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Duke Heart Pulse — October 29, 2023

October 29, 2023 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Leadership Change, Duke Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery

Late last week, Dr. Allan Kirk, the David C. Sabiston, Jr. Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Duke Department of Surgery announced a leadership change within the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. Kirk announced that Dr. Edward P. Chen will leave the role of division chief, a position he has held since January 2021, and will remain on faculty.

During this time Chen has overseen a multitude of accomplishments throughout the division. Notably, the division has enjoyed programmatic growth in its capacity to perform robotic surgery at both Duke University Hospital (DUH) and Duke Raleigh Hospital. The ability to perform TAVR and EP laser lead extractions was expanded to include both the OR and catheterization lab as well as the soon-to-be-constructed 3^rd hybrid room at DUH. The capacity to perform open procedures was also increased.

Despite some faculty turnover, nine new faculty members were recruited to join the division – three in thoracic surgery, three in congenital, and one in adult cardiac surgery, plus a new surgeon based in Lumberton and a new PhD scientist based at Duke. Even with the well-known challenges of COVID, numerous staffing shortages and changes within support teams such as the OR staff, Perfusion Services, and the ICU, and the supply chain issues plaguing much of the U.S. healthcare industry, Duke’s CT surgical volumes continued to rise and both outcomes and quality measures remained top-rated.

Under Chen’s leadership, a reemphasis was placed on Duke’s tripartite academic mission. Within the CTS training programs, Chen oversaw efforts to increase the diversity of residents, reinforced attracting top candidates to Duke, and launched an annual welcome picnic for new trainees and current faculty to facilitate introductions and relationship building throughout the division.

A number of staff support positions were also created to enhance the team’s growth and efficacy – particularly within research, congenital, and general thoracic surgery. The division also saw increased local and national news coverage for transplantation stories across both pediatric and adult cases, and a number of faculty earned achievement awards. Recognized faculty include Betty Tong (the WTS/STS Extraordinary Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Award), Joe Turek and Peter Smith (Duke Presidential Awards), Carmelo Milano (Palumbo Award), and Tommy D’Amico (Triangle Business Journal Surgeon of the Year), and Chen ensured continuing support of Duke Heart in Honduras mission trips. Additionally, the pediatric program achieved a #2 ranking in USNWR.

We are deeply grateful for the leadership and efforts of Dr. Chen over the past several years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Carmelo Milano named Division Chief Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery

Kirk has named Dr. Carmelo Milano, professor of surgery and the Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor of Experimental Surgery, as the new division chief. Milano has most recently served as chief of the Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery and surgical director of the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Program within the division.

“I am grateful to Dr. Milano for his willingness to step into this important leadership role,” says Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Surgery. “Carmelo is a proven leader, a skilled investigator, and a luminary surgeon who has helped guide the Duke heart transplant program to a position of international prominence, perennially among the top programs nationally.”

Dr. Milano is a Professor of Surgery and Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor of Experimental Surgery. He has been serving as chief of the Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery, and surgical director of the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Program.

“It gives me great pride to be asked to lead such a talented group of individuals,” says Dr. Milano. “It is our mission to provide the highest level of care, innovation, and excellence. Together, we will strive for breakthroughs in patient care, research, and education, setting new standards of excellence in the field.”

Dr. Milano has overseen increased utilization of mechanical support devices for bridging patients with advanced heart failure. The mechanical circulatory support program he developed at Duke has treated more than 1,500 patients with LVAD devices or mechanical hearts. In addition to his clinical and research activities, he is an influential mentor for cardiac surgical trainees.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Milano on his appointment to Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

Relocation of DN 2200/Opening of 7200 Update

Duke University Hospital has a master plan to increase the capacity of Emergency Department beds. As a result, several changes occurred in October involving the relocation of two units. Duke North 2200 closed on October 25 and the Emergency Department relocated from Duke North 7200 and ED C Pod to 2200 on October 27 for a gain of 8 beds for their department.

On October 30, 8 Cardiology Step-Down beds will open on 7200 (7201-7208) for a total of 24 Cardiology Step-Down beds between 3200 and 7200. The move will allow Heart Services to be located on the 3rd and 7th floors in Duke North.

Gratitude for APPs!

“I wanted to send a note of gratitude regarding our stellar cardiology APP team. I finished a week of rounding and am extraordinarily grateful for the team that Diane Sauro has built over the years. A shining example was Saturday morning, when we discharged an EP service record of 17 patients. Without the thoughtful team assignments and tireless efforts from Sas, Mike Towery, Janny Sweetow, and Deborah Zimmerman (who discharged a personal best of 9 patients!), this wouldn’t have been possible. This extraordinary work made a huge difference for patients, our hospital, and the exhausted attending.” — Daniel J. Friedman, MD, FACC, cardiac electrophysiology

Way to go, APPs!

Kudos to Andreae & Stephens!

We received several notes regarding Andrew Andreae and Allen Stephens this week and wanted to share them with Pulse readers.

“I wanted to express my gratitude to Andrew Andreae, MD, and Allen Stephens, PA-C. We had a patient in clinic this week who needed direct admission. Allen graciously went and saw the patient; Andrew worked remotely calling bed control, the attending on the service, and spoke with the patient to make sure they were fully informed and comfortable with the next steps. It felt like we all worked seamlessly together to take care of the patient. A huge thank you to Andrew and Allen in particular for providing excellent patient care and going above and beyond!” — Emily Deason, Cardiac Sonographer II, Cardiac Diagnostic Unit

“I wanted to pass along kudos to Andrew Andreae, CDU fellow, who was instrumental in facilitating a direct admission for a patient seen in clinic. Very helpful to have him coordinate the admission.” – Allen Stephens, MHS, PA-C, APP Team Lead

“Andrew has done a great job in the echo lab this month and has taken great care of our patients. This is just another small example of Andrew going the extra mile!” — Anita Kelsey, MD

Awesome work, Andrew and Allen – we are so fortunate to have you on our team!

Marquis-Gravel, Finalist for 2023 Linnemeier

Congratulations to interventionalist Guillaume Marquis-Gravel, MD of Duke Health and the Montreal Heart Institute! He was named one of four finalists for the 2023 TCT Thomas J. Linnemeier Spirit of Interventional Cardiology Young Investigator Award.

