Home » 2024 (Page 3)
Yearly Archives: 2024
Duke Heart Pulse — August 4, 2024
Chief’s Message: Discovery to Delivery of Health – Duke Heart and Vascular
Over the last year we have spent much of our time highlighting the clinical work and people (faculty, residents, fellows, and staff) that help us deliver world class care to our patients. This is always central to our mission and hopefully will be even more possible in our new aligned clinical structure under the Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP). However, often the key differentiator at Academic Medical Centers (AMC’s) is the academic or discovery portion of the work that our faculty and fellows/residents do. Much of this work either directly or indirectly plays a role in fundamentally helping us better understand how to treat and care for cardiovascular disease. Importantly it is also how we determine the areas where our clinical care should evolve to prevent and improve health. Our local and regional communities come to us for access to this care and to understand health, and our global community looks to us to engage and participate to help determine the course for years to come. Over the next several months in addition to updates on our structural changes – we will work to highlight the continued excellence across our group in the research mission. Today’s Pulse starts with some of those recent research awards – and we will ensure we continue to highlight the research work, the grants, presentations, and impact that we are making. We see a future of care that is truly powered by these discoveries put into clinical practice – powered by Duke Heart and Vascular.
Highlights of the week:
$9.4 Million in Funding Awarded to Cardiology Faculty in June
We’re excited to announce a compilation of funding awards received in June 2024 by faculty in the Duke Division of Cardiology. Sponsored research funding, all from the National Institutes of Health, was awarded to:
Adam DeVore received an award (1UG3-HL173571-01) from the National Institutes of Health for a project entitled “1/2 Spironolactone Initiation Registry Randomized Interventional Trial in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Extension Trial.” Total funding will be $877,758.
Marat Fudim received an award (1R01-HL171305-01) from the National Institutes of Health for a project entitled “Splanchnic Nerve Modulation In Heart Failure (Splanchnic X).” Total funding will be $2,533,785.
Svati Shah received an award (1R01-HL168940-01A1) from the National Institutes of Health for a project entitled “Machine Learning Guided Precision Genetic Testing for Identification of Monogenic Cardiovascular Disorders.” Total funding will be $2,706,567.
Additionally, industry-sponsored funding has been awarded as follows:
Marat Fudim received an award from Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. for a project entitled “A Phase 3, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of Levosimendan in Pulmonary Hypertension Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction(PH-HFpEF); LEVEL: LEVosimendan to Improve Exercise Limitation in Pa.” Total funding will be $488,289.
Neha Pagidipati received an award from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for a project entitled “Bayer AG – CKD Implementation -Multi-funded.” Total funding will be $2,354,263.
Jennifer Rymer received an award from Abiomed, Inc. for a project entitled “Protect IV.” Total funding will be $446,788.
That’s more than $9.4 million in research funding across five faculty members. Extraordinary! Congratulations to all and we look forward to learning more about the projects.
Great Catch Award for Nikia Beavers!
Nikia Beavers, CNII, was helping the admitting nurse on 7 West at Duke University Hospital when she identified an incorrect order set for a post-op esophagectomy patient. While the ‘other’ order set used was similar, there are critical differences in the management of NGT and J-tubes.
Not only did she recognize the tube management plan (based on order) was incorrect, she intervened to prevent incorrect care and escalated her concerns to ensure clarity was obtained from the provider. Further, this great catch led to awareness around opportunities for broader education regarding the care standard for this low-volume/high-risk patient population.
Nikia was an excellent role model in this situation by escalating her concerns through the nursing channels and then to the providers.
Way to go, Nikia!
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
We are still seeking Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8. Walker recruitment and fundraising efforts are well underway and we are almost a month away from the event. Please consider joining us – it is not too late!

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
DUHS Leadership Announcements
Several leadership changes at Duke Health and DHIP were announced over the past couple of weeks:
- Doug Heron, associate vice president for State Relations, will be leaving Duke to become the Senior Vice President at the North Carolina Hospital Association (NCHA), effective August 16. In an announcement from Craig Albanese, MD, MBA, chief executive officer for DUHS and Chris Simmons, vice president of Government Relations for Duke University, the two stated, “Since Doug joined Duke more than ten years ago, he has transformed Duke State Relations, boosting the visibility of Duke and Duke Health in Raleigh and across North Carolina’s healthcare sector. His impact on legislation and regulations, whether shaping, drafting, or opposing them, has been substantial and noteworthy.”
- Mangoné Fall has been selected as Duke Health’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), effective September 9th. The announcement was made by Jeff Ferranti, MD, MS, senior vice president and chief digital officer for DUHS. Fall will join us from Cleveland Clinic, where he served as the executive director of cybersecurity and deputy CISO. “A transformational leader with more than 30 years of experience in cybersecurity, technology, and business enablement, he has a proven track record of driving cultural and organizational change to achieve business goals and leading cross-functional teams to create value, enhance productivity, and implement complex technical solutions,” said Ferranti.
Two of Duke Health Integrated Practice’s leaders have been promoted to Vice President roles as of August 1:
- Sara Holleran, MPH, is now DHIP’s Vice President of Growth and Network Development. In her new role, Sara plans to significantly enhance clinical capacity through the alignment and acquisition of mid-to-large-scale physician practices and spearhead the clinical development of new facilities and the establishment of novel practices within Duke Health.
- Brittany Komansky, MHA, BSN, RN, CEN, NEA-BC, is DHIP’s new Vice President of Ambulatory Operations. In her new role, Brittany will work alongside Tammy Berry, VP of DHIP Ambulatory Operations, to support DHIP’s clinicians and team members by streamlining and optimizing workflows, implementing best practices, and ensuring Duke’s quality and safety remain uncompromised. Together Tammy and Brittany will continue to cultivate strong, collaborative partnerships between our clinics and departments, and across DHIP and DUHS, with the intent of reinforcing Duke’s status as a national leader in ambulatory care.
Congratulations to all!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
Aug. 7: Congenital Heart Disease, Part 1 with Richard Krasuski. Noon, 2W96.
Aug. 9: Congenital Heart Disease, Part 2 with Richard Krasuski. Noon, via Zoom.
Aug. 14: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.
Aug. 16: EKG Review with Michelle Kelsey. Noon, via Zoom.
Aug. 21: Diagnostic Coronary Angiogram with Andrew Wang. Noon, 2W96.
RFA: Duke CTSI CDA Program
The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute CTSI Career Development Award Program (CDA) is now accepting applications. The Duke CTSI CDA provides skilled and personalized mentoring, a coordinated and tailored scientific and career development curriculum, and the opportunity to conduct clinical or translational (bench to bedside) research. The CTSI CDA is particularly committed to increasing the diversity of the research workforce. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.
Up to two Scholars will be awarded 75% total protected effort for 2 years, up to $20,000/year for research expenses, and up to $2,500/year for travel to professional meetings. Funding will start in January 2025. Applications are due September 9, 2024.
Individuals considering applying to the Duke CTSI CDA are strongly encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent by August 1, 2024 via MyResearchProposal. For more information about the CTSI CDA and how to apply please visit https://ctsi.duke.edu/career-development/duke-ctsi-cda.
For questions about the program, please email CTSI CDA Program Manager: Stephanie Molner, MSW, or one of the program directors: Laura Svetkey, MD, MHS, Kimberly Johnson, MD, or Rasheed Gbadegesin, MBBS, MD.
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.
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).
Registration/landing pages are not yet available but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
New Faculty Orientation Dates
October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center.
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. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.
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 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:
July 28 — Carmelo Milano, Jacob Schroder, and Matthew Moore
Innovando News
Gino Gerosa: “In two years the prototype of the tailor-made artificial heart”
*The article is officially dated February 20, 2024
July 30 — Monique Starks
The Washington Post
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a medical response drone.
July 30 — Monique Starks
WHRO (Norfolk, VA)/KFF Health News
Rescue from above: How drones may narrow emergency response times in Virginia and elsewhere
July 31 — Duke University Hospital
Becker’s Hospital Review
Duke Heart Pulse — July 28, 2024
Duke Heart Pulse – July 28, 2024
Chief’s message: Sports, Cardiovascular Health, and the opening weekend of the Olympics

This last week was been highlighted by a convergence of sports, cardiovascular health topics and the opening weekend of the Olympics. I was fortunate enough to support the Joel Cornette Foundation last week that has partnered with the AHA and Duke to support several projects aimed as improving cardiovascular science and health in athletes. At the fundraiser last weekend, I was able to spend sometime with the Keynote speaker – Coach Tom Izzo – Head Basketball Coach of the Michigan State Spartans since 1995 – with 8 trips to the final four and a championship in 2000. He was thoughtful and knowledgeable about the goals to increase CPR, science for athletes heart, and the national effort for a registry with the AHA and Cornette Foundation to understand cardiac conditions in athletes with cardiac conditions. He also had thoughts on college athletics, NIL, and where the sport and amateurism is going.
Fittingly, the weekend started the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics to be hosted by France. Sports provide an opportunity for many of the people around the world to come together in community and see the similarities and humanity that unites us all, something that is much needed in our current times. Additionally, the Olympics often provide an opportunity to recognize and understand the stories of the amazing people that have worked tremendously hard, committed, and sacrificed to be as world-class as possible. Many similarities exist for those of us that see the many young men and women that we train in the cardiovascular fields of cardiology, anesthesia, vascular surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery. We were lucky enough to start our week off (based on visiting our son doing a summer quarter) in the south of France for the opening weekend seeing the national team playing soccer in the opening rounds (picture). Hopefully over the next two weeks the Olympics will be able to provide the opportunity for people to see athletes and countries competing and coming together.
Highlights of the week:
Duke Regional Earns 2024 NCDR Platinum Award for Chest Pain-MI
Duke Regional Hospital has received the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Chest Pain-MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2024, based on 2023 data.
Duke Regional Hospital has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023) and performed at the highest level for specific performance measures to receive this 2024 award. Additionally, they moved from 3 stars to 4 stars for the All MI care composite score.
The Chest Pain – MI Registry, part of the American College of Cardiology’s Quality Improvement measurement system, is the go-to registry for hospitals and health systems applying American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) clinical guideline recommendations.
Congratulations to all DRH team members – way to go!
ICYMI: AED Drone Delivery Research Featured by NHLBI
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has highlighted research into drone delivery for AEDs on their news site. The article features research by Dr. Monique Starks and team members with the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Great job!
This article also appears in news coverage below.
CVRC’s Roy Earns New Investigator Travel Award
Bipradas Roy, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Dr. Sudha Shenoy recently received a New Investigator Travel Award to attend the AHA’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions held July 22-25, 2024 at the Hilton Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.
Roy’s abstract, Inflammation-induced endothelial cell activation and angiogenic sprouting are downmodulated by ubiquitin-specific peptidase 20, was selected for oral presentation in the session ‘Early Career Pre-Conference Session 2: Next Best Thing session. His co-authors include Jiao-hui Wu, Neil J. Freedman, and Sudha K. Shenoy.
Congratulations, Bipradas!
Kudos to the Heart COE team!
On behalf of the entire Duke Heart & Vascular team, Jill Engel and Manesh Patel sent the following note to our COE team:
“A big thanks and kudos to the Heart Center of Excellence team. Last week when the Crowd Strike outage occurred, the COE team rapidly deployed to support not only the Heart & Vascular Center areas, teams and interfaces but also deployed to any and all sites in need of support.
The team displayed great dedication and energy and truly impacted our ability to provide clinical care.”
Great job, everyone!
Kudos to Carroll, Ingram & Schwennesen!
We received the following note praising cardiovascular fellows, Hannah Schwennesen, Damarcus Ingram, and Aubrie Carroll this week:
“I have to give kudos to Hannah, Damarcus, and Aubrie for their extraordinary work this week. There were several very tough activations and transfers this week, and these three managed them so well. Aubrie helped to get a very sick patient over from the VA to Duke, and went beyond her role as a diagnostic fellow to stay with the patient in the PACU at the VA, verify bleeding risk and communicate to Duke, and arrange transportation herself. Hannah and Damarcus have been fielding 5-6 activations a day and dozens of calls, all while teaching new housestaff. I am convinced that no other program could match our fellows- they are smart, effective, professional and most importantly, really good people.” — Jennifer Rymer, MD
Nicely done!
Shout-out to all Move-Team Members
A big thank you to all who assisted with our unit moves in Duke University Hospital last week! Our moves were efficient and successful – great job!
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health’s recruitment of Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8, is well underway, but we are not yet at our goal! Won’t you join us?

