Durham VA recently achieved silver award quality status with the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines registry. We are one of the few VAs that actually participate in that registry – and this was something that I felt was important for us to participate in, because I wanted to make sure that the quality of care that we delivered was not only on par with other VAs, but on par with or better than hospitals that we considered to be our peers, whether they were VA hospitals or not. This year, we had one of the highest ratings for quality of care for both acute coronary syndrome and stroke in the state of North Carolina. So we’re really proud of that. We’ve been laser-focused on delivering the highest quality of care to our veterans and creating opportunities for them to participate in innovative clinical research.”

We asked a number of Sunil’s colleagues for their reflections on his impact at Duke. Here is what they shared with us:

From Tom Povsic:

“It is rare to find people in academics with the complete skill set that Sunil possesses.  Obviously, he has published extensively and was amongst the first to outline the detrimental impact bleeding has on outcomes in hospitalized patients and post-PCI. It’s hard to remember but most of the trials initially focused entirely on ischemic outcomes, with almost no attention paid to bleeding. But while many people publish, few then take the next step to transform care, and clearly one of the most effective strategies to mitigate bleeding is radial access. Sunil has been at the forefront of the transformation in PCI performance locally, nationally and internationally, and he did not stop there — changing the way we take care of patients based on sound clinical data to favor same-day discharge and, most recently, routine imaging to guide PCI. It’s amazing that one person has impacted care at the VA and Duke so much.

In addition, what I find truly astounding is how many people he knows by name. It’s impossible to go to a meeting with Sunil without him being constantly accosted by hordes of colleagues who want to speak with him, which just reflects his best attributes. And that is the type of person he is…deflecting attention from himself, promoting the interests of his colleagues and the many fellows and students he has mentored, and supporting group, rather than individual, efforts. We will miss his presence as a key thought leader, colleague and friend.” 

From John Alexander:

“Sunil joined the Duke Cardiology faculty roughly 25 years ago and I have a hard time imagining Duke Cardiology without him. Sunil and I first met as cath lab fellows where he was identified early on by Jess Peter as the expert in cath-ing patients with extreme obesity. Sunil has always been a Master Educator with the knack for presenting complex topics simply. He was an early member of the Bleeding Mafia, revolutionizing the way we think about and measure bleeding as an adverse clinical outcome. Together with Mitch Krucoff and others, Sunil pioneered SAFE-PCI, the first Randomized Registry Trial leveraging the ACC’s NCDR Registry to collect data for a randomized trial comparing radial and femoral access in women undergoing coronary angiography and PCI. Sunil was the first interventional cardiologist at Duke to adopt Radial Access, seemingly training himself and then leading national training programs to train colleagues at Duke and elsewhere. Sunil has been and remains a Trusted Colleague. Sunil is now off to New York and NYU. Our loss is their gain. We can all look forward to seeing what Sunil does next. Wishing him all the best.”

From Tom Bashore:

“There have been few individuals that have come through the Duke program that have had a more positive impact than Sunil Rao. We often joked that he took the “golden pathway” to get here (both of us were graduates of Miami Ohio and Ohio State before coming to Duke). Sunil’s fantastic sense of humor, his incredibly caring instincts for others, his organizational skills and his impeccable clinical competence pushed his rapid rise through the system here. Those same characteristics were bound to eventually catch the eyes of folks nationally. It has been clear since early on that he would eventually be heavily recruited by others outside of Duke, and unfortunately for us, that time has now come. Though it really is a bummer to see Sunil move on, we can all take great pride in knowing he will be an outstanding representative of “all that is Duke” on the national stage.

And besides, if he doesn’t make it in the cardiology world in NYC, he has a real shot at a career in standup comedy there. And if that doesn’t work out, he is always welcome to come back “home” to Durham.”

From Mike Sketch:

“Sunil has the ideal academic pedigree being both a Buckeye and a Blue Devil!! He is an academic powerhouse at both Duke and worldwide… even without all his Twitter followers. What an amazing mentor he has been to so many fellows!

The most impressive thing about Sunil is his love and commitment to his wife, Carrie and to his four beautiful daughters! He will be so, so very missed.”

From Tony Gutierrez:

“Despite being the most technically gifted interventionalist I have ever worked with, Sunil’s greatest contribution to Duke these past 26 years is his relentless commitment towards mentoring young physician-scientists. Whether it’s learning how to draft a manuscript, perform a complex PCI, or navigating a difficult life moment, Sunil is the tiger dad every cardiology fellow needs to succeed. In the words of the great American hero RB, “Sunil is the best there is. Plain and simple.” Best of luck on your new endeavor.”

From Magnus Ohman:

“We both have had a great research career at Duke and it was so fitting that we were able to write our last editorial together and be published as we were both leaving Duke.  Sunil has been an outstanding colleague.”

From Jenn Rymer:

“It’s hard to emphasize how much of an impact Sunil has had on both the faculty and fellows at Duke. He is one of those special people who always “elevate” those around him. I can remember during cath conferences or cine reviews that he would always highlight — in just minutes — a salient point about a case, and it made the process of learning from him a real privilege as a fellow and young faculty member. He is simultaneously a remarkably brilliant clinician, researcher and leader. As a fellow, he always took opportunities to introduce me to faculty outside of Duke at conferences and meetings, and is a real advocate for promoting Duke fellows for jobs and research opportunities. He is someone that I believe many young interventional cardiologists, like me, aspire to live up to. While we will all miss him here, I cannot wait to learn about the many successes that await him at NYU!”

