Duke Heart Pulse — November 24, 2024 – The Pulse

Chief’s message: Thanksgiving week.

Each year the thanksgiving week brings a host of exciting and memorable traditions for many in our community. Our community including our faculty, residents, and fellows hopefully get some time off to spend with loved ones. There are also fun activities like resident Turkey bowl and official start of the Holiday season. Perhaps most notable for those of us in the health care community is the sense of gratitude for our colleagues and the opportunity we have to care for, teach, and play a role in cardiovascular health of so many peoples. So, as you have family visiting for the holidays, please be sure to share with them the joy and meaningful role you play in all the work we do.

Updates of the week:

In Passing: Kristine Arges, RN, BSN, CCRC

With profound sadness, we reflect on the loss of Kristine (Kris) Arges, a cherished Duke Heart Center Clinical Research Unit member and the Duke Cardiac Diagnostic Unit. Arges, who died Thursday, spent 31 years on our team. She left Duke in 2022 after being diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). We ran a profile of Kris and her efforts to raise awareness and funding for MSA research in the Oct. 23, 2022 issue of Pulse.

Kris dedicated her career to advancing cardiovascular care through her exceptional skill, unwavering professionalism, and compassionate spirit. Her contributions to clinical research and diagnostics have touched countless lives, leaving a lasting legacy of excellence. Beyond her professional achievements, Kris will be remembered for her warmth, kindness, and the genuine connections she formed with her colleagues and patients alike. Her loss is deeply felt by all who had the privilege to know and work alongside her. We honor her memory and extend our condolences to her family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time.

We’ve collected some thoughts on Kris and wanted to share them with our team:

“Kris had many friends in her life and helped so many people as a nurse and clinical researcher at Duke. She was a true animal lover who had many dogs and a couple of cats, which she adored over the years. Kris was always on the go from traveling the world (with several trips to her beloved Germany) to remodeling our house and a mountain chateau to raising dozens of chickens to digging a fish pond and building a patio. Her imagination had no limit and she had no use for sitting around which in the end was the real tragedy of the disease that finally brought her down — but no one fought harder to live life to its fullest than Kris.” – Jim Arges, her husband

“Truly a sad day for myself, the CDU, and Duke. Kris was instrumental in establishing and embodying the culture of scholarship, excellence, kindness, and camaraderie that we strive for every day. She has been missed since she left the CDU and she and her family are in our thoughts.” – Sreek Vemulapalli, MD

“She was a wonderful person and will be missed. Her memory is a blessing.” – Manesh Patel, MD

Arrangements for a memorial service will be shared once finalized.

AHA 24: Hernandez Honored with QCOR Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research (QCOR) Council bestowed the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award on Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS, the executive director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and vice dean at the Duke University School of Medicine, during the AHA Scientific Sessions on November 16.

The award is presented annually at the AHA Scientific Sessions to a QCOR Council member for their significant long-term contributions to outcomes research and the improvement of cardiovascular care.

In addition to his leadership roles at Duke, Hernandez is a cardiologist and an internationally recognized leader in clinical research. His work ranges from clinical trials to health services and policy research, with over 600 publications. He has served as the steering committee chair or principal investigator of multiple large studies and is committed to improving the health of patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

During his keynote speech at the awards reception, Hernandez highlighted the caring, committed community within the QCOR.

“We care about moving quality outcomes forward,” he said. “We care about closing false disparities. And in our current times, these things will continue to be important. At the DCRI, I have a great job working across different research areas, and I use the QCOR as an example of communities coming together to improve quality care and health outcomes.”

Congratulations, Adrian!

AHA 24: Ross Selected as Finalist for Early Career Investigator Award

Leanna Ross has been recognized as a finalist in the Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Early Career Investigator Award by the American Heart Association’s Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health. Leanna received the award at the organization’s 2024 Scientific Sessions following the presentation of her abstract, “Legacy Effects of Supervised Exercise Training on Body Composition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in STRRIDE-Prediabetes.”

Congratulations, Leanna! Well-deserved!

Additionally, two 4^th year medical students from Ross and Bill Kraus’s “Duke Health and Exercise Trials Team” presented and were first-time attendees at AHA Scientific Sessions.

Anna-Maria Dagher gave an oral abstract presentation: Exercise-induced Improvements in Capillary Density are Influenced by Sex, Hormone Replacement Therapy, and Exercise Intensity
Garrett Moseley gave a moderated poster presentation: Retrospective Review of the Safety and Effectiveness of a Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet in Overweight or Obese Patients with Heart Failure

Shown from Left to Right are: Katherine Collins-Bennett, PhD (medical instructor in Pop Health), Bill Kraus, Garrett Moseley, Leanna Ross, and Anna-Maria Dagher)

Congratulations to all!