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
July 31: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.
RFA: Health Disparities Research Curriculum, Duke CTSI & REACH Equity
The Duke CTSI and the Center for Research to Advance Healthcare Equity (REACH Equity) are pleased to announce a call for applications for the Health Disparities Research Curriculum (HDRC). PDF: HDRC RFA 2024-2025
If you’re interested in participating in the 2024-2025 curriculum, a brief online application must be submitted by August 5, 2024.
HDRC is designed to increase knowledge and skill in the design and conduct of health disparities research. Although the curriculum focuses primarily on racial and ethnic disparities, the principles, methods, and examples will be broadly applicable to other health disparity populations (e.g. socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, sexual and gender minorities, etc.).
The curriculum consists of didactic and interactive sessions approximately every two to three weeks on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 pm; September 2024 through June 2025. The 2024-2025 HDRC will be entirely virtual.
The curriculum addresses:
- Foundational knowledge for design and conduct of research to address racial and ethnic health disparities, including:
- Nomenclature and framework for approaching research involving health disparities
- Contributors to health disparities
- Role of implicit bias in disparities research
- Health disparities research methods across the translational spectrum
- Conduct of health disparities research focused on the clinical encounter and health systems
- Funding sources and strategies for disparities research
Please note that this curriculum is not designed to teach basic research design, and participants should have some foundational knowledge on the general principles and issues in research design.
Acceptance into the HDRC curriculum will be determined based on capacity, commitment to conducting health disparities research, and the applicant’s rationale for taking the course. Applicants will be notified of acceptance via email. You must be affiliated with Duke University or North Carolina Central University to participate in this curriculum.
Additional program information, syllabus and the application.
For additional information or questions about the HDRC, please contact: Stephanie Molner, MSW.
RFA: Duke CTSI CDA Program
The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute CTSI Career Development Award Program (CDA) is now accepting applications. The Duke CTSI CDA provides skilled and personalized mentoring, a coordinated and tailored scientific and career development curriculum, and the opportunity to conduct clinical or translational (bench to bedside) research. The CTSI CDA is particularly committed to increasing diversity of the research workforce. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.
Up to two Scholars will be awarded 75% total protected effort for 2 years, up to $20,000/year for research expenses, and up to $2,500/year for travel to professional meetings. Funding will start January, 2025. Applications are due September 9, 2024.
Individuals considering applying to the Duke CTSI CDA are strongly encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent by August 1, 2024 via MyResearchProposal. For more information about the CTSI CDA and how to apply please visit: https://ctsi.duke.edu/career-development/duke-ctsi-cda.
For questions about the program, please email CTSI CDA Program Manager: Stephanie Molner, MSW or one of the program directors: Laura Svetkey, MD, MHS, Kimberly Johnson, MD, or Rasheed Gbadegesin, MBBS, MD.
New Faculty Orientation Dates Announced
October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center.
All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics are applicable to all faculty regardless of career stage. Registration is required. Questions? Contact SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.
Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses
The following symposia will be held this fall:
October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55am-3:30pm. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.
November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. – 3:15p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).
Registration/landing pages are not yet available, but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
Have news to share?
If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon, Wednesdays, to be considered for weekend inclusion.
Duke Heart in the News:
July 19 — Monique Starks
Davidson News
Drones as first responders: Enhancing emergency response with AED deliveries
July 22 — Monique Starks
KFF Health News
Rescue from above: How drones may narrow emergency response times
July 22 — Monique Starks
Journal of Emergency Medical Services
This is how drones may narrow emergency response times
July 22 — Duke Clinical Research Institute/Monique Starks
Becker’s Clinical Leadership
Medical care in the air: City to use drones for some 911 calls
July 23 — Manesh Patel
North Carolina Health News
The case against plastic waste grows as more studies point to potential harm
July 23 — Monique Starks
Medscape
How drones may narrow emergency response times
July 23 — Manesh Patel
Q City Metro (Charlotte, NC)
The case against plastic waste grows as more studies point to potential harm
July 24 — Duke University Hospital
Spectacular Magazine
4 NC Hospitals Ranked in Top 100 in the World
July 24 — Duke University Health System
Forbes
46 hospitals, health systems among best employers for women: Forbes
July 24 — Monique Starks
NHLBI News/Research Feature
To the rescue: Drones could deliver defibrillators for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
July 25 — Nia Schwann Mitchell (Internal Medicine)
Reach MD
Why It Is Important to Think About Your Heart Risk Beyond 10 Years
July 25 — Duke University Hospital (#16)
Becker’s ASC Review
Top 25 cardiac hospitals in US: Newsweek
July 25 — Jennifer Rymer
tctMD
For Pragmatic RCTs, Patient-Reported ‘Hard’ Events Fall Short
July 26 — Monique Starks
Philly Voice
Rescue from above: how drones may narrow emergency response times
Duke Heart Pulse — July 21, 2024
Duke Heart Pulse – July 21, 2024
Chief’s message: Visiting Lectures and Global IT issues
This week was a whirlwind in the health system with inspiring talks and interaction with the Commissioner of the FDA – Robert M. Califf. He provided two talks on what the cardiovascular clinicians will need to do in the future and what the future Heart and Vascular Centers should do – with a look back at the origins of Duke Heart. It was great to see the next generation of our leaders interacting with him.
Unfortunately, the week ended with the IT issues tied to the CrowdStrike update (patch) on many of our Microsoft computer systems in the Health system and School. The command center starting early Friday morning and many of our leaders worked together to ensure systems were up as soon as possible and we were able to work through much of our patient care in the cath labs, EP labs and OR. Also wanted to give a special thanks to Jill Engel who is served as the administrative lead for a lot of the health system and service line response on Friday into this weekend and upcoming week. We ask our Faculty, Staff, and learners to read the special notes about the IT outage below to ensure we stay vigilant on many of the IT attempts to infiltrate our cyber security. The upcoming week will hopefully have some return to normalcy for our clinical and research work.
Finally – you will also see some amazing stories of new additions to our Heart and Vascular Family – with some amazing and heart warming stories of care our team provided.
Highlights of the week:
FDA Commissioner Presents CGR & 18th Annual Reves Lecture
We welcomed Robert M. Califf, MD, back to Duke Health this week. Califf, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, gave a special Cardiology Grand Rounds presentation on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, he gave the 18th Annual Jerry G. Reves, MD Lecture during Duke Anesthesiology Grand Rounds in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center for Health Education at Duke.
Califf’s Reves Lecture, ‘What Should a Heart and Vascular Center Do in the Next Decade,’ drew a large audience, as did his CGR presentation, ‘The Cardiovascular Specialist in a Time of Decline in American Cardiometabolic Health’. Thanks to all who joined us both in person and via Zoom.
Jerry Reves, MD, a recognized pioneer in modern anesthesiology and for whom the lectureship is named, began his Duke career when he became a faculty member with the Duke School of Medicine in 1984. The very next year he designed the anesthesia protocol for Duke’s first heart transplant. Soon thereafter, Reves – along with then-chair of surgery David C. Sabiston Jr., MD, and then-chair of medicine Joseph C. Greenfield, MD, co-founded the Duke Heart Center in 1987.
Dr. Califf is an adjunct professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke and the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. It was a delight to have him and Reves back among us this week.
Shown here, L-R, are Drs. Manesh Patel, Dawn Coleman, Jerry Reves, Robert Califf, Carmelo Milano, Mihai Podgoreanu, and Joe Mathew.
If you were unable to join us for Cardiology Grand Rounds, a link to the recording can be found here: https://warpwire.duke.edu/w/9BYIAA/ (access requires a NET ID and passcode). A link to the Reves Lecture was not yet available.
Bleecker Named DUHS VP of Finance
Leigh Bleecker, MBA, MHA, has been promoted to Vice President of Finance for Duke University Health System. She assumes this role as she continues to serve as the Divisional Chief Financial Officer for Duke Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital. The announcement was made Thursday, July 18 by Lisa Goodlett, senior VP and CFO, Treasurer of DUHS.
Since joining Duke in 2002, Leigh has made considerable contributions to the health system and is a visionary leader for our teams. Over the past 13 years, she has served as Assistant Vice President for Finance at DUHS and as Divisional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Duke Raleigh. She has also served as Interim President of the Duke Raleigh campus twice. In 2023, her role at Duke Raleigh expanded to Duke Regional Hospital, making her CFO of the community hospital platform.
Congratulations, Leigh!
A New Addition to Duke Heart & Vascular Family
We are excited to share that we’ve added another new family member to our growing team! Rocky Matthew Davis was born on July 3rd, weighing 9lb 5oz. Rocky is the third child of Ashlee Davis and her husband, Matt Davis. Ashlee is chief technologist for the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit at Duke University Hospital. She and the baby are doing great and “Big brother Rex and big sister Goldie are in love!”
Congratulations to the Davis family – Rocky’s a cutie and we look forward to meeting him soon!
Kudos to Peds Heart Surgery Care Teams as our Heart Family Grows Again!
We received the following note from Adam Tulp, PA-C, co-team lead, Advanced Practice Providers for the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Duke University Hospital, whose newborn son required care at Duke. He asked that we share his message with Pulse readers:
“My son, Patrick Tulp, was born on June 14 and admitted to the Pediatric Cardiology Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) immediately after birth for management of borderline Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He underwent a Norwood procedure with Drs. Doug Overbey and Joe Turek on June 19; transferred to Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Stepdown on July 3 and ultimately discharged home on July 9. My wife, Kelly, and I want to express our sincere gratitude to every staff member who cared for Patrick during this time. While this was definitely a difficult experience for our entire family, it was made easier by your care and support during his admission.
As I mentioned to many of you during his hospitalization, I am in awe of your ability to provide high-quality patient care for these tiny little humans… I’ll stick to much larger humans, myself. Our experience on the ‘other side of the bed rail’ was quite eye-opening for both Kelly and me. We have learned a great deal from each of you that we will carry forward in both our personal and professional lives.
Our sincere gratitude to all members of the PCICU, cardiac OR team, anesthesia team, stepdown, echocardiogram sonographers, PT/OT, speech therapy, pharmacy, nutrition, and many other members of the multidisciplinary team. Your professionalism, expertise, and kindness led to Patrick’s (relatively) uneventful recovery from surgery and ultimately allowed us to quickly bring him home to be reunited with his big sister, Amelia.” — Adam Tulp, PA-C
We have an amazing team at Duke. Great job to everyone and on behalf of the Heart & Vascular team, a big welcome to baby Patrick — we’re glad to have another new family member among our growing team!
Global IT Outage Update: Remain Vigilant Online
Duke’s IT team has been working tirelessly this weekend to restore systems following the global IT outages caused by a CrowdStrike update and we continue to make good progress toward restoring full functionality across the health system.
Though the outage itself is not the result of a cyber-attack, there is a growing risk of hackers exploiting the situation and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned of increased phishing and malicious activity. You are urged to use extreme caution as fake websites and phishing attempts are on the rise, pretending to be CrowdStrike support.
Examples of fake sites include:
- crowdstrikebluescreen[.]com
- crowdstrikefix[.]com
To protect yourself:
- CrowdStrike will NOT contact you directly.
- Only Duke IT will apply patches or fixes.
- Duke IT will NEVER charge you to restore systems.
- Duke IT staff will NOT ask for your password or sensitive information.
- All official communication will come from an “@duke.edu” email address.
If you suspect a phishing attempt or have visited a suspicious site, contact the Duke Information Security Office (ISO) at security@duke.edu. Report suspicious emails using the “Report” button in your Duke email. Please remain vigilant.
Overall Functionality Update:
Duke continues to make good progress toward restoring full functionality across the hospital. All clinical systems appear to be online and functioning properly. As of Saturday afternoon:
- Omnicell is now fully online.
- PowerShare function has been restored.
- HAIKU is operational on phones.
- Overall functionality is at 80% for the ED and ICUs.
- Remaining inpatient units are at 50% functionality.
The team is prioritizing work to restore functionality for ambulatory clinics by Monday morning. DHTS has access to all ambulatory clinics and should not need to contact staff for assistance.
DHTS is taking care of all updates to the Power Outage Issue Tracker; staff do not need to continue this work.
Action required:
- Continue to escalate any concerns you may have about systems that should be on the priority list– as well as any system challenges or issues you continue to encounter – to your leaders.
- Monitor your emails for the latest updates regarding the outage.
Additional information:
DHTS teams have been working throughout the weekend to bring more clinical computers online to regain full functionality. If you have an urgent issue, please call the Help Desk at 919-684-2243.
They will begin to address issues with impacted office computers – including team members who are working remotely – early next week.
For guidance on manual entry of data for the Maestro Care downtime, refer to the DUHS Downtime Procedure policy.
Thank you to everyone for the tremendous effort during this time to ensure safe clinical care for our patients. Your support and cooperation are greatly appreciated. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
Change in Move Plan for DUH 3100, 3200 & 7200
Several cardiovascular unit moves are scheduled for Duke University Hospital next week ahead of a planned 100 Tower refresh.
The global IT outage and resulting Code Black on Friday involved extensive work by multiple disciplines, diverting team members from move preparations on 6100 to instead addressing the priority Code Black. As a result, CT Surgery DUH 3100 will move to 6100 on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. (prep work will occur on Monday) and DUH Units 3200 and 7200 (cardiology) will move to 7100 on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.
Thanks to everyone for their efforts on Friday. We appreciate your patience as we conduct the unit relocations this week. Please call the Command Center at 919-681-6851 with any questions.
DUH, Duke Raleigh Earn GWTG Gold Awards
We are pleased to announce that both Duke University Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital have achieved the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines Gold status awards with Target Honor Roll for the following areas:
Duke University Hospital:
- Get With The Guidelines®-Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI Gold with Target: Type 2 Diabetes
- Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus
- Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll
- Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Duke Raleigh Hospital:
- Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus
- Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll
- Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
The awards are based on each hospital’s respective Get With The Guidelines data from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.
Congratulations to all!
Cardiac Sonographers Present to DUSON NPs
Duke Heart cardiac sonographers Andrew, Naomi, and Danny shared their cardiac ultrasound expertise with cardiology nurse practitioner students last weekend at Duke University School of Nursing. Thanks to Midge Bowers for sharing with Pulse!
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health’s recruitment of Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8, is well underway, but we are not yet at our goal! Won’t you join us?
Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Qualtrics Update
The Duke Office of Information Technology announced this week that they had reached a pricing agreement with Qualtrics and that there is no longer a risk of disruption with the Duke University/DKU-wide Qualtrics license at the end of this calendar year. The new license covers the current volume of Qualtrics survey responses through Dec 31, 2029.
Who is covered under the new contract?
The contract that has been under negotiation includes users of the existing University and DKU service, as well as two other services used by the Health System:
- Academic CoreXM (University/DKU)
- Patient Experience (Duke Health)
- Discover for Contact Centers DHAS & DPC Triage (Duke Health)
How do I know which survey tool is right for me?
The Office of Information Technology has developed a comparison chart to help Duke community members decide among various survey and forms tools – https://oit.duke.edu/help/articles/kb0037717.
For additional information, contact the OIT Service Management Team at survey-tools@duke.edu.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
July 24: Basics of Heart Failure with Stuart Russell. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 26: Wide Complex Tachycardias with Zak Loring. Noon, Zoom only.
July 31: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.
RFA: Duke CTSI CDA Program
The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute CTSI Career Development Award Program (CDA) is now accepting applications. The Duke CTSI CDA provides skilled and personalized mentoring, a coordinated and tailored scientific and career development curriculum, and the opportunity to conduct clinical or translational (bench to bedside) research. The CTSI CDA is particularly committed to increasing the diversity of the research workforce. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.
Up to two Scholars will be awarded 75% total protected effort for 2 years, up to $20,000/year for research expenses, and up to $2,500/year for travel to professional meetings. Funding will start in January 2025. Applications are due September 9, 2024.
Individuals considering applying to the Duke CTSI CDA are strongly encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent by August 1, 2024 via MyResearchProposal. For more information about the CTSI CDA and how to apply please visit: https://ctsi.duke.edu/career-development/duke-ctsi-cda.
For questions about the program, please email CTSI CDA Program Manager: Stephanie Molner, MSW, or one of the program directors: Laura Svetkey, MD, MHS, Kimberly Johnson, MD, or Rasheed Gbadegesin, MBBS, MD.
New Faculty Orientation Dates Announced
October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center.
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. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.
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.
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).
Registration/landing pages are not yet available but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
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, will be considered for inclusion that weekend.
Duke Heart in the News:
July 10 — Harry Severance
Medpage Today
The Physician and Social Media: ‘To Be or Not to Be’ On?
July 10 — Elisabetta Politi
Everyday Health
Artificial Sweetener Xylitol Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
July 11 — Nina Nouhravesh
Everyday Health
The Last Word: Are Eggs Good (or Bad) for You?
July 11 — Michael Pencina and Mary Klotman
North Carolina Medical Journal
The Crucial Role of Academic Medical Centers in Preparing for the Future of Health AI
July 12 — Sreekanth Vemulapalli
tctMD
Valvular Heart Disease Has a Diversity Problem
July 15 — Duke University Hospital
Cardiovascular Business
The 25 best heart hospitals in the United States
July 15 — Nia Schwann Mitchell (Internal Medicine)
Heart.org
New cardiovascular risk tool could guide who needs medication for high blood pressure
July 16 — Duke University Hospital
U.S. News & World Report
America’s Best Hospitals: the 2024-2025 Honor Roll and Overview
July 16 — Duke University Hospital
Becker’s Healthcare
US News Best Hospitals 2024-25 Honor Roll
July 16 — Duke University Hospital
Business North Carolina
US News rates Duke as top N.C. hospital; ECU moves up to fifth
July 17 — William Kraus
The Grio
Stepping into wellness: How much can walking really improve your health?
July 18 — Monique Starks
CBS News
Emergency responders turning to drones to try to get people help faster
July 18 — Christina Cui (Vascular Surgery)
Vascular Specialist Online
Corner Stitch: Navigating pregnancy as a vascular surgery trainee
July 18 — Duke University Hospital
Becker’s Hospital Review
The best hospitals for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery in 2024: US News
Duke Heart Pulse — July 14, 2024
Duke Heart Pulse – July 14, 2024
Chief’s message: New Academic year, Heart and Vascular Service Line, and visiting JG Reves Lecture
Thanks for all the faculty and staff that have helped us get off to a great start of the new Academic Medicine year. We have new residents and fellows in cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, and adult CT anesthesiology. Today’s Pulse has several areas below highlighting some of these important groups in the Heart and Vascular service line including those graduating and joining our team.
We are also excited at this time of re-imagining the care of our patients with heart and vascular disease to have Dr. Robert M. Califf visiting this upcoming week to give the Heart Center Jerry Reves Lecture. Jerry joined Duke in 1984 and held the following positions: Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia at Duke, founding director of the Duke Heart Center, and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. He left Duke in 2001 to become the Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He will be in attendance for the lecture. Dr. Califf currently serves as the Commissioner of the FDA and has a long history in cardiovascular medicine at Duke and the DCRI. He will be providing the two lectures below (one for cardiology grand rounds aimed as the individuals, and the Reves Lecture aimed at where we should be going as a group). The talks, interactions and lectures should provide us with great opportunity to welcome our new residents and fellows and have these important conversations on where the field and work in cardiovascular medicine needs to go. Please join us if you can.
Tuesday July 16th 5 pm: Duke North: Cardiology Grand Rounds:
“The Cardiovascular Specialist in a Time of Decline in American Cardiometabolic Health”
Wednesday July 17th 7:00 AM J.G. Reves lecture – Trent Semens Great Hall :
“What Should a Heart Center do in the Next Decade?”
Highlights of the week:
Congratulations to our Duke ACTS Graduating Fellows!
We are celebrating our 14 Duke Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology (ACTA) Fellowship graduates this week. The ACTA fellowship is a year-long program for sub-specialized cardiac and thoracic anesthesiology training. Please join us in congratulating:
Rushil Bose, MD, is now an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served as Quality & Safety chief during his fellowship. His final project, Reducing Prolonged Ventilation after Cardiac Surgery: a Quality Improvement Project was presented during a poster presentation session at the 2024 Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiology (SCA), held in April. Negmeldeen Mamoun, MD served as his primary mentor.
Bryan Chow, MD, has joined the Duke Department of Anesthesiology as an assistant professor in the Critical Care Medicine division. As a fellow, he served as Recruitment and Outreach Chair. He presented two projects at the 2024 SCA — Pulmonary Artery Dissection after Pulmonary Artery Mass Excision during the Super Echo session (primary mentor Michael Cutrone, MD); and Interoperative Mannitol and Acute Kidney Injury in Lung Transplantation during the Best of Meeting Oral Abstracts session. Brandi Bottiger, MD, served as his primary mentor.
Jussle Lawrence Del Rosario has joined the faculty at Emory University as an assistant professor. His project, Perioperative Management of a Mediastinal Mass Causing Superior Vena Cava and Right Atrial Obstruction was presented at the 2024 SCA during the Fellow/Resident Complex Cases Session (primary mentor Yasmin Maisonave, MD); he also presented Comparison of Right Ventricular Function Assessment via Pre-Procedure Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) Versus Intra-op Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) in Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients during a SCA poster presentation. Anne Cherry, MD served as his primary mentor for that project.
Liliane Ernst, MD, has joined the faculty at Wake Forest University as an assistant professor in the Obstetric and Gynecologic Anesthesia section. Her project, Preexisting Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter in Pregnancy are Associated with Increased Severe Maternal Morbidity: A Retrospective Cohort Study was presented last October during the 8th annual Cardiac Problems in Pregnancy (CPP) Congress which was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Ernst presented her research during the Siu Family Young Investigator Competition Session.
Ethan Garrigan, MD has joined the faculty of the University of Kansas as an assistant professor focused on Critical Care Medicine. Ethan served as the Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) Quality Representative during the fellowship. He presented his project, Healthcare Resource Cost Utilization in Surgery for Advanced Heart Failure during the poster presentation session of the 2024 SCA. Sharon McCartney, MD served as his primary mentor.
Ryan Gessouroun, MD has joined the Duke Department of Anesthesiology faculty as an assistant professor in the General, Vascular and Transplant (GVT) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Service divisions. He presented his project, Intraoperative Transvalvular Gradients Following Aortic Valve Replacement: Do They Matter? during a poster session at the 2024 SCA. His primary mentor is Michael Cutrone, MD.
Craig Grosshuesch, MD is now a faculty member at the University of North Carolina as an assistant professor. He presented two projects at the 2024 SCA. Not a Coronary Button Problem: Acute Left Anterior Descending Myocardial Infarction after the Bentall Procedure was presented during the Fellow/Resident Complex Cases session while Preoperative Anemia in Lung Transplant Recipients: Understanding Prevalence, Risk and Outcomes was presented during the Best of Meeting Oral Abstracts session. Angela Pollak, MD served as his primary mentor.
Sophie Higgins, MD, is continuing her training – she has entered the Duke Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine fellowship. She presented her project, Mitral Valve Replacement following Unsuccessful MitraClip during the Fellow/Resident Complex Cases session at the 2024 SCA. Angela Pollak, MD, served as her primary mentor.
Jason Liao, MD, has taken a position as a cardiac anesthesiologist with Northstar Anesthesia at Inova Fairfax Hospital in VA. He served as the GME Committee Representative during his fellowship. He presented his project, Pulmonary Hypertension in Pregnancy: A Single Center Case Series of 13 Pregnancies during a poster presentation at the 2024 SCA. Marie-Louise Meng, MD served as his primary mentor.
Jason Pang, MD has taken a position as a cardiac anesthesiologist at U.S. Anesthesia Partners in Houston. He presented Preoperative Predictors of Acute Kidney Injury in Cardiac Surgery during a poster presentation at the 2024 SCA. Negmeldeen Mamoun, MD served as his primary mentor.
Rodrigo Pereira, MD, has taken a cardiac anesthesiologist position with UnityPoint Health in Waterloo, IA.
Katherine Sun, MD, has joined the Duke Department of Anesthesiology as an associate professor in the Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and the GVT divisions. She served as Administrative Chief during her fellowship. She presented Right Ventricle-Pulmonary Artery Coupling as a Predictor of Major Organ Morbidity and Mortality after Cardiac Surgery during the Best of Meeting Oral Abstracts Session, which earned her an Early Career Investigator Award. Her primary mentor is Alina Nicoara, MD.
Marina Tumino, MD, is now a partner at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Harrisburg, PA. She served as Academic Chief during her fellowship. She presented Pain Trajectories Comparing Thoracic Epidural Analgesia, Erector Spinae Plane Block, Intercostal Nerve Block, and Medical Management after Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgical Lobectomy during the Best of Meeting Oral Abstracts session at the 2024 SCA. Rebecca Klinger, MD served as her primary mentor.
Miguel Yaport, MD has joined the Duke Department of Anesthesiology faculty as an assistant professor in the Critical Care Medicine division. He presented Group-specific morbidity in pregnant patients with Pulmonary Hypertension during a poster presentation at the 2024 SCA. His primary mentor is Marie Louise Meng, MD. At the same meeting, on behalf of Liliane Ernst, he presented Trends in Management Among Pregnant Patients with Pre-existing Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter: A Retrospective Study Using the Premier Healthcare Database. Dr. Meng served as Ernst’s primary mentor for that project.
Here are some photos representing their ACTA training year at Duke:
Congratulations to all!
New ACTA Fellows Starting July & August 2024
Please join us in welcoming our new class of Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology fellows who joined us on July 1:
- Brian Barron joined us from Duke
- Ryan Best is from the University of British Columbia
- Andrea Rivero is from Mayo Clinic- Jacksonville
- Kevin Merola joined us from Duke
- Monica Arndt has come to us from Yale
- Jessica Liu joined us from Duke; she will serve as Administrative Chief
- Thomas Bunning is also from Duke
- Yen Yen Gee is from the University of Chicago
- Blake Winston is from Tulane
- Sherman Yu is from the University of Chicago
- Drew Phillips has come to us from the University of Kansas-Wichita
- Adam Lepkowsky is from Case Western
Joining us on August 1 are Matthew Stiles, coming from Penn State, and EJ Collins who is joining us from the University of Florida.
Photos of the new fellows are not yet available. Once the CTA team has them, we’ll share them here in Pulse.
Please give all of our ACTA trainees a warm welcome!
Daemar Jones Joins as Vascular Surgery Trainee
Daemar Jones, MD, a recent graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX, has joined our Vascular Surgery training program as a Vascular Integrated PGY-1 resident.
Welcome to Duke, Daemar!
COVID-19 Vax Not Associated with Kidney Disease in Black Adults at High Risk
Using data from studies based at Duke Kannapolis, researchers found that COVID vaccination was not associated with new onset of APOL1-related kidney disease in African American adults who were at high risk for the condition.
CTSI’s Duke Kannapolis research site is part of the new Center for Precision Health. The COVID vaccination research used data from the MURDOCK Study, led by cardiologist Svati Shah, MD, MHS, and the Duke APOL1 Study, led by Opeyemi Olabisi, MD.
Read the full paper here.
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health’s recruitment of Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8, is well underway, but we are not yet at our goal! Won’t you join us?