From Rajesh Swaminathan:

“Sunil has been an amazing mentor, colleague, and friend. He has this unique ability to elevate the people around him in the most selfless way. He is particularly strong at mentoring fellows and early-career faculty. He supported my research and taught me the ins and outs of transradial interventions. Sunil has done an incredible job growing innovative programs at the VA. I’m glad that I will get to continue working with him through SCAI and societal committees and wish him all the best in the big city!”

And from Sean M. Wu, MD of Stanford, via Twitter:

“Congrats Sunil on your new leadership role @nyulangone. For just about my entire medical career I’ve associated you & @DukeMedSchool like PB&J. NYU is so fortunate to have you. I know you will do great things there in the coming year.”

We will miss your presence here with us at Duke, but you’ll always be part of our Duke Heart family. Best wishes, Sunil!

(Editor’s note: in the coming weeks, we’ll be recognizing Magnus Ohman as well as the recent retirement of Ken Morris.)

 

Fudim Receives DDCF Award

Congratulations to Marat Fudim, MD, MHS, assistant professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke for his selection as a 2022 recipient of a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) Clinical Scientist Development Award! This is an early-career development award that will support his project, “Role of the Splanchnic Vascular Compartment in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.”

Fudim has been working to understand the splanchnic nerve compartment’s role in heart failure for years. His team is now developing methods to simulate volume shifts, or volume distribution, so that they can better identify responders and non-responders ahead of time.

“We already know that not every medication or intervention can work for everybody,” he says. “We have seen the benefit of splanchnic nerve block in many people, but now we want to take a step back and ask how can we identify people who are more likely to be “volume shifters” versus “volume overloaders”? Who has the right physiology? Who will respond best?”

He says he doesn’t believe the situation is black and white, but that’s why he is eager to simulate volume distribution to see if there is an overlap between the phenotypes. Fudim hopes this will help lead to a better understanding of the contribution of volume redistribution to the average heart failure patient.

“It is a great honor for me to have been selected by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and I am especially appreciative in this time of very tight research funding,” Fudim said. “I believe this project will help bolster the entire field and that it will go beyond splanchnic nerve. It hopefully will help us get to the mechanism of how cardiac decompensation occurs.”

The DDCF announced their grant award recipients this week. Through the Clinical Scientist Development Awards, the foundation funds promising physician scientists whose projects have the potential to advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease and to enable their transition to independent research careers.

A rigorous, multistage peer review process is done to evaluate each application on the significance, originality and research approach of their scientific proposals, and the research environment. According to the Foundation, a large share of this year’s recipients span a broad range of critical health issues and their grantees are diverse in representation, with 53 percent of the selected projects led by women and 23 percent by those identifying as Black or Hispanic/Latinx, which is critical for providing insights into the health concerns of a wide spectrum of the national population.

Duke interventional cardiologist Schuyler Jones, MD is a previous DDCF grant award recipient.

A list of additional 2022 grantees and their project titles can be found here: https://duke.is/vgcjj. Each recipient will receive a grant of $495,000 over three years which begins retroactively on July 1, 2022.

This is great news and well-deserved, Marat!

 

CMRI Team Granted IAC Accreditation

Our Duke Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMRI) program has achieved national accreditation for cardiovascular MRI and magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) through the Intersocietal Accreditation Council (IAC). The application process includes a demanding clinical peer review that evaluates standards of care, safety criteria, and quality metrics of diagnostic images.

The awarded accreditation demonstrates the Duke Heart CMRI program’s commitment to the pursuit of excellence in its continuous quality improvements and documentation of safe, quality patient care in the field of MRI, setting the program apart from others.

Thank you to all team members who participated in the accreditation process with special thanks to Stephen Darty for preparing the submission.

Strong work, all!

 

Shout-out to Williams

Melissa Williams, clinical manager, Registry Team, in the Duke Heart Center of Excellence, has achieved the designation of Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ).

This is the only fully accredited credential in the field of healthcare quality. The CPHQ is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies which is the accrediting arm of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence.

Congratulations, Melissa — we are proud of you and so glad to have you on our team!

Celebrating an Engagement

Please join us in offering congratulations to Duke Heart cardiac sonographers Dallas Gardner and Eddy Sandoval on their recent engagement!

Eddy and Dallas met in the CDU and got engaged during a recent trip to the Outer Banks. Eddy popped the question on a private sunset cruise with a picture-perfect back drop. We are so happy for you, Dallas and Eddy!

 

Photo of the Week

Spotted on Twitter: Apparently our CICU has a sunshine committee that occasionally makes omelettes… We think that’s a great way to start the day and build camaraderie!

COVID-19 Update

Please continue to practice safe COVID-19 protocols in your day-to-day interactions with others. Be particularly vigilant about masking, and avoid eating indoors in group settings. The health of our team members and our patients remains a priority as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 trends throughout our community.

Stay home if you are not feeling well. Employees who begin to experience any COVID-19 symptoms should report symptoms through the Duke SymMon app, which is available in both the Apple and Google app stores.

Donate blood if you’re able to. Click here for Duke-sponsored blood drives through the Red Cross.

