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Duke Heart Pulse — October 27, 2024

October 27, 2024 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message: Seeing the world from other people’s perspective.

In the important novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch tells Scout “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This provides Scout with an important lesson as she stands in Boo Radley’s shoes and sees how much she has meant to him and how he sees the community they live in. This is one of the many lessons from the book that provide to be timeless and help us understand how they were able to make progress in their community.

This advice is particularly important in our current environment where things at times seem so polarized, so short in information exchange, and so hard to engage our community and patients to improve health. As we consider how we will continue to evolve and work on improving patient care – we spend more time on working to ensure we remain a trusted source for health care and health information. Part of our current CV service line and training of our fellows is constantly working as teams and learning the multiple perspectives of our patients, team members and staff in caring for our patients. No matter how tumultuous the next few weeks are for our region and country, focusing on thinking and understanding our patients, colleagues, neighbors and community will help Duke Heart continue to improve CV health. Recently, we are encouraged as we have seen some signs of improvement in Western North Carolina and the tremendous unity and purpose that our entire state has had in supporting that region. Finally, we have just completed our interviews of the many amazing star residents considering Duke Heart as their destination for continued training and are awed by the caliber of people that see our organization as one of the top places to get trained in cardiovascular medicine.

Updates of the week:

Duke Health Baxter IV Fluid Update

Thanks to all who continue to assist in our conservation strategies!

To order IV fluids, call the Fluid Distribution Center at 919-681-6851. The center remains open 24/7.
Please continue to follow all previously communicated conservation strategies.
Updates on this situation can be found on Duke’s Baxter Operational Updates page on Sharepoint.

Voting Resources

Early voting concludes Nov. 2, including at Karsh Alumni Center (for Durham County residents).

Hours are as follows:

Monday – Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Sundays: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
2: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during this time.

Before heading to the polls, make sure to bring an acceptable form of photo identification, which can include a North Carolina driver’s license, an approved Duke ID card (students only), and others. Duke Votes is an excellent resource for non-partisan voting information and resources for voting here in North Carolina or in your home state if you are not a North Carolina resident.

In order to allow Duke employees flexibility in casting their vote, Duke University and Duke Health encourage supervisors to cancel nonessential meetings on November 5 and be flexible with scheduling to enable staff members who are unable to vote outside normal work hours to do so before, during, or after their assigned shifts. On Election Day, Karsh will not be a polling location, so you will need to cast a ballot at your assigned polling place.

Thank you for participating in our democracy!

Duke Health Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

You can join our support efforts in several ways:

Check for updates on the Duke Health intranet page (NET ID required)
Sign up to volunteer with our SMAT team to deploy to provide disaster relief.
Make a financial donation to the American Red Cross.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 29: Working Towards Elimination of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Our Lifetime with Andrea Beaton, MD. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

November 1: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Jawan Abdulrahim. Noon, via Zoom.

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

Upcoming symposia:

November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

Last Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations are now open for Duke’s first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. Dr. King’s enduring legacy inspires this initiative, which will celebrate Duke Health faculty and staff who embody his vision of “It starts with me…” The award will honor those who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to a nonprofit’s mission in keeping with Dr. King’s principles.

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced in January during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday.

Learn more about the award here.

SOM Leadership Development Programs

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

Cardiovascular Research Symposium

Dec. 3-4, 2024 at Weill Cornell’s Belfer Research Building, 413 East 69th Street, NYC.

The keynote speaker this year is Anthony Fauci, MD. Previous Duke Cardiology faculty member Geoff Pitt is the Cornell host for the December event, and Howard Rockman is the Duke organizer. Current Duke Cardiology faculty speaking include Conrad Hodgkinson, Rockman, Ching Zhu, and Sudarshan Rajagopal.

The Duke Cardiovascular Research Center and the Cardiovascular Institutes of Stanford and Penn are partnering to present the Symposium, which will rotate locations each cycle.

Registration and additional information can be found here.

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular 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 team. 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:

News coverage will return Nov. 4.

Duke Heart Pulse — October 20, 2024

October 20, 2024 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message: Fall Changes

Hopefully you all had some time to experience the fall changes to the weather and trees in our area. This time of year is marked with the shorter days with less light, North Carolina State Fair, nearing the end of our cardiology fellowship recruitment (nearly 1000 applicants for our 10 spots) and lots of great sporting events including the start of Duke Basketball and this year the Duke Football team some recent key wins and a 6-1 record. Unfortunately, this time of year also sees an increase in cardiovascular events in our community and an uptick in hospital care needs. Our teams lean on each other even more in these busy times. We have a photo included from a “rodeo” themed get-together at the Granger house this weekend with our visiting professor Bernard Gersh and the CICU team members.

You will also see story below of the passing of Scott Braswell. We are saddened by the loss of such a great supporter of the Heart mission, but more importantly – the loss of such a great member of our community – someone who was engaged in supporting North Carolina and our people in so many ways. Our thoughts are with his family.

Lastly, we received news of Dr. Allan Kirk deciding to step down as the Chair of the Department of Surgery. Over the last 10 years, Allan has led the remarkable growth in the research and surgical care of patients at Duke, the creation of several new departments of surgery, and elevated the surgical research group to be the leading NIH-funded research program in the country. He has also supported many innovative initiatives that will have long lasting impact. Over the next several months there will be a national search for his successor, and we will have several opportunities to help celebrate his contribution to Duke Health. From the Duke Heart perspective, I will note that Allan has been a north star for our teams, always putting patients, trainees and faculty at the forefront of our decision-making and thought process, looking and working to identify solutions that help our team achieve our highest potential. When you see him, please thank him for his service to Duke Health.

Updates of the week:

In Passing: HCLC Member, Scott Braswell

We are deeply saddened this weekend by the passing of Scott Braswell, a member of our Heart Center Leadership Council. Braswell, who died Tuesday, was an enthusiastic supporter of Duke Heart and one of the newest members to join our HCLC. We appreciated getting to know and work with him — he will be missed.

Services are planned for Saturday, Oct. 26. Visitation for family and friends is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Nashville Methodist Church, Nashville, NC. A Memorial Service will follow at 2 p.m. Rev. Scott Dodson and Rev. Luke Whitehead will officiate.

The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Appalachia Service Project (Johnson City, TN), Nashville Methodist Church (Nashville, NC), or Samaritan’s Purse (Boone, NC). A full obituary has not yet been posted online, but a tribute page and all service information are available here.