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Special CGR with FDA Commissioner Califf
July 16: The Cardiovascular Specialist in a Time of Decline in American Cardiometabolic Health with Robert Califf, MD, Commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. 5 p.m., 2002 Duke North and via Zoom.
Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
July 17: Malignant Hypertension with Nishant Shah. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 19: LVAD Basics with Richa Agarwal. Noon, Zoom only.
July 24: Basics of Heart Failure with Stuart Russell. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 26: Wide Complex Tachycardias with Zak Loring. Noon, Zoom only.
July 31: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.
New Faculty Orientation Dates Announced
October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center.
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. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.
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.
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).
Registration/landing pages are not yet available but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
Have news to share?
If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our Duke Heart family. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon, Wednesdays, to be considered for weekend inclusion.
Duke Heart in the News:
July 5 — Duke University Hospital
98.7 FM, Black Information Network
4 North Carolina Hospitals Named Among The ‘Best Hospitals’ In America
July 6 — Sarah Snow
Health Central
What Is Peripartum Cardiomyopathy?
*updates a 12/23 article
July 8 — Joe Turek
Boston Globe
First partial heart transplant in New England helps 4-year-old boy: ‘Jack was in the right hands’ (links to PDF)
July 8 — Marat Fudim
Health Central
The Four Stages of Congestive Heart Failure
*updates a 12/23 article
July 9 — Jonathan Piccini
Health Central
How Cardioversion Can Help Your Heart
*updates a 4/24 article
July 12 — Daniel Edmonston (nephrology)
Cardiology Advisor/Health Day News
Few With Type 2 Diabetes Receive Guideline-Recommended CKD Screening
Link to study: https://duke.is/n/uhy7
Duke Heart Pulse — July 7, 2024
Chief’s message: Academic year Transition
Our Duke Heart group continued the Academic year transitions. In this weeks edition of the Pulse you will find updates from our CT surgical groups end of year gathering. Congratulations to the award winners in the training program and CT surgery faculty. We also welcome in our new CT surgery residents. Additionally, we had our new cardiology fellows completing orientation this weekend with 4 days packed with didactic talks, practical management approaches, simulation lab training, and CICU bootcamp. I was lucky enough to be able to stop by on weekend call to see them and welcome them to the group. Told them time goes by fast and there maybe times when they are “drinking from the fire hose,” but the key to the fellowship years is to appreciate the moments, colleagues, and opportunities that they get as they will be gaining skills and forming lifetime friends and memories.
In the upcoming weeks we will be celebrating our Vascular Surgery Residents and Cardiac Anesthesia in-coming residents.
Highlights of the week:
CTS Gathering Celebrates Graduating Residents, Academic Achievement
Our graduating cardiovascular & thoracic surgery trainees were celebrated on Saturday, June 22 at The Cotton Room in Durham.
Congratulations to Drs. Muath Bishawi, Alejandro Murillo-Berlioz, Aaron Williams, Adam Shoffner, and Zach Fitch (Fitch officially completes training at the end of July; his plans will be announced in a few weeks).
We are pleased to share:
- Aaron Williams, MD is taking an academic faculty position in cardiothoracic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
- Muath Bishawi, MD, PhD, MPH is taking an academic faculty position in cardiothoracic surgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
- Alejandro Murillo-Berlioz, MD is entering private practice in cardiothoracic surgery at St. Anthony’s Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK.
- Adam Shoffner, MD, PhD, is heading into a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Michigan.
The graduating CTS chief residents and Jacob Schroder, MD, recipient of the inaugural Thomas D’Amico Teaching Award — the Division of CT Surgery’s new faculty award — are shown here. (L-R are Drs. Bishawi, Williams, Schroder, Fitch, and Murillo-Berlioz). Congrats, Jacob!!
The evening included the annual presentation of awards for academic achievement which go to those receiving the highest scores on the in-training exam. Congrats to (L-R) Drs. Andrew Vekstein, Rebekah Boyd, Alejandro Murillo-Berlioz, and Neel Probhu. Also receiving the academic achievement award was Dr. Vignesh Raman, who is not pictured.
Congratulations to Aaron, Muath, Alejandro, and Adam for completing your Duke training, and to Zach who will finish very soon. Each of you will be missed! We look forward to watching your careers continue to blossom!
Newest Trainees for Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery
Please join us in welcoming three of our newest trainees to their training programs within CTS. They joined us on July 1:

