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Duke Heart Pulse Week ending September 25th 2022

September 25, 2022 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Triangle Heart Walk Held Today!

The American Heart Association Triangle Heart Walk was held today at PNC Arena. We had amazing weather and a really great turnout – it could not have been better! Thank you to all of you who have helped support us throughout our effort on behalf of DUHS. We had a sea of Duke Blue at the Walk. It was so much fun to see people in person, enjoying the weather and one another’s company. We appreciate our Heart Walk Chair Richard Shannon who helped organize the Duke Fundraising.Thanks to all who joined us!

As we’ve been saying, this 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. What we haven’t pointed out is that this is the largest sponsorship that Duke Health maintains annually. Not only does Duke have one of the biggest teams out there each year, but we often come in as a top organization for fundraising.

Most of you know that some of these funds come back to Duke in terms of research funding – and that is a great reason to fundraise! More importantly, patients and their family members are invited to the Walk every year. At every Heart Walk held nationally, there is always a “survivor’s” tent — and many of our cardiovascular, stroke and pulmonary patients and their family members come out to the walk to celebrate their lives with us. For them to see members of our Duke Heart team and the larger DUHS community out in force – walking to support them and the AHA — is incredibly important.

We are so appreciative of all those who helped with planning, those who served as team captains, and those who raised valuable funds. We are proud of the Duke Heart team each and every day – thanks for making this a great place for patients to receive some of the best cardiovascular care in the world and for making it a very special place to work.

In case you’re wondering, it is not too late to donate to DUHS’s Heart Walk teams. We have until the end of October to collect donations – and every dollar counts, so please consider!

Duran Receives CLCD Travel Grant for AHA Sci Sessions

Jessica Duran, MD has been awarded an AHA travel grant for the upcoming AHA Scientific Sessions 2022 in Chicago, IL where her abstract was accepted as an oral presentation entitled, Abnormal Exercise Electrocardiography with Normal Stress Echocardiography is Associated with Increased Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis: Insights From the Project Baseline Health Study.

Duran has earned a 2022 Council on Clinical Cardiology (CLCD) Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Groups Travel Grant. This award proudly supports the research efforts of early career investigators and trainees.

She will be acknowledged as a Travel Grant recipient at the CLCD dinner on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick.

Way to go, Jessie!

Fudim Delivers Cardiology Grand Rounds

Marat Fudim gave a terrific presentation on heart failure and pressure management on Tuesday evening. It was a great tour through our understanding of volume, pressure, and innovative therapies for patients with Heart Failure.

Still Time! Photography Fundraiser to Support Duke’s Heart Walk Effort!

Join Stephanie Barnes for a fall mini-photography session fundraiser in support of the American Heart Association Triangle Heart Walk and Team Got Heart. Several slots remain!

Dates: October 9 and 16, 2022 at Fearrington Village in Chapel Hill. Each session will be 15 minutes. Cost is $150, all of which goes to our fundraiser. Registration is required.

This is a great opportunity to get your holiday family portraits done ahead of Thanksgiving. Can be couples, just your kids, small families of 2-4, maybe even have your pets with you! You will receive full access and rights to all of your digital photos via a private web portal. Expect about 20 photos total.

EDS NOTE: Stephanie is a very talented photographer and this is a great price for a private photo shoot. This is an excellent opportunity to support the AHA Heart Walk by supporting our Got Heart team. You’ll get some beautiful photographs of people you love and they will make great gifts!

A big shout-out to Stephanie for donating her time and energy to this cause. If you have questions, please send an email to: Got Heart Fundraiser/Photoshoot. Sample photos shown here are used with client permission.

This week: Nursing Open House, Sept. 29

It’s nearly here! Duke Heart’s nursing team is hosting an open house on Thursday, Sept. 29 for new and experienced nurses as part of our recruitment efforts. The Open House will allow participants to take part in unit tours, shadowing and interviews.

Please share this information with anyone you think might be a good candidate for us! They can register by scanning the QR code shown here.

Additional Reminders:

The last week of September is the last week of Atrial Fibrillation Awareness month! Hug and thank an EP team member when you see them!
The DUHS annual flu vaccination campaign is underway and will continue until mid-November. Vaccination sites for faculty and staff can be found here: https://flu.duke.edu/vaccination/employees/
The Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) Town Hall will be held this week — 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. This will be a Duke Health community-wide event. Questions you would like answered during the Town Hall can be sent ahead of time to DHIP@duke.edu.
Open Enrollment is October 17-28. This is your opportunity to review your medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefit elections and make any changes necessary to ensure your choices continue to meet your needs. Watch your email and home mail delivery for more information.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 27: Mortality & Morbidity with Jennifer Rymer and Nishant Shah. 5 p.m. Webex and in person (Duke North 2002)

October 4: Transcatheter Tricuspid Therapy with Paul Sorajja of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation and Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute, Minneapolis. 7 a.m., Webex and in person (Duke North 2003)

CME & Other Events

September 28: DHIP Town Hall. 7 a.m. Links/location sent via email.

September 29: Nursing Open House. Duke Heart’s nursing team is hosting an Open House as part of recruitment efforts. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., DMP. To register: https://duke.is/mhah5

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.

October 17-28: Open Enrollment period for 2023 for all Duke faculty members and staff.

October 28: Duke Caregiver Community Event, in-person conference. Details here: https://duke.is/nzbcp.

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

November 14: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium, Webinar 4. Final of a four-part webinar series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. Free. To register visit https://duke.is/ptjbs.

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:

September 16 — Robert Keenan (rheumatology)

Rheumatology Advisor

Link Between Gout and Cardiovascular Events – An Interview With Robert Keenan, MD

https://duke.is/y4ya2

September 16 — Duke University Hospital

CBS17.com/WNCN

Duke Undiagnosed Diseases Network Center uncovers rare conditions, set to lose funding after 2024

https://duke.is/rsh4m

September 16 — Michael Carboni and Joseph Turek

Geo News/geo.tv

Doctors optimistic after world’s first partial heart transplant on newborn

https://duke.is/5e4rv

September 17 — Joseph Turek

WPTF News Radio 680

Weekly News Highlights

https://duke.is/nqh5u

September 18 — Owen Monroe (patient/HIPAA on file)

WKRC CBS-12/Cincinnati

What’s happening in health?

https://duke.is/p647j

(*clip begins @06:53:28)

September 20 — Joseph Turek, Michael Carboni and Monroe family

Tribune News Service

Duke doctors perform world’s first partial heart transplant on NC newborn

https://duke.is/45gnq

September 21 — Wayneho Kam (neurology)

Medpage Today

Making Low-Dose tPA Work for Japanese DOAC Users With Ischemic Stroke

https://duke.is/9hmjr

September 21 — Duke Health

Becker’s Hospital Review

Duke: Healthcare worker burnout rose to 40% during pandemic

https://duke.is/2vmt3

September 22 — Brian Sexton

Public Radio East (Eastern NC)

Duke experts measure doctor and nurse burnout

https://duke.is/gb7uc

September 22 — Manesh Patel

WRAL/FOX 50

Heart Walk this weekend

https://duke.is/vtxbn

(*clip begins @ 09:11:20)

Duke Heart Pulse – week ending September 18th 2022

September 18, 2022 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Swaminathan Named Section Chief of Cardiology, Durham VAMC

The Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DVAMC) recently announced the appointment of Rajesh (Raj) Swaminathan, MD, FACC, FSCAI to the role of Section Chief of Cardiology, effective August 29, 2022.

