Highlights of the week:

Tong Named Recipient of Inaugural STS/WTS Award

Congratulations to Betty Tong, MD! Tong has been named one of three inaugural recipients of the Extraordinary Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Award. The news was announced yesterday, Jan. 21, 2023 during the 59th annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) being held Jan. 21-23 at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego.

The award, which is co-sponsored by the STS and Women in Thoracic Surgery, was established to recognize outstanding women surgeons specializing in the cardiothoracic space. The award celebrates those who have achieved excellence and innovation in clinical practice and who demonstrate integrity, leadership, mentorship, creativity, and advocacy on behalf of the specialty, patient population or fellow surgeons and trainees.

“Please join me in congratulating our own Dr. Betty Tong for winning this inaugural award,” said Dr. Edward P. Chen, chief of the division of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Duke. “This is a tremendous honor led by the WTS and STS in recognizing the outstanding achievements of women thoracic surgeons. We are truly blessed and privileged to have Dr. Tong on our faculty at Duke.”

Tong is an associate professor of surgery in the division of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Duke, and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. Fellow inaugural recipients of the award include Leah Backhus, MD, thoracic surgeon at Stanford Medicine, and Jennifer Ellis, MD, thoracic surgeon at NYU Langone Health.

Shown in images are members of the Duke CT Surgery team at STS, Tong speaking at the STS award presentation, and the three recipients of the inaugural award – (L-R) Drs. Backhus, Ellis, and Tong.

Well-deserved, Betty! You truly are a rock-star mentor, surgeon, and colleague. Congratulations!

Smith to Present STS Lillehei Lecture

Former cardiovascular and thoracic division chief Peter K. Smith, MD, will present the C. Walton Lillehei Plenary Lecture tomorrow, 9 a.m. PST, at STS 2023 in San Diego. Congratulations, Peter!

Palma to Receive ASE Teaching Award

We learned this week that Richard Palma, Program Director and Clinical Coordinator of the Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program at Duke, will join Madhav Swaminathan among the distinguished awardees at the American Society of Echocardiography 2023 Scientific Sessions. Palma has been named the recipient of ASE’s 2023 Cardiovascular Sonographer Distinguished Teacher Award.

The award will be formally announced during ASE’s annual awards presentations at the 34th Annual Scientific Sessions on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor, in Prince George’s County, MD.

Palma is an Advanced Cardiac Sonographer and teaches echocardiography to students, staff, and Duke Cardiology fellows. He is internationally known as an educator of echocardiography and ultrasound physics (ESP Ultrasound).

This is the second national teaching award for Palma. In 2011 he was named recipient of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography’s Distinguished Educator award.

Congratulations, Richie – this is well-deserved!

Deadlines Approaching for SOM Faculty Award Noms

Nominations and Applications for the 2023 School of Medicine Faculty Awards are now open.

The Faculty Awards are a wonderful opportunity to highlight the outstanding work conducted at Duke. The Office for Faculty is now accepting nominations and applications for the following 2023 faculty awards:

• Leonard Palumbo Jr., MD Faculty Achievement Award – Nomination Deadline: January 31, 2023
• Leonard B. Tow Humanism in Medicine Award – Nomination Deadline: January 27, 2023
• Excellence in Professionalism Award – Nomination Deadline: February 10, 2023
• Research Mentoring Awards – Nomination Deadline: February 20, 2023
• Ruth and A. Morris Williams Faculty Research Prize – Application Deadline: February 28, 2023

To learn more, visit https://duke.is/4hqkb. Questions? Please contact Jennifer Meyer Dare, jennifer.meyer-dare@duke.edu. Nominations and applications should be submitted via email to facdev@dm.duke.edu.

 

Adult Heart Stepdown Hiring Event – Feb. 1

Know someone who would make a great team member in Duke Heart? We have an opportunity for them to learn more about us! Our adult heart stepdown units, in partnership with Duke Health HR, will hold a hiring event on Wed., Feb. 1. Registration is required.

Interested parties can register to join our drop-in Duke Health event 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, to learn more about a career filled with purpose and opportunity on the Heart Adult Stepdown Units at Duke University Hospital.

At the event, they will have the opportunity to tour Duke University Hospital; learn about the many benefits of working in our health system; and meet recruiters and hiring managers for a potential same day offer.

Please share! Registration is via Qualtrics.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Jan. 24: CGR is cancelled for this week.

Medicine Grand Rounds

Jan. 27: CHIP Focus Group Presentation with cardiovascular fellow Jessica Regan and hematology-oncology fellow Bennett Caughey. 8 a.m. via Zoom or in person, Duke North 2002.

Feb.17: Topic TBD with Hyung (Harry) Jin Cho of NYU Langone Health, a 2023 Joseph C. Greenfield Visiting Professor. 8 a.m. via Zoom or in person, Duke North 2002.

DOM Clinical Research Resource Fair  

Wednesday, January 25, 6^th Floor, Trent Semans Building

The DOM Clinical Research Units (CRUs), which include Heart Center, Medicine and Oncology clinical research, invite faculty, fellows, residents and trainees to a clinical research resources fair to help connect you directly to resources available at Duke.

While information will be available on tables all day, representatives from each group will be available to informally meet with you in two open sessions: 8:30-10 am and 1-2:30 pm. CRU personnel hope you will consider joining for one of these sessions so you can meet those who support your clinical research work.

A light breakfast, coffee and juice will be provided during the morning session and after-lunch snacks will be available for the afternoon session. Additionally, all attendees will be entered into a drawing for a Starbucks gift card.

 

February is Heart Month

Feb. 3: National Wear Red Day. We encourage everyone to wear red on Friday, Feb. 3 to show our support for heart health overall, but especially to support women and cardiovascular disease awareness. Get your red gear ready!

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:

January 17 — Nishant Shah

Healio/Cardiology

Bromocriptine appears to drop BP, improve arterial stiffness in teens with type 1 diabetes

https://duke.is/rbqxq

January 17 — Robert Mentz

NIH/News Release

Comparison of diuretics shows no difference in heart failure survival

https://duke.is/5gzkr

January 17 — Nima Moghaddam

Healio/Cardiology

Most patients admitted for acute HF qualify for guideline-directed quadruple therapy

https://duke.is/ndmcx

January 17 — Magnus Ohman

Medscape/The Bob Harrington Show

The Career Pivot: Leaving Clinical Medicine for a While — or for Good

https://duke.is/be7r6

January 18 — Richard Shannon

Becker’s Hospital Review

The top items on 5 chief medical officers’ to-do lists

https://duke.is/zmcge

January 18 — Robert Mentz

Medical Dialogues

Furosemide and Torsemide Equally Effective in Improving Survival Among Patients with Heart Failure: JAMA

https://duke.is/6r7eb

January 18 — Robert Mentz

Patient Care Online

Comparison of Loop Diuretics Shows No Difference in Heart Failure Survival

https://duke.is/pbct7

January 18 — Robert Mentz

Medscape

Clarity on Torsemide vs Furosemide in HF: TRANSFORM-HF Published

https://duke.is/4tyvw

January 19 — Susanna Naggie and Adrian Hernandez

The Atlantic

Trying to Stop Long COVID Before It Even Starts

https://duke.is/9uq8a

January 19 — Robert Mentz

U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay News*

Is There a Best Diuretic Drug for Heart Failure?

https://duke.is/25mmy

*also carried by additional 146 news outlets including in Atlanta, Chicago & San Francisco markets

January 19 — Richard Shannon

Becker’s Hospital Review

Band-Aid solutions won’t bring nurses back to the bedside, Duke Health’s Dr. Richard Shannon says

https://duke.is/v5ujz

 

Division of Cardiology Publications: December 14, 2022–January 10, 2023

 

Akinmolayemi O, Ozdemir D, Pibarot P, Zhao Y, Leipsic J, Douglas PS, Jaber WA, Weissman NJ, Blanke P, Hahn RT. Clinical and Echocardiographic Characteristics of Flow- Based Classification Following Balloon-Expandable Transcatheter Heart Valve in PARTNER Trials. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2023;16(1):1-9. PM: 36599555.

Alenezi F, Alajmi H, Agarwal R, Zwischenberger BA. Role of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in planning ventricular septal myomectomy in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). J Card Surg 2022;37(12):4186-4189. PM: 36434805.

Almas A, Awan S, Bloomfield G, Nisar MI, Siddiqi S, Ahmed A, Ali A, Shafqat SH, Bhutta ZA, Mark DB, Douglas P, Bartlett J, Jafar TH, Samad Z. Opportunities and challenges to non-communicable disease (NCD) research and training in Pakistan: a qualitative study from Pakistan. BMJ Open 2022;12(12):e066460. PM: 36535721.

Bagai A, Ali FM, Gregson J, Alexander KP, Cohen MG, Sundell KA, Simon T, Westermann D, Yasuda S, Brieger D, Goodman SG, Nicolau JC, Granger CB, Pocock S. Multimorbidity, functional impairment, and mortality in older patients stable after prior acute myocardial infarction: Insights from the TIGRIS registry. Clin Cardiol 2022;45(12):1277-1286. PM: 36317424.

Bashir M, Jubouri M, Chen EP, Mariscalco G, Narayan P, Bailey DM, Awad WI, Williams IM, Velayudhan B, Mohammed I. Cardiothoracic surgery leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. J Card Surg 2022;37(12):4204-4206. PM: 36345687.

Bonaca MP, Szarek M, Debus ES, Nehler MR, Patel MR, Anand SS, Muehlhofer E, Berkowitz SD, Haskell LP, Bauersachs RM. Efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban versus placebo after lower extremity bypass surgery: A post hoc analysis of a “CASPAR like” outcome from VOYAGER PAD. Clin Cardiol 2022;45(12):1143-1146. PM: 36251249.

Carlisle MA, Shrader P, Fudim M, Pieper KS, Blanco RG, Fonarow GC, Naccarelli GV, Gersh BJ, Reiffel JA, Kowey PR, Steinberg BA, Freeman JV, Ezekowitz MD, Singer DE, Allen LA, Chan PS, Pokorney SD, Peterson ED, Piccini JP. Residual stroke risk despite oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm O2 2022;3(6Part A):621-628. PM: 36589908.

Chaudhry SP, DeVore AD, Vidula H, Nassif M, Mudy K, Birati EY, Gong T, Atluri P, Pham D, Sun B, Bansal A, Najjar SS. Left Ventricular Assist Devices: A Primer For the General Cardiologist. J Am Heart Assoc 2022;11(24):e027251. PM: 36515226.

Choi J, Lee S, Motter JN, Kim H, Andrews H, Doraiswamy PM, Devanand DP, Goldberg TE. Models of depressive pseudoamnestic disorder. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2022;8(1):e12335. PM: 36523848.

Chugunov IA, Mareev YV, Fudim M, Mironova NA, Mareev VY, Davtyan RV. [Cardiac contractility modulation in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction treatment]. Kardiologiia 2022;62(11):71-78. PM: 36521047.

Coniglio AC, Kittipibul V, Pelligra R, Richardson ES, Holley CL, Fudim M. One Small Step for a Patient, One Giant Leap for Orthostatic Hypotension. Cureus 2022;14(11):e31612. PM: 36540476.

Cox CE, Gu J, Ashana DC, Pratt EH, Haines K, Ma J, Olsen MK, Parish A, Casarett D, Al-Hegelan MS, Naglee C, Katz JN, O’Keefe YA, Harrison RW, Riley IL, Bermejo S, Dempsey K, Johnson KS, Docherty SL. Trajectories of Palliative Care Needs in the ICU and Long-Term Psychological Distress Symptoms. Crit Care Med 2023;51(1):13-24. PM: 36326263.

Cremer PC, Geske JB, Owens A, Jaber WA, Harb SC, Saberi S, Wang A, Sherrid M, Naidu SS, Schaff H, Smedira NG, Wang Q, Wolski K, Lampl KL, Sehnert AJ, Nissen SE, Desai MY. Myosin Inhibition and Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in Patients With Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Referred for Septal Reduction Therapy: Insights From the VALOR-HCM Study. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 2022;15(12):e014986. PM: 36335645.

de la Espriella R, Cobo M, Santas E, Verbrugge FH, Fudim M, Girerd N, Miñana G, Górriz JL, Bayés- Genís A, Núñez J. Assessment of filling pressures and fluid overload in heart failure: an updated perspective. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) 2023 Jan;76(1):47- 57. PM: 35934293.

Eiger DS, Inoue LYT, Li Q, Bardy G, Lee K, Poole J, Mark D, Samad Z, Friedman D, Fishbein D, Sanders G, Al-Khatib SM. Factors and outcomes associated with improved left ventricular systolic function in patients with cardiomyopathy. Cardiol J 2022;29(6):978-984. PM: 33438181.

Essien UR, Chiswell K, Kaltenbach LA, Wang TY, Fonarow GC, Thomas KL, Turakhia MP, Benjamin EJ, Rodriguez F, Fang MC, Magnani JW, Yancy CW, Piccini JP. Association of Race and Ethnicity With Oral Anticoagulation and Associated Outcomes in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Findings From the Get With The Guidelines-Atrial Fibrillation Registry. JAMA Cardiol 2022;7(12):1207-1217. PM: 36287545.

Garcia A, Lee J, Balasubramanian V, Gardner R, Gummidipundi SE, Hung G, Ferris T, Cheung L, Desai S, Granger CB, Hills MT, Kowey P, Nag D, Rumsfeld JS, Russo AM, Stein JW, Talati N, Tsay D, Mahaffey KW, Perez MV, Turakhia MP, Hedlin H, Desai M. The development of a mobile app-focused deduplication strategy for the Apple Heart Study that informs recommendations for future digital trials. Stat (Int Stat Inst) 2022;11(1):e470. PM: 36589778.

Haddad F, Cauwenberghs N, Daubert MA, Kobayashi Y, Bloomfield GS, Fleischman D, Koweek L, Maron DJ, Rodriguez F, Liao YJ, Moneghetti K, Amsallem M, Mega J, Hernandez A, Califf R, Mahaffey KW, Shah SH, Kuznetsova T, Douglas PS. Association of left ventricular diastolic function with coronary artery calcium score: A Project Baseline Health Study. J Cardiovasc Comput Tomogr 2022;16(6):498-508. PM: 35872137.

Haji M, Lopes VV, Ge A, Halladay C, Soares C, Shah NR, Longenecker CT, Lally M, Bloomfield GS, Shireman TI, Ross D, Sullivan JL, Rudolph JL, Wu WC, Erqou S. Two decade trends in cardiovascular disease outcomes and cardiovascular risk factors among US veterans living with HIV. Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev 2022;15:200151. PM: 36573195.

Harrington J, Granger CB. Bleeding and risk for future cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation on oral anticoagulation: major bleeding is a major problem. Eur Heart J 2022;43(47):4909-4911. PM: 36380455.

Hassan-Tash P, Ismail U, Kirkpatrick IDC, Ravandi A, Jassal DS, Hiebert B, Kass M, Krasuski RA, Shah AH. Correlation of Impedance Cardiography-Derived and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance-Derived Stroke Volumes. Curr Probl Cardiol 2023;48(2):101457. PM: 36273652.

Hochman JS, Anthopolos R, Reynolds HR, Bangalore S, Xu Y, O’Brien SM, Mavromichalis S, Chang M, Contreras A, Rosenberg Y, Kirby R, Bhargava B, Senior R, Banfield A, Goodman SG, Lopes RD, Pracoń R, López-Sendón J, Maggioni AP, Newman JD, Berger JS, Sidhu MS, White HD, Troxel AB. Survival After Invasive or Conservative Management of Stable Coronary Disease. Circulation 2023;147(1):8-19. PM: 36335918.

Jackson LR, Holmqvist F, Parish A, Green CL, Piccini JP, Bahnson TD. Safety of continuous left atrial phased-array intracardiac echocardiography during left atrial ablation for atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm O2 2022;3(6Part A):673-680. PM: 36589913.

Karatela MF, Fudim M, Mathew JP, Piccini JP. Neuromodulation therapy for atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm 2023;20(1):100-111. PM: 35988908.

Kiernan K, Dodge SE, Kwaku KF, Jackson LR, Zeitler EP. Racial and ethnic differences in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator patient selection, management, and outcomes. Heart Rhythm O2 2022;3(6Part B):807-816. PM: 36589011.

Kotecha D, DeVore AD, Asselbergs FW. Fit for the future: empowering clinical trials with digital technology. Eur Heart J 2023;44(1):64-67. PM: 36369983.

Krychtiuk KA, Granger CB. In older men, an invitation for comprehensive CV screening did not reduce death at 5.6 y. Ann Intern Med 2022;175(12):JC140. PM: 36469924.

Krychtiuk KA, Rader DJ, Granger CB. RNA-targeted therapeutics in cardiovascular disease: the time is now. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother 2022;9(1):94-99. PM: 36138490.

Laffin LJ, Bruemmer D, Garcia M, Brennan DM, McErlean E, Jacoby DS, Michos ED, Ridker PM, Wang TY, Watson KE, Hutchinson HG, Nissen SE. Comparative Effects of Low-Dose Rosuvastatin, Placebo, and Dietary Supplements on Lipids and Inflammatory Biomarkers. J Am Coll Cardiol 2023;81(1):1-12. PM: 36351465.

Maron MS, Masri A, Choudhury L, Olivotto I, Saberi S, Wang A, Garcia-Pavia P, Lakdawala NK, Nagueh SF, Rader F, Tower-Rader A, Turer AT, Coats C, Fifer MA, Owens A, Solomon SD, Watkins H, Barriales-Villa R, Kramer CM, Wong TC, Paige SL, Heitner SB, Kupfer S, Malik FI, Meng L, et al. Phase 2 Study of Aficamten in Patients With Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol 2023;81(1):34-45. PM: 36599608.

Marquis-Gravel G, Boivin-Proulx LA, Huang Z, Zelenkofske SL, Lincoff AM, Mehran R, Steg PG, Bode C, Alexander JH, Povsic TJ. Femoral Vascular Closure Devices and Bleeding, Hemostasis, and Ambulation Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. J Am Heart Assoc 2023;12(1):e025666. PM: 36583436.

Marx N, Cheng AYY, Agarwal R, Greene SJ, Abuhantash H. Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and the intersection of cardio-renal-metabolic medicine #CaReMe. Eur Heart J Suppl 2022;24(Suppl L):L29-L37. PM: 36545231.

Mc Causland FR, Singh AK, Claggett BL, Carroll K, Wittes J, McMurray JJV, Perkovic V, Snapinn S, Lopes RD, Solomon SD. Daprodustat and On-Treatment Cardiovascular Events in Chronic Kidney Disease. Reply. N Engl J Med 2022;387(26):2482- 2485. PM: 36577112.

Metra M, Pagnesi M, Claggett BL, Díaz R, Felker GM, McMurray JJV, Solomon SD, Bonderman D, Fang JC, Fonseca C, Goncalvesova E, Howlett JG, Li J, O’Meara E, Miao ZM, Abbasi SA, Heitner SB, Kupfer S, Malik FI, Teerlink JR. Effects of omecamtiv mecarbil in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction according to blood pressure: the GALACTIC-HF trial. Eur Heart J 2022;43(48):5006-5016. PM: 35675469.