Allison Navarrete-Welton, MD has joined us from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI. She is starting the six-year Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program.
Juliann Kosovec, MD, and Lillian Kang, MD recently completed their general surgery training at Duke and, as part of the Joint General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program, are entering their thoracic surgery training with our CT surgery team.
Welcome Allison, Juliann, and Lillian – we are pleased to have you with us!
We will welcome seven additional cardiovascular and thoracic surgery (CTS) residents and fellows over the coming months. Next week: We will celebrate the graduating and incoming trainees for cardiac anesthesia and vascular surgery.
Duke Heart Grows By One!
We are thrilled to share the newest addition to the Duke Heart family. Please join us in welcoming Beck Allen Kusner, 8 lbs., 1 oz, who arrived on Friday! Congratulations to his parents, Jon and Mary Cate Kusner. Jon is a first-year cardiology fellow.
He’s adorable and we can’t wait to meet him!
Kudos to McDermott
Allison Lindgren shared a terrific note she received this week regarding cardiology nurse practitioner, Jamie McDermott:
“Hi Allison, I really wanted to make sure someone in your leadership team was aware of a situation that evolved over the past week in which Jaime McDermott went absolutely above and beyond to ensure that a patient was able to get what they needed.
The patient was admitted who is not one of our LVADs (patient is followed by Prisma Health in South Carolina) but fell and broke a leg while visiting family in NC. The whole thing turned into an absolute mess and Jaime spearheaded coordinating everything to ensure they would be safe, comfortable and could have their pain managed well at home. There were times that the patient was difficult yet Jaime approached them in a gentle but firm way that opened the door for fruitful conversation about their overall plan of care. She listened to the patient’s concerns making them feel heard and understood. She spent hours figuring out how to get the patient their needed prescriptions, (patient has SC Medicaid and we couldn’t fill medications via a NC pharmacy.) She coordinated with the Prisma team, the family of the patient (and me) beautifully to ensure that a safe discharge plan was created, including multiple bedside meetings with the patient.
I love all of the APPs that we work with and I always feel that they have the patient’s best interest in mind and do the best they can for all patients, but I was truly impressed by how well Jaime handled this impossibly complicated situation with care and I did not want it to go unnoticed! She is patient, dedicated, knowledgeable, and an exceptional problem solver and is truly an asset to our team.
Thank you for everything y’all do.” — Riley Yang, Clinical Social Worker & Transplant Case Manager, Advanced Heart Failure Therapies, Duke Transplant Center
Amazing work, Jaime!!!
2024 AANP Annual Meeting
The 2024 American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) National Conference was held last weekend (June 25-June 30) in Nashville, TN and we had excellent representation from Duke Heart. Presenters included Callie Tennyson, Allison Dimsdale, and Midge Bowers.
Bowers was a speaker during the seminar entitled “The Intersection of Cardiac, Diabetes, Chronic Kidney Disease and Lipids in Cardiometabolic Disease.”
Tennyson presented Cardiorenal Syndrome: A Love Story during the Cardiorenal Syndrome Updates session.
Dimsdale presented during several sessions including, “Chronic Coronary Disease and Strategies for Tackling Dizziness”.
Great job!
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health’s recruitment of Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8, is well underway, but we are not yet at our goal! Won’t you join us?