As the Durham VAMC Cath Lab Director, he has helped initiate and grow numerous clinical programs including CardioMEMS for advanced heart failure patients, novel therapies for treatment of calcified lesions and CTOs, and advanced coronary physiology and integrated/co-registered imaging platforms (IVUS/OCT) which are now utilized in >90% of PCIs at the VA. He has also been instrumental in piloting and innovating systems to reduce occupational hazards in the cath lab through robotic PCI and implementation of the new Rampart radiation shielding system allowing operators and staff to perform cardiac catheterizations without wearing lead.

Raj has also strengthened the cardiology research portfolio at the VA and has ensured that the DVAMC has been a top enrolling site in numerous national, multicenter studies including ACCELERATION, ECLIPSE, OPTIMIZE, MINT, DISRUPT CAD III, and FUSION. A new trial, TARGET BP1, was recently launched to evaluate a novel renal denervation system for hypertension.

He has contributed in many ways to the VA’s clinical, research, and educational mission. He organized quarterly educational events for cardiology staff, hospital-wide general cardiology CME symposiums, delivers periodic lectures to residents and trainees, and serves on the DVAMC Radiation Safety Committee and the national VA-CART Research & Publications committee. Raj has been instrumental in developing pathways for same day discharge after PCI and teaching transradial techniques in VA hospitals around the country. Starting this year, he will serve as the VA’s VISN-6 Lead Cardiology consultant.

In addition, Raj is deeply involved in our cardiology professional societies and was recently elected to the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) Board of Trustees. He also continues to support Duke University as past co-chair of the Duke Asian Alumni Alliance Board and is on the Board of Duke Triangle and the Duke Annual Fund Advisory Board.

“I am excited to continue building on the successful vision that Sunil Rao has fostered over many years of service to our Veterans, says Swaminathan. “I look forward to working with world-class physicians, APPs, and staff at the Durham VA as this is a pivotal time for Veteran care locally and nationally.

“Veterans have more opportunities to access care and many VAs are in the process of modernizing their facilities and expanding their services to areas of population growth,” he added. “I look forward to helping shape this next critical phase in Veteran care while continuing to work on pathways to optimize quality of care.”

Raj is a Duke alumnus (BS ’00, MD ‘04, HS ‘05). He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research affiliate at the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Center, where he studied coronary stent design and led preclinical studies which supported the initial FDA approval of the Xience V Everolimus Eluting coronary stent. He completed his general and interventional cardiology fellowships at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center and continued as interventional faculty there before returning home to NC.

Congratulations, Raj!

Ken Morris Retiring from Durham VAMC

Hard as it may be to believe, Dr. Ken Morris has announced he will officially retire from the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His official end-date was still unknown at the time of our interview with Ken but is “imminent” and dependent upon the government processing of all paperwork. He’ll remain in the area and working with fellows one day a week.

When asked about his early years and what brought him to Duke, we learned the following:

“I was an intern resident and then chief medical resident at Ohio State, and then I came here in 1976 for my cardiology fellowship with the intent of returning to Ohio State to join the faculty. But then Joe Greenfield hired me. One can certainly argue that hiring me was an error, despite what a smart guy he was. Back then, he says, when you drove into Durham, the smell of tobacco curing in barns was everywhere.

“I didn’t figure I’d be tenurable here but I also figured that four or five years on the Duke faculty would look awfully good on a resume. I decided I wanted to be on the academic side of medicine — specifically cardiovascular medicine. I thought, “Okay, this will be good for me — I’ll learn a lot more things while I’m at Duke and then I can find some other place where they will love me. But it turned out that Joe loved me here, so I stayed.”

“I chose to become a cardiologist in the first month of my internship at Ohio State. I was rounding with an attending by the name of Dr. Charlie Wooley. He was an amazing clinical scientist and an amazing clinician at Ohio State. There were four of us – two students, a resident and me. The resident was a guy named Tom O’Dorisio who subsequently became a very important collaborator with a number of people here at Duke — he could teach a rat how to make an antibody to anything; there was me, and the two students were Jeff Crawford, who eventually became the director of the Duke Cancer Center and Willa Hsueh, who went on to become the president of the American Federation for Clinical Research (now the American Federation for Medical Research). The four of us were eager and hungry to learn and Wooley was this great attending who was very willing to feed us. By the end of that rotation I knew I wanted an academic career in cardiology. So that’s how it happened. Originally I planned to become a primary care internist in Elyria, Ohio.”

Morris has been involved in many things while at Duke, but his principal clinical responsibility was as an interventional cardiologist both at Duke and the Durham VAMC. He says he got into this area of cardiology when it was still at ‘ground zero’.

“Most people don’t remember this but Harry Phillips, Richard Stack and I were all over here at the VA trying to figure out coronary angioplasty. Not a lot of cases were being done on either side of the street — not until the TAMI trials (Thrombolysis and Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction) started up at Duke and we had the helicopter and large clinical trials going on. I never had a clinic on the Duke side; I just did emergency angioplasty and I was in the cath lab over at Duke Hospital one day a week. I got involved in a lot of the VA clinical trials — COURAGE probably being the most important of all of those.”

Over the course of his career, he says he has enjoyed having the opportunity to study a variety of things.

“Fred Cobb, who was my immediate mentor at the VA, and Joe Greenfield were interested in coronary circulation. I went to the VA initially to spend a research year learning about coronary physiology, so I worked in the animal laboratory with them. I then worked to take what we learned there and move it to the human cath lab, which dovetailed nicely with interventional work.

“I then worked with a variety of forms of cardiac imaging to learn how to get physiologic information out of an image — not just anatomy, but physiologic information. I worked with a number of collaborators on that — most notable is probably Jack Cusma. It was a blast! I was privileged to live through what I consider the ‘glory days’ of myocardial infarction therapy and getting a better understanding of coronary physiology and ischemic heart disease. I mean, there were two decades — from 1985 to 2005 — where it was just one development after another where we took what we learned in the basic lab, applied them in the clinical arena and then demonstrated the life-saving value of what we were doing. It was really cool. And there are days like that ahead for people who are moving into the right areas today.”

Over his time at Duke, he says the fact that he’s been able to contribute to the education of a large number of fellows and faculty has been his biggest accomplishment.

“I have always loved what I do. The old adage, ‘Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life,’ has certainly been true for me.”

What will he do in retirement? Morris says his avocation is music — vocal music in a choir setting and percussion music. He plans to spend a lot more time engaged in these, and since Tom Bashore keeps trying to get him to go fishing with him, he may also get to do that, too. He and Bashore were in the same medical school class at Ohio State.