Minhas AMK, Abramov D, Chung JS, Patel J, Mamas MA, Zieroth S, Agarwal R, Fudim M, Rabkin DG. Current status of perioperative temporary mechanical circulatory support during cardiac surgery. J Card Surg 2022;37(12):4304-4315. PM: 36229948.

Minhas AMK, Jain V, Li M, Ariss RW, Fudim M, Michos ED, Virani SS, Sperling L, Mehta A. Family income and cardiovascular disease risk in American adults. Sci Rep 2023;13(1):279. PM: 36609674.

Mohebi R, Liu Y, Felker GM, Prescott MF, Piña IL, Butler J, Ward JH, Solomon SD, Januzzi JL. Prediction of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Change Following Treatment With Sacubitril/Valsartan. JACC Heart Fail 2023;11(1):44-54. PM: 36599549.

Mohebi R, Liu Y, Felker GM, Prescott MF, Ward JH, Piña IL, Butler J, Solomon SD, Januzzi JL. Heart Failure Duration and Mechanistic Efficacy of Sacubitril/Valsartan in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction. J Card Fail 2022;28(12):1673-1682. PM: 36122820.

O’Brien EC, Mulder H, Jones WS, Hammill BG, Sharlow A, Hernandez AF, Curtis LH. Concordance Between Patient-Reported Health Data and Electronic Health Data in the ADAPTABLE Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2022;7(12):1235-1243. PM: 36322059.

Paluch AE, Bajpai S, Ballin M, Bassett DR, Buford TW, Carnethon MR, Chernofsky A, Dooley EE, Ekelund U, Evenson KR, Galuska DA, Jefferis BJ, Kong L, Kraus WE, Larson MG, Lee IM, Matthews CE, Newton RL, Nordström A, Nordström P, Palta P, Patel AV, Pettee Gabriel K, Pieper CF, et al. Prospective Association of Daily Steps With Cardiovascular Disease: A Harmonized Meta-Analysis. Circulation 2023;147(2):122-131. PM: 36537288.

Park S, Ma Z, Zarkada G, Papangeli I, Paluri S, Nazo N, Rivera-Molina F, Toomre D, Rajagopal S, Chun HJ. Endothelial β-arrestins regulate mechanotransduction by the type II bone morphogenetic protein receptor in primary cilia. Pulm Circ 2022;12(4):e12167. PM: 36532314.

Patel SM, Qamar A, Giugliano RP, Jarolim P, Marston NA, Park JG, Blazing MA, Cannon CP, Braunwald E, Morrow DA. Association of Serial High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T With Subsequent Cardiovascular Events in Patients Stabilized After Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Secondary Analysis From IMPROVE-IT. JAMA Cardiol 2022;7(12):1199-1206. PM: 36260325.

Peters AE, Mentz RJ, Sun JL, Harrington JL, Fudim M, Alhanti B, Hernandez AF, Butler J, Starling RC, Greene SJ. Patient-reported and Clinical Outcomes Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Versus Preserved Ejection Fraction. J Card Fail 2022;28(12):1652-1660. PM: 35688408.

Piccini JP, Russo AM, Sharma PS, Kron J, Tzou W, Sauer W, Park DS, Birgersdotter-Green U, Frankel DS, Healey JS, Hummel J, Koruth J, Linz D, Mittal S, Nair DG, Nattel S, Noseworthy PA, Steinberg BA, Trayanova NA, Wan EY, Wissner E, Zeitler EP, Wang PJ. Advances in Cardiac Electrophysiology. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2022;15(12):e009911. PM: 36441565.

Popovic B, Ducrocq G, Elbez Y, Bode C, Mehta SR, Pollack CV, Sabate M, Rao SV, Parkhomenko A, Feldman LJ, Sayah N, Sabatine MS, Steg PG. Clinical Significance of Culprit Vessel Occlusion in Patients With Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Am J Cardiol 2023;188:95-101. PM: 36493607.

Ramaker ME, Corcoran DL, Apsley AT, Kobor MS, Kraus VB, Kraus WE, Lin DTS, Orenduff MC, Pieper CF, Waziry R, Huffman KM, Belsky DW. Epigenome-wide Association Study Analysis of Calorie Restriction in Humans, CALERIETM Trial Analysis. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2022;77(12):2395-2401. PM: 35965483.

Reynolds HR, Diaz A, Cyr DD, Shaw LJ, Mancini GBJ, Leipsic J, Budoff MJ, Min JK, Hague CJ, Berman DS, Chaitman BR, Picard MH, Hayes SW, Scherrer-Crosbie M, Kwong RY, Lopes RD, Senior R, Dwivedi SK, Miller TD, Chow BJW, de Silva R, Stone GW, Boden WE, Bangalore S, O’Brien SM, et al. Ischemia With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries: Insights From the ISCHEMIA Trial. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2023;16(1):63- 74. PM: 36115814.

Sandhu A, Varosy PD, Du C, Aleong RG, Tumolo AZ, West JJ, Tzou WS, Curtis JP, Freeman JV, Friedman DJ, Hess PL. Device-Sizing and Associated Complications With Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: Findings From the NCDR LAAO Registry. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2022;15(12):e012183. PM: 36472194.

Schwamm LH, Kamel H, Granger CB, Piccini JP, Katz JM, Sethi PP, Sidorov EV, Kasner SE, Silverman SB, Merriam TT, Franco N, Ziegler PD, Bernstein RA. Predictors of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Stroke Attributed to Large- or Small-Vessel Disease: A Prespecified Secondary Analysis of the STROKE AF Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Neurol 2023;80(1):99-103. PM: 36374508.

Sinha SS, Bohula EA, Diepen SV, Leonardi S, Mebazaa A, Proudfoot AG, Sionis A, Chia YW, Zampieri FG, Lopes RD, Katz JN. The Intersection Between Heart Failure and Critical Care Cardiology: An International Perspective on Structure, Staffing, and Design Considerations. J Card Fail 2022 ;28(12):1703-1716. PM: 35843489.

Tamirisa KP, Al-Khatib SM. Sex Differences in Sustained Ventricular Arrhythmias: A Continuing Dialogue. JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2022;8(12):1563-1565. PM: 36543506.

Vaduganathan M, Claggett BL, Jhund P, de Boer RA, Hernandez AF, Inzucchi SE, Kosiborod MN, Lam CSP, Martinez F, Shah SJ, Desai AS, Hegde SM, Lindholm D, Petersson M, Langkilde AM, McMurray JJV, Solomon SD. Time to Clinical Benefit of Dapagliflozin in Patients With Heart Failure With Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Prespecified Secondary Analysis of the DELIVER Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Cardiol 2022;7(12):1259-1263. PM: 36190011.

Vardeny O, Fang JC, Desai AS, Jhund PS, Claggett B, Vaduganathan M, de Boer RA, Hernandez AF, Lam CSP, Inzucchi SE, Martinez FA, Kosiborod  MN, DeMets D, O’Meara E, Zieroth S, Comin-Colet J, Drozdz J, Chiang CE, Kitakaze M, Petersson M, Lindholm D, Langkilde AM, McMurray JJV, et al. Dapagliflozin in heart failure with improved ejection fraction: a prespecified analysis of the DELIVER trial. Nat Med 2022;28(12):2504-2511. PM: 36522606.

Whellan D, McCarey MM, Chen H, Nelson MB, Pastva AM, Duncan P, Mentz RJ, Kitzman DW, Reeves G, Reed SD. Quality of Life Trajectory and Its Mediators in Older Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Receiving a Multi-Domain Rehabilitation Intervention: Results From the Rehabilitation Therapy in Older Acute Heart Failure Patients Trial. Circ Heart Fail 2022;15(12):e009695. PM: 36345825.

Wilcox JE, Al-Khatib SM. Personalizing Risk Assessment for Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure: A Dream or a Reality? JACC Heart Fail 2023;11(1):55-57. PM: 36599550.

Williams AM, Shah NP, Rosengart T, Povsic TJ, Williams AR. Emerging role of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in cardiac surgery. J Card Surg 2022;37(12):4158-4164. PM: 36345705.

Yang M, Butt JH, Kondo T, Jering KS, Docherty KF, Jhund PS, de Boer RA, Claggett BL, Desai AS, Hernandez AF, Inzucchi SE, Kosiborod MN, Lam CSP, Langkilde AM, Martinez FA, Petersson M, Shah SJ, Vaduganathan M, Wilderäng U, Solomon SD, McMurray JJV. Dapagliflozin in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced and preserved ejection fraction treated with a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist or sacubitril/valsartan. Eur J Heart Fail 2022;24(12):2307-2319. PM: 36342375.

Ye F, Nelson MB, Bertoni AG, Ditzenberger GL, Duncan P, Mentz RJ, Reeves G, Whellan D, Chen H, Upadhya B, Kitzman DW, Pastva AM. Severity of functional impairments by race and sex in older patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure. J Am Geriatr Soc 2022;70(12):3447-3457. PM: 36527410.

York M, Douglas PS, Damp JB, Fraiche AM, Gillam LD, Hayes SN, Rzeszut AK, Sulistio MS, Wood MJ. Professional Preferences and Perceptions of Cardiology Among Internal Medicine Residents: Temporal Trends Over the Past Decade. JAMA Cardiol 2022;7(12):1253-1258. PM: 36223091.

Highlights of the week:

Duke Designated as Platinum Level Center of Excellence for ECLS

We’re proud to formally announce that Duke has been named a Platinum Level Center of Excellence for Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). Duke is one of only 50 centers around the world at the platinum level, ELSO’s top designation.

The ELSO Award for Excellence in Life Support recognizes ECLS programs worldwide that distinguish themselves by having processes, procedures and systems in place that promote excellence and exceptional care in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This designation represents our commitment to exceptional patient care, and demonstrates to others our assurance of high quality standards, the use and upkeep of specialized equipment and supplies, defined patient protocols, and advanced education of all team members.

We have an exceptional ECMO team at Duke — they are leaders nationally and internationally, elevating the care available to our Duke Heart patients and their family members.

Shown here are many of the teams that comprise our ECMO program. The official award was presented to our team by Dr. Robert H. Bartlett, who is credited with developing ECMO and is known informally as “the grandfather of ECMO”. (He is an emeritus professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School, but please note the Duke hat he is sporting!)

Congratulations to our entire ECMO team, including Desiree Bonadonna, director of Duke’s ECLS program; Drs. Jacob Klapper, Jacob Schroder, and Craig Rackley, medical directors for Adult ECMO; Dr. Caroline Ozment, medical director for Pediatric ECMO; our CTOR team, our cardiac anesthesia and critical care teams, Duke Life Flight, our Respiratory Therapy ECMO specialists team, our perfusion team members, and all who support them — way to go!

 

 

Swaminathan to Receive ASE award

We learned this week that Dr. Madhav Swaminathan, professor of anesthesiology at Duke, has been named the recipient of American Society of Echocardiography’s (ASE) 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Perioperative Echocardiography Award.

The award will be formally announced during ASE’s annual awards presentations and Edler Lecture session at the 34th Annual Scientific Sessions on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor, in Prince George’s County, MD. The award itself will be presented on June 25 during the Annual Research Awards Gala.

Past recipients of this award from Duke Health include Drs. Joe Kisslo, Solomon Aronson and Jonathan Mark.

Congratulations, Madhav – this is well-deserved!

 

 

Keenan, Selvaraj Win Duke HCLC Innovation and Collaboration Awards

Congratulations to cardiothoracic surgeon Jeffrey Keenan, MD, and cardiologist

Senthil Selvaraj, MD. The two have won Duke Heart Center Leadership Council Innovation and Collaboration Awards.

The HCLC awards are available to Early Career Faculty in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery (defined as within 10 years of completing training). Each award provides one year of salary support and/or research program support in the amount of $40,000. Selected applicants gave presentations to the HCLC during their November, 2022 meeting.

Awardees were selected by the HCLC and notified via letter by Duke Heart Center co-directors, Drs. Manesh Patel and Edward P. Chen.

Keenan’s winning project is “A Translational Approach Towards Addressing Challenges in Heart Transplantation.” His mentors include Drs. Dawn Bowles and Carmelo Milano.

Selvaraj’s winning project is “Myocardial Fuel Consumption in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.” Co-investigators for his project include Drs. Marat Fudim and Svati Shah.

Congratulations, Jeff and Senthil!

 

Shah, Safdar Win DOM ‘Duke It Out!’ Teaching Competition

Nishant Shah and internal medicine resident Komal Safdar won the 3^rd annual ‘Duke It Out!’  resident teaching competition held by the Department of Medicine on Thursday, Jan. 12. The duo won with a chalk talk presentation on basic fundamentals of ECMO.

The competition features three senior assistant residents (the “contestants”) who give an 8-10 minute chalk talk to guide audience knowledge acquisition on a narrow, focused topic of the contestant’s choice. Each contestant is paired with a Teaching Coach. Together, they develop a chalk talk for the competition.

Shah and two other faculty members were nominated by current members of the internal medicine residency program to serve as coaches. The coaches are selected for being extraordinary teachers — “Med-Ed Rockstars” — with great chalk talk skills.

The coach-resident team competes with the other coach-resident teams on who can give the best chalk talk. The coach’s role is to help provide guidance and mentorship to the resident on creating the best possible chalk talk.

Judges for the competition were Dr. Kathleen Cooney, Dr. Lisa Criscione-Schreiber, Dr. Ann Cameron Barr (Duke it Out! creator, and a SEEDS and rheumatology fellow), Dr. Micah Schub (SEEDS and nephrology fellow), and David Stevens (DUSOM class of 2024, executive board of the Careers in Internal Medicine Interest Group).

Congratulations, Nishant and Komal!

 

Nominations Open for SOM Faculty Awards

Nominations and Applications for the 2023 School of Medicine Faculty Awards are now open.

The Faculty Awards are a wonderful opportunity to highlight the outstanding work conducted at Duke. The Office for Faculty is now accepting nominations and applications for the following 2023 faculty awards:

• Leonard Palumbo Jr., MD Faculty Achievement Award – Nomination Deadline: January 31, 2023
• Leonard B. Tow Humanism in Medicine Award – Nomination Deadline: January 27, 2023
• Excellence in Professionalism Award – Nomination Deadline: February 10, 2023
• Research Mentoring Awards – Nomination Deadline: February 20, 2023
• Ruth and A. Morris Williams Faculty Research Prize – Application Deadline: February 28, 2023

To learn more, visit https://duke.is/4hqkb. Questions? Please contact Jennifer Meyer Dare, jennifer.meyer-dare@duke.edu. Nominations and applications should be submitted via email to facdev@dm.duke.edu.

 

Adult Heart Stepdown Hiring Event – Feb. 1

Know someone who would make a great team member in Duke Heart? We have an opportunity for them to learn more about us! Our adult heart stepdown units, in partnership with Duke Health HR, will hold a hiring event on Wed., Feb. 1. Registration is required.

Interested parties can register to join our drop-in Duke Health event 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, to learn more about a career filled with purpose and opportunity on the Heart Adult Stepdown Units at Duke University Hospital.

At the event, they will have the opportunity to tour Duke University Hospital; learn about the many benefits of working in our health system; and meet recruiters and hiring managers for a potential same day offer.

Please share! Registration is via Qualtrics.

 

DOM Clinical Research Resource Fair

The DOM Clinical Research Units (CRUs), which include Heart Center, Medicine and Oncology clinical research, invite faculty, fellows, residents and trainees to a clinical research resources fair to help connect you directly to resources available at Duke.

The DOM Clinical Research Resource Fair will be held on the 6th floor of Trent Semans on Wednesday, January 25th. While information will be available on tables all day, representatives from each group will be available to informally meet with you in two open sessions: 8:30-10 am and 1-2:30 pm. CRU personnel hope you will consider joining for one of these sessions so you can meet those who support your clinical research work.

Some contributors to the event include central support staff from the CRUs such as Assistant Research Practice Managers (ARPMs), Research Practice Managers (RPMs), and finance leadership. Other SOM resources represented include staff from OASIS, contracts and DOMRA, CTSI resources, CRU statisticians, several DOCR directors including clinical operations, data, PACE, DEPRU and Research@Pickett.

While registration is not required, it will help event planners confirm expected numbers and allows them to send you a calendar invitation.

A light breakfast, coffee and juice will be provided during the morning session and after-lunch snacks will be available for the afternoon session. Additionally, all attendees will be entered into a drawing for a Starbucks gift card. (Sweet!)

Please complete the registration survey by January 19th so they are prepared for your visit!

 

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Jan. 17: 2023 CPT Evaluation and Management Changes with Laura Bushong, associate compliance officer, Duke PDC. 5 p.m., Zoom.

Medicine Grand Rounds

Jan. 27: CHIP Focus Group Presentation with cardiovascular fellow Jessica Regan and hematology-oncology fellow Bennett Caughey. 8 a.m. via Zoom or in person, Duke North 2002.

Feb.17: Topic TBD with Hyung (Harry) Jin Cho of NYU Langone Health, a 2023 Joseph C. Greenfield Visiting Professor. 8 a.m. via Zoom or in person, Duke North 2002.

February is Heart Month

Feb. 3: National Wear Red Day. We encourage everyone to wear red on Friday, Feb. 3 to show our support for heart health overall, but especially to support women and cardiovascular disease awareness. Get your red gear ready!

PERS 2023 Training Schedule Announced

Duke Health is committed to creating an environment where all team members feel physically and psychologically safe, as we prioritize high-quality safe, equitable patient care.

This course is recommended for all DUHS leaders in supervisor and above roles. Leaning includes actionable leadership skills, engagement strategies, and how to communicate clearly even when asked tough questions.

Registration is required. Please see flyer for more information.

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:

January 7 — Manesh Patel

El Ciudadano (Argentina)

El colapso de Damar Hamlin

https://duke.is/ztp7w

January 10 — Daniel Friedman

Healio/Cardiology

Posterior wall isolation does not improve outcomes in ablation for persistent AF

https://duke.is/mw7ua

January 10 — Harry Severance

Medpage Today

Yet Another Issue Is Disrupting the Healthcare Workplace

https://duke.is/76cpa

January 11 — Shahzeb Khan

Healio/Cardiology

In HF, possible longer-term benefits emerge with remote management strategy

https://duke.is/g5pu7

January 12 — James Lane (psychiatry)

Prevention

17 Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally, According to Experts

https://duke.is/bn7vg

January 12 — Duke Health

Cardiovascular Business

Cardiologists push for a more diverse, inclusive healthcare workforce

https://duke.is/c9te8

Chief’s Section:  Cardiac Arrest on NFL Field Monday Night – a “Teachable Moment”

There may be no more visible way in the US to see a cardiac arrest than the Monday Night Football game this week in which Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle.  Even for those of us in the medical field, it is a scary thing to see, and keeping calm and continuing to carry out CPR and using an AED is critical. The medical teams did an excellent job in saving Damar’s life.  Thankfully reports show his steady improvement this week.

Much of the initial conversations in the media and in the medical teams was understandably around the possible underlying cause, with many speculating that commotio cordis (the cardiac arrest after trauma to the chest/myocardium timed during repolarization of the heart).  This is a rare but described event.  One helpful US registry shows survival improving over the years with the rare cases of commotio cordis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23107651/. This registry from 1994 thru 2012 reported 216 patients with a mean age of 15 but reported cases up to 51 years of age. Importantly survival was reported to be improving (still only around 35-40%) with rapid CPR (less than 3 minutes) as one of the key predictors.