The award, announced on Thursday morning, was presented to (and will be shared by) Simone Biscaglia, MD, of Ferrara University Hospital, Ferrara, Italy, and Jaffar M. Khan, BM, BCh, PhD of St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, NY. The presentation was made during the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s TCT Annual Scientific Symposium held Oct. 23-26 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. We were fortunate to have Jennifer Rymer, MD from our Faculty win this award last year.

Terrific recognition, Guillaume!

DOM Research Retreat for Fellows & Early Career Faculty

The annual Department of Medicine (DOM) Research Retreat for Fellows and Early Career Faculty will occur on Wednesday, November 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the J.B. Duke Hotel, Banquet Hall.

This event is targeted towards research-oriented fellows and early career faculty.

Attendees will:

Learn about DOM research resources, including grant submission support with DOMRA and clinical research support with DOM CRU.
Hear from diverse research faculty, who will share their experiences developing a research focus, finding mentors, and successfully navigating a K grant submission.
Network with other researchers, including fellows, faculty, and leaders across DOM.
Connect with colleagues while enjoying dinner.

The retreat is an excellent opportunity for you to connect, learn more about our strategic research plan and how to thrive as a member of the DOM research community.

For questions regarding the research retreat, contact Saini Pillai, MBA. (Registration deadline has passed, but there may still be room).

Flu Vaccinations!

Duke Health requires all employees to be vaccinated by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7 – that’s next week! Duke offers free flu vaccinations in a variety of convenient locations. There is a screening survey available online that should be filled out within 48 hours of getting the vaccine at Duke; this step will save you time at the walk-in vaccination venue.

A list of all locations, dates, and times for flu vaccination, and a link to the required screening survey can be found on Duke’s Fight the Flu website. And, if you have any questions about the flu vaccine you can email either StopTheFlu@duke.edu or EOHWflu@dm.duke.edu.

Don’t forget that masking is highly recommended when providing clinical care. Some units now require masking due to COVID outbreaks — including all Heart Center inpatient and procedural units. Please pay attention to signage on our units and elsewhere within the hospital.

A&H Winterfest 2023

Arts & Health at Duke announced this week the dates for Winterfest Marketplace 2023, their annual holiday art show and sale. Across six Thursdays in November and December, local North Carolina-based artisans will display and sell their work to Duke Health employees, visitors, and patients in the main concourse of Duke Hospital.

The event begins on November 2 and runs until December 14. During Winterfest, art will be available for purchase on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Featured artisans will include Beth Ann Taylor, Chapel Hill Woodturners, Bonnie Toney, and Justin Leitner.

A portion of the proceeds from Winterfest will go back to Arts & Health at Duke, which provides support to patients through music, visual art activities, and journaling. This is a great opportunity to support local artists, the Arts & Health programming at Duke Health, and to score some beautiful holiday gifts for loved ones!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

November is Native American Heritage Month.
Masking is strongly recommended throughout all clinical areas during respiratory virus season, from now through early March.
A recording of the latest (10/24) DUHS Leadership Town Hall is now available.

CGR Recordings Now in Warpwire

All 2023 Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are now uploaded to Duke Warpwire. Accessing them requires your NET ID. If you have any trouble finding or playing any of the recordings, please contact Tracey Koepke, and as always, if you have suggestions for a CGR topic or speaker, please contact Jenn Rymer and Nishant Shah. The link to access the recordings is https://duke.is/DukeCGR. We will include this each week here in Pulse.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 31: No CGR today.

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Nov. 1: Understanding the Valvular Heart Disease Guidelines with Thomas Bashore. In person only. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Nov. 3: EKG Review with Thomas Bashore. Zoom only. Noon.

2023 Barbara Hertzberg Women’s Health Lectureship

Nov. 16: Coronary Artery Disease in Women: Where are we in 2023? with Leslee J. Shaw, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. 7:30 a.m., DN 2002 or via Zoom.

Call for Applications: 2024 Leadership Programs

The Office for Faculty announced this week the call for applications for their 2024 Leadership Programs, including ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER. Click here to learn more. Applications are due Nov. 3.

DIHI Innovation RFA 2024

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) has announced its next annual Request for Application (RFA) for selecting and implementing innovative solutions in our clinical enterprise. The proposals should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones, and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2024 funding cycle, they are specifically interested in the following topic:

Generative AI & Large Language Models: AI solutions to improve staff and clinician efficiency, patient journey and outcomes

Please visit the Innovation RFA web page for additional information, to download an info packet, and to see the timeline for 2024 projects. The deadline for submitting applications is November 3, 2023.

All proposals are required to have a DUHS operational lead as a co-sponsor to be accepted for review.

If the DIHI team can be of any assistance to you in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. The DIHI team looks forward to your innovative solutions!

Coming Up: 15^th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

The 15^th annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium will be held on Friday, November 17^th at the Durham Convention Center. Faculty directors will be H. James Ford, MD, director of the PH program at UNC, and Terry Fortin, MD, co-director of the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center at Duke. Registration is now open: https://duke.is/9/7rs5. Please join us!

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon, on Wednesdays, to be considered for weekend inclusion.

Duke Heart in the News:

September 20 — Harry Severance

Emergency Physicians Monthly

Top Disruptors within Our Healthcare Systems

https://duke.is/5/a85g

October 20 — Craig Albanese

Becker’s Hospital Review

How Duke Health is bolstering its ‘talentforce’

https://duke.is/n/faum

October 20 — Jonathan Piccini

tctMD

SAVR 5-Year Survival Tops 92% in Low-Risk Patients: STS Registry

https://duke.is/v/e3h4

October 22 — Robert Mentz

Healio

In HF hospitalization, benefits of sacubitril/valsartan largest in LVEF below normal

https://duke.is/2/r2j6

October 23 — Robert Mentz

HCP Live

Anemia Contributes to Exercise Intolerance in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction, Study Finds

https://duke.is/g/8a2b

October 23 — Karen Alexander

The Daily of Case Western Reserve University

Could taking a commonly used heart medication prevent dementia?

Mandel School’s Duncan Mayer explores nonprofit location and density

October 24 — Robert Mentz

PBS North Carolina

New FDA Research Center Is Coming to UNC & Duke

https://duke.is/m/5a3a

October 25 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

The best hospital in each state, per Newsweek

https://duke.is/8/h8fq

October 26 — Duke Health (Cardiology)

Becker’s Hospital Review

26 elite hospitals, per patients and providers

https://duke.is/p/n8kv

Duke Heart Pulse — October 22, 2023

October 22, 2023 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message:

We hope you all had some time with family and friends this weekend. We are nearing the end of the recruitment season for our cardiology fellows and are reminded of the fall season upon us. This week we also have several of those in our group dealing with either family or individual illnesses, please keep them in your thoughts.