All the latest Clinical Operations updates related to COVID can be found at https://covid-19.dukehealth.org. Patient-facing resources on DukeHealth.org can be found here: https://www.dukehealth.org/covid-19-update/resources. Duke University maintains a resource page as well, which can be accessed here: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/updates/for-staff.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

August 17: Duke GME DEI ‘First Look’. The Duke Office of Graduate Medical Education is holding a virtual DEI ‘First Look’ event for potential incoming residents and fellows. It’s specifically designed for underrepresented applicants and any applicant interested in DEI issues. Registration is required.

August 17: Duke Health Annual Blood Drive. 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Searle Conference Center, Seeley G. Mudd Building. Appointments required. Please sign up at http://www.redcrossblood.org using sponsor code: Duke.

September 12: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium. This is the third webinar of a four-part series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. To learn more, please visit: https://duke.is/mbpte

September 25: Triangle Heart Walk. PNC Arena, Raleigh. Check-in starts at 11 am. Walk begins at Noon. Join us!

October 14: Cardio-Oncology in the Era of Precision Medicine. Symposium to be held at the J.B. Duke Hotel, Durham, NC. Registration is open: https://bit.ly/CardioOnc22. Email Beth Tanner with questions: beth.tanner@duke.edu.

November 4: 14th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Save the date! This will be an in-person event at the Durham Convention Center. Registration required, but is not yet live. Stay tuned for updates.

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Cardiology Grand Rounds has concluded and will resume in September.

 

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:

August 5 — Harry Severance

Emergency Physicians Monthly

‘Burnout’ and the Healthcare Workplace

https://duke.is/n7q83

August 9 — Sunil Rao

Medpage Today

Potent DAPT After CABG Halves Vein Graft Failure

https://duke.is/bdzpc

August 9 — E. Magnus Ohman

Healio/Cardiology

Adding ticagrelor to aspirin reduces vein graft failure, increases bleeding after CABG

https://duke.is/42eun

August 10 — Pamela Douglas

Nature Reviews Cardiology

Implementing an anti-bullying culture in cardiology

PDF: https://duke.is/9rbk8

August 10 — Joe Turek and Louise Markert

ACC Expert Analysis

A Small Step For Heart Transplantation But a Huge Leap For Infant Heart Transplantation

https://duke.is/jkpzq

August 11 — J. Antonio Gutierrez

Time.com

What to Know About Peripheral Artery Disease—and Its Connection to Diabetes

https://duke.is/yffhr

 

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed July 21–August 10, 2022

Baksh SS, Hodgkinson CP. Conservation of miR combo based direct cardiac reprogramming. Biochem Biophys Rep 2022;31:101310. PM: 35860436.

Beller JP, Mehaffey JH, Wegermann ZK, Grau- Sepulveda M, O’Brien SM, Brennan JM, Thourani V, Badhwar V, Pagani FD, Ailawadi G, Yarboro LT, Teman NR. Strategies for Mechanical Right Ventricular Support During Left Ventricular Assist Device Implant. Ann Thorac Surg 2022;114(2):484-491. PM: 34843696.

Caruba T, Charles-Nelson A, Alexander JH, Mehta RH, Heringlake M, Toller W, Yavchitz A, Sabatier B, Chatellier G, Cholley B. Prophylactic levosimendan in patients with low ejection fraction undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: A pooled analysis of two multicentre randomised controlled trials. Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med 2022;41(4):101107. PM: 35643391.

Cools F, Virdone S, Sawhney J, Lopes RD, Jacobson B, Arcelus JI, Hobbs FDR, Gibbs H, Himmelreich JCL, MacCallum P, Schellong S, Haas S, Turpie AGG, Ageno W, Rocha AT, Kayani G, Pieper K, Kakkar AK. Thromboprophylactic low-molecular-weight heparin versus standard of care in unvaccinated, at-risk outpatients with COVID-19 (ETHIC): an open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial. Lancet Haematol 2022;9(8):e594-e604. PM: 35779560.

Czura CJ, Bikson M, Charvet L, Chen JDZ, Franke M, Fudim M, Grigsby E, Hamner S, Huston JM, Khodaparast N, Krames E, Simon BJ, Staats P, Vonck K. Neuromodulation Strategies to Reduce Inflammation and Improve Lung Complications in COVID-19 Patients. Front Neurol 2022;13:897124. PM: 35911909.

Domingo-Relloso A, Makhani K, Riffo-Campos AL, Tellez-Plaza M, Klein KO, Subedi P, Zhao J, Moon KA, Bozack AK, Haack K, Goessler W, Umans JG, Best LG, Zhang Y, Herreros-Martinez M, Glabonjat RA, Schilling K, Galvez-Fernandez M, Kent JW, Sanchez TR, Taylor KD, Johnson WC, et al. Arsenic Exposure, Blood DNA Methylation, and Cardiovascular Disease. Circ Res 2022;131(2):e51-e69. PM: 35658476.

Fanaroff AC, Wang TY. Risk Prediction in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Solving the Last Mile Problem. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2022;15(7):e012262. PM: 35861801.

Friedman DJ, Tully AS, Zeitler EP. Subcutaneous and Transvenous ICDs: an Update on Contemporary Questions and Controversies. Curr Cardiol Rep 2022;24(8):947-958. PM: 35639275.

Goldstein SA, Pagidipati NJ. Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Heart Failure Risk. Curr Hypertens Rep 2022;24(7):205-213. PM: 35347569.