“I’ve enjoyed the friendship of my colleagues here for a long time. I hope the mythological “ideals” of Duke continue to remain a reality. The tripartite mission of taking care of patients, educating clinicians and conducting the best research should remain alive and well here — I hope it will. Change is inevitable, but if change is managed well and ideals are kept, change can still honor the foundation of what has been built here.

We asked some of Ken’s closest colleagues to share their thoughts with us. Here is what they said:

From Sunil Rao, MD:

“Ken Morris is a Durham VA institution. He took over the Cardiology Section from Joe Greenfield MD. Under Ken’s leadership, the Durham VA significantly expanded its clinical enterprise. He presided over the addition of key faculty and the modernization of the cardiac catheterization lab. He is the consummate clinician, always keeping the best interests of the veterans in mind. Ken’s reading of nuclear cardiology studies is legendary – his reads were always precise and accurate. I was lucky enough to be mentored by him and will always remember the question he asked me whenever I came to him with a clinical dilemma – “what is the goal of therapy?” It was his laser focus on what is best for the patient that made the Durham VA cardiology section the best in the country. He will be greatly missed, but we are hoping that he will continue to maintain a connection to the Durham VA and continue to work with Duke fellows.”

From Tom Bashore, MD:

“I have known Dr. Ken Morris since we were medical students in the same class at Ohio State 50 years ago this year. In those days Ken was known as a “free spirit,” and I suppose he still fits that description in some, pretty much modified, ways even today. After his chief residency at Ohio State, Ken came to Duke as a Cardiology Fellow and has remained here as a faculty member since; so, his retirement now is truly the end of a remarkable era for Duke and especially for the Durham VA. All the cardiology fellows and housestaff during that long period have benefited from his great sense of humor, hearty, unmistakable laugh, great teaching skills, and outstanding clinical judgement. Just as remarkable, he figured out how to actually get things done in the complicated and, at times, frustrating bureaucracy common to all VA Medical Centers. He taught generations of cardiology fellows how to correctly cath and perform coronary interventions, although he once had a cardiology fellow who just did not have it in the cath lab. Always quick with one-liners, I never forgot his comment on the fellow’s cath rotation review where he noted that “he should never enter anyone’s room with anything sharper than his elbows.” Where Ken will undoubtedly be missed the most from the fellows’ standpoint will be that he basically has been the major consistent teacher in our cardiovascular nuclear medicine program over these many years. We all wish him the very best in retirement, where I am sure he will continue singing (he has a great voice), fly fishing (he takes each grandkid when they turn 8 to Yellowstone) and spending more time with his ever-growing family. He leaves a sparkling legacy at the VA that will be impossible to fill.”

From Mark Donahue, MD:

“I met Ken Morris on the first day of my Duke Cardiology Fellowship July 1, 1999. In those days we were assigned in 6 month blocks for our Cath Lab rotation and I was going to be at the VA for 6 months. Ken was wearing a cath lab uniform designed by Krucoff. He looked like a barber from the 50s and acted like a character straight out of an episode of M*A*S*H. That 6th month block was invaluable for me and so when I had the opportunity to leave fellowship a few months early to join the VA faculty in 2003, I took it and have been there since. Ken’s father was a navigator on a B-17 in World War II flying numerous missions over Germany. When I started at the VA these WWII vets were everywhere and I came to realize that Ken really took care of each and every one of them like a family member. He has always been able to really relate to the veteran population and their trust in him was clear. The number of anecdotes and stories about Ken could fill a book; Sunil Rao and I may someday write one. Ken made no assumptions, always looked for the truth, put the patient first and above all made it fun. He is the single most important influence on my professional career and I will miss him.”

From Raj Swaminathan, MD:

“Dr. Ken Morris has served many roles at Duke and the VA including former Cath Lab Director and Chief of Cardiology. His early research in coronary physiology and myocardial perfusion laid the foundation for future invasive assessment and treatment of coronary lesions. He has taught numerous residents and fellows and has been a role model for staff and physicians. His contributions to Veteran care and shaping the positive culture at the VA is of immeasurable importance.”

It has been a pleasure working with you, Ken! We wish you all the best in retirement and we are thrilled for our fellows that you’ll continue to work with them.

Gersh, Granger Deliver Cardiology, Medicine Grand Rounds

Chris Granger and special guest Bernard Gersh were our CGR presenters on Tuesday evening. They provided an excellent recap of ESC 2022, held Aug. 26-29 in Barcelona. Excellent discussion! Lots of great trials and commentary putting the studies in perspective. In short, more data for SGLT-2, surprising results around rheumatic heart disease and afib anticoagulation with DOACs, and some deeper dives needed to understand how to revascularize low EF patients when CABG is not an option.

Photography Fundraiser to Support AHA Team Got Heart!

Join Stephanie Barnes for a fall mini-photography session fundraiser in support of the American Heart Association Triangle Heart Walk and Team Got Heart.

Dates: October 9 and 16, 2022 at Fearrington Village in Chapel Hill. Each session will be 15 minutes. Cost is $150, all of which goes to our fundraiser. Registration required.

This is a great opportunity to get your holiday family portraits done ahead of Thanksgiving. Can be couples, just your kids, small families of 2-4, maybe even with your pets! You will receive full access and rights to all of your digital photos via a private web portal. Expect about 20 photos total.

Editor Note: Stephanie is a very talented photographer and this is a great price for a private photo shoot. This is an excellent opportunity to support the AHA Heart Walk by supporting our Got Heart team. You’ll get some beautiful photographs of people you love and they will make great gifts!

Heart Walk is Next Weekend! Sunday, Sept. 25

One week remaining!! The American Heart Association Triangle Heart Walk is taking place next weekend on Sunday, September 25 at PNC Arena. Please plan to join us. Let’s make sure we have plenty of Duke Blue visible out there!

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. We are so appreciative of all of our team members who are taking time to plan for this event and raise funds.

Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to participate. It’s not too late! If you’d still like to register, visit the DUHS team page for the Walk and/or contact Sangeetha Menon from the AHA at sangeetha.menon@heart.org.

If you can’t join us in person, please consider a contribution of any amount to one (or more!) of the teams representing Duke Heart.

If you met the August 24 registration t-shirt deadline, you are eligible for a t-shirt. They will be available through your team captain this week, starting on Tuesday. Each team captain will be contacted via email to alert them where to go (and when) for pick-up. Walkers will need to get their shirt from their team captain.

If you missed the deadline for a shirt, please wear your favorite Duke Blue t-shirt or golf style shirt to the Heart Walk. You can even wear a shirt from a past Heart Walk. NOTE: T-shirts will NOT be distributed at the Walk.

Thank you! If you have questions, email Tracey Koepke.

Nursing Open House, Sept. 29

Coming up! Duke Heart’s nursing team is hosting an open house on Thursday, Sept. 29 for new and experienced nurses as part of our recruitment efforts. The Open House will allow participants to take part in unit tours, shadowing and interviews.

Please share this information with anyone you think might be a good candidate for us! They can register by scanning the QR code shown here.

Congratulations to Tannu!