Highlights of the week:

Duke Heart Network Update

Laurie Van Camp, RN, MSN, associate clinical director of the Duke Heart Network (DHN), recently guided three nursing teams through submitting abstracts to the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Quality Summit. All three abstracts were accepted for ePoster session. Thanks to a Duke Friends of Nursing Stipend Award, Van Camp was able to travel to Orlando and represented the Frye Regional Medical Center team at their ePoster.

Within her DHN role, Van Camp is responsible for working with Duke Heart affiliate hospitals on cardiovascular quality, program development, and educational initiatives. Over the last 18 months, she has guided three performance teams at three separate hospital affiliates through important performance improvement (PI) work. These efforts have led to significant improvement in patient outcomes in the areas of cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction and the rate of post-procedural acute kidney injury.

The accepted abstracts were:

“Mission to Reduce Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Cardiac Patients” by the team at Sovah-Martinsville.

“When Humans and Technology Collide: Improving Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral” by the team at Conway Medical Center.

“Challenging the Norm: A Multidisciplinary Journey to Reduce Acute Kidney Injury” by the team at Frye Regional Medical Center.

We’re happy to report that for the individuals on the affiliate PI teams, the ACC abstract development, submission process, and poster creation have helped foster an important sense of pride, professionalism, and ownership of the CV-quality work they are engaged in daily within their respective institutions.

Well done, Laurie & Duke Heart Network!

Ohman Receives Honorary Fellowship to ICS

Congratulations to Magnus Ohman! He has been named an honorary fellow of the Irish Cardiac Society. The honor was awarded last week during the Irish Cardiac Society’s 74th Annual Scientific Meeting & AGM, held October 12-14 at the Killashee House Hotel in Kildare.

The ICS, which was established in 1949, awards honorary fellowship (FICS) in recognition of an honoree’s dedication to the training of physicians and cardiologists. He joins prior notables to receive the honor, including Jim Crowley (former President of the Irish Cardiac Society); Conor O’Shea; Peter Conlon, and Robert Kelly.

Magnus says the opportunity allowed him to catch up with former co-worker Professor Hannah McGee, (who also received the honorary FICS) currently the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Ohman’s alma mater. He and McGee worked together on the first Cardiac Rehabilitation program in Ireland.

He is shown here with Dr. Jim Crowley, and again with Hannah McGee (left) and Barbra Dalton, the permanent secretary of the Irish Cardiac Society (and a fellow RCSI graduate).

Well-deserved, Magnus!

PWIM + WIN: Promotion Pathways Symposium

The Duke DOM’s Program for Women in Internal Medicine (PWIM) joins Duke Neurology’s Women in Neurology (WIN) for a special joint symposium to discuss and reflect on the promotion pathways for women faculty and faculty of color at Duke. This event will occur on Monday, October 23, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center.

The symposium will feature a panel discussion representing division chiefs and promotion and tenure committee members, including:

Manesh Patel, MD, Chief, Cardiology
Loretta Que, MD, Chief, Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine
Karen Welty-Wolf, MD, Medicine APT Committee
Mitch Heflin, MD, Medicine APT Committee
Janice Massey, MD, Neurology APT Committee
Lisa Hobson-Webb, MD, Neurology APT Committee

All faculty and trainees are encouraged to attend, as well as division promotion and tenure administrative staff across the department. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served.

If you have questions or need additional information, please email Daniella Zipkin.

DOM Research Retreat for Fellows & Early Career Faculty

The annual Department of Medicine (DOM) Research Retreat for Fellows and Early Career Faculty will occur on Wednesday, November 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the J.B. Duke Hotel, Banquet Hall.

This event is targeted towards research-oriented fellows and early career faculty.

Attendees will:

Learn about DOM research resources, including grant submission support with DOMRA and clinical research support with DOM CRU.
Hear from diverse research faculty, who will share their experiences developing a research focus, finding mentors, and successfully navigating a K grant submission.
Network with other researchers, including fellows, faculty, and leaders across DOM.
Connect with colleagues while enjoying dinner.

The retreat is an excellent opportunity for you to connect, learn more about our strategic research plan and how to thrive as a member of the DOM research community.

For questions regarding the research retreat, contact Saini Pillai, MBA. (Registration deadline has passed, but there may still be room).

Open Enrollment 2024 Closes Friday

Open enrollment is underway through 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27. The annual enrollment period for medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement accounts is the time to review and make benefit selections to ensure you have the coverage you want that is appropriate for you.

Participation in the Health Care and/or Dependent Care Reimbursement accounts does not auto-renew. You must enroll each year to participate. Your current selections for 2023 will, however, continue into 2024 unless you make changes to your coverage.

There are two ways to make changes for 2024:

Log on to the Duke@Work self-service website, go to the MyInfo page and click on the “Open Enrollment” link under My Benefits heading
Call a representative at 919-684-5600, Option 1

After submitting your enrollment selections, be sure to print and review your confirmation statement that will be sent to your Duke email account.

If you need assistance or have questions, contact the Duke Open Enrollment Service Center at 919-684-5600, Option 1. Representatives are available weekdays from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. from Oct. 16 – Oct. 27 and from 10 a.m.– 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21.

Flu Vaccinations!

Duke Health requires all employees to be vaccinated by 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 – coming up quickly. If you need a medical/religious exemption, the application deadline is Tuesday.

Duke offers free flu vaccinations in a variety of convenient locations. Don’t forget to fill out the screening survey within 48 hours of going to get the vaccine at Duke. It’s required.

A list of locations, dates, and times for flu vaccination and a link to the required screening survey can be found on Duke’s Fight the Flu website. And, if you have any questions about the flu vaccine you can email either StopTheFlu@duke.edu or EOHWflu@dm.duke.edu.