Harrington J, Felker GM, Mentz RJ. Catastrophic Disruptions in Clinical Trials. Circulation 2022;146(5):369-371. PM: 35914015.

Hogan SE, Nehler MR, Anand S, Patel MR, Debus S, Jackson MT, Buchanan C, King RW, Hess C, Muehlhofer E, Haskell LP, Bauersachs RM, Berkowitz SD, Hsia J, Bonaca MP. Improvement in walking impairment following surgical and endovascular revascularization: Insights from VOYAGER PAD. Vasc Med 2022;27(4):343-349. PM: 35467452.

Jensen AD, Østergaard L, Petersen JK, Graversen P, Butt JH, Bundgaard H, Moser C, Smerup MH, Modrau IS, Iversen K, Bruun NE, Torp-Pedersen C, Gislason G, Wang A, Ragnarsson S, Povlsen JA, Køber L, Fosbøl EL. Surgical treatment of patients with infective endocarditis: changes in temporal use, patient characteristics, and mortality-a nationwide study. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2022;22(1):338. PM: 35906539.

Khan MS, Shahid I, Fonarow GC, Greene SJ. Classifying heart failure based on ejection fraction: imperfect but enduring. Eur J Heart Fail 2022;24(7):1154-1157. PM: 35239210.

Khouri MG, Greene SJ. Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter-2 Inhibitor Therapy During Anthracycline Treatment: Is There a Role for Cardioprotection? JACC Heart Fail 2022;10(8):568-570. PM: 35902160.

Kosiborod MN, Angermann CE, Collins SP, Teerlink JR, Ponikowski P, Biegus J, Comin-Colet J, Ferreira JP, Mentz RJ, Nassif ME, Psotka MA, Tromp J, Brueckmann M, Blatchford JP, Salsali A, Voors AA. Effects of Empagliflozin on Symptoms, Physical Limitations, and Quality of Life in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure: Results From the EMPULSE Trial. Circulation 2022;146(4):279-288. PM: 35377706.

Lamas GA, Anstrom KJ, Navas-Acien A, Boineau R, Kim H, Rosenberg Y, Stylianou M, Jones TLZ, Joubert BR, Santella RM, Escolar E, Aude YW, Fonseca V, Elliott T, Lewis EF, Farkouh ME, Nathan DM, Mon AC, Gosnell L, Newman JD, Mark DB. The trial to assess chelation therapy 2 (TACT2): Rationale and design. Am Heart J 2022;252:1-11. PM: 35598636.

Lee M, Huan T, McCartney DL, Chittoor G, de Vries M, Lahousse L, Nguyen JN, Brody JA, Castillo- Fernandez J, Terzikhan N, Qi C, Joehanes R, Min  JL, Smilnak GJ, Shaw JR, Yang CX, Colicino E,  Hoang TT, Bermingham ML, Xu H, Justice AE, Xu CJ, Rich SS, Cox SR, Vonk JM, Prokić I, et al. Pulmonary Function and Blood DNA Methylation: A Multiancestry Epigenome-Wide Association Meta- analysis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2022;206(3):321-336. PM: 35536696.

Lewis GD, Voors AA, Cohen-Solal A, Metra M, Whellan DJ, Ezekowitz JA, Böhm M, Teerlink JR, Docherty KF, Lopes RD, Divanji PH, Heitner SB, Kupfer S, Malik FI, Meng L, Wohltman A, Felker GM. Effect of Omecamtiv Mecarbil on Exercise Capacity in Chronic Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: The METEORIC-HF Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 2022;328(3):259-269. PM: 35852527.

Li G, Zhang J, Van Spall HGC, Douglas PS, Wang Y, Sun X, Thabane L. Exploring ethnic representativeness in diabetes clinical trial enrolment from 2000 to 2020: a chronological survey. Diabetologia 2022;65(9):1461-1472. PM: 35705796.

Limkakeng AT, Rowlette LL, Hatch A, Nixon AB, Ilkayeva O, Corcoran D, Modliszewski J, Griffin SM, Ginsburg GS, Voora D. A precision medicine approach to stress testing using metabolomics and microribonucleic acids. Per Med 2022;19(4):287-297. PM: 35466688.

Loring Z, Holmqvist F, Sze E, Alenezi F, Campbell K, Koontz JI, Velazquez EJ, Atwater BD, Bahnson TD, Daubert JP  Acute echocardiographic and hemodynamic response to his-bundle pacing in patients with first-degree atrioventricular block. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2022;27(4):e12954. PM: 35445488.

McIntyre WF, Wang J, Benz AP, Johnson L, Connolly SJ, Van Gelder IC, Lopes RD, Gold MR, Hohnloser SH, Lau CP, Israel CW, Wong JA, Conen D, Healey JS. Estimated incidence of previously undetected atrial fibrillation on a 14-day continuous electrocardiographic monitor and associated risk of stroke. Europace 2022;24(7):1058-1064. PM: 35061877.

Minhas AMK, Ijaz SH, Javed N, Sheikh AB, Jain V, Michos ED, Greene SJ, Fudim M, Warraich HJ, Shapiro MD, Al-Kindi SG, Sperling L, Virani SS. National trends and disparities in statin use for ischemic heart disease from 2006 to 2018: Insights from National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Am Heart J 2022;252:60-69. PM: 35644222.