Vekstein to Join CT Surgery Faculty in 2025

It is with great pleasure that we announce Andrew Vekstein, MD, will join the CT surgery faculty at Duke. Andrew will focus his clinical practice on aortic and adult cardiac surgery. As most of you know, Andrew completed his undergraduate education at Duke University. He then attended medical school at Case Western Reserve and was awarded AOA designation. He subsequently was accepted into the Duke Integrated 6 year CT Surgery residency and will be our 3rd graduate from the program.

Vekstein plans to complete an additional Aortic surgery fellowship with Drs. Chad Hughes and Chandler Long, the directors for the Duke Aortic Center. He has already published extensively with over 50 peer reviewed manuscripts, 7 book chapters and multiple national meeting and podium presentations. Consistent with his interest in clinical research, he will have a joint appointment in the Duke Clinical Research Institute and has already been awarded the Duke Heart Center Leadership Council Award to study cognitive function of patients after surgeries with circulatory arrest.

Andrew is one of the brightest and most academically driven trainees that we have worked with, but at the same time, he is the consummate gentleman and team player. He plans to begin his appointment on July 1, 2025. Please join us in supporting Andrew as he transitions to this faculty role.

Congratulations, Andrew!

DUCCS Update

DUCCS leaders have announced that the Multinational ST LEUIS II Trial is underway with the goal of enrolling 1000 patient in the US, Argentina, Europe and Qatar. The study is testing a pocket-sized AI-powered handheld Smartphone Mobile ECG System for rapid detection of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) and with continuous and live-monitoring capabilities which can change the approach of STEMI detection on-the-go.

This second initiative is being led by Duke University Cooperative Cardiovascular Society (DUCCS) president Greg Barsness, MD along with Alex Barbagelata, MD, vice-president, DUCCS, and with strong support from Dave Albert, MD, a well-known innovator and founder of AliveCor, where he serves as Chief Medical Officer.

This study is a second phase of the first DUCCS ST LEUIS trial, led by previous DUCCS president J. Brent Muhlestein, MD, which generated significant impact and was the trigger for this novel technology.

If you are or were trained at Duke and still are not affiliated with DUCCS but would like to be, please contact Alex Barbagelata.

7200 to Serve as Hospital Surge Unit

Duke North, 7201-7208 will remain open until further notice as a Hospital Surge Unit accepting ED overflow patients from all service-lines, including Heart. This area will be managed by Ashley Frazier, 7100 Nurse Manager.

We are grateful Heart is able to support efforts to diminish DUH capacity concerns.

Kudos to Goodwin!

We recently received the following message regarding cardiology fellow Nate Goodwin, MD, which was originally sent to Anna Lisa Chamis, MD:

“Just wanted to send a quick kudos about Nate Goodwin for his thoughtful care to a post-liver transplant patient during what sounds like a very busy consult night. He was also apparently the “NICEST”. It’s rare that the APPs go out of their way to let me know about their interactions with other service line members, so go, Nate! Thanks for training such great physicians and people.” — Nancy Yang, MD

Solid work, Nate!

Shout-out to Lewis!

We received the following note from Adam DeVore this past week:

“About every week I get positive feedback from clinic patients about Jennifer Lewis’s customer service. I received a note today that I thought had to be passed on:

“Jennifer is heroic in her service and commitment to patient care.” – a grateful patient

She is a gem! — Adam DeVore, MD

Way to go, Jennifer!!!

Upcoming HFSA Seminar: What You Need to Know STAT! HF Stats

December 19, 2024 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM ET | Virtual Livestream; OnDemand to follow

Join the HFSA for an informative (free!) seminar, HFSA Heart Failure Seminar: What You Need to Know STAT! HF Stats, where leading experts delve into the latest trends and statistics on heart failure. This session is designed to provide the recent insights on heart failure incidence, mortality, hospitalizations, and treatment. Attendees will also gain a comprehensive understanding of the strategies HFSA is employing to address these trends and close critical gaps in care.

Mike Felker, MD will be speaking, so you know this will be a great event! To learn more, please visit: https://hfsa.org/heart-failure-seminar-what-you-need-know-stat-hf-stats

Who Are The Most Cited Duke Scientists of 2024?

*this story, written by Karl Bates, originally appeared in Duke’s Research Blog

The Web of Science ranking of the world’s most highly-cited scientists was released this week, telling us who makes up the top 1 percent of the world’s scientists. These are the authors of influential papers that other scientists point to when making their arguments.

Twenty-three of the citation laureates are Duke scholars or had a Duke affiliation when the landmark works were created over the last decade.

