Monthly Archives: July 2025

Highlights of the week:

Duke Again Captures GWTG Awards Across Categories for CV Care

Duke Heart & Vascular expertise and care has again led to recognition awards from the American Heart Association. We have recently been notified of Get With the Guidelines (GWTG) awards for excellence in quality for data collected from 1/1/2023 to 12/31/2024.

For Duke University Hospital:

• Get With The Guidelines®-AFib Gold
• GWTG Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Receiving Center – Silver Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
• GWTG Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI – Gold with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
• GWTG Heart Failure — Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Optimal and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

For Duke Raleigh Hospital:

• GWTG Heart Failure Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Optimal and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Finally, Duke University Hospital has also been awarded the AHA’s 2025 Commitment to Quality award. This is the first year for this special award level — recognizing an elite group of hospitals having reached achievement level in three or more Get With The Guidelines® modules. Only 158 sites in the nation met the criteria for this award.

Way to go, team!!!

 

MAGNITUDE Trial Lifts off at Duke

Congratulations to our Precision Cardiomyopathy team! This week, they dosed their first research participant in the MAGNITUDE trial for patients with heart failure due to transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). The study, sponsored by Intellia Therapeutics, utilizes CRISPR technology to inactivate the amyloid gene.

Ravi Karra, MD, MHS, and Michel Khouri, MD, are serving as the co-principal investigators for the Duke site. MAGNITUDE is a multinational, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, and Duke is one of the few centers in the southeastern U.S. participating.

A longer story on this exciting development will appear next month.

 

Kester Named to NC Great 100

Congratulations to Kelly Kester, DNP, senior nursing director with Duke Heart & Vascular! Kester has been named to the NC Great 100 Nurses for 2025. She is one of five Duke nurses who made this year’s list. The others are Melinda Busi and Kathy Sandel with Duke Regional Hospital; Derrick Glymph with Duke School of Nursing; and Blaise Nieve with Duke University Hospital.

Those named to the NC Great 100 exemplify excellence in nursing practice, leadership, and service — they will be honored at the 37th Annual NC Great 100 Gala on October 11 at The Maxwell Center in Goldsboro.

Well deserved, Kelly!

 

Successful JC VAD Visit

The Joint Commission visit this past week to review and reaccredit our Ventricular Assist Device program was a success! The Joint Commission is a major accrediting body for VAD programs, particularly for destination therapy VADs. 

We had a successful visit with no findings. Many thanks to the teams who worked hard to prepare for the visit, to those who remained regulatory-ready, and to the leadership, faculty, and staff who participated in the survey itself.

Great job, all!

Protecting Patients’ Access to Duke Health

In a message shared with all Duke Health team members this week, Tom Owens, MD, COO of DUHS, and Lisa Goodlett, CFO of DUHS, announced the following:

Duke Health has relationships with health insurance companies, including Cigna, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and more. As a responsible care provider, we regularly assess these contracts and negotiate with insurance providers to secure fair agreements that protect our patients’ access to Duke Health and appropriately reimburse us for the expert, complex care only we can provide.

We are currently negotiating a new agreement with Aetna to support these goals. If we are unable to reach a fair agreement, our contract with Aetna will end on Monday, October 20, and Duke Health will be considered out-of-network for patients with Aetna insurance. This may result in higher out-of-pocket costs for patients with Aetna insurance and may even force patients to find a new clinician that is included in Aetna’s network.

This negotiation will not impact Duke employees. Duke medical plans are managed under a separate Aetna agreement that is not included in the current negotiations.

While we hope to have an agreement with Aetna by Monday, October 20, we will begin communicating with patients about the ongoing negotiations soon. Our goal is to ensure patients experience minimal disruption throughout this process and continue to receive care from our incredible teams. We understand the outcome of this negotiation may impact some of our current processes, including scheduling, and how we support continuity of care. We will keep you updated with current information every step of the way.   

Your Role in Supporting Patients

Our patients may have questions about the negotiation with Aetna. Please assure patients that nothing changes prior to Monday, October 20, and use this resource and FAQ page to support your conversations and direct patients to the following resources:

• To speak with a representative: 919-620-4555 or 800-782-69
• To review additional information: org

Thank you for everything you do for our patients, our teams, and the communities we serve every day.