Congratulations to Manasi Tannu! Last weekend, Manasi was married to Alex Commanday, a first-year infectious disease fellow at UNC. They held a fusion ceremony in Charlotte, NC combining aspects of Hindu, Baha’i and Jewish wedding traditions. They had a three-day long weekend of wedding festivities with many performances, including a dance by Duke Cardiology fellows Mark Kittipibul, Nkiru Osude and former fellow Ijeoma Eleazu. It was a weekend to remember!

Congratulations and best wishes, Manasi and Alex. We are so happy for you!

Photos of the Week

More great photos captured on Twitter this week – our selection today is from the Mentz family – all of them sporting their Duke blue yesterday in Durham. We especially like the ‘Know Your Numbers’ shirt from last year’s Triangle Heart Walk. Way to go!!!

Saturday was both a home football game and employee appreciation day at Wallace Wade Stadium. The weather was gorgeous and we’re happy to report that the Blue Devils beat the NC A&T Aggies 49-20!

We hope all who were able to attend had a great time!

Additional Reminders:

September is Atrial Fibrillation Awareness month!
The DUHS annual flu vaccination campaign began on Thursday and will continue until mid-November. Vaccination sites for faculty and staff can be found here: https://flu.duke.edu/vaccination/employees/
The Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) Town Hall has been rescheduled for 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. This will be a Duke Health community-wide event. Questions you would like answered during the Town Hall can be sent ahead of time to DHIP@duke.edu.
Open Enrollment is October 17-28. This is your opportunity to review your medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefit elections and make any changes necessary to ensure your choices continue to meet your needs. Watch your email and home mail delivery for more information.
Duke Health has closed its dedicated COVID Nurse Triage line for questions from patients, employees, students and families as of Sept. 1 due to the decrease in calls and a significant increase in community resources. The Duke Health COVID hotline for employees (919-385-0429) remains operational.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 20: Pressure and Volume Management in Heart Failure with Marat Fudim. 5 p.m. Webex only: https://duke.is/rr8x5.

CME & Other Events

September 20: Duke Caregiver Community Event, Virtual Sessions. Details here: https://duke.is/nzbcp.

September 22: Multimodality CV Imaging Conference. Topic: Mitral Regurgitation with Fawaz Alenezi. 12-1 p.m., Zoom: https://duke.is/58kut

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

September 28: DHIP Town Hall. 7 a.m. Links/location forthcoming. Watch your email.

September 29: Nursing Open House. Duke Heart’s nursing team is hosting an Open House as part of recruitment efforts. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., DMP. To register: https://duke.is/mhah5

October 17-28: Open Enrollment period for 2023 for all Duke faculty members and staff.

October 28: Duke Caregiver Community Event, in-person conference. Details here: https://duke.is/nzbcp.

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

September 1 — Harry Severance

Medpage Today’s Kevin MD

Monkeypox: Should the hospitality and transportation industries worry?

https://duke.is/y2j8q

September 9 — Shahzeb Khan

tctMD

Older Adults See Rebound in Rates of HF-Related Death: CDC Data

https://duke.is/r78tu

September 9 — Jonathan Piccini

HealthDay.com

COVID May Help Trigger A-Fib in Some Patients*

https://duke.is/5skuj

*also carried by 144 additional outlets including in Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York & U.S. News & World Report

September 9 — Jonathan Piccini

Newsmax Health

COVID Associated With Higher Risk for A-Fib

https://duke.is/n3b2d

September 12 — John Alexander

MIMS/Pharmacy

Asundexian + DAPT a treatment alternative for acute MI?

https://duke.is/8uan3

September 12 — Shahzeb Khan

Practical Cardiology

Heart Failure-Related Mortality Increasing Among Older Adults in US

https://duke.is/c835t

September 13 — Jonathan Piccini

Cardiac Rhythm News

Researchers find link between COVID-19 and new-onset AF

https://duke.is/wy97n

September 14 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s ASC Review

World’s top 20 hospitals for cardiology

https://duke.is/4p3we

September 14 — Andrew Wang

Medpage Today

Aggressive Alcohol Septal Ablation for HCM Holds Up, Pacemakers Notwithstanding

https://duke.is/2j54d

September 14 — Joe Turek and Michael Carboni

Seattle Times

Doctors perform world’s first partial heart transplant on newborn

https://duke.is/9w95m

September 14 — Joe Turek and Michael Carboni

Cardiovascular Business

Cardiac surgeons perform the world’s first partial heart transplant

https://duke.is/g4jrf

September 15 — Sana Al-Khatib

Healio/Cardiology

VIDEO: Digital health meeting covered health equity, remote monitoring, more

https://duke.is/vs8ax

September 15 — Andrew Wang

tctMD

Pacemaker Doesn’t Harm Outcomes of Alcohol Septal Ablation for Obstructive HCM

https://duke.is/zakt6

September 15 — John Alexander

Medical Dialogues

Asundexian Promising Oral Anticoagulant in Post-Myocardial Infarction Patients

https://duke.is/mg2nb

September 15 — Joe Turek and Michael Carboni

dotmed.com

Duke Health performs world’s first partial heart transplant on newborn

https://duke.is/89a67

September 15 — Joe Turek and Michael Carboni

WWAYtv3.com (Cape Fear, NC)

UPDATE: Leland baby with believed to be first partial heart-transplant in world thriving

https://duke.is/wn97a

Duke Heart Pulse September 11th 2022

September 11, 2022 / Leave a comment

Chief Message:
We recognize and remember victims, family members, and survivors of 9-11-2001, and appreciate all of the people that work to ensure that our country and the world remain safe. Importantly, we hope that our country will continue to unite and remember the sacrifices and lives lost – many of which were remembered today at the ground zero ceremonies.

Highlights of the week:

Duke Health Performs World’s First Partial Heart Transplant

A team at Duke Health has performed what is believed to be the world’s first partial heart transplant, with the living arteries and valves from a freshly donated heart fused onto a patient’s existing heart.

The goal is to allow the valves to grow with the pediatric patient over time, increasing life expectancy. The team believes a similar approach could be used to place newly donated heart valves in countless other children with heart defects.

This animated video explains and illustrates the innovative procedure.

“This procedure potentially solves the problem of a growing valve,” said Joseph W. Turek, MD, PhD, Duke’s chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, who led the landmark surgery.

“If we can eliminate the need for multiple open-heart surgeries every time a child outgrows an old valve, we could be extending the life of that child by potentially decades or more,” Turek said.

The surgery was performed on 5-pound newborn, Owen Monroe. His family is from Leland, NC, but he was born at Duke after his parents learned that he had a condition called truncus arteriosus, in which his two main heart arteries were fused together. Worse still, his one vessel was equipped with a leaky valve, making it unlikely he could survive the wait for a full heart transplant.

Typically, children in situations like Owen’s would receive two preserved cadaver arteries with valves. But the implanted tissue used in this procedure doesn’t grow with the child’s own heart because it’s not living. Pediatric patients require multiple follow-up open heart surgeries to replace the valves with larger ones, dramatically limiting their life expectancy.

In the novel partial heart transplant, Turek and the Duke team — including fellow pediatric heart surgeon, Nicholas Andersen, MD and a large team of anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians and support staff — used living tissue and valves. The tissue was procured from a donor heart that had strong valves, but could not be used for full transplant due to the condition of the muscle.