I also include the AHA position statement from 2015 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26621653/  and for those with more interest the original NEJM article of mechanism. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9632447/

In general, as not part of his medical team, we can’t be sure exactly what happened to Damar and important not to speculate too much – but excited he is getting better.  If it turns out to be commotio cordis – the above should help put in context.  Most importantly, as noted in the registry rapid CPR might be the most important step in the Chain of Survival for cardiac arrest victims.

As often is the case, Duke Heart and our teams along with our American Heart Association local leaders have been engaged in both helping study and train to improve outcomes from cardiac events.  In the past, Chris Granger, Jamie Jollis and others helped set up the states rapid acute MI network for primary PCI.  Now many of the same team members including also Dan Mark and Monique Starks are conducting an NIH study to help increase bystander CPR.

As Chris Granger eloquently described the efforts ….. “Damar Hamlin is alive and alert today for a simple reason: when he had his cardiac arrest, he had immediate bystander CPR and had an AED applied rapidly, long before an ambulance arrived.  Moreover, he shows that cardiac arrest can occur in anyone: even an elite NFL athlete.  Sadly, the vast majority of the 6000 people with cardiac arrest each year in North Carolina do not get those simple treatments.  But that can change.  The RACE CARS cluster randomized trial, led by the DCRI and funded by the NIH, is testing if a community-based intervention aimed at increasing bystander CPR and early defibrillation will save more lives. Our goal is to have many more people treated the way Damar Hamlin was, and thus to save many more lives.”

Regarding Cardiovascular Conditions in athletes and sudden death – there too we have had some ongoing work.  Drs. Jim Daubert, Bill Kraus and many others have helped run a symposium on understanding the risk and preventing Sudden Death in athletes – a symposium we have highlighted in the past and has been supported by Heart Center Leadership Council member, Gary Davis.

We are also working with a group on a registry to understand cardiac conditions in college athletes. https://orccastudy.org/ This is the link to the outcomes registry. This work is supported by the Joel C. Cornette foundation (based in Cincinnati) and the AHA.

Finally, what can we all do.  We hope that this is a national “Teachable Moment” to engage and work to better get CPR training around the country and AEDs in more locations to help our communities.  As the new year begins and we have many goals and resolutions, this teachable moment for our communities maybe a great way to start.

 

Highlights of the week:

Duke Heart Transplant, VADs Hit Record in 2022

Internal data show that for the latest calendar year, our durable VAD volume was 90 and heart transplant volume was 142, with exceptional results for our patients. These numbers represent our highest volume-to-date at Duke University Hospital, and we believe are currently the highest volume for a U.S. program. We’ll have more on this in the coming weeks, but we wanted to share this great news with you, as well as some comments we received this week from members of DUH & DUHS leadership:

Major kudos to the transplant and VAD team for the hard work and excellent care! – Jill Engel

Extraordinary!! — Craig Albanese

Congratulations to the entire team – remarkable work from the best group in the country! — Robert Mentz

Outstanding news! Absolutely best transplant and VAD team anywhere in the known universe-no question. — Edward P. Chen

Really exceptional work from the team especially with our clinical staffing shortages (staff and providers). Thank you all for your leadership! — Mary Martin

Extraordinary! Simply the best. Congratulations on staying the course and pursuing ever greater performance amidst adversity. — Rick Shannon

Simply remarkable!  Thank you for delivering such extraordinary care to so many patients and families! — Tom Owens

 

Duke Earns Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award

Duke University Hospital has received the Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award from the American Heart Association and the Mitral Foundation Scientific Advisory Board for the third year in a row. The recognition is given to organizations contributing to advancing best practice in the surgical treatment of mitral valve disease. This means that our Center demonstrates a record of superior clinical outcomes as well as an ongoing commitment to reporting and measuring quality and outcome metrics specific to mitral valve repairs.

Congratulations to our mitral care surgeons, physicians, care teams and our Center of Excellence teams for their outstanding performance in this area!

New Electrophysiology Labs Open

Congratulations to our Duke Electrophysiology team — Duke Regional and Duke Raleigh Hospital each have new EP labs! Regional’s opened in December and Duke Raleigh’s officially opened on Jan. 3rd.

In a note shared with us last week, Kevin Jackson, MD, wrote, “This was a four-year effort with multiple delays due to Covid and other factors, but ultimately we have a beautiful state-of-the art lab that will serve as our full-time EP procedure room and also allow us to utilize two fully-capable EP labs at Duke Raleigh.”

Shown here on opening day in the new lab at Duke Raleigh (L-R) are: Lawrence Haymond, Francis Pena, Kevin Jackson, Teri Balser, Natalie Turgeon and Jyoti Singh.

Congrats to all team members who helped get these new labs up and running. Your efforts will allow more patients to get great care here at Duke. Great work, and an excellent way to kick-off the New Year!

FY22 Publications Update, Division of Cardiology

We had an outstanding year for publications in the Division of Cardiology!

The Research Communications & Engagement group conducts an annual census of faculty publications; they have recently completed this effort for the Division of Cardiology for fiscal year 2022. We are pleased to report the Division of Cardiology had 869 total publications in FY22! To provide some context, the publications data for FY22 and the previous five fiscal years are as follows:

FY22: 869 total publications

FY21: 851 total publications

FY20: 832 total publications

FY19: 854 total publications

FY18: 660 total publications

FY17: 724 total publications

A copy of the Division of Cardiology FY22 publications report will be shared among the faculty and fellows. The report is organized by faculty and lists the number of publications, the number of high impact publications (IF ≥10), and the aggregate impact factor.   The faculty continue to produce meaningful scientific discoveries in cardiovascular medicine.

Truly remarkable, everyone!

 

Gunn Grant Writing Series

Dr. Michael Gunn has designed a 14-session course, Research Project and Proposal Development: A Stepwise Approach. This Special Topic in the Victor J. Dzau Seminar Series, which is sponsored by the Mandel Center for Hypertension and Atherosclerosis, will be particularly helpful for those planning grant submissions in 2023. More details below under ‘events’. Registration is required. Course begins tomorrow and runs through May.

 

 

 

Shout-out to Goodwin, Abraham for Outstanding Care

Our colleague, Christina R., would like to recognize Drs. Goodwin and Abraham for their excellent care of her loved one who was recently in the Duke ED and on the cardiology service. In Christina’s words:

“I felt that it was important to write and recognize one of the CVD fellows, Dr. Nathan Goodwin.

“In the ED, Dr. Goodwin sat down with (my loved one*) and very patiently went through the medication list I brought and asked a lot of great questions regarding their indications. Within a minute he found a MAJOR allergy my loved one has to Quinapril, one that created an allergic reaction so profound they needed an emergency tracheotomy several years ago. He grabbed someone and had them immediately enter that ACE inhibitors cause angioedema into Epic so that it would not be missed. I must say, I was so impressed with his professionalism, bedside manner, medical knowledge and the way he explained everything to us so we understood without being condescending. He was very reassuring in that Duke would get them well and look at their extensive med list and get them on track. I know now that Dr.

Dennis Abraham will be my loved one’s cardiologist and am ecstatic to hear this news as my loved one is extremely fond of him and his demeanor as well. My loved one looks and feels better already and is actually excited for their follow-up appointments so that is truly a testament to their amazing bedside manner.

Dr. Goodwin was thorough, kind, understanding and I left that evening knowing what was going to be done overnight and what the plan of attack was. Most importantly I felt comfortable leaving them there in good, competent hands and was glad that they weren’t being rushed out the door but actually watched for observation and testing. How their care was handled was exactly how I hoped it would be, the nurses and staff were all amazing (Lisa and Michelle were 2 nurses I spoke to).

My family is extremely grateful for all of the time and energy the department put into their care… when I learned they would be admitted to the 7th floor that was the first time all day that I felt the weight lift from my shoulders because I knew regardless of which doctor was assigned, they would get the best care in the world. Just seeing the pictures from Thanksgiving to seeing what was just taken for Christmas my loved one looks like a different person thanks to Dr. Abraham and Dr. Goodwin getting them started on the right treatment in the ED. I feel like it was the first time someone actually listened to us and it made me extremely proud to say I work for Duke.”  — Christina

*for patient privacy, certain identifiers have been removed.

Way to go, Dennis and Nathan! You are both amazing clinicians. When our colleagues trust us enough to care for their loved ones, we know we’re doing a good job – especially when they tell us they felt a sense of peace and relief!

 

DUH 7100 Shout-Outs!

The Duke University Hospital 7100 Cardiology Stepdown Unit has had a lot to celebrate! As of the end of December, the unit had been over 400 days without a Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI).  The team celebrated this accomplishment over bagels and coffee last month. Great job!

Additionally, Callie Brown, a Travel Nurse who has been working on 7100 since July, was recognized for a Great Catch Award!  Way to go team – nicely done!

 

ICYMI: Forward Together — Staying Close During a Breast Cancer Battle

Carmen Watson has spent her career as a surgical technologist, assisting surgeons in operating rooms, where the work is hard, and the stakes are high. Watson, who has spent most of her career at Duke University Hospital, knows that teamwork is crucial, as every precaution must be taken to ensure a good outcome for the patient.

And when she endured a breast cancer battle during a brief period when she wasn’t employed by Duke, her friends in Duke University Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Surgery unit turned that focused healing energy on her.

“These are good people,” said Watson, 60, a breast cancer survivor who rejoined Duke’s staff in 2020 after a few years away. “They see life and death every day. They know my situation could have gone a different way. Everybody just looked out for me.”

Watson’s history at Duke goes back to the early 2000s, when she joined the staff of the cardiothoracic surgery team as a full-time staff member and, with her calm demeanor, deep knowledge and encouraging attitude, became an indispensable resource.

Dr. Jacob Klapper, an associate professor of surgery, has been in operating rooms alongside Watson since he was a cardiothoracic surgery fellow at Duke a decade ago.

“She would always look out for me and make sure I was doing things in a way that would make the attending surgeon happy,” Klapper said. “As a trainee, you always look for those people who are trying to guide you in the right direction, and we became friendly that way. And now, as a faculty member, she always makes sure the critical things I need for an operation are there and that just translates into a positive work environment.”

Around five years ago, Watson felt she wanted a change and decided to leave Duke and work for a different company as a travelling nurse, eventually leading to a relocation to Florida. After a year there, her husband, Westley, began experiencing health problems and, in late 2018, the couple moved back to the Triangle.

Not long after she returned to North Carolina, Watson got a mammogram that showed stage-3 cancer in both breasts. Over much of the next year, she endured a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Without health insurance for some of this period due to her job as a travelling nurse with another company ending, Watson faced immense financial strain.

Through her treatment, Watson said several of her former Duke colleagues contacted her often, asking how she was doing and occasionally providing financial help when things got especially tight. Around this time, Klapper and other staff and faculty members began looking into the possibility of bringing Watson back to Duke in her old role.

“We hoped she’d come back because we just value having someone like that next to you, a good person, a reliable person in high-stress situations, someone who knows exactly what you’re going through,” Klapper said.

In January of 2020, a now-cancer free Watson was hired by Duke, rejoining her old team. But a month after returning, she fell ill with radiation pneumonitis, requiring a brief hospital stay and nearly four months of mostly unpaid leave from work.

And again, colleagues rallied behind Watson, staying in close contact, and helping her ease back into work when she was ready.

“We just wanted to make sure she knows that she’s part of the team, she’s valued and everything is going to be OK,” said Nurse Manager for Operations in the Cardiothoracic Operating Room and Perioperative Services Rachael Knoll.

Since fall of 2020, Watson has been back with her team, deftly assisting surgeons, mentoring younger colleagues and doing her best to spread the culture of empathy, loyalty and selflessness which her team showed when she needed it most.

“That meant everything,” Watson said.

The above story originally appeared in the Jan. 4, 2023 issue of Working at Duke.

In a note to the team earlier this week, Dr. Edward P. Chen, chief of the division of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery wrote, “The example of caring and support given to our colleagues by Dr. Klapper and Rachel Knoll, as illustrated in this article, is what makes our CT Surgery team at Duke uniquely special. Happy New Year.”

Indeed! Keep up the incredible work you do not only to care for our patients, but your colleagues too. Duke Heart is a very special place.

 

2022 CTSI Translational Impact Report: Advancing Equity

Throughout a global pandemic that has brought unprecedented challenges and altered workflows and lives in dramatic ways, the Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) continues to advance clinical research and translational science that enables equity and makes health improvement more accessible for all. Following a dynamic and fast-paced reaction to the spread of COVID-19, the Duke CTSI funded or otherwise supported numerous studies that draw upon the breadth and scope of research at Duke and its partners and collaborators.

CTSI programs and centers support each step along the translational spectrum: from preclinical discovery and entrepreneurship; through clinical trials to assess efficacy; to implementation into widespread practice that improves public health. As one of 61 NIH National Centers for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) Clinical and Translational Science Award-funded hubs – with strong and generous institutional support from the Duke University Health System – the CTSI continues to strengthen resources and expand opportunities for their members.

The CTSI’s newly released Impact Report showcases many of their accomplishments over the past year, including their contributions to meaningful and equitable health improvement within our communities and beyond.

 

 

Holiday Photos

We hope all of you enjoyed the holidays… Back in December, members of our Duke Heart nursing leadership took carts filled with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, candy canes, and snacks and went to all areas in Heart spreading cheer and expressing gratitude to all. Here are several shots from our holiday gathering, as well. Cheers and Happy New Year to all!

 

PPE Reminder

Please remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy, especially as we kick off a new year!

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Jan. 10: A Path Toward Remediating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Arrhythmia Care with Dr. Larry Jackson. 5 p.m., Zoom.

Jan. 17: 2023 CPT Evaluation and Management Changes with Laura Bushong, associate compliance officer, Duke PDC. 5 p.m., Zoom.

 

CME & Other Events

Grant Writing Series – A Special Topic in the Victor J. Dzau Seminar Series, sponsored by the Mandel Center for Hypertension and Atherosclerosis.

Dr. Michael Gunn has designed a 14 session course, Research Project and Proposal Development: A Stepwise Approach. Using a “flipped classroom” design, this course will teach you how to conceptualize and develop a major research project into a fundable grant proposal. We will present a stepwise approach and structured exercises that guide you through all aspects of research project development, from defining a problem of importance, to developing an experimental plan, to writing a compelling NIH-style grant application. Within this course, each student will develop their own research project and proposal using best practices, proven approaches, and continuous feedback. This course will be particularly helpful for those planning grant submissions in 2023.

• Mondays, Jan. 9 – May 1, 2023. 5:00-6:30 p.m., via Zoom. Registration required to get link.

Please email Cheryl Woodard at cheryl.woodard@duke.edu to register.

 

Medicine Grand Rounds

Jan. 27: CHIP Focus Group Presentation with cardiovascular fellow Jessica Regan and hematology-oncology fellow Bennett Caughey. 8 a.m. via Zoom or in person, Duke North 2002.

Feb.17: Topic TBD with Hyung (Harry) Jin Cho of NYU Langone Health, a 2023 Joseph C. Greenfield Visiting Professor. 8 a.m. via Zoom or in person, Duke North 2002.

 

February is Heart Month

Feb. 3: National Wear Red Day. We encourage everyone to wear red on Friday, Feb. 3 to show our support for heart health overall, but especially to support women and cardiovascular disease awareness. Get your red gear ready!

 

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:

December 19 — Pamela Douglas and Zainab Samad

Dawn.com

‘One body, two hearts’

https://duke.is/m9dfe

December 22 — Richard Shannon, Michael Pencina, Ricardo Henao, and Shelley Rusincovitch

Healthcare Innovation

Will Your Health System Hire a Chief AI Officer in 2023?

https://duke.is/wdd6s

December 26 — Samuel Katz

The Scientist

Remembering Those We Lost in 2022

https://duke.is/jbdtb

December 26 — Jennifer Li

WRAL

One expert recommends parents avoid latest booster vaccine for healthy children

https://duke.is/ygvx7

December 27 — Pamela Douglas

Healio/Cardiology

‘We know more about disease than health,’ but advances in CV imaging may change that

https://duke.is/rk98w

December 29 — Duke Health

Healio/Cardiology

Top HF news from 2022: Firsts in xenotransplantation, FDA approves empagliflozin and more

https://duke.is/mnydb

December 30 — James Jollis

Medscape

STEMI Times-to-Treatment Usually Miss Established Goals

https://duke.is/8jqa7

December 30 — Shahzeb Khan

Healio/Cardiology

Benefits of empagliflozin consistent regardless of cause of HFrEF

https://duke.is/2744w

January 3 — William Kraus

The Daily Beast

Damar Hamlin’s Injury Exposes the NFL’s Medical Theater

https://duke.is/59t68

January 3 — Duke Health

Healio/Cardiology Today

Top cardiology news in 2022: Successful xenotransplants; statins vs. supplements; and more

https://duke.is/ne4pk

January 3 — Manesh Patel

WNCN-CBS17

Insight into a traumatic heart incident during a football game

https://duke.is/bxtg2

(*clip begins @ 05:06:37)

January 3 — Kevin Hill (pediatric cardiology)

HealthDay News

Methylprednisolone No Benefit in Cardiopulmonary Bypass for Infants

https://duke.is/4vq3m

January 3 — Manesh Patel

WRAL-NBC5

‘It’s a very rare occurrence’: Triangle doctors provide perspective on what happened to Bills player Damar Hamlin

https://duke.is/9pzfv

January 4 — Manesh Patel

sportingnews.com

What is commotio cordis? Explaining sudden heart stoppage that ‘likely’ led to Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest

https://duke.is/2m7hf

January 5 — Michael Pencina and Mary Klotman

Healthcare Innovation

Partnership to Expand Duke Health’s Capabilities in Health Analytics

https://duke.is/4qqus

January 5 — Michael Pencina

Healio/Cardiology

CAD polygenic risk score may guide statin initiation for younger adults

https://duke.is/56zk3

Highlights of the week:

Duke Heart Welcomes Two New Family Members

What better way to kick off holiday celebrations than by celebrating two new Duke Heart family members? That’s what we’re doing this week!

Congratulations to Joey Harrington and Thomas Rose on the birth of their son, Harry Rose, on Dec. 9. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 15 oz.

And congratulations to Dennis & Sara Lynne Narcisse who welcomed their third child, Leo Lane, on Dec. 14. “Mom and baby are doing well and his older twin brothers, Tripp and Henry, are anxiously awaiting to meet him at home!”

They are gorgeous and we are so happy for both families!

 

SCMR Publishes First Training Recs for CMR Techs

The Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) has recently issued their first framework to define the knowledge, experience and skills required for a technologist to be competent in cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. The international team of authors include three members of Duke’s Cardiovascular MRI team: Raymond Kim, MD; Stephen Darty, BSRS, RT-N, MR, and Elizabeth Jenista, PhD.

In drawing up their recommendations, the authors sought to address the following:

• • • Significant regional variations in CMR service delivery.
• The need for competent and well-trained CMR technologists, as they are fundamental to the success of CMR programs. The current limited availability of CMR technologists is a challenge for CMR adoption more widely into clinical care.
• Guidelines and/or formal education in CMR imaging for magnetic resonance (MR) technologists are neither widely available nor standardized worldwide.