 

Thompson Named ACNO, DUH; Craft Named AVP, Ambulatory Nursing & Patient Care

Chantal Howard, Chief Nursing & Patient Care Services Officer for Duke University Hospital (DUH) this week announced that Amanda Thompson, MHA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, has joined the Duke Health team and been named the new Associate Chief Nursing Officer for DUH. She will support Med-Surg and Critical Care Services, Neurosciences, Musculoskeletal and Emergency Services.

Thompson brings more than 30 years of progressive nursing leadership experience spanning inpatient, procedural, and critical care environments. Her most recent roles include serving as Chief Nursing Officer at Advocate Health – Atrium Stanly and Executive Director of Heart & Vascular, Critical Care and Surgical Services at Wake Med. She is recognized for her ability to drive clinical excellence, lead large teams, and foster strong collaboration across disciplines. Her track record in advancing quality, operational performance, and workforce engagement makes her an exceptional addition to our nursing leadership team.

Howard this week also expressed her deep gratitude to Dawn Craft, DNP, RN, NE-BC, who has recently been named Assistant Vice President for Ambulatory Nursing and Patient Care Services. Craft’s impact on inpatient and ambulatory nursing operations at DUH has been profound, Howard said in her announcement, adding that “we are fortunate to continue benefiting from her leadership in her new role during a critical time of growth.”

Welcome to Duke, Amanda, and congratulations, Dawn!

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Duke Heart Fall CMEs

The Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, 2025. It will be held in the Trent Semans Center.

Our 2025 agenda features expert-led sessions on updated ASE guidelines, coronary artery disease evaluation, strain imaging in cardiomyopathies, tricuspid valve disease, cardiac POCUS, and technical skills development through hands-on breakout sessions.

To register, please visit https://events.duke.edu/DukeCIS2025.

 

The 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium will take place on Friday, October 31, 2025, at the Durham Convention Center.

Our 2025 symposium will include clinically challenging presentations, including CTD-PAH, CPPC PH, CTEPH, PH associated with ILD, COPD, portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH), and PH in end-stage renal disease. All will be addressed through interactive lectures and robust case-based discussions.

To register, please visit: https://events.duke.edu/17PH2025.

 

Have news to share?

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

 

Duke Heart in the News: 

July 17 — Joseph Turek

Popular Science

Surgeons develop 2 ways to ‘restart’ hearts without a donor’s body

July 17 — Joseph Turek

Becker’s Hospital Review

Duke Health surgeons perform world’s 1st on-table infant heart reanimation

July 18 — Ashley Ward (Nicholas Institute)

JAMA Medical News

Why Capturing Heat-Related Illness in the Medical Record Matters More Than Ever

July 18 — Christina Cui and Dawn Coleman

Vascular Specialist

‘Parenthood in vascular surgery a personal choice, not a professional deadline’

July 19 — Nishant Shah

Good Housekeeping

When Is the Best Time to Take Low-Dose Aspirin — Morning or Night?

July 19 — Branson Whitaker (peds heart patient) and Duke Children’s

WTVD/ABC 11

8-year-old patient who has spent time in Duke Hospital pays it forward

July 20 — Joseph Turek

Science Alert

Surgeons Resuscitate ‘Dead’ Heart in Life-Saving Organ Transplant to Baby

July 22 — Marat Fudim

HCP Live

GLP-1 RAs in Heart Failure and Patient Monitoring, with Marat Fudim, MD

July 23 — Duke Health

Becker’s ASC Review

10 recent cardiology firsts

July 24 — Sana Al-Khatib

Medscape

Everyone Deserves a Shot at the American Dream: Sinus Rhythm

Chief’s message:  Updates for the week:

We are happy to report that Tracey Koepke is back and doing well.  She is helping again with the Pulse and we have some more stories of Amazing team work to save lives in our clinics, new research on pediatric heart transplants from Joe Turek and team, international work by Gerald Bloomfield and team, and the many day to day excellence in research, clinical care and teaching from our fellows, faculty, and staff. Stay out of the heat.