Our thoughts are with Scott’s family, friends, colleagues, and our HCLC team.

Kirk Stepping Down as Chair, Dept. of Surgery

After more than a decade of service, Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD, will be stepping down as chair of the Department of Surgery effective June 30, 2025. Kirk will continue at Duke as the David C. Sabiston, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Surgery. The news was announced this week by Mary E. Klotman, MD, executive vice president for health affairs at Duke and Dean, Duke University School of Medicine, and Craig Albanese, MD, MBA, chief executive officer, Duke University Health System.

Dr. Kirk’s career began at Duke, where he earned his MD and PhD in immunology. He completed his surgical residency at Duke and a multi-organ transplant fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. His pioneering work in co-stimulation blockade and personalized immune management has been instrumental in advancing the field of organ transplantation. Throughout his career, Dr. Kirk has held numerous prestigious positions, including chief of transplant research for the Armed Services Transplant Service and chief of the intramural organ transplant program at the National Institutes of Health. Before returning to Duke in 2014 as chair of the Department of Surgery, he served as vice chair for surgical research at Emory University.

During his tenure as chair, Dr. Kirk has led the Department of Surgery through unparalleled clinical and academic growth. Under his visionary leadership, the department has recruited numerous esteemed surgeons and scientists, building nation-leading clinical programs in specialties such as organ transplantation and cardiac surgery. He fostered the creation of several new departments, including Neurosurgery, Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, Urology, and Emergency Medicine, and expanded Duke Surgery to the Greensboro area through a partnership with Central Carolina Surgery. He oversaw the creation of the perioperative clinical service line, standardizing surgical and anesthesiology leadership across Duke Health. He led the department through transformative events including the COVID-19 pandemic and the creation of the Duke Health Integrated Practice.

Dr. Kirk elevated the Duke surgical research program to lead the nation in NIH funding, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration and significantly growing research infrastructure. He established numerous programs to support the career development of surgeon scientists, resulting in multiple prestigious awards and fellowships for surgical trainees. Additionally, he launched innovative initiatives incorporating artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies into surgical practice, including the Surgical Black Box and the Surgical Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Lab.

Gary Faerber, MD, chair of the Department of Urology, will lead a committee through a national search to identify Dr. Kirk’s successor. Dr. Kirk has graciously agreed to stay on as chair longer, if needed, to ensure a smooth transition in leadership. In their message, Klotman and Albanese expressed their deepest gratitude to Dr. Kirk for his extraordinary leadership and dedication to advancing surgical science and practice. We all look forward to his continued contributions to our community and the field of surgery.

Shout-out to Swaminathan!

Congratulations to Rajesh Swaminathan – we learned this week he was selected as the Collaborating Physician of the Year by physician assistants at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center during PA Week.

Well-deserved, Raj!!! Way to go!

Kittipibul Earns Mario Award

We are excited to share the great news that cardiology fellow Mark Kittipibul has been awarded one of two Mario Family Foundation Award for his project, Leveraging Exercise Stress Echocardiography for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction. His project aims to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed HFpEF in patients undergoing exercise stress echo and to evaluate the impact of systemic HFpEF probability assessment during exercise stress echo and tailored recommendations on HFpEF diagnosis and management. His faculty mentor is Marat Fudim.

The Mario Family Foundation Award supports two patient-oriented research proposals (clinical or translational) from fellows in training within any of the Divisions in the Duke Department of Medicine. The total one-year funding for all proposal expenses is $35,000.

About the Mario Family Foundation

Ernest Mario, PhD, founded the Mario Family foundation, a private charitable organization, in 1997. Dr. Mario is a native of New Jersey. He received a bachelor of science in Pharmacy from Rutgers University, and Masters and PhD degrees in Physical Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. During his distinguished career, he held a variety of leadership roles in several pharmaceutical companies. In recognition of his leadership in the pharmaceutical industry and support for the school, the Rutgers school of pharmacy was renamed the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in 2002. Dr. Mario served on the Duke Board of Trustees, and he was chairman of the Duke University Health System board of directors. He was named Trustee Emeritus of Duke University in 2007, and is the second longest serving trustee in the school’s history. He was awarded The University Medal in 2009, Duke’s highest recognition of service to the school.

Congratulations, Mark!

Annual Cardiovascular Research Symposium

Our Cardiovascular Research Symposium is now a four-institution event and will be hosted this year by Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. The Symposium will be held Dec. 3-4, 2024 at Weill Cornell’s Belfer Research Building, 413 East 69th Street, NYC.

The keynote speaker this year is Anthony Fauci, MD. Previous Duke Cardiology faculty member Geoff Pitt is the Cornell host for the December event, and Howard Rockman is the Duke organizer. Current Duke Cardiology faculty speaking include Conrad Hodgkinson, Rockman, Ching Zhu, and Sudarshan Rajagopal.

The Duke Cardiovascular Research Center and the Cardiovascular Institutes of Stanford and Penn are partnering to present the Symposium, which will rotate locations each cycle.

Registration and additional information can be found here.

Respiratory Care Week

It’s Respiratory Care Week 2024 (Oct.20-Oct.26) — time to recognize our respiratory therapists! Each October the American Association for Respiratory Care uses this week to advance the work of respiratory therapists in healthcare. It’s an opportunity to recognize the tremendous dedication and impact of respiratory therapists on patient care and improved outcomes.

Our RT team at Duke is amazing — thank you for everything you do!!

National Healthcare Quality Week

It’s also Healthcare Quality Week (Oct 20-26), a recognition period for celebrating and raising awareness of the positive impact those working in healthcare quality and safety have in their organizations and communities. Our quality and safety teams play a vital role in improving patient outcomes, enhancing organizational efficiency, and fostering a culture of excellence within healthcare.

Healthcare Quality Week was established in 1985 by the National Association of Healthcare Quality to recognize and celebrate the contribution of healthcare quality experts in their various organizations.

Thank you to all members of our team who specifically focus on quality and safety improvement each and every day!

Last Call for Open Enrollment!

Open Enrollment is underway and ends at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25. This is your opportunity to review your medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefit elections for the coming year and to make any changes necessary to ensure your choices continue to meet your needs.

Full information can be found on Duke’s Open Enrollment 2025 website.