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses
The following symposia will be held this fall:
October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55am-3:30pm. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.
November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. – 3:15p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).
Registration/landing pages are not yet available, but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
July 10: Rapid Fire ECG with Neil Friedman. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 12: Management of NSTEMI with Jennifer Rymer. Noon, Zoom only.
July 17: Malignant Hypertension with Nishant Shah. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 19: LVAD Basics with Richa Agarwal. Noon, Zoom only.
July 24: Basics of Heart Failure with Stuart Russell. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 26: Wide Complex Tachycardias with Zak Loring. Noon, Zoom only.
July 31: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.
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:
June 26 — Jonathan Piccini
Health Central
Why Your Heart Beats Faster When You Bend Over and Stand Up
June 28 – Adrian Hernandez
American Heart Association/newsroom
What might the next century hold for cardiovascular disease prevention and care?
June 29 – Duke University Health System (Monique Starks/AED, drone delivery)
Fox 8 News/WGHP (Greensboro, NC)
Forsyth County to use drones in medical emergencies, sheriff’s office says
July 5 — Adrian Hernandez
Japan Today
What might next 100 years hold for cardiovascular disease prevention and care?
Duke Heart Pulse — June 30, 2024
Duke Heart Pulse – June 30, 2024
Chief’s message: Welcome to the New Academic Year
Each year as the Academic year ends we have the bittersweet work of saying goodbye to finishing residents and fellows and welcoming in the new learners. This is a time of excitement and work to ensure we can welcome our new partners to Duke Heart (cardiology, CT surgery, Anesthesia, and Vascular Surgery). We want to especially thank our faculty and fellows/fellowship leaders who spend the upcoming weeks ensuring we get these teams off on the right foot.
So this week in the Pulse you will see lots of end of year celebrations and some of the young stars joining our team. If you worry about the state of healthcare and future of Cardiovascular Medicine, I would say seeing the people we have the honor of working with, train, and graduate from our programs should give you some confidence in where Duke CV and the Health are going.
Highlights of the week:
Jones to serve as Rawson Director

Congratulations to interventional cardiologist W. Schuyler Jones, MD, director of Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Duke. He will serve as the Endowed Kent and Siri Rawson Director for Advanced Coronary Artery Disease in the Duke Heart Center, a position last held by Magnus Ohman, MD. To be appointed the honor requires the recipient to be a clinical physician in the Duke University Health System (DUHS), a faculty member in the Duke School of Medicine, and a scholar of excellence in Advanced Coronary Artery Disease.
The announcement was made by Dr. Craig Albanese, chief executive officer of DUHS, in a letter to Jones adding, “Endowed directorships are an incredibly high honor that Duke bestows on its faculty members and you are fully deserving of this honor.”
The Directorship Endowment is made possible through the generosity of the Rawson family of Belleair, FL. E. Kent Rawson, an engineer originally from Scranton, PA, was a renowned expert and industry leader in commercial HVAC systems and manufacturing. His career began with service in the U.S. Marine Corps and then blossomed in commercial HVAC sales. Rawson founded Environmental Technologies, Inc. in the Tampa Bay area and led it for nearly 30 years before retiring. He and his wife, Siri Rawson, established the Rawson Charitable Foundation, Inc., which she now leads. Mr. Rawson died in 2013.
“It truly is an honor to serve as the Rawson Director and nice to be recognized for the interventional cardiology work being done in the cath lab,” said Jones. “The directorship endowment supports the progress that has taken place within the Duke Cardiac Catheterization Lab over the last few years, and I am deeply grateful.”
The directorship serves to bolster operational leadership efforts and support further development of what can be offered in Duke’s catheterization lab — including new procedures and those that have not typically occurred there. It also supports research and discovery efforts to bring new devices and technology to our patients, further enhancing our ability to care for those with advanced coronary artery disease.
Congrats and well-deserved, Schuyler!
Welcome the Newest Cardiovascular Disease Fellows
Our newest Duke Heart team members have arrived to begin training with us this week. Please give a warm welcome to our Cardiovascular Disease Year-1 fellows:
Tess Allan, Cosette Champion, Vincent Delgado, Jemi Galani, Hubert Haywood, Mugdha Joshi, Jonathan Kusner, Hannah Schwennesen, Nishkala Shivakumar, and Josh Sink.
Year-End Gatherings Celebrate Finishing Fellows
The remainder of our advanced training fellowships held their year-end dinners this past week.
The Adult Congenital Heart Disease fellowship team celebrated Toi Spates, MD on Monday evening, June 24 with a dinner at Rooftop at the Durham Hotel. Spates’ husband, Dan Koback, and their beautiful baby boy were on hand for the fun. Toi is heading to Providence, RI to join the cardiology faculty at Rhode Island Hospital.
Congratulations, Toi!
On Tuesday evening, June 25, the finishing Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology fellows were celebrated with a dinner at Hawthorne and Wood.
- Karen Flores Rosario, MD will join the Duke Heart faculty in August
- Josephine Harrington, MD is joining the faculty of the University of Colorado, Aurora
- Anthony Peters, MD is heading to Atrium Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC.
Shown L-R are: Brandon Sheridan and Karen Rosario Flores, MD; Ashley and Anthony Peters, MD; fellowship program coordinator, Brianna Small; Josephine Harrington, MD, and Drs. Adam DeVore, Chet Patel, and Richa Agarwal.
Congratulations, Karen, Anthony, and Joey!!
The Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart fellowships celebrated with their end-of-year dinner at Rooftop at the Durham Hotel on Friday evening, June 28. Our completing IC fellows are:
- Alyssa Corley, MD who is heading into private practice at Southern Oregon Cardiology in Medford, OR
- Todd Looney, MD who is entering military practice at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Liberty, NC
- Sameer Prasada, MD who is joining the faculty of UNC Chapel Hill.
The annual Warren S. and Gloria R. Newman Fellowship in Cardiology award was presented to Sameer Prasada.
Our completing Structural Heart fellow is:
- Ezequiel “Zeke” Munoz, MD who is heading to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, IN
Congratulations, Alyssa, Todd, Sameer, and Zeke!
The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship program held their year-end dinner on Friday, June 21 at the Rooftop at the Durham Hotel. Completing fellows include:
- Kelly Arps, MD is joining the faculty of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI
- Navid Nafissi, MD is joining the practice at Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute at Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC
- Francis Ugowe, MD is joining the faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC

Congratulations, Kelly, Navid, and Francis!
All of you will be missed! Please stay in touch. Next week: a celebration of our graduating cardiovascular and thoracic surgery trainees.
Kudos to Goodwin!

Program Director Anna Lisa Chamis received a great note this week regarding cardiology fellow, Nate Goodwin.
“Nathan did an excellent job today in the ECHO lab. We had 16 procedures today, most of which were TEE. Nathan diligently and efficiently did all this. His TEE skills are excellent. We had some complex valve cases, and I did not need to help him with anything. Another thing I observed with him today is that after the procedure, he calls the primary team and delivers the message. This shows his professionalism and work ethic. Even at 7 p.m. today he asked thoughtful questions, showing his interest in learning. We are very fortunate to have him.” — Regards, Bharathi Upadhya, MD
Nicely done and way to go, Nate!
2024 AAHFN Annual Meeting
The 20th annual American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) meeting was held June 19-22, 2024 at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, FL.
Duke Heart was well represented in planning the annual meeting and with speakers during session presentations!
- Allison Fox, CNS, assisted in the development and execution of simulation sessions.
- Steve Greene, MD was a speaker and panelist.
- Stephanie Barnes, a member of AAHFN’s Board of Directors, served on the overall planning committee for the meeting, and as chair of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Hands-On Pre-conference session. She was also a presenter.
Solid work!
Duke HF Nurses Help Author, Edit Newly Published Book
Several Duke Heart team members contributed to the newly published Heart Failure Nursing Certification Core Curriculum Review (Revised 3rd edition). Stephanie Barnes is an editor and chapter author. Midge Bowers and Jaime McDermott contributed as chapter authors.
This is a comprehensive guide for all nurses who provide care to patients with heart failure. Using the most recent guidelines and evidence-based data, the Core Curriculum Review 3rd edition outlines the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating nursing care for heart failure patients. This is the official study guide for the AAHFN Heart Failure Nurses Certification Exam.
Congratulations to all!
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health’s recruitment of Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8, is well underway, but we are not yet at our goal! Won’t you join us?