Highlights of the week:

Quick Thinking & CPR Saves Patient

On Tuesday, one of our Duke electrophysiology patients experienced a VT arrest just outside the front door of the Arrington clinic. The patient had just seen Anna Turner, NP and was leaving clinic to go home when they went into polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and arrested.

Marquis Holland, one of our new security officers who had only been on the job for three weeks, along with colleague Christopher Dees, promptly attended to the patient and delivered immediate and high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Holland resuscitated the patient, who was then transported to the hospital.

This patient is alive today because of Marquis, Christopher, and their inspiring actions. We are so grateful for their quick thinking and life-saving actions. The Duke University Police Department is planning to honor them for their heroism.

Marquis is shown here with Anna Turner.

Way to go, Marquis, Christopher, and team!

 

Selvaraj Named Faculty Lead for CRU HF Cluster

Senthil Selvaraj, MD, assistant professor of medicine in cardiology specializing in advanced heart failure, and a faculty member in both the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and the Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute’s Center for Precision Health, has been named the faculty lead for the Duke Heart Clinical Research Unit’s Heart Failure Cluster.

Selvaraj leads several translational studies in cardiometabolism in HF using mechanistic randomized trials. He has significant experience in successful recruitment strategies and study execution in site-based research. This experience will continue to foster the ongoing success of the HF cluster.

Please join us in congratulating Senthil on his new role.

 

 

New Technique Could Increase Infant Heart Transplant by 20%

Duke Health has pioneered a world’s-first technique that could expand by up to 20% the donor pool for pediatric heart transplants in the U.S. — offering new hope to families on the waitlist.

The New England Journal of Medicine published the case study on Wednesday, July 16. It details a groundbreaking approach to overcome barriers to heart donation after circulatory death (DCD) in infants.

“This innovation was born out of necessity,” said Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Duke Health. “We were determined to find a way to help the smallest and sickest children who previously had no access to DCD heart donation.”

DCD is a technique which allows for heart donation to take place after a circulatory death, rather than brain death (once the standard in donation), as long as the functionality of the heart can be assessed on a perfusion device. DCD has previously been used in adult and adolescent transplants, but existing perfusion devices are too large to fit infant hearts.

A technique called normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) could reanimate the heart inside of the body, but it carries logistical and ethical barriers – leading many centers to avoid using it. The lack of NRP uptake causes viable pediatric donor hearts to go unused.

To overcome this, the Duke team developed a novel technique that temporarily reanimates the donor heart outside of the body, on a surgical table using a heart-lung machine (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO) – allowing surgeons to assess the organ’s viability before transplant. The approach avoids the barriers associated with NRP and could become a new standard of care.

Duke scientists are calling the new technique on-table heart reanimation. The first-of-its-kind case saved the life of a then 3-month-old patient, who received the procedure earlier this year.

Every year in the U.S. about 700 children are added to the waitlist for a pediatric heart transplant, and of those about 10-20% die while waiting on the list, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Turek estimates the new on-table heart reanimation technique has the potential to save as many young lives as there are viable pediatric donor hearts currently going unused.

“This is a major step forward in pediatric transplant medicine,” Turek said. “On-table heart reanimation could dramatically expand the availability of precious donations — transforming loss into life with greater stewardship and hope.”

Duke Health has a history of pioneering research in DCD hearts transplants, performing the nation’s first DCD heart transplant in an adult in 2019 and the first in an adolescent in 2021.

Turek has also led several pioneering pediatric heart transplant techniques, including the partial heart transplant, the living mitral valve replacement, and the thymus-heart co-transplantation for tolerance.

In addition to Turek, other authors include John A. Kucera and Douglas M. Overbey.

 

Redefining Cardiac Care in Underserved Communities Across the Globe

Gerald Bloomfield, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke, is a leader in cardiovascular global health research dedicated to combatting heart disease in under-served areas of the United States and in low to middle-income countries.