Duke Health Baxter IV Fluid Update

Thanks to all who are assisting in our conservation strategies!

Physical command centers have closed.
To order IV fluids, call the Fluid Distribution Center at 919-681-6851. The center remains open 24/7.
Please continue to follow all previously communicated conservation strategies.
Updates on this situation can be found on Duke’s Baxter Operational Updates page on Sharepoint.

Voting Resources

Early voting is underway through Nov. 2, including at Karsh Alumni Center (for Durham County residents).

Hours are as follows:

Monday – Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Sundays: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
2: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during this time.

To allow Duke employees flexibility in casting their vote, Duke University and Duke Health encourage supervisors to cancel nonessential meetings on November 5 and be flexible with scheduling to enable staff members who are unable to vote outside normal work hours to do so before, during, or after their assigned shifts. On Election Day, Karsh will not be a polling location, so you will need to cast a ballot at your assigned polling place.

Thank you for participating in our democracy!

Duke Health Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

You can join our support efforts in several ways:

Check for updates on the Duke Health intranet page (NET ID required)
Sign up to volunteer with our SMAT team to deploy to provide disaster relief.
Make a financial donation to the American Red Cross.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Oct. 20-Oct.26: Respiratory Care Week

Oct. 20-Oct.26: Healthcare Quality Week

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 22: In the Fall of the Sparrow: Neuroprognosis in Cardiac Arrest with Matthew Luedke, MD. 5 p.m. Zoom only.

Oct. 29: Working Towards Elimination of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Our Lifetime with Andrea Beaton, MD. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 23: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Mike Cosiano. Noon, DMP 2W96

October 25: No conference. Interview Day.

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

November 1: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Jawan Abdulrahim. Noon, via Zoom.

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

Upcoming symposia:

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

For the 2025 funding cycle, priority will be given to ideas aligned with the thematic area of improving provider and staff experience, the patient journey, and clinical outcomes using advanced technology solutions.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

The application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over one year.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations are now open for Duke’s first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. This initiative is inspired by Dr. King’s enduring legacy and will celebrate Duke Health faculty and staff who embody his vision of “It starts with me…” The award will honor those who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to a nonprofit’s mission in keeping with the principles of Dr. King.

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

SOM Leadership Development Programs

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

October 11 — Mark Kittipibul and Robert Mentz

Endocrinology Advisor

Semaglutide Lowers Heart Failure Risks in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, CKD

October 11 — Duke University Hospital (BiVACOR)

Becker’s Hospital Review

The titanium heart keeping transplant patients alive

October 13 — Adam DeVore and Donavon Harbison

WTVD-TV (Durham, NC)

Titanium heart implant pioneers treatment to help patient make it to transplant

October 14 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, and Donavon Harbison

KUMV-TV (Minot, ND)

Innovative artificial heart implant helps patients survive to heart transplant

October 14 — Leanna Ross

The Minnesota Star Tribune via Tribune News Service

Study supports ‘weekend warriors’

October 14 — Sana Al-Khatib

Healio

Top in cardiology: COVID-19 linked to increased CV risk; semaglutide improves HF symptoms

October 14 — Duke Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

Hospitals with highest, lowest 30-day mortality rates for heart attack patients

October 15 — Leanna Ross

The Daily Item

‘Weekend warriors’ may gain same health benefits as people who spread out exercise

October 15 — Leanna Ross

The Columbian

To stave off disease, stay active

October 16 — Mark Kittipibul and Robert Mentz

The Cardiology Advisor

Semaglutide Lowers Heart Failure Risks in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, CKD

October 16 — Allan Kirk

Wall Street Journal

The Future of Everything: ‘It’s Spare Parts for People’: Blood Vessels Grown in a Lab

*subscription may be required

Duke Heart Pulse — October 13, 2024

October 13, 2024 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message:

This week we have highlights around some work our heart failure and transplant teams are doing around a total artificial heart. The story ran on NBC news this last week and builds on work this group has done over the last several years around supporting people with failing hearts. Moreover, it highlights the tremendous teamwork with the cardiologists, CT surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, the research teams, ICU, wards, and overall care teams to help patients move through our system to get innovative therapies. We have examples across all of our disciplines for patients we care for in cardiometabolic prevention, arrhythmia care, heart failure, coronary and vascular care, and valvular heart disease. Thanks to the teams that helped this latest innovation get to our patients.

On a more solemn note, we also have information below around one of our past cardiology fellows, now cardiologist in practice passing away suddenly – Rip Waters. Our community grieves the loss of such a kind and thoughtful person. Details of the memorial and places for donation are provided below. We will keep Rip and his family in our collective thoughts and prayers.

Highlights and Updates of the week:

Duke Transplant Team Helps Pioneer Total Artificial Heart

A young Graham, NC, father became the second person in the world to receive a BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) as a bridge to transplant, living with the device for 10 days before undergoing a heart transplant at Duke University Hospital.

The device completely replaces a patient’s heart muscle, providing the essential mechanics to circulate blood throughout the body. For patients with biventricular heart failure awaiting a heart transplant, the device provides blood circulation until a donor heart becomes available.

Use of the device at Duke was part of a first-in-human clinical study aiming to evaluate the safety and performance of the BiVACOR TAH. The device provides an option for eligible patients with severe biventricular heart failure or univentricular heart failure in which left ventricular assist device support is not recommended.

“While there are many ways to bridge patients with end-stage heart failure as they await heart transplant, all conventional strategies were unsuccessful for our patient, who had dysfunction of both the right and left side of the heart,” said Duke transplant surgeon Carmelo Milano, MD, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. “The BiVACOR TAH effectively replaced his entire heart and restored normal circulation. He was able to be successfully transplanted 10 days later.”

The Duke patient is a 34-year-old education consultant who is expecting his fourth child. Donavan Harbison, a recreational runner and former NC Central University football player, began feeling poorly in late 2023 and thought he had pneumonia.

To his surprise, he was diagnosed with heart failure.

“It was shocking,” said his wife, Lindsey Harbison. Hoping to manage the condition with medications along with diet and lifestyle changes, Harbison learned earlier this spring his condition was genetic and likely the cause of his father’s early death.

After further tests, his doctors at Cone Health in Greensboro, Daniel R. Bensimhon, MD, and Aditya Sabharwal, DO, found that he had end-stage biventricular heart failure and referred him to Duke for a heart transplant.