Olsen C, Mandawat A, Sun JL, Triana T, Chiswell K, Karra R. Recovery of left ventricular function is associated with improved outcomes in LVAD recipients. J Heart Lung Transplant 2022;41(8):1055-1062. PM: 35410822.

Pandey A, Segar MW, Singh S, Reeves GR, O’Connor C, Piña I, Whellan D, Kraus WE, Mentz RJ, Kitzman DW. Frailty Status Modifies the Efficacy of Exercise Training Among Patients With Chronic Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction. Circulation 2022;146(2):80-90. PM: 35616018.

Petek BJ, Moulson N, Baggish AL, Kliethermes SA, Patel MR, Churchill TW, Harmon KG, Drezner JA, et al. Prevalence and clinical implications of persistent or exertional cardiopulmonary symptoms following SARS- CoV-2 infection in 3597 collegiate athletes: a study from the Outcomes Registry for Cardiac Conditions in Athletes (ORCCA). Br J Sports Med 2022;56(16):913-918. PM: 34725052.

Piccini JP, Cunnane R, Steffel J, El-Chami MF, Reynolds D, Roberts PR, Soejima K, Steinwender C, Garweg C, Chinitz L, Ellis CR, Stromberg K, Fagan DH, Mont L. Development and validation of a risk score for predicting pericardial effusion in patients undergoing leadless pacemaker implantation: experience with the Micra transcatheter pacemaker. Europace 2022;24(7):1119-1126. PM: 35025987.

Pohlman FW, Ford CB, Weissler EH, Smerek MM, Hardy NC, Narcisse DI, Lippmann SJ, Greiner MA, Long C, Rymer JA, Gutierrez JA, Patel MR, Jones WS. Impact of risk factor control on peripheral artery disease outcomes and health disparities. Vasc Med 2022;27(4):323-332. PM: 35387516.

Pokorney SD, Berchuck SI, Chiswell K, Sun JL, Thomas L, Jones WS, Patel MR, Piccini JP. Atrial branch coronary artery stenosis as a mechanism for atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm 2022;19(8):1237-1244. PM: 34958941

Pokorney SD, Granger CB. Evidence Builds for Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure. Cardiovasc Res 2022;118(9):2112-2123. PM: 34358298

Polonsky TS, Khera A, Miedema MD, Schocken DD, Wilson PWF. Highlights in ASCVD Primary Prevention for 2021. J Am Heart Assoc 2022;11(13):e025973. PM: 35785971.

Vogel RF, Delewi R, Wilschut JM, Lemmert ME, Diletti R, van Vliet R, van der Waarden NWPL, Nuis RJ, Paradies V, Alexopoulos D, Zijlstra F, Montalescot G, Angiolillo DJ, Krucoff MW, Smits PC, Van Mieghem NM, Vlachojannis GJ. Pre-hospital treatment with crushed versus integral tablets of prasugrel in patients presenting with ST- Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction-1-year follow- up results of the COMPARE CRUSH trial. Am Heart J 2022;252:26-30. PM: 35671829.

Wang TY. Mentorship and the Leaky Pipeline in Academic Cardiology. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2022;15(7):e009218. PM: 35562107.

Zhang X, Yamada Y, Sagayama H, Ainslie PN, Blaak EE, Buchowski MS, Close GL, Cooper JA, Das SK, Dugas LR, Gurven M, El Hamdouchi A, Hu S, Joonas N, Katzmarzyk P, Kraus WE, Kushner RF, Leonard WR, Martin CK, Meijer EP, Neuhouser ML, Ojiambo RM, Pitsiladis YP, Plasqui G, et al. Human total, basal and activity energy expenditures are independent of ambient environmental temperature. iScience 2022;25(8):104682. PM: 35865134

Ferencik M, Mayrhofer T, Lu MT, Bittner DO, Emami H, Puchner SB, Meyersohn NM, Ivanov AV, Adami EC, Voora D, Ginsburg GS, Januzzi JL, Douglas PS, Hoffmann U. Coronary Atherosclerosis, Cardiac Troponin, and Interleukin-6 in Patients With Chest Pain: The PROMISE Trial Results. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2022;15(8):1427-1438. PM: 35926901.

Grenier-Larouche T, Coulter Kwee L, Deleye Y, Leon-Mimila P, Walejko JM, McGarrah RW, Marceau S, Trahan S, Racine C, Carpentier AC, Lusis AJ, Ilkayeva O, Vohl MC, Huertas-Vazquez A, Tchernof A, Shah SH, Newgard CB, White PJ. Altered branched-chain α-keto acid metabolism is a feature of NAFLD in individuals with severe obesity. JCI Insight 2022;7(15):10.1172/jci.insight.159204. PM: 35797133.

Rao SV, Ohman EM. Balancing the Risks and Benefits of Antiplatelet Therapy After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. JAMA 2022;328(6):532-533. PM: 35943481.

Rasmussen LD, Fordyce CB, Nissen L, Hill CL, Alhanti B, Hoffmann U, Udelson J, Bøttcher M, Douglas PS, Winther S. The PROMISE Minimal Risk Score Improves Risk Classification of Symptomatic Patients With Suspected CAD. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2022;15(8):1442-1454. PM: 35926903.

Salah HM, Minhas AMK, Khan MS, Pandey A, Michos ED, Mentz RJ, Fudim M. Causes of hospitalization in the USA between 2005 and 2018. Eur Heart J Open 2021;1(1):oeab001. PM: 35919090.