“My early ideas of medicine were about having a skill and knowledge that I could use to help other people. Medicine isn’t the only way to do that, but it was the way that resonated with me as a kid,” Dr. Bloomfield said.

Dr. Bloomfield is the associate director for research at the Duke Global Health Research Institute where he leads research and funding initiatives. It’s where he combines his passions for cardiology and global health research.

“I’ve known since I was in grade school that I wanted to be a doctor,” he said. But it was his grandmother, a nurse, who inspired him to pursue medicine. His parents gave him a view that put the world at center stage.

“My parents immigrated to the US from Jamaica, and I always had the perspective that the issues that we’re dealing with today aren’t only happening where we live, they’re happening all over the globe,” he added. “Having seen medical care delivered in places with less resources than we have in the US, I was interested in doing the same for other areas like that,” he said.

After graduating from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, completing its internal medicine residency, master of public health programs and chief residency, he was admitted to Duke University’s School of Medicine’s cardiovascular fellowship program, and later, Duke’s Global Health Residency-Fellowship Pathway and the Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellowship. As a fellow, he got the opportunity to spend one year treating patients in rural Kenyan clinics.

“Heart disease, historically, in Kenya was always a terminal diagnosis. There was no expert to treat hypertension, a heart attack, or stroke,” Dr. Bloomfield said. “What really stuck with me was the fact that patients did not have a general knowledge around cardiovascular disease. The health literacy around heart disease was almost non-existent.”

To deliver the best care, he gained the trust of the community by actively listening to their concerns and educating them in Swahili about chronic conditions like high blood pressure. “I really wanted to hear what the needs are and then figure out if our team are the right people to address those needs,” said Dr. Bloomfield.

Most traditional cardiac fellowship programs didn’t include the opportunity to gain skills to be used specifically in under-resourced populations but spending a year of his cardiology fellowship learning and practice medicine and research in Kenya, closed the gap in training for Dr. Bloomfield.

Providing Care and Leading Research in Kenya

Afterward, Dr. Bloomfield and his family began spending six months out of each year in Kenya, and the other six months in North Carolina, which was supported by a career development award from Fogarty International Center. During that time, he launched a clinical research program to determine the causes of heart failure among East Africans at the Moi University School of Medicine, in Eldoret, Kenya.

From there, he, along with several mentors, established the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease Center of Excellence at the University, which led to the development of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital-Duke Cardiovascular Fellowship Program, and the construction of a cardiac care unit.

He conducted research projects, mentored Kenyan physicians, and trained nurses and sonographers to perform heart procedures, echocardiograms (EGC), and ECG readings. Dr. Bloomfield instituted didactic talks, educational lectures, and served as a cardiac consultant in the hospital.

“When people saw others getting better, they started coming to the hospital on death’s door, and we were treating them and sending them home after they improved,” Bloomfield said.

As demand grew, more senior cardiologists were brought in to care for patients and mentor future clinicians, creating a new opportunity for Dr. Bloomfield. He discovered a passion for mentorship, a role he developed over time, and now leads with a specific approach.

“My overall approach to our training program has always been to listen first. When we’re seeing patients in clinic and hearing their stories, it applies to our research and what the community needs are,” he said.

After handing over the reins to Kenyan leaders, and with Duke doctors visiting intermittently, Dr. Bloomfield now only returns to Kenya two-three times a year to advise on the future growth of cardiac care and research. “The programs there are essentially sustaining themselves, and we get to collaborate on a higher level” he said.

Research in the US

Dr. Bloomfield is now bringing the lessons he’s learned abroad to the U.S. health care system. “Although the language and some details may be different, the issues around delivering high quality care to people who are sick and don’t have access to the resources they need, are very similar in many parts of the world, including in the U.S.,” he said. “Global includes international and domestic. We need global health approaches in the U.S. as well.”

He is currently working with a team of experts to address cardiovascular health in rural areas. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and accounts for every one in four deaths globally.  Rural areas experience 60,000 more deaths than urban areas yearly due to limited access to health care providers and resources. Most rural hospitals don’t have specialists or the cardiac imaging machines required to detect, diagnose, and manage cardiovascular disease. 