The team’s effort to implant valves that could grow along with a patient appears to be a success. Owen is showing remarkable growth and improvements since undergoing the surgery on April 22, 2022, and his outlook remains strong.

“What’s particularly remarkable about this procedure, is that not only is this innovation something that can extend the lives of children, but it makes use of a donated heart that would otherwise not be transplantable,” said Michael Carboni, MD, an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine and Owen’s pediatric transplant cardiologist.

“The valves in this procedure come from a donor heart that had muscle tissue which was too weak to make it viable for full transplant but had strong valves that were well suited for Owen’s needs.” Carboni said. “This innovation amplifies the ways in which we can use the incredible gift of organ donation to save more lives.”

Experts at Duke are hopeful a similar approach could be used to treat common valve replacements in children, providing a one-time surgery to implant freshly donated tissue that could grow with the child.

“As harrowing of an experience as it was for our family, we knew from the beginning that Owen was in the best hands,” said Nick Monroe, Owen’s father. “Our greatest hope is that Owen’s success story will change the way organ donation and transplants are handled not only for congenital heart disease babies, but for all patients.”

Congratulations to the team and to Owen and his family!

To hear more about Owen’s story, please visit: https://duke.is/63jk7. There are links to news coverage in our News section, below.

President Price Applauds Research, Innovation at Duke Kannapolis Campus

Duke University President Vincent E. Price visited Duke’s clinical research office at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis on Thursday, Sept. 8. Duke Kannapolis demonstrates Duke’s commitment to advancing community health and improving lives across the state.

During roundtable discussions with Duke collaborators, local leaders, and study participants, Price spent his historic visit learning more about the unique research facility that has enrolled nearly 14,000 volunteers in dozens of studies using a successful community-engaged research model. Duke Kannapolis is a part of the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).

“Through community-based research and partnerships, Duke Kannapolis is on the forefront of population health research,” said Price, 10th president of Duke University and the first to visit Duke Kannapolis. “I am very grateful for the community leaders in Kannapolis and across the state who are strengthening Duke’s research and education missions to serve North Carolinians.”

Newly appointed Duke Kannapolis Director Svati H. Shah, MD, MHS, welcomed Price to Duke Kannapolis, which was founded in 2007 by Robert Califf, MD, Duke adjunct professor of medicine and commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“I am so grateful for the time President Price gave us today to hear our story, see for himself the amazing work that’s happening here, and meet the extraordinary people who make this work a success,” she said. “Our partnership with our community in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County remains a vital and essential component of our success at Duke Kannapolis.”

Most Essential Component

Shah, who was recently tapped to lead Duke Kannapolis by CTSI Director L. Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH, shared her vision with Price to continue expanding work in omics, precision medicine, and population health with an increased focus on digital health, artificial intelligence, and genomic medicine to accelerate the translation of research to improved patient care.

While she builds new partnerships both within Duke and at the North Carolina Research Campus, Shah said the most important partner for Duke Kannapolis will remain the community itself.

“Our partnership with you, our community collaborators in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County, is the single most essential component of our success,” she told local leaders and study participants. “With your vision in reimagining the quality of life for your community, there is more for us to do and accomplish together.”

Community stakeholders at the event included representatives from the City of Kannapolis, City of Concord, Cabarrus Health Alliance, and El Puente Hispano, as well as participants in studies ranging from COVID-19 research to low back pain. Elected leaders included NC representative Kristin Baker.

The full story continues here: https://duke.is/wvjc3.

Skorton Delivers Cardiology, Medicine Grand Rounds

We welcomed Dr. David J. Skorton, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges to Duke this past week as the Pamela S. Douglas, MD Visiting Scholar. Skorton gave Cardiology Grand Rounds in a special session held Thursday evening both in-person and online. His topic was ‘The Art and Science of Leadership’. A reception in the Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens followed the presentation.

He also delivered his presentation, ‘Advancing Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Academic Medicine: Its Critical Importance and the Role We All Must Play’ for Medicine Grand Rounds on Friday morning.

Skorton is a cardiologist specializing in congenital heart disease and cardiac imaging. We are deeply appreciative of the time he spent with us and are grateful to all who joined us!

Rymer Delivers Endocrinology Grand Rounds

Dr. Jennifer Rymer presented Endocrinology Grand Rounds on Friday afternoon, Sept. 9. Her topic was

Women’s cardiovascular health and disparities in the treatment of women with ASCVD.

Such an important topic — way to go, Jenn!

DHIP Town Hall Rescheduled to Sept. 28

The Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) Town Hall has been rescheduled for 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. This will be a Duke Health community-wide event. Questions you would like answered during the Town Hall can be sent ahead of time to DHIP@duke.edu.

As we make progress in creating the Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP), the project team and subject-matter experts are answering your questions about our transition. For more questions and answers, see our recently updated FAQs at https://dhip.org/faqs.

Shiveler Named Assistant Nurse Manager, 3100, Effective Sept. 26

Duke Heart is pleased to announce that Ally Shiveler, BSN, RN, CMSRN, CNIII will become Assistant Nurse Manager Operations for Duke University Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Stepdown Unit (3100) effective September 26^th. Ally earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington in 2012. She joined Duke as a new graduate nurse on 4100 in July 2012.

During her time at Duke, Ally advanced on the clinical ladder by becoming a CNIII and has held a variety of roles on 4100 including Preceptor, Charge Nurse, Diabetes Management Champion, and POCT Trainer. Ally grew up in the Raleigh-Durham area and is excited to grow with this new opportunity in Duke Heart.

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

Shout-out to Duke Transplant Teams & UNOS

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) on Friday shared that the U.S. has transplanted 1 million organs. As of the end of July, Duke had contributed 10,063 to that number!

A huge hat tip to all the donors and family members who have chosen to give the gift of life – without their trust and generosity, none of this would be possible.

A very special shout-out to the hundreds of team members across Duke who are part of the transplantation process: from the medical care of patients at the end of life, to those who provide care and solace to donor families, to those providing care to patients who need a transplant. This requires so many of us! To all who help and care for patients in need of listing; the counselors, financial experts and social workers, transplant and research coordinators; the perfusionists, respiratory therapists and imaging teams; transport teams, surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, techs and all those involved in the post-op care and follow-op of transplant patients.

We are so proud of your amazing teamwork each and every day. Exceptional work!!!

Photo of the Week

A great photo from Twitter this week of some of our incredible electrophysiology staff, courtesy of Jon Piccini! September is National Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Awareness Month. Our Duke Electrophysiology team does an excellent job helping patients diagnosed with AFib, but also helps to build awareness all year long for this life threatening arrhythmia.

Did you know? In 2009, the Heart Rhythm Society and its partners worked to have the United States Senate officially designate September as National AFib Awareness Month. This was due to the growing prevalence of AFib and a desire to help the public become more familiar with the symptoms, warning signs, and available treatment options.

Nursing Open House, Sept. 29

Duke Heart’s nursing team is hosting an open house on Thursday, Sept. 29 for new and experienced nurses as part of our recruitment efforts. The Open House will allow for participants to take part in unit tours, shadowing and interviews.