“We can offer our patients VADs, ECMO, and other technologies, but the ability to offer our patients the very highest level of care, such as heart and dual-organ transplant, as well as access to advanced devices such as the BiVACOR TAH — that does not happen unless you’re aligned with a partner like Duke Health,” Bensimhon said. “It allows us to get our patients super high-level therapies, fairly close to home, that they would not have access to otherwise.”

With his condition deteriorating quickly, Harbison received a ventricular assist device, but it could not provide the level of assistance needed. After ruling out other technologies, Harbison and his Duke team opted to move forward with the artificial heart.

“There was definitely a feeling of the fear of the unknown,” Donavon Harbison said, “but at that point, I had resolved to take the leap of faith and do everything I could do to increase the success of what would happen.”

“Now, I’m looking forward to getting back to making memories with my family, my kids, my wife, just doing the things you often do and take for granted, like putting my kids to bed at night.”

Harbison received the BiVACOR device in early August – the second in the world after the first implantation occurred at Texas Heart Institute a few weeks earlier. With the device providing strong blood circulation, Harbison gained enough strength within 10 days to receive a donated heart.

“Many end-stage heart disease patients are actually too sick to qualify for heart transplants,” said heart surgeon Jacob Schroder, MD, surgical director of Advanced Heart Failure at Duke and a member of the transplant team that implanted the device. “Current technologies are effective for some patients, but still leave others without options. Having another way to bridge a path to transplant would fill a tremendous void and truly be a lifesaver.”

The BiVACOR TAH utilizes an electro-mechanical rotary blood pump that is a simpler construction than other investigational devices. It has no valves, and a motor drives a single magnetically levitated rotor that simultaneously pumps blood to both the body and the lungs.

“It was a remarkable opportunity for our team to witness the recovery and subsequent bridge-to-transplant of our second courageous BiVACOR TAH patient at Duke,” said Daniel Timms, Ph.D., founder and chief technology officer of BiVACOR. “He and his family embraced a positive attitude toward this new technology, which not only helped extend their lives together, but their experience will provide hope for many others with end-stage heart failure.”

The BiVACOR device is the second total artificial heart implanted via clinical trial at Duke. In 2021, the heart transplant team became the first in the world to successfully implant a different technology, manufactured by CARMAT.

The Duke heart transplant team has been a world leader in pioneering new technologies that make heart transplantation accessible to more patients,” said Adam DeVore, MD, medical director of the Duke Heart Transplant program. “With long waiting lists for the limited numbers of donor hearts, it’s imperative that we continue to find innovative ways to maximize scarce resources.”

The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart Early Feasibility Study is led nationally by cardiologist and Principal Investigator Joseph G. Rogers, MD, president and CEO of Texas Heart Institute in Houston. Rogers spent many years with us at Duke and remains an adjunct professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke School of Medicine. He served as interim chair of the Duke Department of Medicine for just over a year before being named Chief Medical Officer for DUHS in 2018. He joined THI in 2021.

“It has been rewarding to watch the evolution of this pump and see it finally get to human trials,” said Rogers. The BiVACOR device has been in development and preclinical testing with Texas Heart Institute for nearly 12 years, he added. “We’ve watched the device transition from very early prototypes to pre-clinical testing, and finally to human implant.

Rogers says the field has always needed a reliable, total artificial heart. “So many of the patients we care for can get by with a left ventricular assist device because their right hearts work reasonably well, but there is a cohort of patients who, heretofore, had no real viable therapy. I think this device offers that patient population promise and hope that we finally have a total artificial heart that will be not just an outstanding blood pump, but a reliable device that could support people for prolonged periods.”

In terms of collaborating with investigators at Duke on the trial, Rogers said, “You can’t ignore the Duke Heart Failure program for any clinical trial conducted in the U.S. It’s the top-tier program with high-volumes, outstanding care, and a team committed to clinical research and excellence. Duke now has the largest advanced heart failure program in the U.S., and probably in the world. It is also arguably the most academically impactful and has trained some of the most brilliant minds in heart failure in the last 15 years.”

Further reflecting on Duke’s HF program, Rogers adds, “It has been fulfilling to look back at the program and see just how remarkable it is. The physicians and surgeons who are leading it are taking it places that we never would have even dreamed it could go.”

Incredible work, team!

In Memoriam: Rip Waters, MD, former Duke CV Fellow

We learned this week of the passing of cardiologist Richard Everely Waters, II, MD, a former cardiovascular fellow at Duke, on Sept. 24 in California. He was 53.

He is survived by his wife Erica, and their children Ella (20) and Reed (19). He is also survived by his mother, Joanne Waters, brothers Robert (Sara) Waters and Randall (Janée) Waters, sister-in-law Lindsay (Scott) Horner, nieces and nephews Tucker, Claire, Kellen, Isabella, Alexandre, Grant, and Gavin, and parents-in-law, Leon and Denise Reed. He was preceded in death by his beloved father and namesake, Richard E. Waters.

Though Rip valued his job as a cardiologist, his most cherished and gifted roles were as a husband, father, son, brother, and friend.

His obituary reads, in part:

Rip was a brilliant student, and continued his academic pursuits, seeking excellence at all times. He graduated from Stanford in 1993 with a BA in Economics. After college, he spent a year traveling and serving as a medical volunteer in Peru, then continued on to Vanderbilt Medical School, receiving his MD in 1998. He completed internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2001, and cardiovascular fellowship at Duke University Hospital in 2005. After completing his training, he returned home to Stockton, where he sought to always provide outstanding cardiology care to the community. He joined Stockton Cardiology Medical Group in 2005 and was a partner there for the remainder of his career. He was a dedicated clinician and loved to hear every person’s story. He also worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he served in many leadership roles. He was most proud of being part of the structural heart team, which brought non-invasive heart valve replacement (TAVR) to Stockton.

The full memorial piece can be found here.

“Rip Waters left a legacy of always being kind to patients, colleagues, staff, and students,” said Anna Lisa Chamis, MD, program director of Duke’s Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship. “I try to pass on his legacy to our fellows to always be kind even when frustrated in a given situation.”

Chamis and several other cardiology faculty members trained with Waters at Duke during fellowship and became good friends with him. We know Rip will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, friends and colleagues.