Don’t forget — masking is highly recommended when providing clinical care. Some units now require masking due to COVID outbreaks — including all Heart Center inpatient and procedural units. Please pay attention to signage on our units and elsewhere within the hospital.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Tomorrow is the start of National Respiratory Care Week (Oct.23-29). Thank an RT! #RCWeek23
October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month as well as National Pharmacists Month.
Masking is strongly recommended throughout all clinical areas during respiratory virus season, from now through early March.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 24: Rapid Sequence or Simultaneous Initiation of GDMT for HFrEF: Optimizing Therapy with a Need for Speed with Stephen Greene. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Oct. 25: DHP Case Presentation with Husam Salah. In-person only. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Oct. 27: Grief Debrief with Tony Galanos. In-person only. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Save the Date: 2023 Barbara Hertzberg Women’s Health Lectureship

Nov. 16: Coronary Artery Disease in Women: Where are we in 2023? with Leslee J. Shaw, Ph.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. 7:30 a.m., DN 2002 or via Zoom. This is a Radiology Grand Rounds event.

Call for Applications: 2024 Leadership Programs

DIHI Innovation RFA 2024

For the 2024 funding cycle, they are specifically interested in the following topics:

Generative AI & Large Language Models: AI solutions to improve staff and clinician efficiency, patient journey, and outcomes

All proposals are required to have a DUHS operational lead as a co-sponsor to be accepted for review.

If the DIHI team can be of any assistance to you in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. The DIHI team looks forward to your innovative solutions!

Coming Up: 15^th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart Services, 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, on Wednesdays, will be considered for weekend inclusion.

Duke Heart in the News:

October 13 — Robert Mentz

Medscape

Trials Say Start Sacubitril-Valsartan in Hospital in HF With ‘Below Normal’ LVEF

https://duke.is/p/y8u7

October 13 — Tom Povsic

CGT Live

Thomas Povsic, MD, PhD, on Ongoing Research With XC001 Angina Gene Therapy

https://duke.is/4/u5bw

October 16 — William Kraus

WorldHealth.net

How Biology Influences Fitness: Personalized Exercise

https://duke.is/6/a3qa

October 17 — Wuwei Feng

DAIC.com

Learning More About How Cancer Affects Stroke Risk

https://duke.is/p/x5mq

October 18 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

The top heart center in every state

https://duke.is/w/638n

Duke Heart Pulse — October 15, 2023

October 15, 2023 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

HFSA 2023 Highlights

The heart failure community gathered in Cleveland, OH last weekend for the HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting (Oct. 6-9). The program was action-packed with leading science being presented by Duke fellows, APPs, faculty, and many more. A special shout-out to Mike Felker who is now President-Elect leading up to next year’s meeting in Atlanta!

Notable highlights from Duke presenters:

Work by Karen Flores, Han Kim, and Ravi Karra, et al on CMR in genetic cardiomyopathies was presented by all-star med student Kyla Brezitski.
Kyla Brezitski
Joey Harrington presented a rapid-fire LBCT update on troponin changes in PARAGLIDE.
Marat Fudim and Rob Mentz had LBCT presentations on REBALANCE-HF and PARAGLIDE+PIONEER, respectively.
Senthil Selvaraj presented in a spotlight session on targeted metabolic profiling with Dapa in HFpEF (with Svati Shah as senior author) – this session also highlighted work by Joey and Marat.
Johana Fajardo served as an advisory committee member and moderator for a high-yield session on cardiac amyloidosis.
Steve “GDMT” Greene led a number of sessions on optimal medical therapy in HF, including talks on SGLT2i and how to take Theory into Practice.
Stephanie Barnes moderated a session on engaging CV team members in clinical trials and quality initiatives and spoke during a session on managing congestion in HF.
Mike Felker presented endpoint considerations during a special FDA session on subgroups in HF clinical trials.
Jason Katz opened a fantastic shock management session with a talk on how to identify and risk stratify patients with cardiogenic shock. He also competed in the CPET challenge fundraiser – and ranked in the top 3!!
Adam DeVore helped close out the meeting with an exceptional talk on the practical adaptation of GDMT in patients at high risk for adverse events.

Duke team members were also prominently positioned during various plenary sessions, Journal of Cardiac Failure activities, and speed mentoring.

Another highlight was a Heart Failure Collaboratory gathering to recognize Distinguished Leadership Award recipient Chris O’Connor, which celebrates a leader in education and mentorship within the field of heart failure. Chris has been a made seminal contributions to the field of Heart Failure, mentor to many at Duke, and continues to be a north star for the field of cardiology in our evidence generation and clinical practice.

Perhaps the biggest highlight was coming together, in person, as a Heart Failure community and reconnecting with many of our former Duke faculty and fellows!

The 2023 Triangle Heart Walk is a Wrap!

Thank you to everyone who joined us to support the American Heart Association (AHA) 2023 Triangle Heart Walk last weekend. The weather was beautiful – an ideal day for a walk! Nearly 10,000 walkers attended the event, which raised just over $1.8 million. Special thanks to Chris Granger for taking the podium to speak on behalf of Duke Health!

Overall, we had 1,513 walkers representing Duke Health and our teams collectively raised $162,777 for our AHA partners. Shown here are a number of our team members, including Chris Granger, Jill Engel, Sarah Snow, CDU team members Lynda Metcalf, Juliette Eck, Emily Deason, Sarah Hatton, Brenda Sedberry, Ashlee Davis, and Jeff Federspiel from Duke Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

We are proud of you, and all of our Heart Walk teams, for your fundraising efforts this year. Thank you!

Celebrating Physician Assistants

Thank you to all of our incredible physician assistants (PA) throughout Duke Heart! Last week was National Physician Assistant Week (October 6-12), which recognizes the PA profession and the many contributions they make to the health of the nation. It’s a time for all of us to recognize the tremendous role they play in healthcare throughout Duke Health.

Did you know there are 168,300 certified PAs in the U.S. caring for more than 9 million patients a week with 514 million annual patient encounters? Or that the PA profession was launched right here at Duke?

As highly skilled team members and healthcare leaders, PAs provide exceptional patient care in virtually all health care specialties and settings. PAs are pivotal in the health care delivery within our service line and across the Duke Health enterprise, serving in critical roles throughout clinical care, medical education, health administration, leadership, and research.

We are deeply grateful for the dedication and contributions our Duke Heart PAs make each and every day.

Flu Vaccination Reminder!

Do you know what is better than a gorgeous autumn day in North Carolina? Not being sick with the flu.

Duke Health requires all employees to be vaccinated by 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 – just a few weeks away. If you need a medical/religious exemption, the application deadline for that is Oct. 24.