Dan Scolnic of Physics returns as our lone entry in Space Science, which just makes Duke sound cooler all around, don’t you think?

This is a big deal for the named faculty and an impressive line on their CVs. But the selection process weeds out “hyper-authorship, excessive self-citation and anomalous citation patterns,” so don’t even think about gaming it.

Fifty-nine nations are represented by the 6,636 individual researchers on this year’s list. About half of the citation champions are in specific fields and half in ‘cross-field’ — where interdisciplinary Duke typically dominates. The U.S. is still the most-cited nation with 36 percent of the world’s share, but shrinking slightly. Mainland China continues to rise, claiming second place with 20 percent of the cohort, up 2.5 percent from just last year. Then, in order, the UK, Germany and Australia round out the top five.

Tiny Singapore, home of the Duke NUS Graduate Medical School, is the tenth-most-cited with 1.6 percent of the global share.

In fact, five Duke NUS faculty made this year’s list: Antonio Bertoletti, Derek Hausenloy and Jenny Guek-Hong Low for cross-field; Carolyn S. P. Lam for clinical medicine, and the world famous “Bat Man,” Lin-Fa Wang, for microbiology.

Okay, you scrolled this far, let’s go!

Biology and Biochemistry

Charles A. Gersbach

Clinical Medicine

Christopher Bull Granger
Adrian F. Hernandez
Gary Lyman

Cross-Field

Priyamvada Acharya
Stefano Curtarolo
Vance G. Fowler Jr.
Po-Chun Hsu (adjunct, now U. Chicago)
Ru-Rong Ji
William E. Kraus
David B. Mitzi
Christopher B. Newgard
Pratiksha I. Thakore (now with Genentech)
Xiaofei Wang
Mark R. Wiesner

Environment and Ecology

Robert B. Jackson (adjunct, now Stanford U.)

Microbiology

Barton F. Haynes

Neuroscience and Behavior

Quinn T. Ostrom

Plant and Animal Science

Sheng-Yang He

Psychiatry and Psychology

Avshalom Caspi
William E. Copeland
Terrie E. Moffitt

Space Science

Dan Scolnic

Congratulations to all!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

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

November 27: DHP Conference with Jemi Galani. Noon, DN2001.

November 29: NO CONFERENCE. Happy Thanksgiving!

2025 Duke Heart CMEs – Save the Dates!

The following CME activities, sponsored by Duke Heart, have been scheduled. Registration is not yet open, but stay tuned for additional information.

February 18, 2025: Remote Patient Care: A New Era in Cardiovascular Disease Management; 5:00-7:30pm Eastern on Zoom; will be free
April 26, 2025: Duke Structural Heart Symposium (live event at Trent Semans Center in Durham)
June 7, 2025: Duke Heart Failure Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center in Durham)

These events are currently being planned for late 2025; dates have not yet been set:

October: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium (live event, location TBD)
November: 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium (live event, location TBD)

Reflect and Connect During the Holiday Season

The holiday season can be a busy, stressful, and isolating time for many. Duke Personal Assistance Service (PAS) is hosting three “Reflection and Connection” sessions that will use storytelling as a means of reducing stress and creating a stronger sense of connection with yourself and others.

The sessions will be held remotely via Zoom. Participants will be guided through practices of a mini-mental makeover and expressive writing to reflect and nurture empathy and a sense of meaning in response to stress – whether personal, professional, or related to current events or the stress and pressures (and joys) of the holiday season.

Writing exercises are for the sole use and benefit of participants, who are not required to share anything they write. Registration is required. You can attend any/all of the sessions offered.

Dates:

Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 4–5 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 17, from 4–5 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 4–5 p.m.

Register Here

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, Sudarshan Rajagopal, and Sreekanth Vemulapalli.

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.

Cardio Sim Creator Competition

The ACC is accepting submissions for the Cardio Sim Creator Competition, a prestigious recognition for outstanding innovation in the field of cardiac simulation.

The submission deadline is Friday, Dec. 6 at 11:59 p.m. To learn more, please visit this link.

2025 Duke Safety & Quality Conference Date Announced

The Duke Safety & Quality Conference will be held on April 17, 2025. Abstracts are due Sunday, January 5, by 5 p.m.

Click here to learn more and to review submission criteria.

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:

November 15 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

Artificial heart saves 4th patient

November 15 — Jennifer Green

Neurology Advisor

Diabetes and Pregnancy: Cardiovascular Risk Postpartum

November 16 — Sana Al-Khatib

Medpage Today

Ablation Bests Drugs for Ventricular Tachycardia After Heart Attack

November 16 — Sana Al-Khatib

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