Private family services were held at Cherokee Memorial Park in Lodi. A Celebration of Rip’s Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the San Joaquin Medical Society Scholarship Loan Fund, 3031 W. March Lane, suite 222W, Stockton CA 59219, or the charity of your choice.

Cardiac Imaging Symposium Held

The Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium was held yesterday, October 12 in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center.

The event, designed for cardiac sonographers, imaging cardiologists, and other healthcare professionals involved in cardiovascular imaging, had more than 90 participants attending either virtually or in person. Ten companies joined us as vendors.

The event had terrific lectures as well as hands-on demonstrations conducted in small breakout sessions for participants.

Co-course directors were Drs. Anita Kelsey and Sreekanth Vemulapalli. Invited presenters included Fawaz Alenezi, Alicia Armour, Ashlee Davis, Andy Dhimitri, Dallas Gardner, Sarah Hatton, Michel Khouri, Batina Kight, Christopher Kontos, Jayne Leypoldt, Nicholas Medlock, Rachel O’Brien, Jon Owensby, Richard Palma, Danny Rivera, Eddy Sandoval, and Andrew Wang.

Shown here, L-R, are Alenezi, Palma, Sreek Vemulapalli, Ashlee Davis, Alicia Armour, and Anita Kelsey.

Nicely done, all!

Duke Health Baxter IV Fluid Update

On behalf of our Heart & Vascular leadership, kudos to all team members for your ongoing and amazing efforts within our clinical areas to ensure excellent care and conservation of supplies during the Baxter shortage.

Here’s the latest:

As Duke Health continues to monitor the impact of the Baxter Healthcare manufacturing plant closure, we would like to express heartfelt thanks to everyone who is working so tirelessly to review our processes to develop and implement conservation strategies. Your efforts are enabling us to protect our supply of these critical fluids while continuing to provide safe, quality care for our patients.

Thanks to our ongoing conservation efforts, our supply of critical fluids appeared sufficient going into the weekend. Please take note of the following:

The DUH incident command center will be open from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. To contact the command center, call 919-684-2222.
To order IV fluids, call the Fluid Distribution Center at 919-681-6851. The center remains open 24/7.
If you use emergency stock, please call the fluid center to have your emergency supply replenished.
When returning Code Carts to the pharmacy, please be sure to also return all IV fluids that were not used for patient care.
For Duke North and DMP ORs: please put aside empty Baxter 1000 ml bottles of sterile water for Irrigation and 0.9% Sodium Chloride for Irrigation with the cap on the cart at the DMP OR Front Desk.
For procedural areas: DUH is tentatively planning to transition to distilled water for GI endoscopy procedures starting on Tuesday, October 15. Infection Prevention is finalizing the SOP for collection, cleaning, and filling bottles with distilled water. Other DUHS GI endoscopy sites should review the SOP this weekend and determine readiness for transition on Monday. Supply Chain has obtained enough distilled water to support this process for all GI endoscopy across the system. DUH is also collecting used bottles of the Baxter 1000 ml bottles of Sterile water for Irrigation and 0.9% Sodium Chloride for Irrigation with the cap in preparation for this change.
Please ensure that we continue to follow all previously communicated conservation strategies.

Please note this update from late last week regarding warmer storage for irrigation solutions in OR/Procedural settings:

Irrigation solutions in plastic pour bottles may be stored in the warmer for up to 28 days. Use-by dates for these solutions may be extended from 14 days to up to 28 days total.

Thank you again for your collaboration and dedication throughout this situation.

UHC Negotiations Update

For several months, Duke University Health System leadership has worked diligently to negotiate a new agreement with UnitedHealthcare (United) that protects our patients’ access to Duke Health and appropriately reimburses us. However, United has yet to agree to such terms and is likely to remove Duke Health from its network on October 31, 2024. If this occurs, patients with UnitedHealthcare insurance will have to pay more out of pocket to access care at Duke Health beginning November 1, 2024.

Significant operational planning is underway to minimize disruption to patients and clinical teams in the event that this occurs. For now, teams and clinicians should continue care as usual. Resources for Duke Health teams, including leader talking points and team member tips, as well as patient resources, can be found in this email message that was shared earlier in the week. Information is also available on Leadership Exchange.

DUHS has posted a publicly available statement regarding our ongoing negotiations with UnitedHealthcare (UHC). It can be found on the DUHS News & Media site. Here is the link.

Campbell To Serve in ACC Sessions Planning Role

Congratulations to Kristin Bova Campbell, clinical pharmacy specialist in electrophysiology at Duke! We learned this week that she will serve as the Cardiovascular Team Lead for the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions for both 2026 and 2027.

The CV Team Lead works closely with the chair, vice chair, and other team leads to direct and manage the work of the Annual Scientific Session Program Committee, focusing on areas of the meeting related to CV Team member education and the role of the CV Team in patient care.

What a huge honor — congrats, Kristin!!

Great Catch, Watts!

Katland Watts, CNII, a team member with our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Duke University Hospital earned a Great Catch Award recently, which was presented to her on Monday, October 7:

Cardiac ICU Nursing colleague, Katland (Katie) Watts, received an order for Digoxin to treat a persistent/complex patient condition. Katie reviewed the labs prior to administering the medication and found electrolyte imbalances that made her question the appropriateness of this medication. She recalled learning in nursing school less than two years ago some concern regarding Digoxin and potassium levels and took the extra step to both research the drug and contraindications AND call the primary team for clarification. Based on current potassium and magnesium levels, the primary team agreed administration of this drug could result in potential harm or toxicity. The order was held until further assessment and planning for safe management could occur. Because of Katie’s clinical expertise and meticulous practice, she prevented harm from reaching the patient.

Way to go, Katie!

Open Enrollment Starts Monday

Open enrollment 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.

If you wish to participate in the Health Care or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts for 2025, you must enroll (or re-enroll). Participation in the reimbursement accounts does not automatically continue from year to year.

If you do not make changes to your medical, dental or vision coverage, your current medical, dental and vision coverage elections for 2024 will continue for 2025.

Duke’s annual open enrollment period for medical, dental, vision and reimbursement account benefits for 2025 is from October 14 at 8 a.m. — October 25 at 6 p.m.

Up to $640 of your unused Health Care and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account funds from 2025 can be carried over to the subsequent year.
All selections made during the open enrollment period will be effective January 2025.

Benefits information has been mailed to all staff. All information can also be found on Duke’s Open Enrollment 2025 website.