Interested participants can meet our Duke Heart nursing staff and leaders anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Duke Medicine Pavilion. Greeters will be located at the front entrance (near valets) to meet attendees and direct them to the event throughout the day. Please share this information with anyone you think might be a good candidate for us! They can register by scanning the following QR code.

Heart Walk, 9/25; Kudos to Hitting with Heart Teams

Two weeks remaining!! We are excited for the upcoming American Heart Association Triangle Heart Walk scheduled for Sunday, September 25 at PNC Arena. Please plan to join us. Let’s make sure we have plenty of Duke Blue visible out there!

KUDOS!

Kudos to all participants in the 6^th annual “Hitting with Heart” softball tournament held Saturday, Aug. 27 at Valley Springs Park in Durham. The Healthy Work Environment committee from 7 West invited multiple departments from Duke University Hospital to participate in an all-day tournament to raise money for the American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk.

They were finally able to have the tournament after being cancelled for the past two years due to Covid-19. This year’s tournament included nine teams. Groups represented included 7 West, CT Stepdown, 7100, Vascular IR, Clinical Engineering, DHTS-COO, Hospital Medicine, CT OR, and 6300.

All told, the tournament raised about $500 to benefit the AHA. Way to go!!!!

Interested?? Registering to participate in the Walk is easy. Visit the DUHS team page and/or contact Sangeetha Menon from the AHA at sangeetha.menon@heart.org for help getting started or with any questions.

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 teams representing Duke Heart.

We are getting closer to reaching our overall DUHS fundraising goal! Please help us get there. Support our Duke Heart teams!!! (Our teams can be found here: https://duke.is/6jpdp). Thank you!

Additional Reminders:

September is Atrial Fibrillation Awareness month!
Duke HR is hosting Financial Fitness Week THIS WEEK, 12-15. Staff and faculty can attend free virtual seminars to learn more about retirement planning, preparing budgets, handling investments, and more. Learn more/register here: https://duke.is/cc52s.
The DUHS annual flu vaccination campaign begins on Thursday, September 15.
Open Enrollment is October 17-28. This is your opportunity to review your medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefit elections and make any changes necessary to ensure your choices continue to meet your needs. Watch your email and home mail delivery for more information.
Duke Health has closed its dedicated COVID Nurse Triage line for questions from patients, employees, students and families as of Sept. 1 due to the decrease in calls and a significant increase in community resources. The Duke Health COVID hotline for employees (919-385-0429) remains operational.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 13: Guest speaker Bernard Gersh of Mayo Clinic, Rochester with Christopher Granger. 5 p.m. Webex only. (https://duke.is/pemrh)

CME & Other Events

September 12: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium — Collaborative Practice in Prostate Cancer: How is this actually done? Third webinar of a four-part series. Webinar series is a collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. Free. To learn more, please visit: https://duke.is/mbpte

September 12-15: Financial Fitness Week at Duke. Hosted by Duke HR. Register here: https://duke.is/cc52s.

September 16: MGR — Threatened Limbs at Duke: Multidisciplinary Care for a Multifaceted Problem with Katherine Neal and Kevin Southerland. Medicine Grand Rounds, DN 2002 or via Zoom.

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

September 28: DHIP Town Hall. 7 a.m. Links/location forthcoming. Watch your email.

September 29: Nursing Open House. Duke Heart’s nursing team is hosting an Open House as part of recruitment efforts. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., DMP. To register: https://duke.is/mhah5

October 17-28: Open Enrollment period for 2023 for all Duke faculty members and staff.

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

September 2 — Josephine Harrington

Medscape

Early Signal of Benefit for Empagliflozin in Acute MI: EMMY

https://duke.is/6b5b6

September 6 — John Alexander

Healio/Cardiology

Asundexian inhibits factor XIa activity with no excess bleeding risk after MI, stroke

https://duke.is/pgjpb

September 7 — Jonathan Piccini

AHA Newsroom

Study finds connection between COVID-19 and new-onset AFib

https://duke.is/4k8u4

September 8 — Joseph Turek

NBC Today Show

1st ever partial heart transplant saves 5-month-old: ‘Revolutionary’ for other kids

https://duke.is/n4b4n

*this story was carried on NBC affiliate stations nationally

September 8 — Michael Carboni and Joseph Turek

WRAL/NBC-5

Duke surgeon explains pioneering partial heart transplant

https://duke.is/9fkkw

Additional version:

WRAL/NBC-5

Newborn saved with first-of-its-kind heart transplant at Duke

https://duke.is/bv3r8

September 8 — Joseph Turek and Michael Carboni

WNCT/CBS (Greenville, NC)

Partial heart transplant at Duke

https://duke.is/yz89p

September 8 — Svati Shah, L. Ebony Boulware and Vincent E. Price

WBTV.com (Charlotte)

Duke University president visits Duke Kannapolis on Thursday

https://duke.is/cejac

September 8 — Michael Carboni and Joseph Turek

Healio/Cardiology

World’s first partial heart transplant completed in newborn with truncus arteriosus

https://duke.is/vm9qr

September 8 — Michael Carboni and Joseph Turek

Becker’s Hospital Review

Duke surgeons perform world’s 1st partial heart transplant

https://duke.is/zjjm9

September 9 — Jacob Schroder

USA Today

Organ transplant milestone: As US crosses 1 million mark, advances offer hope for millions more

https://duke.is/wxdeg

September 9 — Svati Shah, L. Ebony Boulware & Vincent E. Price

Salisbury Post

Duke University’s president visits clinical research office in Kannapolis

https://duke.is/jwawj

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed August 25–September 7, 2022

Barac YD, Toledano R, Jawitz OK, Schroder JN, Daneshmand MA, Patel CB, Aravot D, Milano CA. Right and left ventricular assist devices are an option for bridge to heart transplant. JTCVS Open 2022 Jan 22;9:146-159. PM: 36003474.

Frazier-Mills CG, Johnson LC, Xia Y, Rosemas SC, Franco NC, Pokorney SD. Syncope Recurrence and Downstream Diagnostic Testing after Insertable Cardiac Monitor Placement for Syncope. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Aug 16;12(8):1977. PM: 36010327.

Hernandez AF. Preface to theme issue on pragmatic and virtual trials: Progress and challenges. Contemp Clin Trials 2022 Aug;119:106816. PM: 35714912.

Lumsden RH, Pagidipati N. Management of cardiovascular risk factors during pregnancy. Heart 2022 Aug 25;108(18):1438-1444. PM: 35064047.

Minhas AMK, Sagheer S, Shekhar R, Sheikh AB, Nazir S, Ullah W, Khan MZ, Shahid I, Dani SS, Michos ED, Fudim M. Trends and Inpatient Outcomes of Primary Atrial Fibrillation Hospitalizations with Underlying Iron Deficiency Anemia: An Analysis of The National Inpatient Sample Database from 2004 -2018. Curr Probl Cardiol 2022 Oct;47(10):101001. PM: 34571106.