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Digital Heart Campaign
Duke Heart is launching a new direct-to-consumer digital awareness campaign focused on heart health and access to Duke Heart. Potential patients in our primary market area – including the counties of Alamance, Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, Vance, and Wake – will see and hear ads including banner, video, native, streaming TV, and audio. Potential patients will be directed to Heart care pages on DukeHealth.org to help them schedule an appointment. This campaign will run through September.
DUH Valet Parking Increase
The cost for valet parking at Duke University Hospital is increasing to $14 (from $12) starting Monday, July 1, 2024. The price change will be in effect for all valet locations:
- Duke North
- Duke South
- Duke Medicine Pavilion
- Cancer Center
- Eye Center
New signage reflecting this change will be posted this weekend.
Improving DHIP’s Onboarding Process
In an effort to streamline the onboarding process and facilitate a smooth transition to Duke Health within a team member’s first 90 days, onboarding guides will be available for leaders and new team members beginning tomorrow, July 1.
Leaders who are onboarding and welcoming new team members should utilize the onboarding guide to set clear expectations. This will ensure new team members are empowered and prepared for their new career at Duke Health. A short video about these guides is available on Vimeo.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
New Duke Heart CME Course Dates Announced
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.
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).
Registration/landing pages are not yet available, but will be shared in Pulse once they are. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password are required for access. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
*No cardiology core conference lectures this week. Happy July 4th!*
July 10: Rapid Fire ECG with Neil Friedman. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 12: Management of NSTEMI with Jennifer Rymer. Noon, Zoom only.
July 17: Malignant Hypertension with Nishant Shah. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 19: LVAD Basics with Richa Agarwal. Noon, Zoom only.
July 24: Basics of Heart Failure with Stuart Russell. Noon, DMP 2W96.
July 26: Wide Complex Tachycardias with Zak Loring. Noon, Zoom only.
July 31: Dyslipidemia with Nishant Shah. Noon, 2W96.
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:
June 21 — Nishant Shah
tctMD
Bariatric Surgery Reduces Hard Events in Obese Patients With Sleep Apnea
June 25 — Aferdita Spahillari
Euro.dayfr.com
Quadruple therapy favored by accelerated remote titration
June 25 — Manesh Patel
Becker’s Hospital Review
Duke Health launches cardiology AI testing lab
June 25 — Nishant Shah
tctMD
Weight-Loss Drug Tirzepatide Reduces Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
June 26 — Belal Suleiman, Nkiru Osude and David Elliott
CardioNerds
Podcast 378 — Case Report: Severe Mitral Paravalvular Regurgitation Complicated by Hemolytic Anemia
June 26 — Camille Frazier-Mills
News & Observer
Heat-related illness is common for those with chronic conditions. Learn from my mistakes.
(subscription required; please email Tracey for a PDF)
June 27 — Sreekanth Vemulapalli
tctMD
Undiagnosed Valvular Heart Disease Prevalent in Older Adults
Duke Heart Pulse – June 23, 2024
Highlights of the week:
Cardiology Fellows Celebrated at Year-End Gathering
Our Cardiovascular Disease (CD) Fellowship program year-end dinner was held on Saturday evening, June 22 at the

University Club in Durham. The evening celebrated all those wrapping up their CD Fellowship training, including our outgoing chief fellow, Dr. Joe Lerman.
Our incoming chief fellow, Dr. Paula Rambarat, was celebrated as well.
Graduating CD Fellows include:
Willard N. Applefeld, MD, is joining the Duke Heart faculty in Cardiac Critical Care Medicine, Echocardiography, and Pulmonary Vascular Disease.
Mohammad Shahzeb Khan, MBBS, MSc, is heading to Baylor Scott and White Research Institute and Baylor Heart Hospital Plano & Dallas, TX.
Joseph Lerman, MD, is moving into Duke’s Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship.
Dan Loriaux, MD, is moving into Duke’s Interventional Cardiology Fellowship.
Dennis Narcisse, MD, MS, is moving into Duke’s Interventional Cardiology Fellowship.
Balim Senman, MD, is moving into Duke’s Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, which will be followed by Interventional Cardiology Fellowship.
Ilya Y. Shadrin, MD, PhD, is moving into Duke’s Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship.
Sara Snow, MD, MS, is joining the Duke Heart faculty — she’ll specialize in Cardio-obstetrics, Imaging, and General Cardiology
Congrats to each of you (photos below!)!
The evening also included the annual presentation of the 2024 Cardiology Awards. Our Fellows select the winners in several award and recognition categories, including:
The Outstanding Service Award is given to hospital staff who demonstrate dedication to and excellence in fellow education. The co-recipients this year are Monique Conway, Pharm D, and Jody Holm, RN, BSN.
The Bashore Faculty Teaching Award is given to a faculty member demonstrating dedication and excellence in teaching. This year, the award was presented to Anita Kelsey, MD, MBA.


The Fellow Mentorship Award is given to a faculty member demonstrating dedication and excellence in mentoring fellows’ careers. This year, the awardee is Schuyler Jones, MD, MHS.

The Walter F. Floyd Award is presented to a fellow demonstrating the most outstanding clinical skills and acumen. This year, the fellows selected Belal Suleiman, MD.

The following awards are made possible through the generosity of Duke philanthropic donors:
The Joseph G. Greenfield Award is annually awarded to a fellow demonstrating excellence, dedication, and contributions to research. This year’s awardee is Joe Lerman, MD.

The Cassell-Saperstein Award is presented to a fellow demonstrating a commitment to teaching and a passion for clinical education. This year’s awardee is Sarah Snow, MD, MS.

The Brandt and Belinda Louie Award is awarded to a fellow demonstrating excellence in all three missions of Duke Heart (clinical, education, and research). This year’s awardee is Willard Applefeld, MD.

The fellows also recognized a perennial favorite — interventionalist Dr. Mike Sketch.
Additional year-end dinners are being held to celebrate our graduating Electrophysiology, Structural, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Interventional, and Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology Fellows, and our completing trainees in Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery. We will celebrate all of them in the coming weeks.
Thank you to all of our incredible fellows – all 44 of you – for a terrific year. You’re a big part of what makes our team special and it is a pleasure to watch you develop as clinicians, educators, and researchers during your training at Duke!
Once again, congrats to our graduating CD fellows:
Shout-out to Upadhya!

Anna Lisa Chamis shared the following message this week from one of our cardiology fellows regarding cardiology faculty member, Bharathi Upadhya.
“I wanted to give a shout-out to Bharathi Upadhya for being a great teacher to interns and fellows, for the love and compassion she shows to patients at the bedside, and for creating a comfortable learning environment. We need more Bharathi’s in this world.” — Ivan Nenadic Wood
She is a shining light! Way to go, Bharathi!
Online Safety Update: ‘Microsoft Report’ Replacing ‘Report Phish’ Button
Duke OIT has announced that the “Report Phish to Duke” button we use in Outlook to thwart phishing attacks will no longer be available starting tomorrow, Monday, June 24, 2024.
The button is being replaced in Outlook with a somewhat obscure-looking button for “Microsoft Report.” Going forward, all members of the Duke community can report phishing and junk email by using this new button in any Outlook client (PC, Mac, web, or mobile).
Thousands of malicious emails are sent daily to Duke accounts so all of us need to be aware of this change in our email platform, as reporting phishing attempts is crucial to protecting Duke community members from online attacks.
Expect to see an email tomorrow about this change. To learn more please visit https://duke.is/j/c7zn.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 Licenses Available
Duke Health is wrapping up the early assessment phase of Copilot for Microsoft 365. Thank you to all who participated in testing and helping to evaluate the potential of generative AI in the work we do.
Copilot licenses are now available for Duke Health team members at $27 per user per month, with all purchases requiring a fund code. Please note that those who participated in the early assessment phase must purchase their Copilot licenses by July 12, 2024, to retain access.
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health’s recruitment of Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8, is well underway, but we are not yet at our goal! Won’t you join us?

Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Thank you for Culture Pulse Participation
Drs. Craig Albanese and Mary E. Klotman shared a message with Duke Health team members this week regarding Culture Pulse:
“Thank you for sharing your voices through our Culture Pulse survey – we are pleased to have heard from more than 63 percent of you. Culture Pulse surveys are one of the listening strategies we have employed throughout Duke Health to help us identify areas of opportunity and celebrate the positive momentum we’ve made as an organization and within our teams.
First, we want to note our progress in creating a culture of respect and belonging throughout Duke Health. The freedom to be our authentic selves and to connect with colleagues about shared life experiences are key to our culture of belonging. This work will continue throughout our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives, including affinity/employee resource groups and focused work on inclusive leadership training.
We also saw collective improvements in the commitment our colleagues feel when it comes to working at Duke Health. We learned that our culture is enhancing team members’ feelings about Duke Health as a workplace, including feeling safe when they come to work. Each one of us contributes to our culture, and we celebrate that a majority of respondents would like to be working at Duke Health three years from now.
The survey also showed us which areas we need to tackle. Many of our colleagues are experiencing some level of burnout in the years since the pandemic began. We also learned that communication breakdowns are common when work units interact with other work units. We will work together to focus on meeting these challenges.
What does this mean for you, as a Duke Health employee? Leaders across each of our entities – Health System, School of Medicine and School of Nursing – are reviewing the results and will work collaboratively to identify opportunities and align improvements with work that is already happening day-to-day. Please share your ideas with your leaders so we can create change together.
Your voice matters. These survey results will shape the work we’re doing together over the coming year. We would like to conduct another survey in six months to see if we are on the right track. We hope you will continue to share your voice as we work together to Put People First, Be Clear and Empower, and Adapt to Improve.”
On behalf of Duke Heart leadership, thank you to all team members who took time to respond to this survey. It makes a difference!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- June is Pride Month
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
June 26: Returning Fellow Orientation with Anna Lisa Chamis. Noon, Zoom only.
June 28: No Core Curriculum Conference.
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:
June 18 — Adrian Hernandez
Circulation/CV Quality and Outcomes
Everything, Everywhere All at Once: Evidence Generation and Implementation in the Digital Age
June 20 — Jennifer Green (Endocrinology/DCRI)
Healio/Cardiology Today
Liraglutide better at preventing heart outcomes vs. three other glucose-lowering therapies
Duke Heart Pulse — June 16, 2024
Chief’s message:
Happy Father’s Day!
I hope this Father’s Day weekend you all get to spend some time with your father and your loved ones. It takes a village to raise children, and we hope you got to reflect on the impact your family and father had on your life. It’s notable in these changing times how these types of holidays have served as important moments to reflect and appreciate those in our lives.
Jim Valvano, the late great NC state coach famously said, “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” This is one of the most important gifts that I believe parents and fathers can give their kids – a sense of security, grit, and belief that they can do anything they put their hearts and minds towards. In fact, mixed with some humility, humor, and perseverance, my father made me believe that with consistent effort and work – you can do anything. This was not just in words, but often actions and work that we could see would help our family and our community. Now, we are blessed to have our kids get to spend time with grandparents and directly see and get these lessons. So, hope you all have a Happy Father’s Day and celebrate all those in your life that loved you in this way.
ACSM 2024: Duke Highlights
Duke Health was very well-represented at the 2024 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting, held May 28-31 in Boston. Several members of our Duke Health and Exercise Research Trials team, based at the Duke Center for Living campus and part of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute (DMPI), gave a number of presentations and abstracts which resulted in a lively and highly engaging team experience. The Health & Exercise Research Trials team is led by Bill Kraus, MD, the Richard and Pat Johnson University Distinguished Professor and professor of medicine in cardiology, and Kim Huffman, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in rheumatology and immunology.
Cardiology faculty member Leanna Ross, PhD, and Katie Collins, PhD, a medical instructor in Population Health Sciences at Duke presented a session entitled, “Embracing Individual Variability to Optimize Precision Exercise Medicine – from Molecules to Behavior.” Ross was also an invited panelist for a session honoring the legacy of her late doctoral mentor and physical activity/exercise science pioneer, Dr. Steven Blair (University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health and the Cooper Institute).
Christopher Vann, PhD, postdoctoral scholar with DMPI, presented a session with Monica Hubal, PhD, associate professor of kinesiology at Indiana University-Indianapolis discussing, “Integrative Omics: Molecular Drivers of Exercise Benefits.”
Brian Coyne, M. Ed, associate in research with DMPI, participated in a panel discussion of “Clinical Exercise Physiologist Professionalization Efforts – Growth & Practice Area Perspectives.”
Brian Andonian, MD, assistant professor of medicine in rheumatology and immunology and member of DMPI, presented a poster on “Impaired Physical Function and Altered Muscle Biomechanical Properties in Patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

Third-year medical student lab members, Anna-Maria Dagher, Grace Kim, and Garrett Moseley, did a wonderful job as first-time ACSM abstract presenters. All three students received Third-Year Dean’s Travel Awards from the Duke University School of Medicine.
The annual meeting culminated with an award ceremony on Friday, May 31.
Third-year medical student Grace Kim was selected as ACSM’s 2024 Lisa S. Krivickas Clinician/Scholar Travel Award winner while third-year medical student Garrett Moseley was awarded the ACSM 2024 Michael L. Pollock Student Scholarship. Outstanding!
Perhaps the most exciting highlight of the annual meeting — for the Duke team in particular — was when Bill Kraus, former president of the ACSM (2019-2020), was presented with the 2024 ACSM Citation Award, which recognizes distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to sports medicine and/or to the field of exercise sciences.