Toro C, Hatfield J, Temkin N, Barber J, Manley G, Ohnuma T, Komisarow J, Foreman B, Korley FK, Vavilala MS, Laskowitz DT, Mathew JP, Hernandez A, Sampson J, James ML, Raghunathan K, Goldstein BA, Markowitz AJ, Krishnamoorthy V. Risk Factors and Neurological Outcomes Associated With Circulatory Shock After Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A TRACK-TBI Study. Neurosurgery 2022;91(3):427-436. PM: 35593705.

Weissler EH, Mulder H, Rockhold FW, Baumgartner I, Norgren L, Blomster J, Katona BG, Fowkes FGR, Mahaffey K, Bonaca M, Patel MR, Jones WS. Understanding Study Drug Discontinuation Through EUCLID. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022;9:947645. PM: 35928933.

 

 

Chief’s message:

We have been fortunate over the last several years to partner with the Joel Cornette Foundation and now a partnership with the American Heart Association to better understand, study, and inform the care of young competitive athletes.  The studies we have been looking to conduct evaluate the overlap between human physiology, performance, and cardiovascular risk.  We aim to improve our understanding and to help our athletes make shared decisions around returning to play, preventing sudden cardiac events, and improving their performance.  This week I was fortunate to attend and give some remarks at the Cornette Foundation fund raising event.  It was great event in Cincinnati and we were fortunate to have several sports stars in attendance and supporting the work including: Charles Barkley, Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams, Brad Stevens, and several others.  Thanks to all that work and support this work that Duke Heart has the opportunity be a part of and help lead.

 

 

Highlights of the week:

Duke Surgery Announces New Division Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery

The Duke Department of Surgery this week announced the appointment of Dawn Marie Coleman, MD, FACS, to the role of Chief of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.

Coleman, a clinical professor of surgery and pediatrics, joins Duke from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where she served as co-director of the Pediatric Renovascular Hypertension Center as well as program director for the Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency and Fellowship at Michigan.

Her clinical and translational research interests encompass a unique pediatric vascular surgery practice, and her research leverages a multidisciplinary team to deeply phenotype patients with renovascular hypertension resulting from aorto-renal arterial dysplasia. She has made several high impact research contributions to this rare disease, and received major funding from the Taubman Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Dr. Coleman also leads an international pRVH patient-centered outcomes research collaborative.

Coleman serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, assigned to a Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team. She has deployed on three occasions to support forward operations in the Middle East.

“After a nationwide search, I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Coleman to Duke,” says Dr. Allan D. Kirk, Chair of the Department of Surgery. “She is a superb clinician, a skilled investigator, and an effective educator. However, I believe her towering strength is her humanistic approach toward leadership. Dr. Coleman’s rich, real world experience serves as a strong foundation for her executive intuition, and we are so fortunate to have her lead the growth of both the department and the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.”

Coleman obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Cincinnati, where she went on to obtain her Doctor of Medicine degree in 2003. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center in 2010, and subsequently completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at Michigan in 2012. Upon completing her surgical training, Coleman joined the faculty as a clinical assistant professor in surgery at both the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Coleman holds leadership positions in several professional societies and associations, most recently having joined the Society of University Surgeons and the Excelsior Surgical Society. She is a dedicated surgeon educator and mentor, and is currently appointed as the President-Elect for the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery. She has contributed review service to several peer-reviewed journals, and is currently a member of the editorial board for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery as well as Vascular Surgery Associate Editor for the Journal of Surgical Research.

“I am absolutely thrilled to join the extraordinary faculty and leadership of the Duke Department of Surgery,” says Dr. Coleman. “It’s an exciting time to join such a high performing team and renowned medical institution. I am beyond grateful for Dr. Shortell’s progressive divisional leadership to date, and the opportunity I have been granted by Dr. Kirk and Institutional Leadership to steward this division forward. Duke is renowned for being forward-thinking and at the forefront of surgical innovation, advancements in patient care, and dedication to research. I am certain that Duke Vascular and Endovascular Surgery will continue to excel and lead with clinical, educational, and academic excellence locally and nationally.”

Since 2005, Cynthia Shortell, MD, professor of surgery and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, has skillfully led the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery as Division Chief. Since 2006, she has also served as chief for the Section of Vascular Surgery at the Durham VA Medical Center; Director of Duke’s Center for Vascular Disease; Director for Duke’s Venous Center of Excellence; and Medical Director for Duke’s Vascular Non-Invasive Laboratory.

Shortell will continue her stewardship of the division as a faculty member and through her departmental leadership positions.

“I would like to thank Dr. Cynthia Shortell for her extraordinary leadership over the past 17 years in the division, to which she brought unparalleled dedication and enthusiasm,” says Dr. Kirk. “I am pleased that she will remain on our faculty at Duke Surgery as well as an integral piece of our department’s administration as Executive Vice Chair. I am excited to witness her continue to lead and develop our various educational programs.”

“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Coleman to her new role,” says Dr. Shortell. “She is exceptionally well qualified and has the strong leadership skills needed to take our division forward. I am committed to working closely with her to make the transition a smooth one.”

Coleman’s appointment as Chief of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery begins October 1, 2022.

We look forward to working with her!