Mirowsky JE, Carraway MS, Dhingra R, Tong H, Neas L, Diaz-Sanchez D, Cascio WE, Case M, Crooks JL, Hauser ER, Dowdy ZE, Kraus WE, Devlin RB. Exposures to low-levels of fine particulate matter are associated with acute changes in heart rate variability, cardiac repolarization, and circulating blood lipids in coronary artery disease patients. Environ Res 2022 Nov;214(Pt 1):113768. PM: 35780850.

Moodie Z, Dintwe O, Sawant S, Grove D, Huang Y, Janes H, Heptinstall J, Omar FL, Cohen K, De Rosa SC, Zhang L, Yates NL, Sarzotti-Kelsoe M, Seaton KE, Laher F, Bekker LG, Malahleha M, Innes C, Kassim S, Naicker N, Govender V, Sebe M, Singh N, Kotze P, Lazarus E, Nchabeleng M, Ward AM, Brumskine W, Dubula T, Randhawa AK, Grunenberg N, Hural J, Kee JJ, Benkeser D, Jin Y, Carpp LN, Allen M, D’Souza P, Tartaglia J, DiazGranados CA, Koutsoukos M, Gilbert PB, Kublin JG, Corey L, Andersen-Nissen E, Gray GE, Tomaras GD, McElrath MJ. Analysis of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network 702 Phase 2b- 3 HIV-1 Vaccine Trial in South Africa Assessing RV144 Antibody and T-Cell Correlates of HIV-1 Acquisition Risk. J Infect Dis 2022 Aug 24;226(2):246-257. PM: 35758878.

Rao SJ, Douglas PS, Rzeszut A, Kwapong YA, Hayes SN, Poppas A, Mehta LS, Blumenthal RS, Sharma G. Global Differences in Parental Leave Policies and Satisfaction Among Cardiologists. Curr Probl Cardiol 2022 Oct;47(10):101299. PM: 35753397.

Stevens SR, Segar MW, Pandey A, Lokhnygina Y, Green JB, McGuire DK, Standl E, Peterson ED, Holman RR. Development and validation of a model to predict cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2022 Aug 27;21(1):166. PM: 36030198.

Wixted D, Neighbors CE, Pieper CF, Wu A, Kingsbury C, Register H, Petzold E, Newby LK, Woods CW. Comparison of a Blood Self-Collection System with Routine Phlebotomy for SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Testing. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jul 31;12(8):1857. PM: 36010206.

Armstrong PW, Zheng Y, Troughton RW, Lund LH, Zhang J, Lam CSP, Westerhout CM, Blaustein RO, Butler J, Hernandez AF, Roessig L, O’Connor CM, Voors AA, Ezekowitz JA. Sequential Evaluation of NT-proBNP in Heart Failure: Insights Into Clinical Outcomes and Efficacy of Vericiguat. JACC Heart Fail 2022 Sep;10(9):677-688. PM: 36049817.

Fiorito G, Pedron S, Ochoa-Rosales C, McCrory C, Polidoro S, Zhang Y, Dugué PA, Ratliff S, Zhao WN, McKay GJ, Costa G, Solinas MG, Harris KM, Tumino R, Grioni S, Ricceri F, Panico S, Brenner H, Schwettmann L, Waldenberger M, Matias-Garcia PR, Peters A, Hodge A, Giles GG, Schmitz LL, Levine M, Smith JA, Liu Y, Kee F, Young IS, McGuinness B, McKnight AJ, van Meurs J, Voortman T, Kenny RA, Vineis P, Carmeli C. The Role of Epigenetic Clocks in Explaining Educational Inequalities in Mortality: A Multicohort Study and Meta- analysis. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2022 Sep 1;77(9):1750-1759. PM: 35172329.

Gautam N, Ghanta SN, Clausen A, Saluja P, Sivakumar K, Dhar G, Chang Q, DeMazumder D, Rabbat MG, Greene SJ, Fudim M, Al’Aref SJ. Contemporary Applications of Machine Learning for Device Therapy in Heart Failure. JACC Heart Fail 2022 Sep;10(9):603-622. PM: 36049812.

Khan MS, Felker GM, Fudim M. Are We Getting Any Closer to Understanding Congestion? JACC Heart Fail 2022 Sep;10(9):633-636. PM: 36049814.

Spyropoulos AC, Lopes RD. Commentary on the 2021 ASH Guidelines on use of anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19 being discharged from the hospital. Blood Adv 2022 Sep 13;6(17):5045-5048. PM: 35245944.

Sun K, Corneli AL, Dombeck C, Swezey T, Rogers JL, Criscione-Schreiber LG, Sadun RE, Eudy AM, Doss J, Bosworth HB, Clowse MEB. Barriers to Taking Medications for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Qualitative Study of Racial Minority Patients, Lupus Providers, and Clinic Staff. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 2022 Sep;74(9):1459-1467. PM: 33662174.

Susman SJ, Bouffler A, Gordee A, Kuchibhatla M, Leahy JC, Griffin SM, Christenson RH, Newby LK, Limkakeng AT. Stress-Delta B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Does Not Exclude ACS in the ED. J Appl Lab Med 2022 Sep 1;7(5):1098-1107. PM: 35587711.

Duke Heart Week ending September 4th 2022

September 4, 2022 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message:

Hope you all are having a restful weekend. You may be wondering what a photo of Harry Styles is doing at the start of the Pulse. I took my daughter (soon to be 16) to his concert in Madison Square Garden this weekend. Few things in life can make you feel as old as attending one of these concerts. Given all that is going on in the world, we definitely felt blessed to be able to go and it was fun as seeing her enjoy an event like this in the big city.

Highlights of the week:

Ward Appointed Associate Dean for Faculty Development

Cary Ward, MD, associate professor of medicine in cardiology, has been appointed to the role of associate dean for faculty development in the Duke School of Medicine. In this role Ward will serve as the faculty lead for current and future School of Medicine faculty development programs including Leadership Development for Researchers (LEADER); Academic Leadership, Innovation, and Collaborative Engagement (ALICE); and the Duke Clinical Leadership Program (DCLP). She will partner with leaders in the Offices of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; Research Mentoring; APT; Professionalism; and others to maintain and grow a robust portfolio of programs that meet evolving faculty needs. Ward will also oversee the selection process for numerous School of Medicine faculty awards and the annual awards celebration to recognize and highlight the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty. Ward will report to the vice dean for faculty, Mara Becker, MD, who made the announcement on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Ward is an adult congenital and structural heart disease specialist, and serves as the program director for the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship and the director of the Cardio-Obstetrics Program. She received her MD from the University of Virginia, completed internal medicine residency at the University of Texas at Southwestern in Dallas, and was a cardiology fellow at Duke before joining the faculty in 2007. For the past eight years, she has led professional development activities for the Department of Medicine, first as director of credentialing and more recently as the associate vice chair for provider experience and development. She is the director of the ALICE leadership development program for mid-career women faculty and has served as the director of the Duke Clinical Leadership Program since 2018.

Ward is a 2022 recipient of the Leonard Palumbo Jr., MD Faculty Achievement Award, recognizing faculty who display dedication to compassionate patient care and excellence in the teaching and mentoring of young physicians.