Duke offers free flu vaccinations in a variety of convenient locations. This week (Oct. 16-19), Duke University is offering a special influenza vaccination clinic for employees in the Moyle Board Room of the Karsh Alumni & Visitors Center – great parking (free for 30 mins!) and easy to find! Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Don’t forget to fill out the screening survey within 48 hours of going to get the vaccine at Duke. It’s required.

Duke’s Fight the Flu website has a list of locations, dates, and times for flu vaccination, and a link to the required screening survey. If you have any questions about the flu vaccine you can email either StopTheFlu@duke.edu or EOHWflu@dm.duke.edu.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

This week, October 15-22, is Healthcare Quality Week.
October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month as well as National Pharmacists Month.
Masking is strongly recommended throughout all clinical areas during respiratory virus season, from now through early March.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 17: Revascularization for Ischemic Cardiomyopathy: Can We Reconcile the Randomized Trials? with Bernard Gersh. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Oct. 18: Topic TBD. In-person only. Noon, DMP 2W96.

Medicine Grand Rounds

Oct. 20: Stepping in 4 Respect: Upstander Training Nationally and at Duke University with John Duronville, Margaret Plews-Ogan, and Gregory Clarke-Townsend. 8 a.m., DN 2002 or via Zoom.

Call for Applications: 2024 Leadership Programs

DIHI Innovation RFA 2024

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) has announced their next annual Request for Application (RFA) for selecting and implementing innovative solutions in our clinical enterprise. The proposals should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones, and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2024 funding cycle, they are specifically interested in the following topic:

Generative AI & Large Language Models: AI solutions to improve staff and clinician efficiency, patient journey, and outcomes

All proposals are required to have a DUHS operational lead as a co-sponsor to be accepted for review.

If the DIHI team can be of any assistance to you in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. The DIHI team looks forward to your innovative solutions!

Register Now: 15^th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

October 5 — Stephen Greene

Medscape

The How and Why of Quad Therapy in Reduced-EF Heart Failure

https://duke.is/8/txw2

October 5 — Amanda Craig (Obstetrics & Gynecology)

Medscape

History of Heart Transplant Tied to Worse Pregnancy Outcome

https://duke.is/c/vmfm

October 5 — Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Heart Failure Society of America 2023 Annual Meeting Preview, with Steve Greene, MD

https://duke.is/6/qhsf

October 5 — Amanda Craig

Healio/Cardiology

Complex pregnancies after heart transplant underscore need for patient counseling

https://duke.is/y/64a4

October 6 — David Harpole

OncLive

Dr Harpole on the Design of an Exploratory Analysis of the AEGEAN Trial in NSCLC

https://duke.is/5/hmrb

October 7 — Robert Mentz and Anand Shah (UNC)

HCP Live

Out-of-Pocket Costs Influence GDMT Uptake in Heart Failure, with Anand Shah, MD, MBA

https://duke.is/n/ug53

October 8 — Marat Fudim and Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Don’t Miss a Beat: REBALANCE-HF, with Marat Fudim, MD, MHS

https://duke.is/b/fm7c

October 8 — Marat Fudim

HCP Live

REBALANCE-HF: Greater Splanchnic Nerve Ablation Could Prove Beneficial in HFpEF

https://duke.is/4/yr6n

October 9 — Mohammad Shahzeb Khan

Medpage Today

Heart Failure in Young Adults: Moving in the Wrong Direction

https://duke.is/2/jxtq

(updates an Aug. 9 story)

October 10: Marat Fudim

DAIC

Late-Breaking Data Confirms Safety of Axon Therapies’ Innovative Heart Failure Procedure and Identifies Patients Most Likely to Benefit from SAVM Therapy

https://duke.is/w/2my6

October 10: Monique Starks

Winston-Salem Journal

Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office to test cardiac care drones in a first for the U.S.

https://duke.is/6/tn6e

October 10: Monique Starks

WXII NBC-12, Greensboro

Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office partners with Duke Clinical Research Institute and HOVECON for drone-delivered AED

https://duke.is/p/uh2m

October 11: Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Experts’ Perspectives: Top Story in Heart Failure for 2023

https://duke.is/m/9hxd

October 11: Marat Fudim

Medpage Today

Novel Nerve Ablation Procedure Explored for HFpEF

https://duke.is/c/ngbx

October 11: Robert Lefkowitz

Duke SOM News

Nobel Laureates Highlight Symposium Celebrating Lefkowitz’s 50 Years at Duke

https://duke.is/r/8x7k

October 12: Monique Starks

The Clemmons Courier

First drone-delivered AED program in the country

https://duke.is/8/74uf

Duke Heart Pulse — October 8, 2023

October 8, 2023 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Celebrating Bob Lefkowitz

The two-day symposium, “Celebrating Scientific Discoveries that Advance Human Health,” held to honor Duke cardiologist and Nobel Prize winner Robert J. Lefkowitz’s 50 years at Duke, was held on campus this week — and was a resounding success. More than 1000 people attended events that spanned Sunday evening dinner, the public scientific sessions on Monday and early Tuesday in Page Auditorium, and alumni sessions on Tuesday afternoon.

The scientific sessions on Monday featured presentations from several Nobel laureates, as well as a panel with University President Vincent E. Price, PhD; Mary E. Klotman, MD, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the Duke University School of Medicine; former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski; and Lefkowitz.

Shown here are photos from across the entirety of the event, including several from the Gala that not only celebrated Bob’s 50 years at Duke but his 80^th birthday as well. The gala was held in the President’s Ballroom at the Washington Duke Inn.

Special guests included dozens of Lefkowitz’s trainees who came from far and near; on Tuesday, special sessions geared just for those alumni were held in the Trent Semans Center. Members of the Lefkowitz family were in attendance throughout, as well as numerous close friends and colleagues he has known throughout his life.

In a message to his former and current trainees after the event, Lefkowitz wrote, “Wow, what an incredible few days we just shared. I want to thank everybody who took the time to join in and especially those of you who came from long distances to help me celebrate these two very special landmarks in my life. Never have the words been truer than when I say, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

A big shout-out to Howard Rockman, MD, and Maria Price Rapoza, PhD of the Duke

Cardiovascular Research Center for their leadership, vision, and drive for this special event.