The SCMR recommendations were published Dec. 5, 2022 in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

This is a terrific accomplishment for our Duke authors and speaks to our team’s dedication to advancing the use of CMR. Well done and congratulations!

 

Bloomfield Presents at AKUPI-NCD Research Symposium

Gerald S. Bloomfield, MD, MPH was invited to speak on Research Methodology Experience in Non-Communicable Diseases as part of the Aga Khan University Pakistan Initiative for Non-Communicable Diseases (AKUPI-NCD) Research Symposium: Landscape of Research in Pakistan. The symposium represents the first nation-wide initiative to bring together researchers from multiple disciplines and backgrounds focused on NCDs, from across Pakistan as well as international partners. This event was held in Karachi, Pakistan, Dec. 5-6, 2022.

AKUPI-NCD was created to address a critical gap in the response to the NCD epidemic. The Aga Khan University partnered with Duke University to design a comprehensive, integrated, multi-disciplinary training program to prepare the next generation of leaders in NCD research. The program, focused on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and their shared risk factors, is funded by a research training grant by the U.S. National Institutes of Health via the Fogarty International Center.

AKUPI-NCD is led by principal investigator (PI) Dr. Zainab Samad, the Ibn-e-Sina endowed Professor and chair of the Dept. of Medicine at Aga Khan University in Karachi. Additional PIs include Drs. Aysha Almas (AKU), Ayeesha Kamal (AKU) and Gerald Bloomfield.

Pictured here are Gerald Bloomfield, Zainab Samad, Adil Haider, Dean of the AKU School of Medicine, and a number of NCD researchers from across Pakistan at the Symposium Dinner event. Participants were gifted a Topi hat and Ajarak shawl/scarf.

Dr. Samad also shows off her selfie skills with Dr. Adil Haider (AKU Dean, SOM) and Gerald Bloomfield on the AKU campus in Karachi.

Great work!

Loring Invited to PACE Editorial Board

Congratulations to Zak Loring! He has been invited to serve on the Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology (PACE) Editorial Board. His term will run three years.

“This is pretty impressive for an assistant professor who joined our faculty less than six months ago,” said Jon Piccini, Director, Cardiac Electrophysiology.

We concur! This is great news, Zak!

 

Ngeno Selected for 2023 LEADER Cohort

The School of Medicine Office for Faculty recently announced their 2023 LEADER participants.

The Leadership Development for Researchers (LEADER) Program is designed for junior faculty who are leading a research group and driving their own research agenda. The course provides insight into leadership and team building as well as direction on how to develop and manage a scientific laboratory or research program, how to improve productivity, and how to harness creativity and innovation. The program was developed to bridge the gap between the scientific expertise that led individuals to a career in academic medicine, and the management skills that will be required to succeed as the leaders of small business units.

Among the 23 members of the cohort is our very own Gedion Ngeno. Congratulations, Titus!!!

 

Shout-out to STEMI Team

A big shout-out to our STEMI team, especially Larry Crawford, Caitlyn Dresher, Nadia, Gordon, Rebecca, and Brad — who were recently involved in the care of a patient who was brought to us shortly after collapsing during a Duke men’s basketball game. The family is deeply appreciative for the great care their loved one received.

We have an incredible STEMI team and together, we do amazing things for our community and visitors to our area. Way to go!

 

Wang Celebrated During CGR

Thanks to everyone who joined us via Webex on Tuesday evening to celebrate Tracy Wang, MD. It was great to revisit the work she has done over the years, and to hear about it through the comments of several mentees and colleagues who know her best!

Former mentees Jake Doll and Jenn Rymer started off the hour. Doll gave us some background on how the ARTEMIS trial got its name and we learned that no detail is too small for Wang. Among the many things he and Rymer learned under Wang is that clarity is the highest virtue – and anything worth writing is worth writing well. Rymer shared her gratitude for Wang’s guidance along with some ‘words to live by’ which are included in the image here.

Pam Douglas, Jason Katz, Manesh Patel, Adrian Hernandez, Terry Fortin, Kristin Newby, Nishant Shah, and Mitch Krucoff each contributed across the evening, which culminated in comments from Wang, who thanked all of us for 20 years of fun, friendship, and life-changing moments.

It was a fitting and well-deserved tribute to Wang and her legacy at Duke. Great job, Nishant and Jenn for planning this special session of Grand Rounds!

 Some Pictures from the week:

Holiday Party pics and Matt Brennan helping clean up at the THA office after a “near miss’ with some Soda.

 

 

Additional Reminders:

• Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy. Please remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance.
• Pulse is taking a break for two weeks and will return on Jan. 8, 2023. Enjoy the holidays!

 

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Dec. 20: TTR Amyloidosis:  Recognizing that it’s Not Uncommon with Dr. Michel Khouri. Webex.

Dec. 27: No CGR this week. Happy holidays!

Jan. 10: Our guest speaker will be Dr. Larry Jackson. Zoom. 5 p.m.

CME & Other Events

Dec. 19: PDC Annual Member Meeting. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Zoom.

The meeting will be recorded and posted the following day. Submit questions to: PDC-President@dm.duke.edu. Agenda items will include:

• Financial Year In Review
• Review of Retirement Portfolio Performance from CAPTRUST
• The Path Forward for 2023: Duke Health Integrated Practice
• Anticipated Member Asset Distribution Plan

 

February is Heart Month

Feb. 3: National Wear Red Day. We encourage everyone to wear red on Friday, Feb. 3 to show our support for heart health overall, but especially to support women and cardiovascular disease awareness.

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:

December 6 — Nishant Shah

Healio/Cardiology

Bromocriptine appears to drop BP, improve arterial stiffness in teens with type 1 diabetes

https://duke.is/zrkjq

December 12 — Duke Health/Duke Heart

Becker’s Hospital Review

28 moves from top US heart centers in 2022

https://duke.is/8gk7k

December 13 — Christopher O’Connor

Medpage Today

Omecamtiv Mecarbil Not Ready for Prime Time, FDA Advisors Say

https://duke.is/gqd2m

December 14 — Joseph Turek & the Sinnamon family

WAFB-BTR (CBS News 9/Baton Rouge, LA)

Heart transplant makes medical history

(*clip begins @ 05:49:43)

https://duke.is/23j6e

December 14 — Pamela Douglas

tctMD

Bullying in Cardiology: Has More Diversity Led to Backlash?

https://duke.is/v8dwu

 

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed December 8-13, 2022

Abtan J, Bhatt DL, Elbez Y, Ducrocq G, Goto S, Smith SC, Ohman EM, Eagle KA, Fox K, Harrington RA, Leiter LA, Mehta SR, Simon T, Petrov I, Sinnaeve PR, Pais P, Lev E, Bueno H, Wilson P, Steg PG. External applicability of the Effect of ticagrelor on Health Outcomes in diabEtes Mellitus patients Intervention Study (THEMIS) trial: An analysis of patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease in the REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) registry. Int J Cardiol 2023 Jan 1;370:51-57. PM: 36270493.

Butler J, Usman MS, Anstrom KJ, Blaustein RO, Bonaca MP, Ezekowitz JA, Freitas C, Lam CSP, Lewis EF, Lindenfeld J, McMullan CJ, Mentz RJ, O’Connor C, Rosano GMC, Saldarriaga CI, Senni M, Udelson J, Voors AA, Zannad F. Soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction across the risk spectrum. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Nov;24(11):2029-2036. PM: 36250238.

Chunawala ZS, Qamar A, Arora S, Pandey A, Fudim M, Vaduganathan M, Mentz RJ, Bhatt DL, Caughey MC. Prognostic significance of obstructive coronary artery disease in patients admitted with acute decompensated heart failure: the ARIC study community surveillance. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Nov;24(11):2140-2149. PM: 35851711.

Friedman DJ, Pierre D, Wang Y, Gambone L, Koutras C, Segawa C, Farb A, Vemulapalli S, Varosy PD, Masoudi FA, Lansky A, Curtis JP, Freeman JV. Development and validation of an automated algorithm for end point adjudication for a large U.S. national registry. Am Heart J 2022 Dec;254:102-111. PM: 36007567.

Greene SJ, Goto D, Wang D, Hilkert R, Lautsch D, Fonarow GC. Outpatient versus inpatient intravenous diuretic therapy for heart failure in the United States. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Nov;24(11):2199-2202. PM: 36334074.

Kaolawanich Y, Azevedo CF, Kim HW, Jenista ER, Wendell DC, Chen EL, Parker MA, Judd RM, Kim RJ. Native T1 Mapping for the Diagnosis of Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Myocardial Infarction. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2022Dec;15(12):2069-2079. PM: 36481075.

Kapur NK, Kim RJ, Moses JW, Stone GW, Udelson JE, Ben-Yehuda O, Redfors B, Issever MO, Josephy N, Polak SJ, O’Neill WW. Primary left ventricular unloading with delayed reperfusion in patients with anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction: Rationale and design of the STEMI-DTU randomized pivotal trial. Am Heart J 2022 Dec;254:122-132. PM: 36058253.

Kester KM, Hatton J, Kelly J, Carroll M, Lindsay M, Jordan N, Fuchs MA, Patel MR, Engel J, Granger B. Moving nursing innovation to prime time through the use of creative partnerships. Nurs Outlook 2022 ;70(6):820-826. PM: 36154773.

Longo de Oliveira ALM, de Oliveira Pereira RF, Agati LB, Ribeiro CM, Kawamura Suguiura GY, Cioni CH, Bermudez M, Pirani MB, Caffaro RA, Castelli V, Resende Aguiar VC, Volpiani GG, Paschoa A, Scarlatelli Macedo AV, de Barros E Silva PGM, de Campos Guerra JC, Fareed J, Lopes RD,  Ramacciotti E. Rivaroxaban Versus Enoxaparin for Thromboprophylaxis After major Gynecological Cancer Surgery: The VALERIA Trial : Venous thromboembolism prophylxis after gynecoogical plvic cancer surgery with varoxaban versus enoxparin (VALERIA trial). Clin Appl Thromb Hemost 2022;28:10760296221132556. PM: 36474344.

Mori M, Mark DB, Khera R, Lin H, Jones P, Huang C, Lu Y, Geirsson A, Velazquez EJ, Spertus JA, Krumholz HM. Identifying quality of life outcome patterns to inform treatment choices in ischemic cardiomyopathy. Am Heart J 2022 Dec;254:12-22. PM: 35932911.

Murray EM, Greene SJ, Rao VN, Sun JL, Alhanti BA, Blumer V, Butler J, Ahmad T, Mentz RJ. Machine learning to define phenotypes and outcomes of patients hospitalized for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Findings from ASCEND-HF. Am Heart J 2022 Dec;254:112-121. PM: 36007566.

Nardin M, Pivato CA, Cao D, Sartori S, Zhang Z, Vogel B, Nicolas J, Chiarito M, Qiu H, Chandrasekhar J, Spirito A, Abizaid A, Christiansen EH, Colombo A, de Winter RJ, Haude M, Jakobsen L, Jensen LO, Krucoff MW, Landmesser U, Saito S, Suryapranata H, De Luca G, Dangas G, Mehran R. The mega COMBO collaboration: An individual patient data pooled analysis of patients undergoing PCI with COMBO stent. Int J Cardiol 2023 Jan 1;370:149-155. PM: 36270496.

Nelson AJ, Inohara T, Rao SV, Kaltenbach LA, Wojdyla D, Wang TY. Comparing the Classification of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Using the 2012 and 2017 Appropriate Use Criteria: Insights From 245,196 Patients in the NCDR CathPCI Registry. Am Heart J 2023 Jan;255:117-124. PM: 36220357.

Rosario KF, Brezitski K, Arps K, Milne M, Doss J, Karra R. Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Current Approaches to Diagnosis and Management. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 2022 Dec;22(12):171-182. PM: 36308680.

Rymer JA, Kirtane AJ, Farb A, Malone M, Jaff MR, Seward K, Stephens D, Barakat MK, Krucoff MW. One-Year Follow-Up of Vascular Intervention Trials Disrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Use-Case landscape. Cardiovasc Revasc Med 2022 Dec;45:67-73. PM: 35953406.

Schwartz FR, Daubert MA, Molvin L, Ramirez-Giraldo JC, Samei E, Marin D, Tailor TD. Coronary Artery Calcium Evaluation Using New Generation Photon-counting Computed Tomography Yields Lower Radiation Dose Compared With Standard Computed Tomography. J Thorac Imaging 2023 Jan 1;38(1):44-45. PM: 36490311.

 

 

 

Highlights of the week:

Gutierrez Named Durham VA Cath Lab Director

Antonio Gutierrez, MD, has been named Cardiac Catheterization Lab Director at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). The position was effective as of Dec. 1.

Gutierrez is a nationally-recognized academic interventional cardiologist specializing in the management of coronary and peripheral arterial disease. He is the recipient of a highly prestigious VA Career Development Award, which provides five years of protected federal research funding and support. During this time, Gutierrez is focusing on the development and implementation of a virtual, home-based, supervised exercise therapy program for Veterans with peripheral arterial disease.

Gutierrez currently serves on the editorial board of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. He has consistently shown excellent leadership skills, having previously served as a Duke Chief Resident, received the 2018 CRT Young Leadership Award, and participated in the 2021 ACC Emerging Faculty Leadership Academy.

He completed internship and residency training at Duke; cardiology and vascular medicine fellowships at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and interventional fellowship at Duke prior to joining the Duke and Durham VA faculty in 2017. Gutierrez is taking over this role from Rajesh Swaminathan, MD, who will now focus on leadership responsibilities as Section Chief and with Regional VISN-6, the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network.

In this new role, Dr. Gutierrez will build on VAMC Cath lab innovation, focus on Cath lab staff education, and continue to expand the robust site-based research program.

Congratulations, Tony!

 

This week: CGR Celebrates Tracy Wang, MD

Be sure to join us on Tuesday evening, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. via Webex. We’ll celebrate Tracy Wang, MD, who is now serving as Chief of Comparative Effectiveness Research at the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Shout-out to 7W, 6E Team Members

A big shout-out this week to members of our Duke Heart team. We received the following message from Lisa Clark Pickett, Chief Medical Officer, Duke University Hospital, in follow-up to a patient compliment.

“Greetings, Heart Team!

We received this glowing compliment about the Heart Team and our awesome (general surgery) resident, Holly Lewis! Thank you all for your commitment to excellence, compassion, and efficiency! I was so impressed! I hope that you will share this, personally, with the heart nurses, as I do not have their last names listed to allow me to thank them in this email!

You are all living out Duke Values so visibly, and for that I am most thankful.

Best wishes to you all for a lovely holiday season.” –Lisa

“Excellent care from admission to discharge. Everyone was courteous and professional, from admitting, Pre-op, OR, ICU, nursing, and the physicians. In 7 West, Darby and Gil, and on 6 East, Brooke, Leah, Marjorie, Amanda, Scott, Taylor Q, Demetria were all fantastic. Extra special thanks to Nurses David and Lena who took care of me for 3 days! They were incredible and I really appreciated how comfortable they made my stay. Also want to thank Dr. Holly Lewis for expediting my discharge. She personally walked me down to X-ray twice to help get my chest tube out ASAP!” — a grateful patient (name withheld for privacy)

“Outstanding, team! Thanks so much!” — Chantal Howard, Chief Nursing & Patient Care Services Officer, Duke University Hospital

You all continue to make a great impression on our patients — keep up the excellent work!

 

Ulrich Departing DUHS at Year End

The upcoming departure of Kate Ulrich was shared earlier this week in a Leadership Update. The announcement was made by Mary Ann Fuchs, Vice President of Patient Care and System Chief Nurse Executive and Clif Flintom, Service Line Vice President of Perioperative Services for Duke University Health System

“Dear Colleagues,

With mixed feelings, we announce that Kate Ulrich, MS, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, is leaving her position as assistant vice president of Perioperative Nursing at DUHS to take a leadership role at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida. In her new role, Kate will serve as senior vice president of perioperative services at Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed hospital and one of the largest hospitals in Florida.

Kate has been at DUHS since 2011 and has held positions with increasing levels of responsibility, including her current role as the first AVP for DUHS Perioperative Nursing. Kate is proud of being a strong advocate of the nursing profession and advancing nursing practice across perioperative services. Her advocacy for nursing has influenced perioperative practice standards across DUHS, improving the quality and safety of patient care.

She begins her new position in mid-January and will remain at DUHS until Dec. 31. Tara Walczak-Daege, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CNOR, associate chief nursing officer, Duke Raleigh Hospital, will cover Kate’s role until a permanent replacement is found.

Kate is known as an advocate for patients and leaves behind a legacy of always putting the patient first. She and her team of more than 700 staff provided clinical and administrative operations that supported over 79,000 surgeries and procedures in the most recently completed fiscal year across DUHS’s surgical platforms, ambulatory surgery centers and peri-anesthesia care units.

Kate has been a tremendous leader as Perioperative Services has transformed from a single-entity service line to a health system service line encompassing acute care and ambulatory surgery platforms across multiple campuses. We are grateful for the many contributions she has made to DUHS nursing and Perioperative Services.

Please join us in congratulating Kate on this exciting new phase of her career and thank her for all she has done to serve our patients and teams.”

Kate has been an important partner to the Duke Heart team – especially our surgical teams– and a wonderful colleague. We wish her all the best!

 

Reminder: ORA Holiday Deadlines

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) will operate with a reduced staff during the holiday season to allow team members time to recharge.  To help ORA respond as timely as possible to your needs, please plan in advance based on the following:

Last two weeks of December

For any transactions with due dates between December 19 – January 2, please have submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, December 15 to ensure there is adequate time and staffing to respond to your needs.

Please note: the next NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is Jan. 5, 2023, and the internal deadline is 8 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2022. Because this deadline falls in the last two weeks in December when ORA will be operating with reduced staff and because these award mechanisms are usually complex and require careful institutional coordination before submission:

1. Please complete Intent to Submit for all planned SBIR/STTR applications no later than Dec. 5, 2022; and
2. Please plan to route a submission-ready application no later than Dec. 15, 2022; if more time is needed, please submit a late waiver request so that ORA can plan for appropriate coverage to support these applications.

For anything submitted in the last two weeks of December that can wait until after the holiday break, ORA will be back up to speed with a full team on Jan. 3, 2023 and will look forward to managing all pending issues at that time.

 

Additional Reminders:

• We’re seeing improvements with PPE throughout DUH – great job! It is vital that we all remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy.
• Next week will be our final Pulse of 2022! We’ll break for two weeks and return on Jan. 8, 2023!

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Dec. 13: Celebration for Dr. Tracy Wang. 5 p.m. Webex.

Dec. 20: Our featured speaker will be Dr. Michel Khouri. Webex.

Dec. 27: No CGR this week.

CME & Other Events

Dec. 19: PDC Annual Member Meeting. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Zoom.

The meeting will be recorded and posted the following day. Submit questions to: PDC-President@dm.duke.edu. Agenda items will include:

• Financial Year In Review
• Review of Retirement Portfolio Performance from CAPTRUST
• The Path Forward for 2023: Duke Health Integrated Practice
• Anticipated Member Asset Distribution Plan

Call for abstracts: 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference

The virtual poster submission period for the 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is now open. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, Dec. 14. The 2023 Conference will be held the weeks of March 13 and 20, with an in-person event on Thursday, March 23.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please click here.