Early Voting at Karsh Starts on Thursday

Durham County registered voters can vote early at Karsh Alumni Center starting Thursday, October 17, and ending Saturday, November 2.

Hours are as follows:

Monday – Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Sundays: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
2: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during this time.

Duke Health Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Duke Health continues to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina.

“In support of the huge need for disaster relief, the health system has donated a wide variety of much-needed supplies, personnel, and drugs to our neighbors and colleagues to the west,” said Craig Albanese, MD, MBA, CEO of DUHS, in a statement last week to all employees. “I’m so proud that more than 300 of our team members have volunteered to deploy to provide clinical and non-clinical support where needed. Additionally, many of our team members have donated their time and expertise locally, and thousands of dollars have been raised through various fundraising efforts. If you are interested and able to do so, please click here to contribute to the American Red Cross. However you are able to support relief efforts, know it will go a long way and truly make a difference.”

You can join our support efforts in many ways:

Sign up to volunteer with our SMAT team to deploy to provide disaster relief.
Make a financial donation to the American Red Cross.
Check for updates on this Duke Health intranet page (NET ID required)

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Oct. 20-Oct.26: Respiratory Care Week

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 15: Mechanical Circulatory Support in Cardiogenic Shock: Where Interventional and Heart Failure Collide with Imran Aslam, MD. 5 p.m. Zoom only.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 16: No conference. Interview Day.

October 18: Fellows’ Meet and Greet Lunch with visiting professor Bernard Gersh. Noon, DMP 2W91

October 23: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Mike Cosiano. Noon, DMP 2W96

October 25: No conference. Interview Day.

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

Upcoming symposia:

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) announces the next emerging ideas and innovation funding cycle. Applications are open to faculty, staff, trainees, and students of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Proposed innovation projects should address actual and important problems encountered by care providers, patients, and their loved ones in our clinical enterprise and represent urgent health challenges nationally.

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

Application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over a one-year period.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

SOM Leadership Development Programs Update

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

October 4 — Theresa Fink/Duke Lifepoint, Conemaugh

Becker’s Hospital Review

Duke LifePoint names physician group COO

October 4 — Annemarie Thompson

Renal & Urology News

AHA and ACC Update Cardiovascular Management Guideline for Noncardiac Surgery

October 5 — Duke Health

Times of India

These signs of a heart attack can appear in young , super-fit people weeks before

October 5 — Robert Mentz

European Heart Journal & Podcast

New light shed on the treatment of heart failure and on novel therapeutic targets

EHJ podcasts are located here: https://duke.is/v/qhfm

October 6 — Gregory Pauly

Yahoo News/McClatchy/Charlotte Observer

Hospitals brace for IV, dialysis fluid shortages after Helene shuts down NC producer

October 7 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donovan Harbison

NBC News Now

‘My heart was gone’: Second person to receive a titanium heart shares experience

October 8 — Leanna Ross

News & Observer* (via AHA News)

‘Weekend warriors’ may gain same health benefits as people who spread out exercise

*and 30 McClatchy news affiliates

October 8 — Duke Children’s

US News & World Report

U.S. News Announces the 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospitals

October 8 — Duke Children’s (peds cardiology/CT Surgery)

WNCN-TV (Raleigh/CBS News)

Duke Children’s Ranked Highly for Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Surgery

October 8 — Duke Children’s (peds cardiology/CT Surgery)

Cardiovascular Business

The top 25 children’s heart hospitals in the US

October 8 — Duke Children’s Hospital (peds cardiology/CT Surgery)

State children’s hospitals earn top rankings

WGHP-TV (Greensboro-High Point, NC)

October 8 — BiVACOR/Duke Heart

Black News/Radio Zindagi (NYC)

Experimental Artificial Heart Helps Save Life

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WRAL-TV (Raleigh)

NC father embraces new life after becoming 2nd person to receive titanium heart at Duke Hospital

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Donavon Harbison

WTVD-TV (Durham)

Graham resident, former NCCU football player becomes 2nd in world to receive total artificial heart

October 8 — Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WXII-TV (Winston-Salem, NC)

Second chance at life

October 8 — Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WNCT-TV (Greenville, NC)

NC home to innovative heart transplant

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WCNC-TV (Charlotte)

NC father becomes second person to receive titanium heart at Duke hospital

October 8 — Adam DeVore, Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

NBC News Daily (and NBC affiliates nationally)

Heart transplant innovation helps NC man’s recovery

October 8 — Carmelo Milano, Donavon Harbison

WRC-TV (Washington, DC)

Heart transplant innovation aides man’s recovery

October 9 — Crystal Tyson

Best Life

Doctors Say This Heart-Healthy Diet Is “The Way to Go” for Lower Blood Pressure

October 9 — Carmelo Milano, Jacob Schroder, Adam DeVore

Duke Today

Duke Transplant Team Helps Pioneer Total Artificial Heart

October 9 — Jeffrey Kuller (OB/GYN)

Juta Medical Brief (Africa)

Heart defect risk for babies conceived through IVF – Swedish study

October 10 — Donovan Harbison/BiVACOR

WSOC-TV (Charlotte, NC)

Artificial Heart helps North Carolina man bridge gap until heart transplant

October 10 — Harry Severance

Becker’s ASC Review

Are business skills the ticket to reclaiming physician autonomy?

October 10 — Sana Al-Khatib

Healio/Cardiology Today

VIDEO: ‘Clear lack of data’ on digital CV health tools for women concerning

October 10 — Carmelo Milano and Donovan Harbison

WNYT-TV (Albany, NY)

NewsChannel 13 Live at 12:30

October 10 — Carmelo Milano and Donovan Harbison

WPTF-AM (Raleigh, NC)

Duke uses innovative device to bridge patient from heart failure to heart transplant

October 10 — Mark Kittipibul and Robert Mentz

Renal & Urology News

Semaglutide Lowers Heart Failure Risks in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, CKD

October 10 — Marat Fudim

Medical Dialogues (India)

Greater Splanchnic Nerve Ablation Shows Feasibility But No Clinical Benefit In HFpEF Patients: REBALANCE-HF Trial

October 11 — Marat Fudim

Healio/Cardiology Today

New consensus statement outlines benefits, challenges of device-based therapies for HF

Duke Heart Pulse — October 6, 2024

October 6, 2024 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message:

This week we continued to support our neighbors and communities in western North Carolina while we worked to ensure we continue to care for our patients. See the stories below on the work we are doing at the Health system to ensure we continue to have IVF and support our clinical operations. There are also efforts by many to support our communities with Hurricane Helene relief efforts you will see below.