Post-event compliments rolled in afterward, including the following:

“For myself, I can say this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and an amazing tribute from the broader scientific community on behalf of Dr. Lefkowitz of Duke University or the ‘Duke of Lefkowitz,’ as he was dubbed at the Gala.” — Maria Price Rapoza, executive director, Duke CVRC

“I loved being on the panel with Bob, Mary & Vince. I thought it went really well. Bob was terrific! It was an honor to be a part of his Birthday Celebration!” — Coach K

The happiest of birthdays to you, Dr. Lefkowitz! Congratulations on an incredible career milestone – and thank you for all you have done to advance science in ways that have helped countless patients and fellow researchers. You’ve been living the Duke values all along, encouraging others as a colleague, mentor, and friend!

It’s Heart Walk Weekend!

The Triangle Heart Walk is taking place this morning at PNC Arena in Raleigh. Thank you to all who are joining us in support of the American Heart Association (AHA). We’ll have fundraising results and photos from the event coming up over the next couple of weekends.

Leading up to the event, the AHA mascot visited several Duke locations to get our teams jazzed up for the main event!

The mascot was seen at Duke Regional on Sept. 12, and again this week at Duke University Hospital. Also shown here are members of 2F2G sporting t-shirts they sold to help raise money for the AHA. The team also held a silent auction that raised $630 for the Walk.

Hat tip to Renee Potts of the AHA and her daughter, who played the mascot, for the photos; ditto to Jamie Hilton, for the photo of her amazing 2F2G team! Special thanks to Jason Stokes for helping guide the mascot through several of our units. We know it helped spread joy and awareness throughout DUH.

Great job 2F2G! We are proud of you, and all of our Heart Walk teams, for fundraising efforts this year. Thank you!

Califf Receives NAM Lienhard Award

Congratulations to Duke alum Rob Califf, MD! The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced late last month that Califf is the recipient of the 2023 Gustav O. Lienhard Award for Advancement of Health Care, for his instrumental role in leading clinical trials and health outcomes research and his ability to translate research into advances in science, evidence-based medicine, and improved public health.

The award, a medal that recognizes Califf’s achievements, is being presented today at the NAM’s annual meeting. Califf is the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute and is the current commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Follow this link to read the full announcement.

Congratulations, Rob!

O’Connor Receives HFSA Leadership Award

Congratulations to cardiologist Christopher O’Connor, MD, former co-chair of Duke Heart Center and current president of the Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute. O’Connor received the Heart Failure Society of America’s 2023 Distinguished Leadership Award! This award celebrates a leader in education and mentorship within the field of heart failure.

The award was presented yesterday during the HFSA’s Annual Scientific Meeting taking place Oct. 6-9 in Cleveland, OH.

Well-deserved, Chris! We’ll have more coverage from HFSA in next weekend’s Pulse.

SCSE Conference Held

Duke Cardiac Diagnostic Unit was represented at the South Carolina Society of Echocardiography’s 2nd Annual Conference last Saturday, September 30th at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, SC.

Conference attendees consisted of cardiovascular sonographers, students, physicians, and educators. Lectures were given by Fawaz Alenezi, MD who presented The Clinical Applications of Echo Strain Imaging, and cardiac sonographer Sarah Hatton who presented on Pulmonary Hypertension and the Role of Echocardiography.

Pictured left to right: Sarah Hatton, Fawaz Alenezi, and Hannah Dowdy.

Nicely done, team!

Kudos to Meo!

We received the following note this week from Madhav Swaminathan regarding Eliyah Meo, one of our amazing team nurses.

“Dear Eliyah,

I wanted to thank you and express my gratitude and admiration for what you did last night in the CTICU. When you took a patient’s stuffed animal that was soiled and thoughtfully washed and cleaned it and returned it to that critically ill patient, you displayed an extraordinary act of compassion and kindness that we all think about a lot but seldom see. That wasn’t required, wasn’t part of the care plan, and wasn’t expected during your night shift. And that too for a patient who you likely thought would not be able to appreciate your act of kindness, given his illness. It reflected a level of care and compassion that we all aspire to achieve. Your thoughts were directed towards what was right and what was important to the patient’s overall care and comfort. You may not have considered this an extraordinary act and even doubted whether you should do this seemingly mundane task. But in taking a self-directed step of caring, you did what you were meant to be and do – a caring nurse who lives the values we aspire to as healthcare professionals.

Thank you and keep doing what you do.” — With deepest admiration, Madhav Swaminathan, MD

Solid work in living our values, Eliyah!

Duke Heart Grows by One!

We are thrilled to welcome Sophia to the Duke Heart family! Born Sept. 27, she is the daughter of cardiology fellow, Ivan Nenadic Wood and his wife, Sara.

The family is doing well and we know Django is loving his new human!

Congratulations, Ivan and Sara!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

This week, October 6-12, is National Physician Assistant Week.
National Hispanic Heritage Month runs through Oct. 15.
October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month as well as National Pharmacists Month.
Masking is strongly recommended throughout all clinical areas during respiratory virus season, from now through early March.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 10: Prevention of Heart Failure: Is it a Reality? with Mohammad Shahzeb Khan. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

Cardiovascular Informational Session

Oct. 11: What can the DCRI do for you? with Sana Al-Khatib and Neha Pagidipati. 5-7 p.m., DMP 2W96 (dinner will be served)

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

Oct. 13: EKG Review with Tom Bashore. Zoom only.

Call for Applications: 2024 Leadership Programs

DIHI Innovation RFA 2024

For the 2024 funding cycle, they are specifically interested in the following topic:

Generative AI & Large Language Models: AI solutions to improve staff and clinician efficiency, patient journey, and outcomes

All proposals are required to have a DUHS operational lead as a co-sponsor to be accepted for review.

If the DIHI team can be of any assistance to you in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. The DIHI team looks forward to your innovative solutions!