To combat this, Dr. Bloomfield is co-leading the Echocardiography Core Lab on the mobile examination unit for the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Study. It’s an ongoing population-based cohort study that helps physicians identify risk factors for heart and lung diseases in rural counties in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi that have higher cardiovascular disease death rates than the rest of the country.

“We are bringing early diagnosis to individuals,” he said. The mobile examination units are outfitted with a lab, private exam rooms, and cardiovascular assessment and imaging tools. “We’re seeing community volunteers and assessing their heart health. Then we’re following them over time to figure out how we can prevent heart disease or treat it better in the future,” he added.

Dr. Bloomfield ensures the echocardiograms are performed correctly and then the scans are sent to Duke for analysis. Unlike similar studies, the results are returned to participants and shared with their doctors if abnormalities, like signs of heart failure, are found.

More than 3,000 participants have been enrolled in the study. The team engages with community leaders first and then hosts a free day for residents to tour the truck and get familiarized with the study. Researchers are comparing the data they gathered and comparing it to four counties that have lower cardiovascular disease rates.

*This piece was authored by Synclaire Cruel for Duke’s Dept. of Medicine, July 11, 2025.

Kudos to Kim

We received a wonderful kudos for Yoo Jin Kim, first year cardiology fellow, from Bharathi Upadhya, MD this week and wanted to share it here with our readers.

“Anna Lisa, I cannot believe this week marks Yoo Jin’s first week at Duke. She performed like a seasoned fellow. On the very first day, she knew all the patients. We had a jam-packed DHP service this week. She is very efficient. The service had 18 to 19 patients, and interns can only take 8. Interns are also new, and one was very stressed. She pre-rounded and primarily worked like an intern for a few patients. She did not complain and was happy to do that. She has the leadership quality. Her clinical skills are excellent. She is energetic.” — Regards, Bharathi

“Yoo Jin – great job on a new and busy service in a new hospital with new interns!” — Anna Lisa Chamis, MD

Excellent work, Yoo Jin!

 

Summer Fun Shout-out!

A shout-out on behalf of Carolyn Lekavich to Kara Lawson, head coach of the Duke women’s basketball team and to her players! Lekavich shared a happy parent moment with us this week. Her daughter, Venia, participated in Coach Lawson’s camp — a new program offering this year — and this week Venia was awarded Defensive Player MVP.

Venia is shown here alongside Duke women’s basketball team members.

Way to go, Venia and go DUKE!

 

Duke Heart Gains New Family Member

We are pleased to share that Duke Heart has gained a new family member — Niko Massengale, the son of Ashley and Johnny Massengale, was born on July 7. Diane Sauro received a message of gratitude from Ashley this week and asked us to share it here.

“First, I wanted to say how thankful I am to be part of such a kind team. Each text, visit, meal/Door Dash, and care package has been so thoughtful and sweet. I’ve been amazed by the outpouring of support. It’s made a tough time more manageable and means a lot to me and Johnny.

Our son, Niko Patrick Massengale, was born on 7/7. [Due to his early arrival] he will remain admitted until closer to his due date. He’s doing great and transitioned to room air yesterday! We are so relieved that he has done okay and hopeful that he continues to do well. I’m doing just fine. We’re at the hospital daily so I’m sure I’ll see y’all soon. Thank you again for all the love, Ashley, Johnny, Maya, and Niko.”

 

CME Programming Updates

The Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, 2025. It will be held in the Trent Semans Center.

Echocardiography remains a critical component in the diagnosis, management, and surveillance of cardiovascular disease. As cardiovascular care continues to evolve, so too must the knowledge and skills of clinicians utilizing imaging in practice. This year’s symposium is designed to address emerging clinical questions, updated guideline recommendations, and new imaging modalities through case-based learning and practical applications. The 2025 agenda features expert-led sessions on updated ASE guidelines, coronary artery disease evaluation, strain imaging in cardiomyopathies, tricuspid valve disease, cardiac POCUS, and technical skills development through hands-on breakout sessions.

To register, please visit https://events.duke.edu/DukeCIS2025.