This monday we also had our annual faculty celebration re-capping the last year and also welcoming in our new faculty. We have a wonderful panel discuss (image) where leaders in our cardiology group shared their vision for clinical care, research, training. The event was well attended with over 65 faculty members and we will share the slides with everyone this week.

This upcoming week we will continue to work with our teams to ensure we can think about supporting groups as we hopefully have our state health systems return to full operations.

Highlights of the week:

Rosh Hoshana & Yom Kippur

To all who celebrated Rosh Hashanah this past week, we hope you have a good and happy new year. This week, which marks the October 7 anniversary and culminates in Yom Kippur, we wish you and your loved ones peace.

Duke Health Operations Update: Baxter IV Fluid

DUHS and hospitals nationally anticipate upcoming shortages of Baxter IV fluids due to critical damage to their Marion, NC manufacturing plant. Baxter supplies approximately 60% of IV solutions used in North America.

Duke Health has convened a system-wide committee of clinical and administrative leaders to lead a conservation strategy and reduce the impact on our patients and team members. To ensure the continuity of patient care is maintained, we have consolidated our inventory of IV fluid for normal saline and lactated ringers to a central distribution point.

For Duke University Hospital:

If a patient is hemodynamically decompensating and there is a clinical emergency (including sepsis), proceed as you would normally do in ordering IV fluids to resuscitate the patient. The IV fluid supply will come from your clinical units’ supply and be replenished by restocking from the central distribution room. When a patient has stabilized, please follow previously distributed guidelines on the appropriate use of IV fluids.
If a patient does not have a clinical emergency and you are considering ordering IV fluids (bolus or continuous infusion) then you must contact your responsible covering attending for approval of that fluid order and this approval must be documented in a progress note. There will be an auditing process to confirm compliance with this process.
As of Friday, (Oct. 4), every team must daily review their list of ongoing continuous IV fluids to confirm clinical need. All clinicians are strongly encouraged to add an IV Fluid column to their patient lists.
To order IV fluids, call the Fluid Distribution Center at 919-681-6851. Once confirmed, the fluids will be delivered to you.

Following is a list of system-wide recommendations that should be implemented ASAP. If you have additional suggestions for conservation within your specialty area, please escalate through the tiered huddle process.

Maintenance Fluid

When appropriate, limit maintenance fluids to a specific total volume or time frame.
Consider oral hydration strategies when possible. Duke will be increasing the availability of electrolyte PO fluids in partnership with Food Services (ex. Gatorade and Pedialyte).
Frequently review and consider elimination of continuous intravenous fluids (IVFs) for patients who are not NPO (or able to take an oral diet).

Procedural/OR

Consider opportunities to reduce sterile fluid use (intravenous and irrigation) in procedural cases when appropriate

Nursing Processes

Extend the use of IV and flush bags from 24 to 96 hours when changing tubing.
Use small-volume bags for low infusion rates.
- Don’t use 1L bags when a 100ml bag will do.
- Prime A-lines with 500mL bags instead of 1L bags, changed every 4 days
Eliminate the use of Keep Vein Open (KVO) protocols.
Limit quantities of IV bags placed in warmers to avoid early expiration.
Verify ongoing fluid needs with providers before a new IV fluid bag is spiked.
Finish IV bags from the OR or procedure area when going to the unit from surgery rather than switching over to a new bag immediately.

Clinical Practice

Do not empirically start IVF unless indicated.

The incident command center remains active and available to assist with any needs. Hours are from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. To contact the command center, call 919- 684-2222.

Updates will continue as conditions unfold. Our Supply Chain colleagues are working diligently to ensure we continue providing quality care to those who need us. Thank you for your partnership, collaboration, and dedication to providing remarkable care to our patients, their loved ones, and each other.

Duke VAD Team Supporting Patients Caught in Helene

Multiple Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) patients living in western NC have been significantly impacted by Hurricane Helene. Last weekend, our Duke VAD team worked tirelessly to track down each of them to ensure they were okay and had access to power to charge their batteries.

On Monday, there were four people the team had yet to locate. By working the phones and partnering with Jason Zivica and Duke’s State Emergency Response Team, the team coordinated assistance from local fire departments in those western counties, the National Guard, and Mission Hospital to assist in tracking them down. Thankfully, by Wednesday evening all had been found and all were safe.

Our Duke team has worked all week to get medication refills, wound dressings, batteries, and battery chargers to patients who lost them in the storm. Due to issues with ground transport, these supplies had to be airlifted into the area and brought directly to those patients.

“This is just one of many examples of the LVAD team going above and beyond for the patients,” says Stu Russell, MD, Duke’s regional director for advanced heart failure.

Many thanks to Stephanie Barnes, Kevin Cox, Vanessa Francalangia, Grayson Griggs, and Michelle Kern for their efforts – and that of the entire team supporting our VAD patients.

“Amazing work by this group,” added Jill Engel, service line vice president for Heart & Vascular. “The LVAD team has a well-organized approach tied into the emergency management system to ensure the patients are supported during natural disasters, going above and beyond to get them what they need. Kudos to Stu for his leadership as well!”

Outstanding work by a deeply caring and dedicated group!

Duke Health Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Duke Health is actively supporting Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina. Many team members have been deployed with our Duke State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT), including Duke Heart & Vascular nurses.

Here in the Triangle, our teams are coordinating care for patients living in the affected areas. We are also working to support our partners at Duke Lifepoint community hospitals by identifying needs and ensuring we can help them by transporting patients to Duke and other local hospitals.

You can join Duke Health’s support efforts in several ways:

Sign up to volunteer with our SMAT team to deploy to provide disaster relief.
Make a financial donation to the American Red Cross.
Donate items to the Duke Hurricane Helene Relief Drive

Thank you to all who have helped so far and those willing to help in the future. The needs in western NC are great and will continue for a long time.

ECMO Specialist Team Certification Achievement

We are thrilled to share that Duke’s Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Specialist Team has, for the very first time, achieved 100 percent ELSO Adult ECMO Practitioner Certification (E-AEC) for our experienced ECMO Specialists.