Register Now: 15^th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

September 29: David Harpole

Oncology Nursing News

Neoadjuvant Durvalumab Combination Misses Mark in EGFR+ NSCLC

https://duke.is/c/rh2h

September 30: Robert Lefkowitz

Facts.net

10 Astounding Facts About Dr. Robert Lefkowitz

https://duke.is/8/tyse

October 2: Duke University Medical Center

The People’s Pharmacy

Can You Stay in the Sweet Spot for Your Warfarin Dose?

https://duke.is/m/dxh9

October 2: David Harpole

The ASCO Post

Perioperative Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy in Resectable NSCLC

https://duke.is/j/xhrb

October 4: Kristin Newby

Medscape

SGLT2 Is Tied to Fewer Post-MI Deaths in T2D

https://duke.is/g/6mwj

Duke Heart Pulse — October 1, 2023

October 1, 2023 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Duke Heart Team Welcomes Spahillari

Please offer a warm welcome to Aferdita Spahillari, MD, MPH, who joined the Duke Heart team as associate professor of medicine in cardiology on August 30. She is now a member of our Heart Failure service and will co-lead a Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT) program with Dr. Stephen Greene. Spahillari has joined us from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, where she had been on the faculty since 2017, and served as Director of the GDMT Clinic at MGH for the past two years.

Spahillari is a native of Albania who moved with her family to the Worcester, MA area when she was a teenager. She earned her MD at Tufts University School of Medicine, where she received both the William Dameshak Award in Internal Medicine as well as the Glasgow-Rubin Citation for Academic Achievement in 2010; she earned an MPH in clinical effectiveness from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Spahillari completed internal medicine training at the University of California San Francisco, a cardiology fellowship with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and an advanced heart failure and transplant fellowship at Tufts.

“For as long as I can remember, I had the desire to become a doctor,” said Spahillari. “As I went into training, I was drawn to cardiology. It’s one of the specialties I found most interesting because of the physiology, and because it covers a whole spectrum of diseases with a wide variety of treatment options. I almost went into interventional cardiology because I really enjoyed doing procedures, but ultimately, I had mentors and inspirational teachers in heart failure who led me in this direction, and I fell in love with it as well.”

She says heart failure patients are a population she really enjoys. “It’s very fulfilling to follow the patients along their journey and to care for them when they’re really sick, but also see them get better with the treatment options we have to offer.”

If there was something she wished more patients and families knew, it would be for them to recognize “that heart failure is quite common, and that we have a great deal of treatment options and advanced therapies to offer. My goal is to grow our guideline-directed medical therapy program and get patients on optimal medical therapies as early as possible, or, even if they are in later-stage heart failure, get them onto the optimal therapy in order to improve their heart failure symptoms and heart function.”

With the GDMT program, Spahillari and Greene will unite the efforts of the nurse practitioners working in the HF Same-Day Access Clinic with the efforts of the Duke pharmacy team in order to further develop the program and expand access to more HF patients across Duke. She will see patients at Duke South, round on the HF service, read echocardiograms, and she expects to see clinic patients in Raleigh a couple of times per month.

Aferdita and her husband, Bobby Guadagno, have two sons — JD and Beau who are four and two respectively. The family is excited to be in North Carolina, with family nearby in Charlotte and they look forward to all that Durham and the surrounding areas have to offer.

Welcome, Aferdita! We are so pleased to have you on our team!

Heart Walk: Next Sunday!

We are just one week away from the American Heart Association Triangle Heart Walk – next Sunday, October 8th. If you have registered great — if you have not – it’s not too late.

We are happy to report that Duke is still the number one fundraiser throughout the Triangle, but we also know others are nipping at our heels. Let’s rally hard this week to show our Duke Heart pride, and support our partners at the Triangle AHA. Register for a team here.

Feel free to join any team (donation or not) and come out and enjoy the walk and help us increase awareness of heart disease. Manesh Patel has a team called ‘Duke Heart’ with team members that include several heart patients and others who will join the walking; Jill Engel has a team called ‘Got Heart!’ – and there are many other great groups across DUHS and the School of Medicine.

The event will occur at PNC Arena, 1400 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh. Check-in begins at 11 a.m.; the walk begins at Noon. You can bring kids, dogs, and friends to the event. Our annual Duke team photo for all Duke team members will take place at approximately 11:25 a.m. Manesh advises we all be on the lookout for Chris Granger – he is often there helping organize everyone for the photo.

Duke Health was unable to provide t-shirts this year, so please wear your favorite Duke Blue t-shirt to the event! It does not have to say ‘Duke’ but please make sure it’s a royal blue. Thank you!!!

Pagidipati Featured in Duke SOM’s Magnify

Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH is featured in the Sept. 28 issue of Magnify, the Duke School of Medicine online magazine:

The Doctor Who Wants to Change How We Treat Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of people in the United States and worldwide. Yet physicians often do not prescribe evidence-based medicines that could change those statistics.

Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine, wants to do something about that.

“There are therapies that have a ton of evidence [showing they] keep people from developing recurrent disease,” said Pagidipati, a cardiologist who specializes in prevention. “They are just not being used appropriately. That has to change on population level.”

In particular, there are three types of FDA-approved drugs that can reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke among the growing number of people who have both diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a combination often referred to as cardiometabolic disease. The three classes of drugs treat high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol, which are all risk factors for both diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“These are not fair diseases,” Pagidipati said. “They are inequitably targeting patient populations that don’t have the resources to combat these chronic illnesses. That’s part of what motivates me—it’s a public health and a social justice issue.”

In a recent study called COORDINATE Diabetes, Pagidipati and her colleagues tested a strategy in clinics nationwide to encourage physicians to prescribe all three of these types of drugs to their patients with both diabetes and a specific type of cardiovascular disease called atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.

In the randomized controlled trial, the clinics that followed the multifaceted strategy successfully increased the percentage of patients who were prescribed all three medicines. Half of the participating medical centers received the intervention, and the other half were business-as-usual.

At the beginning of the trial, less than 3% of the 1,000 patients were prescribed all three drugs. By the end of the trial, that percentage had risen to 37.9% in the intervention group.

“It has major implications about what methodologies we can use to improve the way clinicians are providing care to this very high-risk population,” Pagidipati said. “That care promotes resilience.”

The intervention was designed to encourage coordination among the multiple specialists who see patients with diabetes and heart disease. In the absence of such coordination, it can be difficult for a cardiologist to prescribe a drug targeting blood sugar or for a diabetes specialist to prescribe a drug targeting blood pressure. The strategy called for health systems to create multidisciplinary teams to identify and remove barriers to coordinated care.

The intervention also provided educational materials to both physicians and patients and gave the clinics regular feedback about how well they were doing in prescribing the drugs.

The study was designed to measure an increase in prescriptions, not cardiac events such as stroke or heart attacks. However, the investigators did find fewer cardiac events (23) in the intervention group compared to the business-as-usual group (40). While that difference was not statistically significant, it was encouraging.