As a Harvard University alum, receiving the award in Boston was extra special for Kraus. Twenty-five team members, colleagues, and friends from across the country gathered at one of his favorite Bostonian restaurants, Ye Olde Union Oyster House, to celebrate this wonderful career milestone!
*All professional event photos are by Kevin Trimmer Photo and courtesy of the ACSM.
Solid work by all and a hearty congratulations to Bill!
Mena Earns Great Catch Award
Nestor Mena, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologist for DMP Cardiac MRI spotted and escalated an incidental finding. Nestor identified a saddle pulmonary embolism during an outpatient cardiac MRI to evaluate ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. Had Nestor not been paying attention to all structures in the field of view (rather than focusing only on the study indication) this patient may not have been diagnosed and treated in time to prevent life-threatening complications from pulmonary embolism. Furthermore, it is worth noting the expertise needed to recognize that pathology on an MRI is extensive.
It is quite possible that Nestor saved a life that day, and his work is an incredible tribute to the skillset of our advanced imaging technologists.
Way to go, Nestor!!!
Many thanks to all those who helped recognize and support Nestor for his excellent work.
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health has launched our official call for Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8!
Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial, but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Barber to Serve as Interim Senior VP, DHIP, Starting July 1
Matthew Barber, MD, MHS, the W. Allen Addison, M.D. Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke, will serve as interim Senior Vice President of Duke Health Integrated Practice, effective July 1. Barber’s leadership will build on the successes of the past year and help to advance the operational and strategic work that is currently underway to fully integrate DHIP into Duke University Health System.
Barber has served as the chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2017. During his interim role as SVP of DHIP, Brenna Hughes, MD, MSc, will serve as Executive Vice Chair for the Department of OBGYN.
A national search for the next SVP for DHIP will launch this summer. Barber is stepping into the role vacated by John Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA, who has accepted the role of Dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- June is Pride Month
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our CGR season has ended. We will resume in August/September.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
June 18: EP Case Presentation with Seamus Hughes and DaMarcus Ingram. Noon, DN 2001 (in-person only).
June 21: Cardiology Fellows Lunch with Sean Van Diepen. 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., in-person only, DMP 2W96.
June 21: DHP Case Presentation with Ivan Nenadic Wood. 12:15-1 p.m., in-person only, DMP 2W96.
Duke Caregiver Community Event 2024
Sept. 5: The Duke Caregiver Community Event, a much-anticipated gathering for caregivers and professionals, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, 4700 Emperor Blvd., Durham, NC 27703.
Recognizing the need for support, Duke Health has organized this event to provide caregivers with insights from experts, connections to services, and the support systems necessary to navigate their journey.
Whether you’re a caregiver for a loved one or a professional seeking to enhance your skills, this event is for you.
Registration required. Family caregivers are welcome and can attend for $15 (lunch and all event day activities included) or for $10 if they opt to have lunch on their own.
You’ll have the opportunity to hear from experts, connect with support programs and services, and find answers and resources to help you navigate this journey.
The event will feature six concurrent educational sessions throughout the day, for general attendees, as well as a special track of educational sessions for professionals. There will also be many new and experiential activities to participant in throughout the course of the event including a health clinic, art gallery, pop-up mini sessions, and demonstration area.
For professionals, there is a track that is just for you! You will have the opportunity to attend four sessions geared toward sharpening your skills. To receive CE you must attend the professional track of sessions.
Registration cost for professionals is $75. You may opt to attend any of the general sessions as well as participate in all of the event activities that take place during the day. Professionals also receive complimentary admission to the networking reception that will take place on Thursday, Sept. 4. from 3-6 p.m. Registration for the networking reception only is $25.
To learn more and/or to register: https://duke.is/w/6vzf
In support of improving patient care, Duke University Health System Clinical Education and Professional Development is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), to provide continuing education for the health care team. The designation was based upon the quality of the educational activity and its compliance with the standards and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Total Credits: 6.0 for all except IACET which is 0.6
Credit types: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s), ANCC, Attendance, IACET CEU, JA Credit – AH
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:
June 7 — Neha Pagidipati
Healio/Cardiology Today
VIDEO: Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, MPH, discusses the impact of weight loss on cardiovascular risk
June 9 — William Kraus
Remo News
How many steps are needed to get maximum health benefits?
June 9 — William Kraus
Barron’s
How Many Steps Do You Really Need? There’s Good News for People Over 60
June 13 — Marat Fudim
AHA Newsroom
Selected startups will advance technology-driven improvements in heart and brain health
Duke Heart Pulse — June 9, 2024
Duke Heart Pulse – June 9, 2024
Highlights of the week:
Douglas Honored with DOM Career Achievement Award
Pamela Douglas, MD, is one of four Department of Medicine faculty members to receive the 2024 Department of Medicine Career Achievement Award recognizing their extraordinary impact on one of the department’s three core missions: education, research, and clinical medicine.
In addition to Douglas, awardees include Drs. James Abbruzzese, distinguished professor of medical oncology; Neil MacIntyre, professor of medicine in pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine, and Diana McNeill, professor of medicine in endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition. Recipients were selected for modeling Duke’s values of Excellence, Integrity, Teamwork, Respect, and Innovation and have created sustained legacies that have shaped the institution.
Each of the four was highlighted in the June 4 issue of This Week in Medicine.
Pamela Douglas, MD
Ursula Geller Distinguished Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiologist Dr. Pamela Douglas represents the “best of our outstanding Duke DOM faculty,” who has had a profound impact in many areas, noted Cardiology Division Chief, Dr. Manesh Patel, in his nomination of Douglas, who serves as director of the Multimodality Imaging Program at Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).
The two areas where she has had the greatest influence are her work in cardiac imaging and diversity, equity and inclusion in research, clinical care, and the workforce, both locally and at the national level.
“Guided by a relentless focus on patient outcomes and innovative research, Dr. Douglas led the creation of novel concepts in imaging care quality, which were accepted nationally,” Patel said.
“Dr. Douglas’s thought leadership, scholarship, and relentless translation to the bedside have dramatically improved the rigor of imaging science and meaningfully enhanced patient-centered clinical care.”
During her more than 30 years in the medical field, Dr. Douglas has led several landmark multicenter government studies and pivotal industry clinical trials along with outcomes research studies. She is renowned for her scientific and policy work in improving the quality and appropriateness of imaging in clinical care, clinical trials, and registries and through the development and dissemination of national standards for imaging utilization, informatics, and analysis.
Dr. Douglas is also a longstanding champion of diversity and equity in research, clinical care, and the workforce, locally and at the national level, Patel added. As the founding director of the American College of Cardiology’s diversity and inclusion initiative, Dr. Douglas was the architect of its strategic efforts to increase the representation of women and minoritized populations among cardiovascular physicians and researchers.
“Dr. Douglas has been a mentor and example to me personally, countless other faculty and Duke and around the world,” Patel said. “Put simply, she has been a north star for the field of cardiovascular medicine, a leader who continues to move our science, care, and training forward.”
Congratulations, Pam!
To read summaries for the other winners, please visit: https://duke.is/2/qd5d
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health has launched our official call for Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8!
Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge team representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate not only the AHA’s Centennial but Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
Anyone who registers to be a Team Coach by Monday, June 10 will receive an exclusive, limited-edition Heart Walk Coach jersey. To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Monday: DUH Transitioning to Purell® Products
To continuously enhance patient experience, ensure a safe work environment, and maintain fiscal responsibility, Duke University Health System (DUHS) is partnering with GOJO, the creators of PURELL® hand sanitizer products, to replace and update hand sanitizer stations throughout the health system. DUH will begin the transition to PURELL® products starting Monday, June 10.
The installation team will be recruited through an extensive credentialing process by Supply Chain. The team will be identifiable by contractor badges on their uniforms. Disruption to patient care will be at a minimum during the installation process.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- June is Pride Month
- Save the Date: June 12, 4-5 p.m., State of the School Address (SOM)
Cardiology Grand Rounds
June 11: TBD. 5 p.m., DN2002 or via Zoom.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
DCRI Research Forum Series
June 11: The Duke Clinical Research Institute is excited to welcome Duke Football Coach Manny Diaz as their June guest for the next DCRI Research Forum, which will close out the 2023-2024 series.
What: A Fireside Chat with Coach Manny Diaz
When: Tuesday, June 11, from Noon-1 p.m. ET
Where: DCRI Research Forum: A Fireside Chat with Manny Diaz via Zoom
We hope you’ll consider joining this virtual event!
Duke Caregiver Community Event 2024
Sept. 5: The Duke Caregiver Community Event, a much-anticipated gathering for caregivers and professionals, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, 4700 Emperor Blvd., Durham, NC 27703.
Recognizing the need for support, Duke Health has organized this event to provide caregivers with insights from experts, connections to services, and the support systems necessary to navigate their journey.
Whether you’re a caregiver for a loved one or a professional seeking to enhance your skills, this event is for you.
Registration required. Family caregivers are welcome and can attend for $15 (lunch and all event day activities included) or for $10 if they opt to have lunch on their own.
You’ll have the opportunity to hear from experts, connect with support programs and services, and find answers and resources to help you navigate this journey.
The event will feature six concurrent educational sessions throughout the day, for general attendees, as well as a special track of educational sessions for professionals. There will also be many new and experiential activities to participate in throughout the event including a health clinic, art gallery, pop-up mini sessions, and demonstration area.
For professionals, there is a track that is just for you! You will have the opportunity to attend four sessions geared toward sharpening your skills. To receive CE you must attend the professional track of sessions.
Registration cost for professionals is $75. You may opt to attend any of the general sessions as well as participate in all of the event activities that take place during the day. Professionals also receive complimentary admission to the networking reception that will take place on Thursday, Sept. 4. from 3-6 p.m. Registration for the networking reception only is $25.
To learn more and/or to register: https://duke.is/w/6vzf
In support of improving patient care, Duke University Health System Clinical Education and Professional Development is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), to provide continuing education for the health care team. The designation was based upon the quality of the educational activity and its compliance with the standards and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Total Credits: 6.0 for all except IACET which is 0.6
Credit types: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s), ANCC, Attendance, IACET CEU, JA Credit – AH
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:
May 21 — Leanna Ross
WebMD
May 23 — Alejandro Murillo Berlioz
Univision 40 NC/WUVC, Raleigh-Durham
Joven hispano que falleció en un tiroteo trasciende a la muerte gracias a la donación de órganos
May 30 — Duke Heart for Honduras/Alejandro Murillo Berlioz
Univision 40 NC/WUVC, Raleigh-Durham
Médico hondureño apoya comunidiad médica en su país
*clip begins @ 25:13
June 3 — Svati Shah
Women’s Health
Inside Look: Women’s Health Lab 2024
also carried in Oprah Daily, Cosmopolitan & Prevention
June 4 — Marat Fudim
The Spokesman-Review
Heart failure death rates on the rise, but local specialists say there’s more to that
Duke Heart Pulse — June 2, 2024
Duke Heart Pulse – June 2, 2024
Chief’s message: Changing Times in Duke Cardiology
This last week was highlighted some of the transitions we have usually at the end of Academic years with retirements and soon new faculty, residents, and fellows coming to Duke Cardiology/ Duke CT and Vascular surgery. This week was particularly bittersweet as we had the retirement event for Tom Bashore with many former fellows and faculty coming in town for the event which had the toasts, roasts, and memories of 40 years contributing to Duke Cardiology. The event highlighted both the impact of Tom Bashore on Duke Cardiology, and the unique community of cardiologists around the country with a ties back to Duke Cardiology and the Fellowship. See the photos and story below.
Equally impactful for our Cardiology group was the announcement of Harry Phillips retirement from Duke this week – also after more than 40 years of service. As always, thinking about the future, Harry is moving on to a new adventure with an AI company as the CMO. Harry has been the standard bearer for our development of community relationships and building our cardiology practice by building relationships and caring for patients. His dedication to teaching and growing Duke has been singular and extraordinary. We will ensure we share more about his celebration as that happens. These times are bittersweet – providing a link and memory to the times and people that have helped make Duke Heart what it is today – and inspiring many of those present to carry on the mission of teaching the next generation, caring for our community, and discovering the future therapies and solutions to improve heatlh.
Highlights of the week:
Celebrating the Career of Tom Bashore, MD