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:

November 27 — Soderblom family

Monroe (NC) Enquirer Journal

Monroe ‘miracle’ baby receives rare partial heart transplant

https://duke.is/9wkrp

December 5 — Amy Berkman (pediatrics)

Health Thoroughfare

Young Cancer Survivors See Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

https://duke.is/vr9vt

December 5 — Amy Berkman

Medicalxpress.com

Young cancer survivors face elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but factors that may impact this risk

https://duke.is/zb6bn

December 5 — Amy Berkman

HealthDay

CVD Risk Increased for Adolescent, Young Adult Cancer Survivors

https://duke.is/8fvqb

December 7 — Duke Health

Becker’s Hospital Review

42 cardiology firsts in 2022 (see 14, 36)

https://duke.is/4y84j

December 8 — Pamela Douglas

Fox News

Bullies in white coats? ‘Too many’ health care workers experience toxic workplaces, studies show

https://duke.is/nu9sq

December 8 — Richard Krasuski

ABC News

Doctors should ask heart patients if they take supplements to manage heart failure

https://duke.is/bf6ar

December 8 — Pamela Douglas

New York Post

Health care workers treating each other ‘disrespectfully’ on the rise

https://duke.is/2jkfn

December 8 — Stephen Greene

tctMD

Sequencing HF Meds? Most Doctors Stick to Old Habits, Survey Says

https://duke.is/g4wq8

December 8 — Manesh Patel

Medpage Today

TAVR at 20: How Much Longer Will Medicare Mandate a Registry?

https://duke.is/vsdwc

Chief’s message: Welcome to our New Cardiology Fellows and Ongoing Work to do around Heart Disease.

As we approach the final month of the year, this week we were excited to welcome our next fellowship class to Duke.  These are the next generation of leaders that will help us continue to discover and deliver heart health.  We were also excited to have some end of year meetings with the CVCT (CardioVascular Clinical Trials) conference with several Duke Faculty and Fellows presenting.  Lots more work to do to ensure our evidence generation system improves to include more patients, work faster to get answer to patients and groups that need it the most.  It was again great to see some rising stars around the country in clinical research and heart from leaders like Dr. Califf from the FDA.

We also have had the start of the BacktoHeart22 Cardiology conference which is a Hybrid Medscape conference (in-person and Virtual) summarizing the years lessons in CV medicine.  This conference led by Bob Harrington and Fatima Rodriquez from Stanford and feature several interactive sessions.  The conference started this AM with a powerful survivor story from Bob Harper (Fitness Expert and Host of the Biggest Loser) who shared his near fatal Acute Heart Attack story.  He shared that bystander CPR and cardiac rehab after angioplasty and stent for his AMI saved his life.  He also shared the work he is doing to increase awareness around Lp(a) levels.

So through all our challenges and work to ensure access to healthcare, as the year comes to an end we are reminded about the significant work we still have to do to bend the curve on cardiovascular death and disability around the world and in our local communities.

Highlights of the week:

Incoming Cardiology Fellows Announced

We are excited to share with you the new members of our cardiology fellowship class starting in July, 2023. They are:

Jawan Abdulrahim     

Residency: Duke

Medical School: UAB

Aubrie Carroll

Residency: Duke

Medical School: University of Virginia

Jonathan Hanna

Residency: Yale

Medical School: Yale

Seamus Hughes

Residency: UTSW

Medical School:

John Hopkins

Damarcus Ingram

Residency: Duke

Medical School: Drexel

Ivan Nenadic Wood

Residency: Michigan

Medical School: Mayo

Josh Rushakoff

Residency: Cedars Sinai

Medical School: UC San Francisco

Husam Salah

Residency: Arkansas

Medical School: Jordan University

Aarti Thakkar

Residency: John Hopkins

Medical School: Duke

Eric Xie

Residency: Johns Hopkins

Medical School: John Hopkins

Anna Lisa Chamis would like to especially thank Manesh Patel, Camille Frazier Mills, Neha Pagidipati, Chris Holley, Rob Mentz and Chris Wrobel along with the fellowship recruitment committee, faculty interviewers and all the fellows for their time and efforts to recruit this amazing incoming class. In addition, Anna Lisa would like to thank Kayla Humphreys and Brianna Small for effectively and efficiently managing the administrative aspect of this virtual recruitment season.

We look forward to welcoming this outstanding team of fellows in July. Great job, everyone!

 

Shout-out: Outstanding Week for Duke EP Team

A big shout-out this week to Duke’s EP team. Way to go!

“I just wanted to recognize everyone on the invasive labs team (including Cath & CVSSU) for orchestrating the most number of cases completed in a single day ever by the DUH EP Lab!  Thank you for the Herculean effort by our incredible team,” Shawn Johnson, Assistant Nurse Manager, Adult Electrophysiology Lab.

On Dec. 1, the team completed 17 cases, including four Outpatient Tilt, seven Outpatient Devices, four Outpatient Ablations, one Inpatient Device, and 1 Inpatient Ablation.

“Sometimes we do special things and they go unnoticed. This should not. While the number of cases itself is not necessarily important, the cooperation, collaboration, and commitment required of the whole team to accomplish this milestone is truly impressive,” said Jonathan Piccini, MD, director of Cardiac Electrophysiology. “Thank you for your leadership and thanks to every member of the team that enabled this to happen – particularly on a day in which we were understaffed and short-handed. Our patients get the best because we have the best team.”

“Dr. Piccini said it so well. Kudos and thanks to the EP team for their tremendous dedication and talent, added Jill Engel, DNP, Service Line Vice President for Duke Heart. “We appreciate everything you do and are fortunate to have each of you on team Duke Heart!”

 

Scientific Sessions Twitter Space Link Now Available

As we mentioned previously in Pulse, Manesh Patel and Kelly Arps were the featured guests in a Twitter Space held Tuesday, Nov. 8 on Twitter. Patel and Arps did a recap of some of the most notable findings presented at Scientific Sessions. That link was made available to us this week. To check it out, please visit: https://duke.is/jq953.

 

Pickett Leaving as DUH CMO; Becoming Hospice & Palliative Care Fellow

Earlier this week we learned that Duke University Hospital Chief Medical Officer Lisa Pickett, MD will leave her role in 2023. She has been accepted into the Duke Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship program. The announcement was made earlier this week by Tom Owens and Mary Martin:

It is with mixed emotions that we share the news that Dr. Lisa Pickett, FACS, has been accepted into the Duke Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship program, beginning in July 2023. In pursuit of this next phase of her career, Lisa will step back from her current role as Chief Medical Officer for Duke University Hospital. The transition will take place in Spring 2023, and we will share more details as they are confirmed.

So many of us at Duke University Hospital, and across the entire Duke community, have been touched by Lisa’s compassionate care and servant leadership. As the hospital’s first female Chief Medical Officer, Lisa has shaped the role of hospital physicians at Duke and has supported our teams through more than ten years of transformational change.

As a member of the DUH Senior Leadership team, Lisa has helped develop the Health System Disruptive Patient and Visitor Policy, coordinated patient moves for both DMP and DCT, and worked to create an environment of gratitude and appreciation among our teams.

Throughout her career, Lisa’s passion for caring for our patients and families during their most difficult care journeys has always been evident. This will serve her very well in this next professional opportunity.

Lisa will join the Palliative Care Fellow class in July and so will continue her time with our Duke family. For those who may not know, Lisa began her career at Duke as an Intern and then a Resident in General Surgery in 1994. She subsequently completed a Fellowship in Critical Care and joined our faculty where she currently serves as Assistant Professor of Surgery and Critical Care.

Lisa also worked at Duke Regional Hospital, where she helped build a general surgery program and a 24/7 Critical Care service. She served as Chief Medical Officer at DRH for three years before beginning her current role as Duke University Hospital Chief Medical Officer in 2012.

We will share our plans for identifying our next Chief Medical Officer in the coming weeks. For now, please join us as we congratulate Lisa on this exciting new phase of her career and thank her for all she has done as a leader in our hospital and throughout the Duke community. Thank you, Lisa!

 

Reminder: ORA Holiday Deadlines

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) will operate with a reduced staff during the holiday season to allow team members time to recharge.  To help ORA respond as timely as possible to your needs, please plan in advance based on the following:

Last two weeks of December

For any transactions with due dates between December 19 – January 2, please have submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, December 15 to ensure there is adequate time and staffing to respond to your needs.

Please note: the next NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is Jan. 5, 2023, and the internal deadline is 8 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2022. Because this deadline falls in the last two weeks in December when ORA will be operating with reduced staff and because these award mechanisms are usually complex and require careful institutional coordination before submission:

1. Please complete Intent to Submit for all planned SBIR/STTR applications no later than Dec. 5, 2022; and
2. Please plan to route a submission-ready application no later than Dec. 15, 2022; if more time is needed, please submit a late waiver request so that ORA can plan for appropriate coverage to support these applications.

For anything submitted in the last two weeks of December that can wait until after the holiday break, ORA will be back up to speed with a full team on Jan. 3, 2023 and will look forward to managing all pending issues at that time.

 

Additional Reminders:

• We’re seeing improvements with PPE throughout DUH – great job! It is vital that we all remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

Dec. 6: No CGR this week.

Dec. 13: Celebration for Dr. Tracy Wang. 5 p.m. Webex.

Dec. 20: Our featured speaker will be Dr. Michel Khouri. Webex.

Dec. 27: No CGR this week.

CME & Other Events

Dec. 19: PDC Annual Member Meeting. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Zoom.

The meeting will be recorded and posted the following day. Submit questions to: PDC-President@dm.duke.edu. Agenda items will include:

• Financial Year In Review
• Review of Retirement Portfolio Performance from CAPTRUST
• The Path Forward for 2023: Duke Health Integrated Practice
• Anticipated Member Asset Distribution Plan

 

Call for abstracts: 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference

The virtual poster submission period for the 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is now open. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, Dec. 14. The 2023 Conference will be held the weeks of March 13 and 20, with an in-person event on Thursday, March 23.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please click here.

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:

November 23 — Pamela Douglas

Healio

Health care industry struggles to keep pace with ‘tectonic shift’ in paid family leave

https://duke.is/najvu

November 23 — Ravi Karra and Navid Nafissi

Medscape

Test for ‘Concealed Cardiomyopathy’ After Sudden Unexplained Death

https://duke.is/btdbj

November 29 — Wayne Feng (neurology/Duke Stroke Center)

Neurology Live

Expanding the Capabilities of Treating Neuromuscular Poststroke Symptoms: Wayne Feng, MD, FAHA

https://duke.is/4rktq

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed November 19-30, 2022

Berwanger O, Pfeffer M, Claggett B, Jering KS, Maggioni AP, Steg PG, Mehran R, Lewis EF, Zhou Y, van der Meer P, De Pasquale C, Merkely B, Filippatos G, McMurray JJV, Granger CB, Solomon SD, Braunwald E. Sacubitril/valsartan versus ramipril for patients with acute myocardial infarction: win-ratio analysis of the PARADISE-MI trial. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Oct;24(10):1918-1927. PM: 36054480.

Bonafiglia JT, Swinton PA, Ross R, Johannsen NM, Martin CK, Church TS, Slentz CA, Ross LM, Kraus WE, Walsh JJ, Kenny GP, Goldfield GS, Prud’homme D, Sigal RJ, Earnest CP, Gurd BJ. Interindividual Differences in Trainability and Moderators of Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Waist Circumference, and Body Mass Responses: A Large-Scale Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis. Sports Med 2022 Dec;52(12):2837-2851. PM: 35781787.

Brown LC, Halabi S, Somarelli JA, Humeniuk M, Wu Y, Oyekunle T, Howard L, Huang J, Anand M, Davies C, Patel P, Staats J, Weinhold KJ, Harrison MR, Zhang T, George DJ, Armstrong AJ. A phase 2 trial of avelumab in men with aggressive- variant or neuroendocrine prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2022 Apr;25(4):762-769. PM: 35292724.

Capodanno D, Baber U, Bhatt DL, Collet JP, Dangas G, Franchi F, Gibson CM, Gwon HC, Kastrati A, Kimura T, Lemos PA, Lopes RD, Mehran R, O’Donoghue ML, Rao SV, Rollini F, Serruys PW, Steg PG, Storey RF, Valgimigli M, Vranckx P, Watanabe H, Windecker S, Angiolillo DJ. P2Y inhibitor monotherapy in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Nat Rev Cardiol 2022 Dec;19(12):829-844. PM: 35697777.

Chanfreau-Coffinier C, Tuteja S, Hull LE, MacDonald S, Efimova O, Bates J, Voora D, Oslin DW, DuVall SL, Lynch JA. Drug-drug-gene interaction risk among opioid users in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Pain 2022 Dec 1;163(12):2390-2397. PM: 35319502.

Doberne JW, Maisonave Y, DeVore A, Guinn N, Schroder JN. Bloodless HeartMate 3 explantation and orthotopic heart transplant in a heart failure patient refusing blood products. J Heart Lung Transplant 2022 Dec;41(12):1859-1860. PM: 36115786.

Fiorino C, Liu Y, Henao R, Ko ER, Burke TW, Ginsburg GS, McClain MT, Woods CW, Tsalik EL. Host Gene Expression to Predict Sepsis Progression. Crit Care Med 2022 Dec 1;50(12):1748-1756. PM: 36178298.

Greene SJ, Fonarow GC, Butler J. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors for heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: time to deliver implementation. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Oct;24(10):1902-1905. PM: 36097872.

Inzucchi SE, Claggett BL, Vaduganathan M, Desai AS, Jhund PS, de Boer RA, Hernandez AF, Kosiborod MN, Lam CSP, Martinez F, Shah SJ, Verma S, Han Y, Kerr Saraiva JF, Bengtsson O, Petersson M, Langkilde AM, McMurray JJV, Solomon SD. Efficacy and safety of dapagliflozin in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction by baseline glycaemic status (DELIVER): a subgroup analysis from an international, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2022 Dec;10(12):869-881. PM: 36372069.

Januzzi JL, Omar AMS, Liu Y, Murphy S, Butler J, Felker GM, Piña IL, Ward J, Solomon S, Contreras J. Association Between Sacubitril/Valsartan Initiation and Mitral Regurgitation Severity in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: The PROVE-HF Study. Circulation 2022 Nov 22;146(21):1638-1640. PM: 36183276.

Jollis JG, Granger CB, Zègre-Hemsey JK, Henry TD, Goyal A, Tamis-Holland JE, Roettig ML, Ali MJ, French WJ, Poudel R, Zhao J, Stone RH, Jacobs AK. Treatment Time and In-Hospital Mortality Among Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction, 2018-2021. JAMA 2022 Nov 22;328(20):2033-2040. PM: 36335474.

Karády J, Ferencik M, Mayrhofer T, Meyersohn NM, Bittner DO, Staziaki PV, Szilveszter B, Hallett TR, Lu MT, Puchner SB, Simon TG, Foldyna B, Ginsburg GS, McGarrah RW, Voora D, Shah SH, Douglas PS, Hoffmann U, Corey KE. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease among individuals with hepatic steatosis. Hepatol Commun 2022 Dec;6(12):3406-3420. PM: 36281983.

Karra R, Nafissi NA. Expanding the Molecular Autopsy to Uncover Occult Cardiomyopathy: Concealed to Revealed. J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Nov 29;80(22):2069-2071. PM: 36423991.

Kern MJ, Cox D, Fearon W, Johnson N, Klein L, Krucoff M, Moses J, Naidu SS, Pinto D, Ramee S, Teirstein P, Yeung A. Is FFR dead? A conversation in cardiology. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2022Nov;100(6):1045-1050. PM: 36273434.

Liang J, Wang H, Cade BE, Kurniansyah N, He KY, Lee J, Sands SA, A Brody J, Chen H, Gottlieb DJ, Evans DS, Guo X, Gharib SA, Hale L, Hillman DR, Lutsey PL, Mukherjee S, Ochs-Balcom HM, Palmer LJ, Purcell S, Saxena R, Patel SR, Stone KL, Tranah GJ, Boerwinkle E, Lin X, Liu Y, et al. Targeted Genome Sequencing Identifies Multiple Rare Variants in Caveolin-1 Associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2022 Nov15;206(10):1271-1280. PM: 35822943.

Long C, Tcheng JE, Marinac-Dabic D, Iorga A, Krucoff M, Fisher D. Developing minimum core data structure for the obesity devices Coordinated Registry Network (CRN). BMJ Surg Interv Health Technol 2022 Nov11;4(Suppl 1):e000118. PM: 36393892.

Navar AM, Fine LJ, Ambrosius WT, Brown A, Douglas PS, Johnson K, Khera AV, Lloyd-Jones D, Michos ED, Mujahid M, Muñoz D, Nasir K, Redmond N, Ridker PM, Robinson J, Schopfer D, Tate DF, Lewis CE. Earlier treatment in adults with high lifetime risk of cardiovascular diseases: What prevention trials are feasible and could change clinical practice? Report of a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Workshop. Am J Prev Cardiol 2022 Nov 13;12:100430. PM: 36439649.

Navar AM, Kolkailah AA, Overton R, Shah NP, Rousseau JF, Flaker GC, Pignone MP, Peterson ED. Trends in Oral Anticoagulant Use Among 436 864 Patients With Atrial Fibrillation in Community Practice, 2011 to 2020. J Am Heart Assoc 2022 Nov15;11(22):e026723. PM: 36346063.

Orvin NJ, Beavers JC, Russell SD. Acute Diuretic-Sparing Effects of Sacubitril-Valsartan: Staying in the Loop. J Pharm Pract 2022 Dec;35(6):859-863. PM: 33882753.

Ostrominski JW, Vaduganathan M, Claggett BL, de Boer RA, Desai AS, Dobreanu D, Hernandez AF, Inzucchi SE, Jhund PS, Kosiborod M, Lam CSP, Langkilde AM, Lindholm D, Martinez FA, O’Meara E, Petersson M, Shah SJ, Thierer J, McMurray JJV, Solomon SD. Dapagliflozin and New York Heart Association functional class in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: the DELIVER trial. Eur J Heart Fail 2022 Oct;24(10):1892-1901. PM: 36054231.

Patel D, Vatterott P, Piccini J, Epstein LM, Hakmi S, Syed I, Koweek LM, Bolen M, Schoenhagen P, Tarakji KG, Francis N, Shao M, Wilkoff BL. Prospective Evaluation of the Correlation Between Gated Cardiac Computed Tomography Detected Vascular Fibrosis and Ease of Transvenous Lead Extraction. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2022Nov;15(11):e010779. PM: 36306341.

Prabhakaran D, Singh K, Kondal D, Raspail L, Mohan B, Kato T, Sarrafzadegan N, Talukder SH, Akter S, Amin MR, Goma F, Gomez-Mesa J, Ntusi N, Inofomoh F, Deora S, Philippov E, Svarovskaya A, Konradi A, Puentes A, Ogah OS, Stanetic B, Issa A, Thienemann F, Juzar D, Zaidel E, et al. Correction: Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes among Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: Findings from the World Heart Federation COVID-19 Study. Glob Heart 2022 Oct 31;17(1):79. PM: 36382154.