 

HAV Pre-Clinical Work Presented at AHA BCVS

Adam Williams, MD, Duke cardiothoracic surgeon, presented pre-clinical results of an off-the-shelf Human Acellular Vessel (HAV) in a nonhuman primate model of coronary artery bypass grafting at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) 2022 annual scientific sessions held July 25-27 at the Hilton Chicago in Chicago, IL.

The team demonstrated patent graphs at six months post-implantation and host repopulation of the HAV with vascular cells. Their results will be published in the September issue of Circulation Research.

Williams and his team are performing pre-clinical trials for HAV, a product of Humacyte, at Duke. Williams is serving as PI for the study. He is one of the lead surgeons along with Alan Kypson, MD from UNC Healthcare/Rex. Kypson is a former resident and fellow at Duke. Drs. Mihai Podgoreanu and Sharon McCarthy are Duke cardiothoracic anesthesiologists on the project team.

“This has been a great collaboration between Humacyte and Duke in an effort to bring novel therapies to the market,” says Williams.

Humacyte’s HAVs are engineered replacement vessels designed to be durable, infection-resistant and off-the-shelf to address long-standing limitations in vessel tissue repair and replacement. CABG surgery, which treats the blockage of the coronary arteries to restore blood flow to the heart, is performed more than 400,000 times annually in the United States, with over 765,000 annual CABG procedures globally. Humacyte is developing a small-diameter HAV as a potential alternative to existing vascular conduit substitutes during CABG surgery, particularly in obese or diabetic patients, where the risks of saphenous vein harvesting are substantial.

Laura Nicholson, MD, CEO of Humacyte is a former Duke faculty member.

Congratulations, Adam! We look forward to learning more about this great work!

 

New Cardiology Fellowship Program Coordinator Announced

We are pleased to announce that Brianna Small has accepted our Cardiology Fellowship Program Coordinator position.

Brianna was born and raised in Hadley, PA, went to West Virginia University (WVU) and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and dual Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Administration. She most recently worked with WVU faculty, staff, residents and fellows on wellness in her role as a graduate assistant at the internal employee assistance program.

Outside of work, Brianna enjoys kayaking, exercising, and shopping. Brianna said she is looking forward to joining our team because of the sense of community and to have the opportunity to work with fellows and assist them along their journey! She will join our team at the end of August.

Once her Duke contact information is established, we’ll share that with the team.

On behalf of Anna Lisa Chamis, we extend a huge THANK YOU to the program coordinator selection committee members for their hard work during the past 3+ months: Richa Agarwal, Chris Holley, Neha Pagidipati, Lisa Criscione Schreiber, Jill Rimmer and Lynsey Easley.

Please extend a warm welcome to Brianna when she arrives in a few weeks!

 

Call for Nominations: DHIP Strategic & Operational Committees

NOTE: Deadline is Tuesday, August 9 at 5 p.m.

The DHIP planning process is designed to ensure broad participation from physicians, other providers and staff to create the new clinical practice. There are seats designated for PDC members and staff on all key committees (click here for the total number of seats per Committee).

There are two levels of involvement for PDC members and staff: Committee Representative or Participant.

Committees

To be considered to serve as a PDC representative on the various DHIP Committees, please complete the form below. You may be nominated for only one Committee. Committee members should expect to spend 4-6 hours per week on Committee-related work, and will not be compensated for their time. Each Committee will have a designated staff lead, project manager and communications professional to support its work.

Participants

For physicians, other providers and staff who would like to stay apprised of the work of the Committees, but do not have the time to serve as a Committee representative, you may sign up to be a Participant to the Committee. Participants can offer direct input into the committee via elected liaisons, and will receive regular updates on the Committees’ work. There is no limit on the number of Committees on which you can be a Participant.

To be included as a Participant, please complete the form at the link below and indicate the Committees for which you would like to be a Participant. There is no limit on the number of Committees on which you can participate. Once the Participant groups have been formed, a separate process will be used to elect 2-3 PDC liaisons from within this population to serve on each Committee.

Strategic and Operational Transition Committees

(read: Committee descriptions and number of designated seats per entity here)

• Change Management and Culture (2 PDC positions)
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (2 PDC positions)
• PDC Team/Staff Transition (2 PDC positions)
• Advanced Practice Provider Transition (2 PDC positions)
• Community Practices (3 PDC positions)
• Funds Flow and Physician Compensation (2 PDC positions)
• New Hire Process (2 PDC positions)

Committee Eligibility

• Nominations are open to current PDC physicians, providers and staff with demonstrated experience in the subject area
• Nominees must submit a 250 word summary of their expertise
• Individuals may nominate themselves for only one Committee

Committee Selection Process

• The selection team includes the PDC Executive Committee, PDC CMO and ACMO for DEI.
• The selection team will base decisions on subject matter expertise, diversity, stakeholder perspective and leadership acumen.
• Nominees who are not selected will be added to the Participants group for the chosen Committee.

Send questions to PDC-President@dm.duke.edu

To access the Qualtrics nomination form click here.

 

DCRI selected as Coordinating Center for NIH RECOVER Long COVID Initiative

The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) has been named the Clinical Trials Data Coordinating Center for large-scale national research studies aimed at understanding and improving the treatment of long COVID.

As the data coordinating center, DCRI will partner with RTI International, the study’s Administrative Coordinating Center, to accelerate the clinical trial process, oversee the study’s program-wide infrastructure, establish a patient registry, and launch simultaneous prevention and therapeutic multi-intervention studies among adults and children.