Pagidipati hopes the results of the study will inspire more health systems to adopt strategies to improve the health of their patients.

At Duke, Pagidipati is taking coordinated care to a new level. She started a clinic a few years ago where patients with advanced cardiometabolic disease see a team of multidisciplinary specialists, including cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, hepatologists, and pharmacists.

“The goal is to provide coordinated, state-of-the-art comprehensive preventative care for the highest risk patients in the health system,” she said.

Pagidipati’s goal is to improve care not just for patients at Duke, but for patients everywhere. She is planning a randomized trial to measure the effectiveness of the strategies used in her clinic. If her multidisciplinary team helps patients stay healthier longer, she’ll be looking for ways to spread the word and influence the standard of care nationwide and beyond.

“At the end of my career,” she said, “I would really like to say that we did something to help people combat cardiometabolic disease, both locally—at Duke—and at large—regionally, nationally, internationally.”

Heartfelt Gratitude: Duke Patient Contributes to OneDukeGen Study

By the time Roger Neighborgall was 66 years old, his heart was wearing out. Without an effective way to pump blood through his body, Neighborgall was experiencing circulatory problems and suffering heart failure.

He had been told he had up to a month to live, but in January 2021, Duke University Hospital provided him with a new lease on life —a heart transplant

Almost three years later, Neighborgall is thriving and looking to give back to the place that gave him the most precious gift of all: time.

“You get a sense of connection [having] somebody else’s heart in your chest,” he said, “and I feel an overwhelming sense of connection with Duke.”

So when Neighborgall was asked during a recent transplant checkup if he would consider joining OneDukeGen, a precision medicine study that will analyze DNA from 150,000 consented Duke patients, he didn’t hesitate. “Before it even came out of their mouths,” Neighborgall said, “I knew I was going to join.”

As part of the new Center for Precision Health and in partnership with nference, a science-first software company, OneDukeGen will use genetics and precision medicine to make scientific discoveries focused on improving the health and well-being of Duke patients.

“OneDukeGen is focused on using genetic and other scientific discoveries and translating them to patient care in less time,” said Svati Shah, MD, Ursula Geller Distinguished Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases and principal investigator for OneDukeGen. “Because of participants like Roger, we will be able to make discoveries to improve prevention and treatment of diseases and enhance health.”

Eligible Duke patients will receive an invitation to join the study either during a previously scheduled appointment or through their Duke MyChart portal. Recruitment will be ongoing over the course of the six-year study. Participation is currently limited to established Duke patients.

Once enrolled, participants will provide a blood or saliva sample. Researchers will then be able to analyze DNA, RNA, and other factors to investigate a variety of diseases and conditions. Participants will receive their genetic testing results if they have DNA differences that increase the risk for preventable or treatable health conditions. They may also receive recommendations for follow-up care, such as annual screenings, medication, or preventative surgeries.

Neighborgall often thinks of all the people at Duke who have helped him on his journey. “I owe them so much, and if some of my some of my DNA can help not only at Duke Hospital but maybe, in the future, other hospitals, of course I’ve got to be part of it.”

Visit sites.duke.edu/onedukegen to learn more about the OneDukeGen study and how Duke patients will be invited to participate.

Shout-out to Glower

We received a terrific note about cardiothoracic surgeon, Don Glower, from Press Ganey HCAHPS regarding the great care he and his team provided recently to a patient at Duke Hospital:

“Dr. Glower is wonderful with great staff!!” – a grateful patient (name withheld for privacy)

Dr. David Gallagher, chief medical officer, added, “Thank you for the high quality and compassionate care you provide to patients!”

Well-deserved, Dr. Glower!

Kudos to Medlock

Nick Medlock, a sonographer with Duke University Hospital.

Congratulations to Nick Medlock for completing the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) Foundation Emerging Leaders Program! This is a fantastic accomplishment and an honor to have been selected. The SDMS Foundation Emerging Leaders Program annually invites a cohort of students and recent graduates to be mentored as future leaders in the field of sonography and with the SDMS. Program participants participate virtually in a variety of leadership education opportunities that are designed to engage them in meaningful dialogue and projects related to the future of the profession and leadership volunteerism.

Medlock is a recent graduate of the Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Certification Program and earned the American Society of Echocardiography Waggoner award in 2022.

Way to go Nick!

Shout-out to Tong & team

This week we received a note from David Gallagher, chief medical officer, regarding thoracic surgeon Dr. Betty Tong and her team. The note was submitted to Press Ganey HCAHPS:

“Dr. Tong and her team are absolutely the best. My nurse Rosalee was awesome.” – a grateful patient (name withheld for privacy)

Dr. Edward P. Chen, division chief for cardiovascular and thoracic surgery added, “Dr. Tong provides outstanding service every day to her patients and it is nice to see her recognized in such a complimentary fashion.”

Well-deserved, Betty!

DIHI Innovation RFA 2024 is Now Open

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) has announced their next annual Request for Application (RFA) for selecting and implementing innovative solutions in our clinical enterprise. The proposals should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients and their loved ones, and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2024 funding cycle, they are specifically interested in the following topic:

Generative AI & Large Language Models: AI solutions to improve staff and clinician efficiency, patient journey and outcomes

All proposals are required to have a DUHS operational lead as a co-sponsor to be accepted for review.

If the DIHI team can be of any assistance to you in the formulation of ideas or connections, please contact Suresh Balu. The DIHI team looks forward to your innovative solutions!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs through Oct. 15
October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month as well as National Pharmacists Month
Masking is strongly recommended throughout all clinical areas during respiratory virus season, from now through early March.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct.3: Left Atrial Appendage Closure with Kevin Jackson. 5 p.m., DN 2002 or via Zoom.

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference/Fellows Conference

Oct. 6: Fellows Forum with Joseph Lerman. Noon, DMP 2W96, in-person only.

Call for Applications: 2024 Leadership Programs

Register Now: 15^th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

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 24 — Mark Sendak (DIHI)

The Wall Street Journal

Can AI Help Doctors Come Up With Better Diagnoses?

https://duke.is/r/747e

September 25 — Svati Shah

WRAL

Studying why some people stay healthy and others get diseases

https://duke.is/g/jtut

(clip begins at 05:13:48)

September 26 — Harry Severance

Becker’s Hospital Review