Rao VN, Mentz RJ, Coniglio AC, Kelsey MD, Fudim M, Fonarow GC, Matsouaka RA, DeVore AD, Caughey MC. Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Hospitalized Heart Failure Outcomes in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Registry. Circ Heart Fail 2022 Nov;15(11):e009353. PM: 36378758.

Regan JA, Truby LK, Tahir UA, Katz DH, Nguyen M, Kwee LC, Deng S, Wilson JG, Mentz RJ, Kraus WE, Hernandez AF, Gerszten RE, Peterson ED, Holman RR, Shah SH. Protein biomarkers of cardiac remodeling and inflammation associated with HFpEF and incident events. Sci Rep 2022 Nov 22;12(1):20072. PM: 36418363.

Reid HW, Parente V, Gupta MD, Hantzmon S, Olsen MK, Yang H, Jackson LR, Johnson KS, Pollak KI. Examining the relationship between clinician communication and patient participatory behaviors in cardiology encounters. Patient Educ Couns 2022 Dec;105(12):3473- 3478. PM: 36137906.

Scherba JC, Karra R, Turek JW, Bursac N. Toward improved understanding of cardiac development and congenital heart disease: The advent of cardiac organoids. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2022 Dec;164(6):2013-2018. PM: 35307217.

Sedrakyan A, Marinac-Dabic D, Campbell B, Aryal S, Baird CE, Goodney P, Cronenwett JL, Beck AW, Paxton EW, Hu J, Brindis R, Baskin K, Cowley T, Levy J, Liebeskind DS, Poulose BK, Rardin CR, Resnic FS, Tcheng J, Fisher B, Viviano C, Devlin V, Sheldon M, Eldrup-Jorgensen J, et al. Advancing the Real-World Evidence for Medical Devices through Coordinated Registry Networks. BMJ Surg Interv Health Technol 2022 Nov 11;4(Suppl 1):e000123. PM: 36393894.

Selvaraj S, Seidelmann SB, Soni M, Bhattaru A, Margulies KB, Shah SH, Dugyala S, Qian C, Pryma DA, Arany Z, Kelly DP, Chirinos JA, Bravo PE. Comprehensive nutrient consumption estimation and metabolic profiling during ketogenic diet and relationship with myocardial glucose uptake on FDG-PET. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging 2022 Nov17;23(12):1690-1697. PM: 35366303.

Simard T, Vemulapalli S, Jung RG, Vekstein A, Stebbins A, Holmes DR, Czarnecki A, Hibbert B, Alkhouli M. Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair in Patients With Severe Mitral Regurgitation and Cardiogenic Shock. J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Nov 29;80(22):2072- 2084. PM: 36126766.

Toro C, Ohnuma T, Komisarow J, Vavilala MS, Laskowitz DT, James ML, Mathew JP, Hernandez AF, Goldstein BA, Sampson JH, Krishnamoorthy V. Early Vasopressor Utilization Strategies and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Anesth Analg 2022 Dec 1;135(6):1245-1252. PM: 35203085.

Winther S, Schmidt SE, Foldyna B, Mayrhofer T, Rasmussen LD, Dahl JN, Hoffmann U, Douglas PS, Knuuti J, Bøttcher M. Coronary Calcium Scoring Improves Risk Prediction in Patients With Suspected Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Nov 22;80(21):1965- 1977. PM: 36396197.

Yamada Y, Zhang X, Henderson MET, Sagayama H, Pontzer H, Watanabe D, Yoshida T, Kimura M, Ainslie PN, Andersen LF, Anderson LJ, Arab L, Baddou I, Bedu-Addo K, Blaak EE, Blanc S, Bonomi AG, Bouten CVC, Bovet P, Buchowski MS, Butte NF, Camps SG, Close GL, Cooper JA, Cooper R, Das S. Variation in human water turnover associated with environmental and lifestyle factors. Science 2022 Nov 25;378(6622):909-915. PM: 36423296.

Chief’s message:

Thanksgiving is a time where we get to spend time hopefully recharging and in the presence of friends and family contemplating the people and things we are grateful for in our lives.  It is also a time of traditions with the familiarity of food, family, and often sporting events.  This year I was again able to be a referee in the annual Thanksgiving day Turkey Bowl played between the medicine residents representing the VA Hospital and Duke Hospital  (VA Jets vs. Duke Marines).  This annual flag football game has been a tradition for nearly 50 years (Harvey Cohen – pictured helping with the Coin Toss in the Turkey Hat is checking on the actual first game (1973 or 1974).  As every year, the goal is the have a good time, avoid all injuries, and identify a winner for bragging rights over the next year.  Additionally, the game allows families in town, dogs, kids, and others to come and see our tradition. Over the last 10-15 years the game has gotten much more serious (wrist bands with plays), set plays, positions, and variety of tactics to help conduct a good game.  In 2020 it was a softball game and is now back to flag football.   Despite the world cup, Duke Basketball, NFL and College games, this is one of the more entertaining and generally close events of the Thanksgiving weekend activities.  This year it reminded me of the special place we have in Academic Medical Centers – in the ability to interact and train the next generation of leaders, residents, fellows, and junior faculty that quickly become the day to day fabric of Duke.  Many of the sideline cheering squads, referees, team coaches (Dr. G) and others have been part of or have influenced generations of residents playing in these games. The last few years of pandemic, consolidation and strains on our health systems have worked to put tremendous stress on our faculty, residents, fellows and staff.   These times of interreacting outside the hospital, getting to do things not directly related to our day to day activities serve as important moments for our teams to be together and appreciate each other.  Hopefully, we will continue to find venues for these types of activities with each other.  Oh, and as to the outcome of the game: 14-14 Tie on a last second Hail Mary touchdown from the VA to end the game as the clock ran out.

Importantly, we are also grateful during this time and the upcoming holidays for our staff and faculty/fellows/residents that help care for our patients in the hospital.  In this version of the pulse you will some photos below of our staff and others seen around town.

Highlights of the week:

Chet Patel Accepts New Role as Associate Vice Chair, Strategic Physician Relations

Congratulations to Chet Patel, MD! He will soon serve as associate vice chair for strategic physician relations for the Duke Department of Medicine. The announcement was made on Wednesday, Nov. 23 by Dr. Kathleen Cooney, chair, Department of Medicine. Her statement reads:

“Over the past five years, the Department of Medicine has been working coordinately with Duke University Health System and the PDC to extend our clinical practice into Wake County and other strategic areas. This work is very different from our usual clinical operations/quality management and requires strategic thinking as well as close collaboration with internal and external groups.  I am pleased to announce that Chet Patel, MD, our current Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, has accepted a new leadership position within the Department of Medicine as Associate Vice Chair, Strategic Physician Relations.

Dr. Patel’s new responsibilities will include supporting the implementation of the clinical strategic plan for the Department with a focus on internal and external partnerships. He will represent the Department of Medicine in agreements with external entities by coordinating efforts with the DUHS strategic planning office. He will also focus on facilitating communication to physicians about specialty services and procedures provided at DUHS while streamlining those efforts. In this role he will report to the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs.

Dr. Patel will transition to this new role once a new Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs has been selected. A search to fill the Vice Chair role will begin on Monday, November 21 led by David D’Alessio, MD, chief, Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition. Candidates interested in the role of Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs are asked to email a brief letter of intent and an updated CV to emelia.dunston@duke.edu by Wednesday, December 21.

View the job description, duties and responsibilities here. Additional position details will also be sent in a subsequent email message for those interested in the role.”

We are excited for you, Chet!

 

Tong, Zwischenberger Featured in WTS Oracle

Duke Heart’s Betty Tong, MD and Brittany Zwischenberger, MD are featured in the latest issue of Oracle, an annual magazine produced by Women in Thoracic Surgery. The article is about Lise Tchouta, a 4th year General Surgery resident at Columbia University Medical Center and recent recipient of the Brigid Scanlan Traveling Mentorship Award. Tchouta chose to spend four weeks at Duke under the mentorship of Tong and Zwischenberger; the article speaks to the importance of mentorship and increasing the number of women in the field.

It’s a terrific piece in a powerful edition of Oracle. Well worth the read (p. 22)!

Both Allan Kirk, MD and Edward P. Chen, MD chimed in on the piece.

“Congratulations on such a wonderful story,” said Kirk. “Thanks for projecting the progressive side of Duke CT Surgery and helping move us to a better future.”

“Great job Betty and Brittany in attracting future female CT surgeons to Duke, Chen added.”

The importance of mentors can never be overstated. Way to go!

 

Loring Awarded Pilot Study Grant

Zak Loring, MD has been awarded a Durham VA Health Services Research & Development ADAPT COIN pilot study grant for his proposal Improving Disparities in Atrial Fibrillation Care Through ECG-based Machine Learning Risk Models. This is a 1-year preliminary project award worth $50,000 aimed at enhancing healthcare equity.

We also learned that Loring has passed his boards. Great news all around, Zak! Congratulations!!!

 

 

 

In Gratitude to Our Many Teams!

We hope each of you enjoyed the holiday. Thank you to all of our many team members who cared for patients on our units over the holiday weekend. We hope you’ve had some time to decompress and relax! We’ve had an amazing year of accomplishments. Thank you for all that you do.

Reminder: ORA Holiday Deadlines

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) will operate with a reduced staff during the holiday season to allow team members time to recharge.  To help ORA respond as timely as possible to your needs, please plan in advance based on the following:

Picture of the Week

Seen in the Cameron Crazie section of the Duke Basketball game

 

Last two weeks of December

For any transactions with due dates between December 19 – January 2, please have submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, December 15 to ensure there is adequate time and staffing to respond to your needs.

Please note: the next NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is Jan. 5, 2023, and the internal deadline is 8 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2022. Because this deadline falls in the last two weeks in December when ORA will be operating with reduced staff and because these award mechanisms are usually complex and require careful institutional coordination before submission:

1. Please complete Intent to Submit for all planned SBIR/STTR applications no later than Dec. 5, 2022; and
2. Please plan to route a submission-ready application no later than Dec. 15, 2022; if more time is needed, please submit a late waiver request so that ORA can plan for appropriate coverage to support these applications.

For anything submitted in the last two weeks of December that can wait until after the holiday break, ORA will be back up to speed with a full team on Jan. 3, 2023 and will look forward to managing all pending issues at that time.

 

Additional Reminders:

• It is vital that we all remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

November 29: No CGR this week.

CME & Other Events

Call for abstracts: 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference

The virtual poster submission period for the 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is now open. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, Dec. 14. The 2023 Conference will be held the weeks of March 13 and 20, with an in-person event on Thursday, March 23.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please click here.

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:

November 8 — Pamela Douglas

Cardiovascular Business

VIDEO: PRECISE trial shows cardiac CT with FFR-CT significantly improves patient outcomes

https://duke.is/9mu94

November 9 — Manesh Patel

Everyday Health

Dietary Supplements Don’t Lower ‘Bad’ Cholesterol, Study Finds

https://duke.is/b9nq6

November 9 — W. Schuyler Jones

Medpage Today

Surgery Bests Endovascular Therapy for Most Limb-Threatening Ischemia Patients

https://duke.is/cfvgf

November 10 — Neha Pagidipati

Medscape

Remote Care May Help Curb High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol

https://duke.is/5cnhr

November 10 — Robert Mentz

Pharmacy Pratice News

No Efficacy Difference Between 2 Common Loop Diuretics

https://duke.is/nyw3x

November 10 — Renato Lopes

Medscape

No Benefit of Rivaroxaban in COVID Outpatients: PREVENT-HD

https://duke.is/r6wzq

November 11 — Jennifer Rymer

tctMD

Cangrelor After Ticagrelor Pretreatment in ACS Might Be OK: SWAP-5

https://duke.is/8buun

November 11 — Kevin Hill (pediatric cardiology)

EMJ

Methylprednisolone in Infants Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery

https://duke.is/phvjj

November 11 — Kevin Hill

tctMD

STRESS Shows ‘Borderline Results’ for Methylprednisolone in Infant Cardiac Surgery

https://duke.is/gkspc

November 11 — Neha Pagidipati

Patient Care

Fully Remote Intervention for Hypertension, Lipids Proves Feasible, Successful in Large, Diverse Health Care Network

https://duke.is/65dnu

November 14 — Jennifer Li and Kevin Hill (peds cardiology)

Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology

Largest Randomized Trial Evaluates Steroids for Infant Heart Surgery

https://duke.is/mvvtt

November 14 — Renato Lopes

Healio/Cardiology Today

Trial does not support routine antithrombotic use in ill outpatients with COVID-19

https://duke.is/7mrd3

November 14 — Manesh Patel

tctMD

Drug Preconditioning Before CABG, Valve Surgery Shows Promise: START

https://duke.is/v3sss

November 15 — Christopher Granger

tctMD

Many STEMI Patients Not Treated Within National Time Goals

https://duke.is/gwwct

November 17– Duke Clinical Research Institute

Practical Cardiology

Almost 1 in 3 High-Risk AFib Patients Not Receiving Anticoagulation

https://duke.is/9augu

November 17 — Jonathan Piccini

Healio/Cardiology Today

Botulinum toxin injection does not prevent postoperative AF: NOVA

https://duke.is/2pk25

November 18 — Jonathan Piccini

Medscape

Neurotoxin to Avert Postoperative AF: Patient Selection Clues in NOVA

https://duke.is/4svy7

November 21 — Josef Turek and the Sinnamon family

KFVS-CBS12 Cape Girardeau (MO)

18-month old medical miracle from world’s first heart-thymus procedure

https://duke.is/p4n3a

November 21 — Manesh Patel

Parallax by Ankur Kalra

EP 80: AHA’s Scientific Sessions: Science, Innovation and Community With Dr Manesh Patel

https://duke.is/6jwkw

November 22 – Stephen Greene

Healio/Cardiology Today

Low household income may predict higher risk for 30-day HF readmission

https://duke.is/5knzk

November 23 — Jonathan Piccini

Medscape

Factor Xa Inhibitors Tied to Interstitial Lung Disease in AF

https://duke.is/rtw5h

 

Highlights of the week:

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

On behalf of the entire Duke Heart leadership team, we wish you and your loved ones a happy Thanksgiving. During this time of reflection on our many personal blessings, we also give thanks for the incredible team we have here in Duke Heart. Together, we have persevered through some big challenges over the last several years, and also accomplished a great deal. We have a lot to be proud of. Thank you for all that you do — each member of our team makes a difference. Warm wishes to you and we hope you have some time to spend with your family, friends, and loved ones.

CVRC Announces Research Staff Appreciation Awardees

Each year, the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) presents research staff appreciation awards to members of their team who have made an exceptional contribution to their team. Due to the pandemic, the CVRC was unable to formally celebrate as a group last year due to the pandemic, so this year was extra special! We are excited to share with you their awardees for both 2021 and 2022. The CVRC awards were made on Nov. 9.

The 2021 awardee is Xinhe Yin of the Holley Lab, nominated by Dr. Chris Holley with support from colleague Brittany Elliott, PhD. In their summary, Holley and Elliott shared the following:

“Xinhe is a valuable member of the Holley Lab and CVRC. This is evidenced by her ever-growing knowledge base of technical expertise, the efforts she makes to care about and help the scientific endeavors in the CVRC succeed, and by being a good citizen of the CVRC by going above and beyond to maintain instrumentation within the shared CVRC resource. Xinhe brings multiple areas of expertise to the lab. First, she is an expert in managing our mouse colony, including breeding, genotyping, and tissue collection. Second, she performs a significant amount of cell culture for the laboratory, maintaining a wide variety of human, mouse, and rat cell lines, including many CRISPR-modified clonal lines. Third, she has developed the necessary expertise to prepare samples for our UPLC-MS/MS method that quantifies RNA modifications. Fourth, she has developed expertise with the Seahorse platform, which has allowed her to supervise this instrument for the CVRC. Her technical expertise contributes to every project in the lab!

“Xinhe also serves as our lab manager, taking responsibility for safety protocols, inspections, maintaining lab equipment and supplies, and ensuring that successful transitions as lab members join then eventually leave the lab. She is the primary contact for many collaborations, coordinating animal and material transfers. She serves as an emergency contact for the animal colony and the remote monitoring of our freezers. One of the things that I really respect about Xinhe is that when she sees something that seems wrong, or she doesn’t understand something, she asks about it instead of ignoring it.”

The 2022 awardee is Longquan Xu of the Rockman Lab, nominated by Dr. Howard Rockman with support from colleague Darion Rapoza, PhD. In their nomination, Rockman and Rapoza shared:

“Longquan Xu is a highly skilled small animal cardiac microsurgeon and echocardiographer in the CVRC Cardiovascular Physiology Core. He is by far one of the most conscientious technicians we have ever had the pleasure of working with. His technical expertise is exemplary. He is the go-to person in the CVRC Core for performing cardiac surgeries and the precision analyses of B mode 2D echocardiograms. He is totally dedicated to excellence and precision in performing noninvasive and invasive hemodynamic studies. When there is time available in his schedule, and on his own initiative, he will practice surgeries to hone newly acquired skills or to keep his procedural skills sharp and at the highest level of competency. Moreover, he is willing to learn new techniques and will practice new procedures until he has achieved perfection. He is always eager to be helpful. He is a supportive teacher, flexible, and always cooperative in sharing the workload to keep the core’s performance at its best for the PIs and their research programs. From COVID precautions to barrier facility protocols, he rigorously complies with guidelines and assists other in doing so as well, because, in his words, “It matters.”

Congratulations to Xinhe and Longquan!

To be eligible for a CVRC Research Staff Award, an individual must be employed by the Duke School of Medicine and must meet all of the following criteria:

• Technicians, Lab Research Analysts, Project Leaders, or any staff member who provides exemplary support in the conduct of basic or translational research within the CVRC.
• Current role provides technical expertise to support basic or translational research program(s) in a manner which strengthens the research mission of the CVRC.
• At least 5 years of continuous service in a research role in the CVRC.
• Demonstrated record of excellent performance and good citizenship.

Not Eligible: Faculty or staff members who have primary investigator status, research fellows, research associates and senior research associates, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students, administrative professionals.

 

Harper Recognized for Years of Service to Duke Heart

Our long-time colleague, Monica Harper, will be retiring on November 30, 2022 after more than 39 years of service at Duke. Monica has worked in the Heart Center since 1990 in varying roles including staff nurse, assistant head nurse, and — since 2000 — as 7300 Nurse Manager of Operations. Throughout her time with our team she served on many task forces and committees.

Monica is known for her calm and humble demeanor, her approachability, fair and consistent practice, and patient and staff advocacy. It came as a surprise to no one when she was named a recipient of the highly esteemed Duke Friends of Nursing Leadership Award.

On behalf of the entire Duke Heart Center Leadership team, we thank Monica for her loyalty and dedication to our patients, the faculty and staff of Duke Heart, and to Duke University Hospital.

She will certainly be missed. Please join us in wishing her well in her retirement!

 

National Nurse Practitioner Week, Nov. 13-19

In recognition of the Nurse Practitioner profession and the many contributions they make to Duke Health and the health of the nation. Did you know there are more than 355,000 certified NPs in the U.S. caring for patients of all ages? We are deeply grateful for the efforts and contributions these vital Duke Heart team members make each and every day.