The data coordinating center is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative. In December 2020, Congress provided $1.15 billion in funding over four years for NIH to support research into the prolonged health consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

RECOVER brings together patients, caregivers, clinicians, community leaders, and scientists from across the nation to understand, prevent, and treat long COVID. The initiative comprises multiple sub-awards to researchers at institutions across the country.

To read more, click here.

 

Ginsburg to Receive Leadership in Personalized Medicine Award

We learned this week that the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) will present its 17th Annual Award for Leadership in Personalized Medicine to Geoffrey S. Ginsburg, MD during the PMC summit Personalized Medicine and the Patient scheduled for Nov. 14-15, 2022, at the Hotel Commonwealth in Boston, MA. The award to Ginsburg will be presented on Nov. 15 by Jay Wohlgemuth, MD, chief medical officer and senior vice president of Quest Diagnostics. After accepting the award, Ginsburg, who now serves as the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, will present on the future of personalized medicine and patient care from his new vantage point at the NIH. To learn more about the Summit, visit: https://pmandthepatient.org.

Wonderful news, Geoff – congratulations!

 

Photos of the Week

A group of Duke CCU colleagues from across the decades — past and present — gathered at Local 22 on Saturday, July 30 to celebrate Karol Harshaw-Ellis and her years of service to Duke Cardiology. How many of these faces do you recognize?

Congratulations, Karol! So nice to see this group gather to celebrate you!

 

COVID-19 Update

Please continue to practice safe COVID-19 protocols in your day-to-day interactions with others. Be particularly vigilant about masking, and avoid eating indoors in group settings. The health of our team members and our patients remains a priority as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 trends throughout our community.

Stay home if you are not feeling well. Employees who begin to experience any COVID-19 symptoms should report symptoms through the Duke SymMon app, which is available in both the Apple and Google app stores.

Donate blood if you’re able to. Click here for Duke-sponsored blood drives through the Red Cross.

All the latest Clinical Operations updates related to COVID can be found at https://covid-19.dukehealth.org. Patient-facing resources on DukeHealth.org can be found here: https://www.dukehealth.org/covid-19-update/resources. Duke University maintains a resource page as well, which can be accessed here: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/updates/for-staff.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

August 17: Duke GME DEI ‘First Look’. The Duke Office of Graduate Medical Education is holding a virtual DEI ‘First Look’ event for potential incoming residents and fellows. It’s specifically designed for underrepresented applicants and any applicant interested in DEI issues. Registration is required.

August 17: Duke Health Annual Blood Drive. 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Searle Conference Center, Seeley G. Mudd Building. Appointments required. Please sign up at http://www.redcrossblood.org using sponsor code: Duke.

September 12: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium. This is the third webinar of a four-part series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. To learn more, please visit: https://duke.is/mbpte

September 25: Triangle Heart Walk. PNC Arena, Raleigh. Check-in starts at 11 am. Walk begins at Noon. Join us!

October 14: Cardio-Oncology in the Era of Precision Medicine. Symposium to be held at the J.B. Duke Hotel, Durham, NC. Registration is open: https://bit.ly/CardioOnc22. Email Beth Tanner with questions: beth.tanner@duke.edu.

November 4: 14th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Save the date! This will be an in-person event at the Durham Convention Center. Registration required, but is not yet live. Stay tuned for updates.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Cardiology Grand Rounds has concluded and will resume in September.

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:

 July 25 — Jennifer Green (Endocrinology)

HCPLive.com

Advancing Insulin Care in Diabetes: Tech and Tips

https://duke.is/wrz2y

July 29 — Adrian Hernandez

Triangle Business Journal

How consolidation is shifting power in Triangle’s robust CRO industry

https://duke.is/gfep2

July 29 — Craig Albanese

Spectrum News

Hospital COO says recent patient attack on staff example of troubling national trend

https://duke.is/bvpct

*A version of this story appeared in 30+ news outlets

July 30 — Craig Albanese

WRAL.com

‘I have never witnessed this degree of incivility:’ Duke Health executive describes recent uptick in violence against healthcare workers

https://duke.is/cazss

July 30 — Pamela Douglas

AJMC.com

Duke’s Douglas Highlights Need for Respect in Promoting Diversity, Health Equity

https://duke.is/nct25

August 1 — Shahzeb Khan

HCPLive.com

Heart Failure–Related Mortality in Young Adults Saw Rapid Increase Since 2012

https://duke.is/wx2d3

August 1 — Pamela Douglas

Healio/Cardiology

‘Professionalism’ is first step beyond the ABCs of preventive cardiology

https://duke.is/jwcy7

August 2 — Harry Severance

Medium/Duke University Opinion and Analysis

US Healthcare System is a House of Cards; Could it Collapse?

https://duke.is/2kc8k

August 2 — Adrian Hernandez

CBS17.com

Duke research center put in charge of coordinating data from long COVID studies

https://duke.is/y5egu

August 3 — Shahzeb Khan

tctMD

HF Deaths on the Rise in Young Adults, US Data Show

https://duke.is/6kzu6

August 4 — Robert Lefkowitz

GQ India

5 golden rules to be successful, according to the Nobel Prize winners

https://duke.is/pq2kb

August 5 — Marat Fudim

Medpage Today

No Worsening Cardiac Dysfunction in Long COVID

https://duke.is/zs259