Ward’s longstanding health system experience and leadership with several programs in the Office for Faculty make her uniquely positioned to strengthen and grow the portfolio of faculty development offerings at Duke. The expansion of the Office for Faculty reflects the school’s ongoing commitment to the continuous professional development of our faculty.

Congratulations, Cary! Well-deserved!

CGR, Douglas Visiting Scholar Program Welcomes Skorton, Sept. 8

We’re excited to welcome Dr. David J. Skorton, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges to Duke on Thursday, Sept. 8 as the Pamela S. Douglas, MD Visiting Scholar! Our Women in Cardiology and current ALICE members are invited to a meet & greet with Skorton at 4 p.m.; then, at 5 p.m., Skorton will deliver Cardiology Grand Rounds. His topic is ‘The Art and Science of Leadership’. A reception in the Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens will immediately follow his presentation.

Skorton will deliver ‘Advancing Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Academic Medicine: Its Critical Importance and the Role We All Must Play’ for Medicine Grand Rounds on Friday, Sept. 9 at 8 a.m. MGR, 8-9 a.m., Duke North 2002 and via Zoom.

Prior to becoming President of the AAMC, Dr. Skorton, a cardiologist specializing in congenital heart disease and cardiac imaging, was also President of Cornell University (2006-2015) and the University of Iowa (2003-2006), as well as the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (2015-2019). He has made profound contributions to government, higher education and academic medicine.

We look forward to his presentations!

Update from Samad, AKU : Flood in Pakistan

Many of you are aware that Pakistan has experienced devastating flooding. The country experienced prolonged heatwaves in April and May of this year, leading to glacial melt in the mountain region and an earlier-than-normal and heavier than normal monsoon season, which started in mid-June. It has been reported that at least one-third of Pakistan is under water; thousands of homes are destroyed and 33 million people have been displaced.

We reached out to adjunct cardiology faculty member Zainab Samad, MBBS, MHS, now the chair of the Dept. of Medicine at Aga Khan University in Karachi, to check in on how she and her team are doing. Here is what she shared:

“Thank you so much for asking about us. It is a disaster of unimaginable proportions-over a thousand have died, over 300,000 people have lost their homes. Millions internally displaced. We will realize the full scale in a few months as food insecurity from agricultural losses and livestock loss begins to set in. Pakistan is ground zero for climate change.

AKU is working through its own units and the Aga Khan Health Services to provide medical care to flood affectees. Those who wish to donate can do so through this link: https://duke.is/b7xj7. All my best to our Duke fam!”

We are thinking of you, Zainab and the entire country!

Photo credit: Bilawal Arbab/EPA, via Shutterstock and nytimes.com.

Cardiac Ultrasound Program Celebrates Graduates

We are pleased to announce the Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program graduates for 2022! Their commencement was held Saturday, Aug. 27 in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center for Health Education. Graduates of our second class of program participants are: Leila Andrews, Daisy Chang, Haleigh Collins, Hannah Eldara, Kristina Mauro, Nicholas Medlock, Courtney Snyder, and Naomi Strauther.

Speakers at the event included program medical director, Anita Kelsey, MD, vice chief for non-cardiac invasive imaging; Richie Palma, program director, and Jill Engel, DNP, service line vice president for Duke Heart & Vascular.

Program graduate Naomi Strauther was named the Joseph Kisslo Outstanding Student for 2022.

Outstanding Service awards for clinical instructors were presented to Duke Heart team members Kathryne Nobles, Danny Rivera, and Eduardo Sandoval Murillo.

This program was a mere vision just three years ago. Since then, we’ve graduated 16 participants with a 100 percent board pass rate. Our entire class of 2022 scored in the top 3 percent of all those tested nationally on a test that has a less than 50 percent pass rate on the first try.

“This is a tremendous testament to Anita and Richie who fought through a number of challenges to get this school planned and launched, and then welcomed our first class during a pandemic,” said Manesh Patel, MD, chief of cardiology and co-director of Duke Heart Center. “It also speaks to their great work at recruiting and retaining excellent students.”

Duke University Health System hired three of eight program graduates in 2021 and seven of eight this year.

“The Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Program has quickly become a hiring pipeline for Duke Health and another source of immense pride for Duke School of Medicine, Duke Heart and Duke Health,” added Engel.

The program this year saw two of its class of 2022 members (Nick Medlock and Daisy Chang) receive American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) Awards, which were presented in June at ASE 2022 in Seattle. Medlock and Chang each won a competitive national award.

Shown here are the 2022 graduates (L-R): N. Strauther; H. Collins; L. Andrews; H. Eldara; K. Mauro; C. Snyder; N. Medlock, and D. Chang, along with program director Richie Palma.

Congratulations to all!

Shout-out to Gomez

The 7100 Cardiology Stepdown team would like to recognize Cindy Gomez for receiving a Daisy Award Nomination! Cindy was recognized by a patient’s daughter who felt at peace because Cindy was her mother’s nurse. Cindy spoke slowly and at an appropriate volume for the patient to clearly understand. Cindy also recognized that the patient was having difficulty swallowing pills, so she quickly intervened, providing the patient with crushed pills instead.

Thank you, Cindy, for living Duke’s values to the fullest and providing excellent patient-centered care. Way to go!

Photo of the Week

A great photo from Twitter this week of first-year cardiology fellows Aman Kansal and Andrew Andreae celebrating the end of their cath rotation. We’re glad they enjoyed it!

Duke Heart Nursing to Host Open House, Sept. 29

Heart Walk: Sunday, Sept. 25

We are getting excited for the upcoming American Heart Association 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 3 weeks from today!

Please plan to join 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 easy. Visit the DUHS team page and/or contact Sangeetha Menon from the AHA at sangeetha.menon@heart.org for help getting started or with any questions you might have about the Walk.

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 teams representing Duke Heart.

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

Reminder: Flu Vaccine Campaign Launches Sept. 15

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 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.

COVID-19 Update

Duke Health has closed its dedicated COVID Nurse Triage line for questions from patients, employees, students and families as of Sept. 1 due to the decrease in calls and a significant increase in community resources. The Duke Health COVID hotline for employees (919-385-0429) remains operational.

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. 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, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). 5 p.m. in Duke North Room 2002 and via WebEx. Dr. Skorton is the Pamela S. Douglas, MD Visiting Scholar. A reception at Duke Gardens will be held immediately following this CGR presentation.

September 13: Guest speaker Bernard Gersh of Mayo Clinic, Rochester with Christopher Granger. 5 p.m. Webex only. (https://duke.is/pemrh)

CME & Other Events

September 9: ‘Advancing Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Academic Medicine: Its Critical Importance and the Role We All Must Play.’ Medicine Grand Rounds with David J. Skorton. 8-9 a.m., Duke North 2002 and via Zoom.

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

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?

Duke Heart in the News:

August 26 — Duke School of Medicine

Becker’s ASC Review

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Medpage Today

ADVOR Backs Add-On Acetazolamide for Cutting Congestion in Decompensated HF

https://duke.is/mcgpj

August 28 — Renato Lopes

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