As highly skilled team members and healthcare leaders, NPs provide exceptional patient care in virtually all health care specialties and settings. NPs are pivotal in the health care delivery of Duke Heart and Duke Health, serving in critical roles throughout clinical care, education, health administration, leadership, and research.

We hope all of our amazing Duke NPs had a great week!

 

High Five to Harris-Holloway!

Sandra Harris-Holloway, CCP, LP, Associate Chief, Adult Services Manager for Perfusion Services at Duke University Hospital received a High Five on Nov. 7.

“Sandra has an office close to a patient care area. She noticed a patient who was frequently sitting by the windows outside her office to get sunlight. Sandra partnered with the care team and advocated for administrative approval for the patient to go outside. During a time of restrictions, Sandra advocated for this patient’s mental health and wellbeing by going above and beyond her duties.”

We know this made a big difference for this patient. Way to go, Sandra!

 

Duke Heart Family Expands by One!

We are excited to share the happy news that Nishant Shah and Nikita Goel welcomed their son, Asher Jayden Shah, on November 17. Mom and baby are doing well, and big sister Amara is excited to have a little brother!

He’s adorable and we can’t wait to meet him in person. Welcome to the Duke Heart family, Asher. Congratulations to the Shah family!

 

ICYMI: Krasuski Featured Guest on CardioNerds

Rich Krasuski was recently a featured guest on the popular podcast, CardioNerds. A link to episode 242 appears here ACHD: Atrial Septal Defects with Dr. Richard Krasuski.

Nicely done, Rich!

ORA Holiday Deadlines

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) will operate with a reduced staff during the holiday season to allow team members time to recharge. During this period, please plan as far in advance as possible.

To help ORA respond as timely as possible to your needs, please plan in advance based on the following:

Thanksgiving Day and the Friday After

If you need something processed BEFORE the Thanksgiving holiday, please have it submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, November 17. Otherwise, if it can wait, ORA will process the following week (beginning November 28).

Last two weeks of December

For any transactions with due dates between December 19 – January 2, please have submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, December 15 to ensure there is adequate time and staffing to respond to your needs.

Please note: the next NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is Jan. 5, 2023, and the internal deadline is 8 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2022. Because this deadline falls in the last two weeks in December when ORA will be operating with reduced staff and because these award mechanisms are usually complex and require careful institutional coordination before submission:

1. Please complete Intent to Submit for all planned SBIR/STTR applications no later than Dec. 5, 2022; and
2. Please plan to route a submission-ready application no later than Dec. 15, 2022; if more time is needed, please submit a late waiver request so that ORA can plan for appropriate coverage to support these applications.

For anything submitted in the last two weeks of December that can wait until after the holiday break, ORA will be back up to speed with a full team on Jan. 3, 2023 and will look forward to managing all pending issues at that time.

This has been another year of tremendous growth in research at Duke. The Office of Research Administration thanks you for your continued partnership in support of Duke’s research mission and they send warm holiday wishes to all!

Additional Reminders:

• It is vital that we remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy.
• November is American Diabetes Month, Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, and National COPD Awareness Month. Thanks for all you do to help patients with these conditions!
• November 13-19 National Nurse Practitioner Week.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

November 22: Calcium Modification in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Ali Corley. 5 p.m., Webex.

CME & Other Events

Call for abstracts: 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference

The virtual poster submission period for the 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is now open. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, Dec. 14. The 2023 Conference will be held the weeks of March 13 and 20, with an in-person event on Thursday, March 23.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please click here.

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: Our news coverage will return Nov. 27.

Highlights of the week:

Veterans Day Weekend

We hope you’re all enjoying the weekend. With more than 1200 veterans on our extended team throughout DUHS, and so many of our Duke Heart team members caring for veterans at the Durham VAMC, we thank all those who have served in the U.S. military. Whether their service occurred during a time of war or time of peace, and regardless their length of service, we will always be indebted to veterans and their families for all they’ve given to the U.S.

Celebrating Tracy Wang, MD

It’s hard to believe, but Tracy Wang’s last official day with us at Duke was Monday, Nov. 7. As we mentioned in Pulse several weeks ago, Wang is headed to the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to serve as their Chief of Comparative Effectiveness Research.

We had the opportunity to speak with Tracy about her time at Duke, what she has valued most, and what she’s looking forward to with her new position.

“The skills and experience that I’ve acquired over the last 20 years or so at Duke is one of the beauties about being a faculty member at Duke. We have the freedom to pick and choose what kind of questions we want to answer,” Wang said. “I believe it’s one of the most grounding aspects of what we do. Many of us are clinicians in addition to researchers, and we try to answer questions that are really meaningful to clinical care. I’ll very much draw on that as I think about the future of research in my new role. I’ve had so many amazing mentors and role models here and I’ve had the pleasure of working with so many statistical and methodological experts as well. I have a solid grounding in knowing good science, recognizing it, and being able to think about ways in we could affect change within the field. There is so much innovation happening at Duke. The sentiment here is very much about progress — not doing the same thing over and over again. We’re always learning and innovating – we want to know how we can do something better the next time. This spirit of innovation, I think, is really key to any leader within a research field. We’re not trying to do the same thing every day, we’re trying to continuously improve how we think about the conduct of research. These are important aspects of Duke that have shaped both my experience and who I am as a clinician scientist.”

A lot of what PCORI is trying to do, according to Wang, is take a look at therapies that are already approved, and try to figure out which therapies best serve patient needs.

“One of the key missions PCORI has is to stay very patient-focused,” Wang said. “We need to have a finger on the pulse of what patients and patient stakeholders feel are important questions to answer. It’s also about making sure that we’re good stewards of the funding and ensuring that the type of science we fund is impactful and done in as efficient a manner as possible. I’ll also help guide how to think about investing in research, so that strategically we make the best use of the resources we have.”

Wang says her time at Duke has prepared her well for the role at PCORI.

“Duke is one of the most collaborative and creative leaders within clinical research,” she added. “It’s our spirit of collaboration and innovation that sets us apart from many other research entities out there. And, I think, we broadly recognize that even though there’s a lot of excellence within our group at Duke, we can always learn from others. We know that when we work with others, we are in a much better position to get the job done and to shape the future of medicine. This is definitely one of the strengths of being at Duke and one of the grounding characteristics of our faculty here. This is the type of spirit that I would like to hopefully extend to other groups out there through “the sauce,” if you will, that PCORI provides in trying to get all the players in the field to be able to collaborate and form partnerships more effectively so that we can be more innovative about our methods.

“What I’m looking forward to at PCORI is having the ability to really scale out this process on a more national and international scale. So rather than thinking about individual projects, I’ll be thinking about a whole portfolio of comparative effectiveness research that we can and should be doing.

“As much as I love what I do at Duke, this is what really attracted me to PCORI. I’ll have an opportunity to really have some influence on clinical research – from the type of research being done, to how it can be done, to how we can disseminate the results more effectively. How do we go back to our roots – to what patients need and want? Being able to work on these questions on a much more national scale is what really appealed to me.”

Wang received the 2022 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Heart Association’s Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research (QCOR) last May. The award was presented to her during the QCOR Scientific Sessions held in Reston, VA. A tribute video was created specifically for her QCOR award and it’s worth checking out if you didn’t get a chance to see it back in May. A link to it can be found here.

While a lifetime achievement award from QCOR is an incredible honor, Wang says she considers her greatest achievement to be the success of her mentees.

“I am most proud of the talent that I’ve hopefully coached along. One of the things I’m really going to miss about Duke is the really incredible folks here that are in various phases of their career, especially those who are at earlier stages. I really enjoy working with these amazing young minds! To be able to stop and think about what they’re interested in and help them work towards something that is satisfying for them, to help them grow skills that will be helpful to them as time goes on, and then watching them far surpass me in terms of where they’ve gone and what they’ve done. I’ve mentored almost 40 individuals since I started on faculty in 2008. it’s kind of nice to be able to work alongside some of the people I’ve helped train and have them ‘show me up’ on a daily basis. It makes me extraordinarily happy when they do that! It’s also nice to see mentees that have left Duke and gone on to flourish at other places. Bar none, that’s the achievement I am most proud of.

Over the course of her many years at Duke, a large number of people have had the opportunity to work with and learn from Tracy. We reached out to several of them for thoughts on her and her lasting legacy. Here is what they had to say:

“Tracy is an amazing cardiologist, investigator, colleague, and person. She has tremendous insight into tough clinical research issues and usually finds the simplest and most effective solutions. She is always willing to help colleagues without seeking credit. A fantastic mentor to many, I will truly miss her no-nonsense good humor, humility and zest. Tracy is a treasure so I hope she remains part of our Duke family while surely being hugely successful in shaping the nation’s outcomes research agenda at PCORI.” — Pamela S. Douglas, MD

“It is impossible to outline all the ways that Tracy has mentored me through the years. She met with me as an intern, and I began working with her at that time. She has given me so many opportunities, from learning how to work with industry to running analyses and projects independently. Her advice through the years has been invaluable. She was instrumental in helping me transition from a fellow to a faculty member. Tracy has mentored countless fellows and early career faculty at both Duke and more widespread through her significant work with the AHA. Her impact on health outcomes research at the DCRI is widespread and is one of the most talented people I have ever worked with in her ability to formulate scientific questions and develop the appropriate methodology to answer those questions. She has successfully mentored me through two career development awards and many other successful grant applications. She quickly turned from a mentor to a close friend. I will miss her so much, but can’t wait to see what she will accomplish through her work at PCORI.” — Jenn Rymer, MD

“Tracy is a great clinician, researcher and teacher that we rarely see. While many could have focused on themselves, Tracy wasn’t in that mold. She constantly had a string of mentees advancing their careers in a “pay it forward” manner. Beyond that she is a great friend to many. Just as she has had an impact on Duke and DCRI, it will be great to see how she has an impact on PCORI and the nation’s portfolio of comparative effectiveness research. We certainly need better answers and all of us will benefit from her leadership there shaping the questions and delivering clear answers with high-quality research.” — Adrian Hernandez, MD

Shown here are photos from a farewell celebration for Tracy that was held on the patio at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe in Durham on Oct. 6.

She summed up her feelings about leaving with a Chinese saying:

長江後浪推前浪，世上新人隨舊人

Chang jiang hou lang tui qian lang shi shang xin ren suay jiu ren

“Translated, this means ‘Just as the waves of the Yangtze River behind drive on those ahead, so does each new generation replace the old one,’” she added. “While leaving is bittersweet for me and many others, I remain optimistic and excited about the future of Duke as the next generation at Duke has so much talent and potential.”

You will be missed here at Duke, Tracy! We are extremely proud of you and happy that you’re not going far — you’ll always be a part of the Duke Heart family.

 

Scientific Sessions Wrap-Up

The 2022 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions concluded earlier this past week, yet our celebration of the great work you’ve done continues:

AHA.22 LBCT: Chest Pain Patients Benefit from Precision Diagnostic Testing Approach

A study comparing two approaches for diagnosing heart disease found that a risk analysis strategy is superior to the usual approach of immediately performing functional tests or catheterization for low- to intermediate-risk patients with new-onset chest pain.

Presented Nov. 6 at the American Heart Association’s 2022 Scientific Sessions, the study bolsters a risk-analysis strategy that either defers testing among low-risk patients, or uses coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), a CT scan with a contrast agent to assess for blockages.

The risk analysis approach has been outlined in guidelines and is championed as a means of reducing often unnecessary and costly tests. It has never been tested rigorously in a randomized trial, however, and its clinical application has lagged without definitive evidence of its effectiveness compared to various functional stress tests.

“New onset chest pain is a common clinical problem that involves a lot of testing, work and expense,” said study lead Pamela S. Douglas, MD, the Ursula Geller Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases at Duke University School of Medicine and a member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

“Our study provides evidence that, among low-risk patients, the tests will likely be negative for coronary artery disease and patients will go on to do well,” Douglas said. “As a result, we should be deferring testing in these low-risk people.”

Douglas and colleagues enrolled more than 2,100 patients across the U.S. and Europe with new-onset chest pain in the PRECISE clinical trial. Participants’ average age was 58, with roughly equal numbers of men and women.

Half of the patients were randomly assigned to receive usual testing — including stress echocardiogram, nuclear stress test, stress MRI or catheterization — which physicians selected at their discretion.

The other half of participants were randomized to the precision strategy, which uses a pre-test probability assessment to guide next steps, including deferred testing or CTA, with selective use of image analysis software to determine the significance of any blockages.

Within both groups, about 21% of symptomatic patients were assessed to be at low risk of heart disease. Of these low-risk patients in the usual testing group, 86% underwent some sort of test, compared to 37% in the precision strategy group.

The primary focus was whether, within a year, there were any differences between the two diagnostic approaches for any combination of the following outcomes: deaths from any cause, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or catheterizations that did not show blockages and may have been unnecessary.

The researchers found that the precision strategy substantially reduced the incidence of the composite endpoint compared to the usual stress testing approaches.

To provide a full picture of clinical value, the investigators balanced this demonstrated effectiveness with examination of any safety concerns. There were no differences in death or the composite of death and myocardial infarction, but there was a small, non-significant difference in nonfatal myocardial infarction in the precision group.

“In stable, symptomatic patients with suspected heart disease who physicians feel require testing, a precision strategy incorporating a set of actions based on guideline recommendations, will improve outcomes compared to usual testing,” Douglas said.

In addition to Douglas, study authors include Michael G. Nanna, Michelle D. Kelsey, Eric Yow, Daniel B. Mark, Manesh R. Patel, Campbell Rogers, James E. Udelson, Christopher B. Fordyce, Nick Curzen, Gianluca Pontone, Pál Maurovich-Horvat, Bernard De Bruyne, John P. Greenwood, Victor Marinescu, Jonathon Leipsic, Gregg W. Stone, Ori Ben-Yehuda, Colin Berry, Shea E. Hogan, Bjorn Redfors, Ziad A. Ali, Robert A. Byrne, Christopher M. Kramer, Robert W. Yeh, Beth Martinez, Sarah Mullen, Whitney Huey, Kevin J. Anstrom, Hussein R. Al-Khalidi, and Sreekanth Vemulapalli, for the PRECISE Investigators.

The study received funding from HeartFlow, a medical technology company.

AHA.22: Additional Presenters and Session Moderators

Jonathan Piccini presented results from the phase-2, dose-ranging NOVA study. The team found no significant differences in the rate of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) in cardiac surgery patients who received either 125U or 250U doses of botulinum toxin type A (AGN-151607) compared with placebo. Piccini noted that subgroup analyses suggested a lower rate of POAF and rehospitalization in patients undergoing isolated CABG and in patients older than 65 years who received 125U of AGN-151607. He added that the mechanism of AFib suppression with botulinum toxin may be related to both direct autonomic influences and decreased inflammation.

Cardiovascular surgeon Brittany Zwischenberger presented several sets of findings across Sessions including “Keep the Guidelines for Radial Artery Grafts in CABG Surgery” during the Consensus and Controversies: Debating the 2021 ACC/AHA/SCAI Guidelines for Coronary Revascularization session held Saturday, Nov. 5, and “Highlights and Controversies from 2021 Guidelines on Coronary Artery Revascularization” during the Update on 2022 Cardiovascular Clinical Guidelines session held on Monday, Nov. 7.  Zwischenberger also served as session moderator for New Insights – Cardiac Surgery held Sunday, Nov. 6.

New Duke Heart faculty member Senthil Selvaraj is senior author on findings presented on Monday at AHA. His team’s study was simultaneously published in JACC: Basic to Translational Science. Their paper is “Metabolomic Signatures of Myocardial Glucose Uptake on Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography.” Co-authors include Svati H. Shah, Mahesh K. Vidula, Daniel P. Kelly, Zoltan Arany, Kenneth B. Margulies, Thomas P. Cappola, and Paco E. Bravo.

Finally, Manesh Patel and Kelly Arps were the featured guests in a Twitter Spaces held Tuesday, Nov. 8 on Twitter. Patel and Arps did a recap of some of the most notable findings presented at Scientific Sessions. The event was recorded, but a link has not yet been made available. Once it is, we’ll post it here in Pulse.

Our team received a great deal of news coverage this year. Please visit the News section below to check it out. We truly had an outstanding presence at Sessions this year. We look forward to 2023!

 

Mark Serves as Guest Lecturer for AKUPI-NCD

Dan Mark, MD, was invited to discuss landmark studies in cardiovascular disease at a research certification course held recently as part of the Aga Khan University Pakistan Initiative for Non-Communicable Diseases (AKUPI-NCD) Research Training Program. The course audience consisted of aspiring and early career researchers from across Pakistan.

AKUPI-NCD was created to address a critical gap in the response to the NCD epidemic. The Aga Khan University partnered with Duke University to design a comprehensive, integrated, multi-disciplinary training program to prepare the next generation of leaders in NCD research. The program, focused on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and their shared risk factors, is funded by a research training grant by the U.S. National Institutes of Health via the Fogarty International Center.

Great work!

 

Huber Presents CGR

We welcomed Kurt Huber for Cardiology Grand Rounds on Tuesday evening, Nov. 8. His talk was entitled, “The Paradigm Shift of DAPT after ACS.” Huber is vice-dean of research at Sigmund Freud University for Medicine in Vienna, Austria, and chair of acute and interventional cardiology at the Wilhelminenspital.

Thanks to all who joined us!

Future Relocation of DN 7100 for Renovations

The Duke North 100 Tower is in the process of being renovated. Eventually, Duke University Hospital unit 7100 will be relocated to allow for renovations which will occur sometime after the start of the year.  Once we receive additional information as to the timeline and where 7100 is relocating, updates will be provided.

Shout-out to 7W & 3300!

Our teams on 7W and 3300 received a kudos at DUH on Nov. 8 for achieving 100% compliance for hand hygiene and PPE use. Way to go!

Thanksgiving Edition of Pulse

In this season of gratitude, who or what within Duke Heart (or beyond) are you particularly grateful for this year? We are offering a way to acknowledge those who’ve been a big support or help to you over the past year. Send your shout-outs and kudos to Tracey Koepke by Tuesday, November 22 and we’ll include them in our Thanksgiving issue of Pulse on Sunday, Nov. 27. We look forward to shout-outs and gratitude galore!

Additionally, as we move into the holiday season, please let us know if your team or unit within Duke Heart will be doing anything special to celebrate — perhaps you’ll be adopting a family in need? Hosting a food drive? If you’d like others to join your effort, or if you would just like to showcase what you’ll be doing (or what you did) in Pulse, let us know! We’ll issue the newsletter through December 18th, then we’ll be taking our annual break for two weeks. Pulse will resume on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. As always, email your items to tracey.koepke@duke.edu.

Webex User Accounts Decommission Notice

Duke Health is decommissioning Webex User Accounts effective Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, and will shift to Zoom for conferencing and collaboration needs. This decision was based on a significant decline in Webex usage and will allow for consolidation of technology support. Current Webex users can use this three-month window to explore Zoom, which offers a user-friendly experience for conferencing needs.

Webex user accounts will be decommissioned and Webex Recordings will no longer be available. Duke Health recommends downloading Webex recordings prior to Feb 1. 2023.

While Webex will remain available until February, Webex users are encouraged to start using Zoom as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition. Duke Health will still have the ability to join a Webex Meeting as a “GUEST”.