We had a wonderful gathering on Friday evening to celebrate the forty-year career of retiring cardiologist Dr. Tom Bashore. Thank you to all who joined us at the University Club as we toasted and roasted our dear colleague, friend, and mentor, especially those who traveled from across the U.S. to help us celebrate. We particularly enjoyed having Dr. and Mrs. Bashore’s children and grandchildren in attendance, and the many photos they supplied for our display. Their presence heightened the festivities!
Speakers included Manesh Patel, Svati Shah, Howard Rockman, John Warner of Wexner Medical Center in Ohio, and Chris O’Connor of Inova Heart & Vascular, who each provided personal stories, anecdotes, and accolades — and of course, Tom Bashore, with a review of his truly inspiring career and memorable moments.
It’s much too difficult to say here what Dr. Bashore has meant to all of you – our faculty, staff, fellows – or Duke and our patients — over these many years. We’re glad he won’t be too far away for visits!
Please enjoy some photos from the evening and submissions from across the years:
Congratulations, Tom!
Harry Phillips, MD, Departing Duke Health in June
Duke cardiologist and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Duke Network Services, Harry Phillips III, MD, will be leaving Duke Health on June 30, 2024. After more than 40 years of devoted service, Phillips has accepted a role outside the health system where he will focus on applying artificial intelligence to real world data to improve outcomes in oncology and cardiometabolic diseases. The announcement was made on Friday, May 31 by Donna Peter, interim Vice President of Duke Network Services.
Phillips, a graduate of Duke University School of Medicine, has been a dedicated and visionary leader who significantly contributed to Duke Health. After completing internal medicine and cardiology training in the Harvard-affiliated program at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the early 1980s, Phillips began his career at Duke. He was part of the team that founded the Interventional Cardiology Program and subsequently the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program. Phillips has been a productive clinical investigator, and has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He also played a key role in developing Duke’s cardiovascular outreach strategies.
In 2007, Phillips assumed the role of CMO of Duke Network Services. He provided physician leadership in developing and sustaining affiliated clinical programs in multiple specialties. His efforts helped enhance local access to high-quality cardiovascular, cancer, and stroke care. Phillips was instrumental in founding Duke LifePoint Healthcare, a joint venture with LifePoint Health that supports hospitals in non-urban communities with the necessary resources to ensure access to high-quality healthcare locally.
Since 2017, Phillips has also served as CMO of Duke LifePoint Healthcare, with a focus on quality improvement, strategic planning and fostering collaboration with hospital leaders for the 14-hospital network. He has worked closely with the Duke Quality Network to enhance safety and quality at the hospitals, and served as the interim Chair of the Quality Oversight Committee, to which all hospitals report.
In recognition of his achievements as a Duke Faculty Member and his contributions to enhancing local healthcare for rural communities, Phillips was awarded the 2017 Health Care Hero Lifetime Achievement Award by the Triangle Business Journal. In 2019, he was also honored with a Duke University School of Medicine Excellence in Professionalism Award.
Over his four decades at Duke, Phillips has made valuable contributions to cardiovascular care at Duke, and he has played a vital role in developing Duke- affiliated clinical programs which have improved community health by enhancing access to high-quality local health care. His presence will be greatly missed.
Please join us in extending our sincere appreciation to Harry for his dedication and service to Duke Health, Duke Network Services, Duke Heart, and our patients!
Duke Heart Earns MVRR Center Award
We learned this week that Duke University Hospital has earned the 2024 Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award. For the fifth year in a row, Duke is one of only 22 mitral repair centers recognized by the Mitral Foundation as having the volume and outcomes needed to qualify for the honor. Congrats to Drs. Don Glower, Jeff Gaca, Andrew Wang, and their team members for the outstanding work they are doing for all of our mitral patients.
Way to go!
Seeking Coaches & Walkers: Heart Walk 2024
Duke Health has launched our official call for Coaches and Walkers for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Triangle Heart Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8!
Join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole or start your own team under “Duke Heart & Vascular”. We want to have a huge squad representing Duke Heart this year to celebrate the AHA’s Centennial and Duke University’s 100th birthday. Please join us!
“Dear friends,
I am participating in and leading a team supporting the American Heart Association. If you join my team, we will literally save lives together. Yes, literally. In the past, funds raised from the Heart Walk have led to scientific breakthroughs like pacemakers, cardiac stents, and artificial heart valves that keep people alive longer. There is still time to be a part of all the FUN. Register for my team today – you won’t regret it!
Sincerely, Manesh”
In case you haven’t yet seen the Duke Health call for Coaches & Walkers, here are the details:
Dear Duke Health Colleagues,
We remain truly grateful to each and every one of you who participated in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk last year. Your commitment and dedication to this life-saving mission are truly commendable.
As both Duke University and the AHA have Centennial celebrations this year, we are excited to announce that the 2024 Heart Walk is going to be even bigger! This is an important milestone for the American Heart Association, with 100 years of improving heart and brain health through research and advocacy.
On Sunday, September 8, join us as we walk alongside our colleagues, family members, friends, and many of our cardiovascular patients to celebrate our community at the 2024 Triangle Heart Walk.
We are currently seeking people to step up and lead a team as a Heart Walk Coach – leaders like you! As a Coach, you’ll take charge of leading a team of co-workers to spread the word, recruit, and raise money for life-saving research. You don’t have to spend a lot of time to make a difference, by contributing just a few minutes each week, you can be a successful Coach. As your team reaches fundraising milestones, you’ll unlock additional rewards for Coach gifts!
Anyone who registers to be a Team Coach by Monday, June 10 will receive an exclusive, limited-edition Heart Walk Coach jersey. To sign up as a Coach, click the button above and on the AHA site, choose the red “Create a Team” button. Walkers can also sign up and join teams on the same site by clicking the red “Join a Team” button.
Let’s come together to make this our best year yet and demonstrate our unwavering dedication to cardiovascular health. Together, we can make a significant impact and pave the way for a healthier future.
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event and a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients. We’ll be talking about Heart Walk all summer with lots of opportunities to join in the fun. Thank you for your ongoing support!
ICYMI: Klotman’s Friday Message
In her May 31st Friday Message, Dean Mary Klotman and Chris Beyrer, PhD, director of the Duke Global Health Institute discuss Duke’s global health programs and opportunities. One of the highlights includes work that is currently led by Duke cardiologists Drs. Jerry Bloomfield and Titus Ng’eno in Eldoret, Kenya in global cardiovascular health. As many of you are aware, many Duke Heart faculty have visited and participated in the care delivery and teaching in Eldoret over the years. This is well worth checking out!
To watch a video of their conversation, please visit: https://duke.is/z/zh4h.
Kudos to Duke’s Multi-D Sarcoid Team!

Congratulations to Johana Fajardo, advanced heart failure and transplant nurse practitioner and director, Precision Cardiomyopathy Clinical Services at Duke and the entire multidisciplinary sarcoidosis team at Duke. The team recently offered their first Duke Sarcoidosis Support Group meeting via Zoom and had close to 50 patients in attendance!
Jay Doss, MD presented informative content and answered patient questions while a number of other sarcoid team members were online to introduce themselves and welcome patients to the event. The discussion was lively and our patients were appreciative.
According to Fajardo, the event was geared to patients being managed at Duke for multi-organ sarcoidosis, and the team plans to host virtual support groups twice per year, once in spring and again in fall. She says they are planning a similar support group for patients with amyloidosis and hope to have that ready to launch in September, 2024.
Great work, Johana & team – support makes a huge difference to our patients and their family members!
Shout-out to Elliott!
We were forwarded a terrific note of recognition last week by cardiology fellowship program director, Anna Lisa Chamis, MD regarding cardiology fellow David Elliott:
“Just wanted to give our cardiology fellow David Elliott a little shout out for doing such a great job on Friday (May 24) with a very anxious device patient. His bedside manner was fantastic, and he was extremely comforting with our patient to help him understand what to expect with his stress test, and how we could make him feel as comfortable as possible during the exam. He did such a wonderful job answering all of the patient’s questions and the patient ended up doing an amazing job with his stress. Not only that, David stayed late with Amanda and I while we waited for transport to arrive to bring the patient. Additionally, David spent time with the patient in the bay while we waited for transport and continued to build rapport and comfort our patient. None of this is expected by anyone, let alone our cards fellow, so I greatly appreciated the care he gave our patient. Thank you, David!!!” — Shreeya Basnyat
Kudos to Ausburn, Coffield & Grisson!
Congratulations to Angela Ausburn, Latia Coffield, and Temetrice Grisson — three of our outstanding cardiology medical assistants with Duke Cardiology Arringdon. All three have recently moved up their clinical ladder to MA III.
Congratulations to all!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- June 1-7 is CPR & AED Awareness Week
- Save the Date: June 12, 4-5 p.m., State of the School Address (SOM)
Cardiology Grand Rounds
June 4: The Science and Community of Critical Care Cardiology with Balim Senman. 5 p.m., DN2002 or via Zoom.
All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
June 5: Journal Club with TBD. Noon, DMP 2W96 (in-person only).
June 7: Intro to Cardiac MRI with Han Kim. Noon, Zoom only.
Duke/Duke NUS Virtual Symposium
June 6: Virtual Symposium with Lightning Talks on AI-Related Health Projects, 8-10 a.m., EDT
Open to all Duke-affiliated team members! Registration is required.
DCRI Research Forum Series
June 11: The Duke Clinical Research Institute is excited to welcome Duke Football Coach Manny Diaz as their June guest for the next DCRI Research Forum, which will close out the 2023-2024 series.
What: A Fireside Chat with Coach Manny Diaz
When: Tuesday, June 11, from Noon-1 p.m. ET
Where: DCRI Research Forum: A Fireside Chat with Manny Diaz via Zoom
We hope you’ll consider joining this virtual event!
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:
May 24 — Nina Nouhravesh
Food Navigator Europe
Maybe eggs aren’t bad for heart health after all
May 29 — Jonathan Piccini
tctMD
Compared with PV Isolation Alone, AI-Guided Ablation Lowers AF at 12 Months
May 29 — Stephen Greene
HCP Live
Don’t Miss a Beat: Semaglutide and the Future of Kidney Disease, with Brendon Neuen, MBBS, PhD
May 29 — Nishant Shah
United Press International
Heart-healthy behaviors may help reverse rapid cell aging, study shows
May 30 — Senthil Selvaraj
Healio/Cardiology Today
Common ATTR amyloidosis gene could impair longevity among many Black carriers
Recent Comments