The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) is an international consortium of healthcare institutions, researchers, providers, and industry partners that supports ECMO providers with continuing education, guidelines, research, and certification. They also maintain a comprehensive registry of patient data.

“To my knowledge, we are the first ECMO program to achieve 100 percent ELSO Adult ECMO Practitioner Certification,” said Desiree Bonadonna, director of Extracorporeal Life Support at Duke and chief of Perfusion Services. “Duke’s newest class of ECMO Specialists will become eligible and pursue certification in the coming months.”

Our ECMO Specialist team includes Allison Bartlett; Amy Zinn; Benjamin Brown; Christopher Lappe; Dirk Mattin; Christian Oland; Jess Brown; Joanna Mischke; Joel Kester; Blake Hazelwood; Kristin Johnson; Mel Caccamise; Michael Blank; Taylor Miller; Tia Forbes; Vincent Yeboah; Van Lewark; and William Poorboy. Outstanding!

We are very proud of this team. Please join us in congratulating our ECMO Specialists for their hard work and dedication!

Shout-out to Bullock!

Last week, in clinic 2F2G, a patient was checking in for a heart failure follow-up appointment. While checking in, one of our front desk team members — Ethan Bullock — observed the patient to be experiencing stroke-like symptoms.

Ethan very quickly alerted the clinical team. A stroke code was called and the patient was rapidly transported to the emergency department where occlusion of an intracranial artery was confirmed.

Ethan’s attention to detail and quick response ensured this patient was treated as fast as possible. Our clinic nurses, Julie Parham and Debra Means, were also instrumental in helping with the care of this patient.

Great job and great save, Ethan!

Shout-out to Pendyal!

We received a terrific patient compliment this week regarding cardiologist Akshay Pendyal, MD:

“[Earlier this year]I was in the ER for A-Fib and told to see my cardiologist asap. Referral was sent to (another hospital), but I asked with Duke. Due to high turnover of Drs., mine was gone. Earliest I could be seen was within a couple of weeks, which was earlier than I could be seen at the other hospital. I was incredibly impressed with Dr. Pendyal. I am a complex patient. Rarely have I had a new Dr who reviews my record before seeing me, and listens before treating. His willingness to discuss my condition and medication in conjunction with my other conditions and medications was refreshing and encouraging. I last saw a cardiologist 8 months before this and have received three notifications of a change in Drs since. I was ready to jump to a different health clinic, but Duke offered the earlier appointment. I am so pleased with Dr. Pendyal that I really hope he stays at Kernodle Clinic. A friend of mine has seen him as well and was very impressed. Based on our experiences we believe Dr. Pendyal is more than a cut above other providers in his interactions with his patients.” – a grateful patient

Excellent communication and great patient care — way to go, Akshay!

Open Enrollment Starts Oct. 14

If you do not make changes to your medical, dental, or vision coverage, your current medical, dental, and vision coverage elections for 2024 will continue for 2025.

Duke’s annual open enrollment period for medical, dental, vision, and reimbursement account benefits for 2025 is from October 14 at 8 a.m. — October 25 at 6 p.m.

Up to $640 of your unused Health Care and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account funds from 2025 can be carried over to the subsequent year.
All selections made during the open enrollment period will be effective January 2025.

Benefits information has been mailed to all staff. All information can also be found on Duke’s Open Enrollment 2025 website.

Early Voting at Karsh Alumni Center

Durham County registered voters can vote early at Karsh Alumni Center starting Thursday, October 17, and ending Saturday, November 2.

Hours are as follows:

Monday – Saturday: 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Sundays: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
2: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during this time.

Winter Respiratory Virus Season Masking Guidance

As respiratory virus season ramps up, Duke’s Infection Prevention/Infectious Disease specialists anticipate another “tripledemic” related to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Patients, visitors, and team members should protect themselves and others using established prevention strategies.

We strongly recommend masking for patients, visitors, and team members during respiratory virus season – September 18, 2024, through March 1, 2025. Masking is still required in high-risk clinical areas, during clusters or outbreaks, and during the active COVID-19 infectious period.

For more details, masking guidance documents can be found on SharePoint.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month

Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting period, November 2024 General Election.

Oct. 20-Oct.26: Respiratory Care Week

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Oct. 8: Coronary Function Testing in 2024: Where Are We Now? with Nadia Sutton, MD. 5 p.m. Zoom only.

All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

October 9: EP Fellows’ Case Conference with Jonathan Kusner and Hannah Schwennesen. Noon, In-person, DN 2003, or via Zoom.

October 11: DHP Fellows’ Case Conference with Cosette Champion. Noon, via Zoom.

October 16: No conference. Interview Day.

October 18: Fellows’ Meet and Greet Lunch with visiting professor Bernard Gersh. Noon, DMP 2W91

October 23: HF/Txp Fellows’ Case Conference with Mike Cosiano. Noon, DMP 2W96

October 25: No conference. Interview Day.

October 30: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, DN 2001

Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses

The following symposia will be held this fall:

October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.

Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.

New Faculty Orientation

October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.

All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.

DIHI – Innovation Projects RFA 2025

Due Date: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m., October 25, 2024.

The application packet can be found here.

Up to ten applications will be selected for support. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $60,000 over one year.

Questions? Please email DIHIrfa@duke.edu.

Call for Nominations: MLK Humanitarian Award

Nominations will be accepted through October 29. The awards will be announced during Duke’s annual recognition of the MLK holiday in January.

Learn more about the award here.

SOM Leadership Development Programs Update

Applications for the 2025 SOM Leadership Development Programs are now open. This includes the ADVANCE-UP, ALICE, DCLP, and LEADER programs.

Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 1. To learn more, click here. Programs are hosted by the SOM Office for Faculty.

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular 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 interest our team. 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:

September 27 — Annemarie Thompson (CT Anesthesiology)

Medical Dialogues (IN)

New insights on perioperative cardiovascular management in noncardiac surgery: AHA/ACC 2024 guidelines release

September 27 — William Kraus

Voz Populi (Sp)

Este es el alimento que ayuda a mantener el corazón fuerte y que recomiendan los cardiólogos

September 28 — Crystal Tyson (Cardiometabolic Prevention/nephrologist)

The New York Times

The Heart-Healthy Diet Hardly Anyone Is Talking About

September 30 — Duke University Hospital/Mary Martin

WTVD (Durham, NC)