 

The 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium will take place on Friday, October 31, 2025, at the Durham Convention Center.

The symposium aims to equip physicians and allied health professionals with current, evidence-based knowledge in the diagnosis and treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). With a focus on frontline providers, this symposium will explore optimal diagnostic strategies, treatment selection, and timely referrals to specialized PH centers. Clinically challenging presentations, including CTD-PAH, CPPC PH, CTEPH, PH associated with ILD, COPD, portopulmonary hypertension, and PH in end-stage renal disease—will be addressed through interactive lectures and robust case-based discussions. The format encourages dialogue and debate to foster practical insights and collaborative decision-making in complex scenarios.

To register, please visit: https://events.duke.edu/17PH2025.

 

Have news to share?

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

Duke Heart in the News: 

June 4 — Bradi Granger and Anna Tharakan (Health Policy summer intern)

American Hospital Association/Advancing Health Podcast

How Duke University Is Fighting Hypertension Through Community Collaboration

June 10 — Brittany Zwischenberger

STS.org/Surgical Hot Topics Podcast

Same Surgeon, Different Light w/ Dr. Brittany Zwischenberger

June 16 — Duke Health (mitral valve transplant)

Becker’s Clinical Leadership

6 1st-of-its-kind procedures performed in 2025

June 17 — Neha Pagidipati

Healio

Research updates in health technology, nutrition and diabetes management

 

June 18 — Pamela Douglas and Neha Pagidipati

JAMA Cardiology

Editorial: The Last Mile in Prevention—Can Coronary CT Angiography Help?

June 18 — Nishant Shah

Everyday Health

Is Exercise Safe When You Have Pericarditis?

June 20 — Neha Pagidipati, Stephen Greene, and Robert Califf

HCP Live

HCPLive Five at Heart in Diabetes 2025

June 23 — Adrian Hernandez and Robert Harrington

Medscape

Commentary: Academic Entrepreneurship Key for Clinician Researchers Given NIH Funding Uncertainty

June 25 — Pamela Douglas and Neha Pagidipati

tctMD

CCTA Bests CV Risk Scores for Bolstering Lifestyle Changes, Medication Uptake

July 2 — Robert Califf

HCP Live

Cardiology Month in Review: June 2025

July 3 — Jonathan Piccini

Heart Rhythm TV

HRX Innovation Summit

July 11 — Nishant Shah

Everyday Health

When Should You Take Blood Pressure Medicine?

July 14 — Marat Fudim

HCP Live

FDA Approves Finerenone (Kerendia) for Heart Failure with Ejection Fraction of 40% or More

July 14 — Jonathan Piccini

tctMD

PRAGUE-25: Ablation Improves Rhythm Control, but Don’t Discount Lifestyle Changes

July 16 — Joseph Turek

Associated Press

Researchers try new ways of preserving more hearts for transplants

*This story was picked up by local news affiliates across the U.S.

July 16 — Joseph Turek

Science

New transplant techniques keep organ donors’ hearts healthy—even after they stop beating

July 17 — William Kraus

Today/NBC

This Is the Worst Time of Day to Eat, According to a Cardiologist

July 17 — Joseph Turek

Medpage Today

New Heart Transplant Technique Avoids NRP Restrictions

 

Chief’s Message:  We are in full swing with the summer.  This week we saw continued integration of our fellows into our clinical services with busy teams working hard to continue to help achieve our missions.  We are working on a multi-level strategic plan that we will be sharing with our leadership soon.  We also welcome new faculty – who we will do highlights on in the coming weeks and say goodbye to some of our current faculty who are going on to lead and work at other organization.  I also have a shout out for a fellow, and some upcoming events in the weeks to come.

Highlights and Updates from the Week:

Imran Aslam to take an interventional leadership position at Tuft’s Medical Center.

Imran will be taking a position at the Tufts Medical Center where he will be the Director of Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support, the Interventional Heart Failure fellowship program director and will tasked with helming research efforts behind testing current and new MCS devices, their interplay with cardiac physiology and relevant molecular signaling cascades.

Imran helped pave the way for our cath lab to be involved in ECMO cannulation and management as well as acute PE care; the latter will be continued by way of new incoming faculty who have trained to partake in these efforts, including Dan Loriaux, who will also be joining the ECMO call rotation as new faculty.

Imran has been a great member of our team and noted that he has “thoroughly enjoyed integrating his IC and HF expertise at the Duke Heart Center, including being able to work with our phenomenal Fellow trainees and faculty across both subspecialties to care for our patients.”  It is always bittersweet when we have faculty that leave, and particularly so with Imran who has worked tirelessly to build important programs in our clinical and research practice.  We look forward to all of his contributions to the field and to collaborating with him in the future.

Kudos to our fellows from our teams: Drs. Mugdha Joshi and Aarti Thakkar.

Dr. Mitchell Veverka from the Emergency Medicine group wrote this week about Mugdha…

“I wanted to take a moment to recognize one of your fellows, Dr. Mugdha Joshi. I had the opportunity to interact with her last night during a particularly challenging patient encounter, and I was impressed by the professionalism and patient-centered care she demonstrated.

Despite the late hour and what I imagine was a long day, Dr. Joshi remained calm, composed, and empathetic. She navigated a frustrating and complex situation with grace and provided thoughtful, compassionate care to the patient.

As grueling as fellowship can be, I wanted to highlight the excellent work Dr. Joshi is doing. She is a credit to your program and a reflection of the high standards you uphold in training exceptional physicians.”

Dr. Ruchi Doshi wrote about Dr. Aarti Thakkar ..

“I just wanted to send kudos for Dr. Aarti Thakkar. I have a patient getting a TEE tomorrow who required other care coordination during the sedation/anesthesia portion and she was helpful in arranging/coordinating the care. I was appreciative, and even if things fall apart tomorrow (as they sometimes do in the hospital), her hard work and dedication were noticed!”

Thanks to Mugdha and Aarti for helping to care for these patients with such compassion and excellence.

 

 

 

Chief’s Message:  New Fellows and transitions of our Academic year

We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with friends and family.  The weekend marks a celebration of our country and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776.  It’s a time of year when summer is in full swing – with families going to lakes, beaches, and mountains in respective parts of North Carolina to see fireworks and spend a few days potentially near water in the heat of the summer.  As the weekend comes to an end – we were blessed to have many national and regional celebrations providing us of the importance of the day.  Next year will be the 250th anniversary with many planned celebrations.

For those of us at University based Medical Centers (Academic Medical Centers – AMCs) like Duke, this time of year also marks the start of the next Academic year.  In addition to planning and working on new strategic initiatives for our research and clinical missions in these times, the weekend marks the transition to new cardiology, surgical, and anesthesia trainees.  In the cardiology fellowship, we welcome 10 new partners to our practice as we have them move through orientation – and quickly boot camp for cardiology.  This series during the month aims to get all of our colleagues and faculty on the same page for common clinical issues that we see in the in-patient and outpatient arena.  It’s an exciting time of year – with a few days of orientation and lectures and then working with our colleagues and fellows to help care of our patients.  Please find a photo of our new fellows with our Chief Fellow Anthony Lim and our program Director Anna Lisa Chamis.  Also included (left) are some photos of the boot camp with the Simulation lab work done on getting ready for our clinical services and procedures.  Thanks to all or our faculty, staff, and senior fellows and residents for supporting our new fellows, residents to our cardiology and CT and Vascular surgical teams.

Summer Reading:
With the extent of the weeks transitions and work – I won’t be providing this week’s review as I have not yet completed the book.  It is a great read, and for those of you wondering and possibly wanting to read it for the next week – its Genesis: Artificial Intelligence Hope, and the Human Spirit by Henry Kissinger, Craig Mundie, and Eric Schmidt.  Full report for this group next week

Bonus Photo:

Marat Fudim sent this photo of his son taking at three point shot at the Duke Basketball camp with Coach Jon Scheyer watching on.  Its a fun photo with lots of memories – as I know many of our faculty have had their kids go through this camp.  Our son went through 10 years ago in 2015. I told Marat that time flies and to enjoy the games in the evenings during the week.