Note: Cisco Webex Rooms/Devices will NOT be impacted. Cisco Webex Rooms/Devices will remain registered to the Cisco Webex Control Hub (Cloud)

If you have questions or concerns, visit the IT Portal and click on Create a New Request in the Popular Items section to open a request, or contact the Duke Health Service Desk at 919-684-2243.

 

Duke Angel Network is now Duke Capital Partners

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, Duke Angel Network rolled out a new name and website.

Duke Capital Partners is the early-stage venture investing arm of Duke University, helping to connect Duke alumni investors with Duke-affiliated early-stage companies. Duke Capital Partners provides capital and expertise to help Duke start-ups, and features one of Duke’s most innovative experiential learning opportunities for students. As one of the largest and oldest university investment entities of its kind, Duke Capital Partners consistently places among the top five in North America.

It is hoped that faculty, students, and alumni will find Duke Capital Partners to be an exciting new way to engage with the university and its entrepreneurial community.

 

Link for Real Talk with Craig Albanese

If you missed last week’s Real Talk with Craig Albanese, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Duke University Health System, please click here to learn more about how the expertise and dedication of our financial care counselors have allowed DUHS to provide more than $141 million in direct financial assistance to patients every year. The incredible work this team does every day makes a huge difference to our patients and their families.

 

CulturePulse 2022 — Be Heard

The Culture Pulse survey link will remain open through Nov. 16; CulturePulse is a way for team members to share their feedback about what’s going well and what could be improved at Duke Health. Please participate and encourage your team members to do so as well. You will receive automatic reminders about the survey until you complete it or it closes. This is a great opportunity for all of us to have our voices heard.

 

This Week: Matters of Grief Symposium 2022

The Duke Health Office of Culture and Well-being is offering a Grief Symposium 2022 on Tues., Nov. 15 and a panel discussion on Wed., Nov. 16. Please consider joining for one or more events (most are virtual) in which they and participants will explore the many aspects of grief, including common grief reactions, how to support those who are grieving, professional grief, grief around loss of function or role, disenfranchised grief, rituals that may help us in the grieving process, and how to turn grief into positive action. Register here (please use your Duke e-mail to complete your registration).

• Grief Symposium: Tues., Nov. 15, noon-2 p.m.
• Grief Panel Discussion: Wed., Nov. 16, 1-2 p.m.
• Small Group Interactive Activities including Somatic Body Work, Narrative Writing, Mandala Art, and Restorative Circles for Personal Grief, Pet Grief, and Gun Violence: Wed-Fri, Nov. 16-18.

To learn more, please visit: https://cultureandwellbeing.dukehealth.org/grief-toolkit-symposium. A link to last year’s symposium is available on that page.

 

Reminder! ORA Holiday Deadlines

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) will operate with reduced staff during the holiday season. Please plan in advance based on the following:

Thanksgiving Day and the Friday After

If you need something processed BEFORE the Thanksgiving holiday, please have it submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, November 17. Otherwise, if it can wait, ORA will process the following week (beginning November 28).

Last two weeks of December

For any transactions with due dates between December 19 – January 2, please have submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, December 15 to ensure there is adequate time and staffing to respond to your needs.

Please note: the next NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is Jan. 5, 2023, and the internal deadline is 8 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2022. Because this deadline falls in the last two weeks in December when ORA will be operating with reduced staff and because these award mechanisms are usually complex and require careful institutional coordination before submission:

1. Please complete Intent to Submit for all planned SBIR/STTR applications no later than Dec. 5, 2022; and
2. Please plan to route a submission-ready application no later than Dec. 15, 2022; if more time is needed, please submit a late waiver request so that ORA can plan for appropriate coverage to support these applications.

ORA will be back up to speed with a full team on Jan. 3, 2023 and will look forward to managing all pending issues at that time.

 

Additional Reminders:

• It is vital that we remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy.
• November is American Diabetes Month, Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, and National COPD Awareness Month. Thanks for all you do to help patients with these conditions!
• The deadline for staff flu vaccinations is Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. Vaccination sites for faculty and staff can be found here: https://flu.duke.edu/vaccination/employees/

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

November 15: AHA Recap with Manesh Patel, L. Kristin Newby, Robert Mentz and Pamela Douglas. 5 p.m., Webex only. https://duke.is/pqv6g.

November 22: Fellow presentation with Ali Corley. 5 p.m., Webex. Watch your email for the link.

CME & Other Events

November 14: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium, Webinar 4. Final of a four-part webinar series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. Free. To register visit https://duke.is/ptjbs.

Call for abstracts: 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference

The virtual poster submission period for the 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is now open. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, Dec. 14. The 2023 Conference will be held the weeks of March 13 and 20, with an in-person event on Thursday, March 23.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please click here.

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:

November 5 — Betty Tong

WNCN CBS-17

Health experts urge screening for lung cancer for early detection

https://duke.is/5dz6a

November 5 — Robert Mentz

Medpage Today

Furosemide Holds Up to Newer, Stronger Loop Diuretic During HF Hospitalization

https://duke.is/n3qy8

*also carried by 3 additional outlets

November 5 — Robert Mentz

tctMD

TRANSFORM-HF: Torsemide No Better Than Furosemide for Hospitalized HF

https://duke.is/pmzgz

*also carried by 11 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 5 — Robert Mentz and Manesh Patel

Healio/Cardiology

Loop diuretic choice does not reduce all-cause death in HF: TRANSFORM-HF

https://duke.is/9zbfd

*also carried by Newsbreezer

November 5 — Robert Mentz

Medscape

No Survival Advantage for Either Torsemide or Furosemide in HF: TRANSFORM-HF

https://duke.is/24psp

*also carried by 4 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 5 — Manesh Patel

tctMD

Pemafibrate Fails to Lower CVD Risk in Patients With High Triglycerides: PROMINENT

https://duke.is/z5fg9

November 5 — Robert Mentz

Archynetys.com

Furosemide tolerates new, a lot more potent loop diuretics in hospitalized heart failure

https://duke.is/gvfdh

November 5 — Robert Mentz

ACC.org

Torsemide Comparison With Furosemide for Management of Heart Failure – TRANSFORM-HF

https://duke.is/vecc9

November 6 — Robert Mentz

News-Medical.net

Two heart failure therapies prove to be nearly identical in reducing death

https://duke.is/m9q9m

*also carried by 2 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 6 — Robert Mentz

Pharmacy Times

Trial Finds No Benefit with Torsemide Versus Furosemide in Heart Failure

https://duke.is/4we3g

November 6 — Kevin Hill

Medpage Today

Definitive Answer on Steroids for Infant Heart Surgery Falls Short

https://duke.is/w2pny

*also carried by 4 additional outlets

November 6 — Kevin Hill

Healio/Cardiology Today

Methylprednisolone does not reduce odds of poor outcomes in infant heart surgery

https://duke.is/6tpe6

November 6 — Kevin Hill

AHA Newsroom

Steroids during surgery may not be helpful for infants having heart bypass

https://duke.is/puftb

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

tctMD

PRECISE CT-Based Strategy Allows Clinicians to ‘Do Less’ for Stable Chest Pain

https://duke.is/5ye8w

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

Healio/Cardiology

Precision testing strategy strongly benefits stable patients with suspected CAD

https://duke.is/nschn

*also carried by Knowledgia News

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

Postsus (Spain)

Los pacientes con dolor torácico se benefician del enfoque de pruebas diagnósticas de precisión

https://duke.is/baes8

*also carried by 9 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

HeartFlow

Late-breaking Data Demonstrate AHA/ACC Guideline-directed CCTA ± FFRCT Precision Pathway is Superior to Traditional Testing

https://duke.is/4cq2c

*also carried by 38 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

News-Medical.net

New risk analysis strategy benefits chest pain patients compared to the usual testing approach

https://duke.is/9vzcg

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

AHA Newsroom

Personalized evaluation for chest pain effective, may eliminate unnecessary testing

https://duke.is/j3zkj

*also carried by 7 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

CRTOnline.org

Test Stratification Based on CAD Risk Reduces Need for Catheterization vs. Usual Testing in Patients with Chest Pain – PRECISE Trial

https://duke.is/gm23p

November 6 — Manesh Patel

Healio/Cardiology

VIDEO: Takeaways from AHA 2022 with Manesh R. Patel

https://duke.is/bcc6t

November 6 — Pamela Douglas

Applied Radiology

Risk-Analysis Strategy Best Approach for New-Onset Chest Pain Patients

https://duke.is/ygzbu

November 7 — Stephen Greene

Biospace.com

Cytokinetics Presents New Data at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022

https://duke.is/vwpyr

*also carried by 4 additional industry & scientific outlets

November 7 — Pamela Douglas

Cardiovascular Business

AI-powered CCTA outperforms usual care when evaluating stable chest pain

https://duke.is/rbcv4

*also carried by Roxx Cloud

November 7 — Stephen Greene

AJMC

Dr Stephen J. Greene: New VICTORIA Trial Data Show Benefit to Vericiguat In-Hospital Initiation

https://duke.is/n67n5

November 7 — Robert Mentz

Medical Dialogues

Torsemide Does Not Confer Any Survival Benefit Over Furosemide in HF: TRANSFORM HF Trial

https://duke.is/zxe4e

November 7 — Jonathan Piccini

tctMD

Botulinum Toxin Injections No Help for Postoperative AF: NOVA

https://duke.is/chpzs

November 7 — Manesh Patel

U.S. News & World Report

Experimental Pill May Be New Way to Control Cholesterol

https://duke.is/wdf73

*also carried by 249 additional outlets including by HealthDay, United Press International and in Chicago, Houston & Philadelphia

November 7 — Vishal Rao

tctMD

New Tool Assesses Risk in Acute HF Then Suggests Next Steps, Cutting Later Events

https://duke.is/jbq87

November 7 — Duke University (PRECISE study)

Spectrum News Carolinas

Strategy for diagnostic testing benefits chest pain patients

https://duke.is/rkexa

(*clip begins @ 11:00:25)

November 7 — Kevin Hill

Medscape

Steroids Fail to Deliver Clear Benefits in Infant Heart Surgery

https://duke.is/5qbuq

November 7 — Pamela Douglas

MDedge

Precision CAD testing shows 70% cut in composite risk at 1 year

https://duke.is/vm6jx

November 8 — Robert Mentz

UPI

Switching diuretics may not make a difference in treating heart failure

https://duke.is/z6sc6

November 8 — Robert Mentz

U.S.News & World Report

Study Compares 2 Common Diuretics Used in Heart Failure

https://duke.is/8duxp

November 8 — Pamela Douglas

Medpage Today

Precision Medicine Strategy Reduced Testing in Patients With Chest Pain

https://duke.is/cc68r

November 8 — Renato Lopes

Medpage Today

Anticoagulation Again Flops for Outpatient COVID-19

https://duke.is/6kdnc

November 9 — Jonathan Piccini

Medpage Today

Can Botox for the Heart Ward Off Afib After Cardiac Surgery?

https://duke.is/wrsb9

November 11 — Vishal Rao

Healio/Cardiology

In-hospital peer-to-peer consult may improve guideline-directed therapy in HFrEF

https://duke.is/9ssrt

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed October 27 – November 9, 2022

Adamson C, Kondo T, Jhund PS, de Boer RA, Cabrera Honorio JW, Claggett B, Desai AS, Alcocer Gamba MA, Al Habeeb W, Hernandez AF, Inzucchi SE, Kosiborod MN, Lam CSP, Langkilde AM, Lindholm D, Bachus E, Litwin SE, Martinez F, Petersson M, Shah SJ, Vaduganathan M, Nguyen Vinh P, Wilderäng U, Solomon SD, McMurray JJV. Dapagliflozin for heart failure according to body mass index: the DELIVER trial. Eur Heart J 2022 Nov 1;43(41):4406-4417. PM: 36029309.

Batra G, Lindbäck J, Becker RC, Harrington RA, Held C, James SK, Kempf T, Lopes RD, Mahaffey KW, Steg PG, Storey RF, Swahn E, Wollert KC, Siegbahn A, Wallentin L. Biomarker-Based Prediction of Recurrent Ischemic Events in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes. J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Nov 1;80(18):1735- 1747. PM: 36302586.

Blumenthal JA, Smith PJ, Jiang W, Hinderliter A, Watkins LL, Hoffman BM, Kraus WE, Mabe S, Liao L, Davidson J, Sherwood A. Exercise and Escitalopram in the Treatment of Anxiety in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: One Year Follow- Up of the UNWIND Randomized Clinical Trial. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 Sep 22;9(10):320. PM: 36286272.

Butler J, Anker SD, Lund LH, Coats AJS, Filippatos G, Siddiqi TJ, Friede T, Fabien V, Kosiborod M, Metra M, Piña IL, Pinto F, Rossignol P, van der Meer P, Bahit C, Belohlavek J, Böhm M, Brugts JJ, Cleland JGF, Ezekowitz J, Bayes-Genis A, Gotsman I, Goudev A, Khintibidze I, Lindenfeld J, Mentz RJ, Merkely B, Montes EC, Mullens W, Nicolau JC, Parkhomenko A, Ponikowski P, Seferovic PM, Senni M, Shlyakhto E, Cohen-Solal A, Szecsödy P, Jensen K, Dorigotti F, Weir MR, Pitt B. Patiromer for the management of hyperkalemia in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the DIAMOND trial. Eur Heart J 2022 Nov 1;43(41):4362-4373. PM: 35900838.

Butt JH, Kondo T, Jhund PS, Comin-Colet J, de Boer RA, Desai AS, Hernandez AF, Inzucchi SE, Janssens SP, Kosiborod MN, Lam CSP, Langkilde AM, Lindholm D, Martinez F, Petersson M, Shah SJ, Thierer J, Vaduganathan M, Verma S, Wilderäng U, Claggett BC, Solomon SD, McMurray JJV. Atrial Fibrillation and Dapagliflozin Efficacy in Patients With Preserved or Mildly Reduced Ejection Fraction. J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Nov 1;80(18):1705- 1717. PM: 36041668.

Campbell MM, Benjamin DK, Mann TK, Fist A, Blakemore A, Diaz KS, Kim H, Edwards LJ, Rak Z, Brookhart MA, Moore Z, Tilson EC, Kalu I, Boutzoukas AE, Moorthy GS, Uthappa D, Scott Z, Weber DJ, Shane AL, Bryant KA, Zimmerman KO. Test-to-Stay After SARS-CoV-2 Exposure: A Mitigation Strategy for Optionally Masked K-12 Schools. Pediatrics 2022 Nov 1;150(5):e2022058200. PM: 35971240.

Diamond J, DeVore AD. New Strategies to Prevent Rehospitalizations for Heart Failure. Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med 2022;24(12):199-212. PM: 36164396.

Dunbar TK, Olsen MK, Yang H, Kennedy D, Jackson LR, Thomas KL, Alkon A, Prose NS, Pollak KI. Characteristics Associated with Burnout among Cardiologists in an Academic Medical Setting: Baseline Survey Results from a Communication Coaching RCT. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022 Sep 27;12(10):362. PM: 36285931.

Fitch KV, McCallum SA, Erlandson KM, Overton ET, Zanni MV, Fichtenbaum C, Aberg JA, Fulda ES, Kileel EM, Moran LE, Bloomfield GS, Novak RM, Pérez-Frontera S, Abrams-Downey A, Pierone G, Kumarasamy N, Ruxrungtham K, Mngqibisa R, Douglas PS, Ribaudo HJ, Grinspoon SK. Diet in a global cohort of adults with HIV at low-to- moderate traditional cardiovascular disease risk. AIDS 2022 Nov 15;36(14):1997-2003. PM: 35876637.

Freedman NJ. From Colon to Aortic Aneurysm: Trek of the Treg. JACC Basic Transl Sci 2022 Sep 26;7(9):948- 950. PM: 36317127.

Fudim M, Shahid I, Emani S, Klein L, Dupuy- McCauley KL, Zieroth S, Mentz RJ. Evaluation and Treatment of Central Sleep Apnea in Patients with Heart Failure. Curr Probl Cardiol 2022 Dec;47(12):101364. PM: 35995244.

Gargiulo G, Giacoppo D, Jolly SS, Cairns J, Le May M, Bernat I, Romagnoli E, Rao SV, van Leeuwen MAH, Mehta SR, Bertrand OF, Wells GA, Meijers TA, Siontis GCM, Esposito G, Windecker S, Jüni P, Valgimigli M. Effects on Mortality and Major Bleeding of Radial Versus Femoral Artery Access for Coronary Angiography or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data From 7 Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trials. Circulation 2022 Nov;146(18):1329-1343. PM: 36036610.

Metkus TS, Baird-Zars VM, Alfonso CE, Alviar CL, Barnett CF, Barsness GW, Berg DD, Bertic M, Bohula EA, Burke J, Burstein B, Chaudhry SP, Cooper HA, Daniels LB, Fordyce CB, Ghafghazi S, Goldfarb M, Katz JN, Keeley EC, Keller NM, Kenigsberg B, Kontos MC, Kwon Y, Lawler PR, Leibner E, Liu S, Menon V, Miller PE, Newby LK, O’Brien CG, Papolos AI, Pierce MJ, Prasad R, Pisani B, Potter BJ, Roswell RO, Sinha SS, Shah KS, Smith TD, Snell RJ, So D, Solomon MA, Ternus BW, Teuteberg JJ, van Diepen S, Zakaria S, Morrow DA. Critical Care Cardiology Trials Network (CCCTN): a cohort profile. Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes 2022 Oct 26;8(7):703-708. PM: 36029517.

Minhas AMK, Jain V, Maqsood MH, Pandey A, Khan SS, Fudim M, Fonarow GC, Butler J, Khan MS. Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Failure, and Long-Term Mortality: Insights From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Curr Probl Cardiol 2022 Dec;47(12):101333. PM: 35901855.

Myhre PL, Prescott MF, Claggett B, Felker GM, Butler J, Piña IL, Maisel AS, Williamson KM, Ward JH, Solomon SD, Januzzi JL. Comparative Effect of Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibition on B-type Natriuretic Peptide Levels Measured by Three Different Assays: The PROVE-HF Study. Clin Chem 2022 Nov 3;68(11):1391-1398. PM: 36103292.

Park DY, Hanna JM, Kadian S, Kadian M, Jones WS, Damluji AA, Kochar A, Curtis JP, Nanna MG. In-hospital outcomes and readmission in older adults treated with percutaneous coronary intervention for stable ischemic heart disease. J Geriatr Cardiol 2022 Sep 28;19(9):631-642. PM: 36284680.

Salah HM, Verma S, Santos-Gallego CG, Bhatt AS, Vaduganathan M, Khan MS, Lopes RD, Al’Aref SJ, McGuire DK, Fudim M. Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors and Cardiac Remodeling. J Cardiovasc Transl Res 2022 Oct;15(5):944-956. PM: 35290593.

Siddiqi TJ, Ahmed A, Greene SJ, Shahid I, Usman MS, Oshunbade A, Alkhouli M, Hall ME, Murad MH, Khera R, Jain V, Van Spall HGC, Khan MS. Performance of current risk stratification models for predicting mortality in patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2022 Nov 8;29(15):2027-2048. PM: 35919956.

Siddiqi TJ, Khan Minhas AM, Greene SJ, Van Spall HGC, Khan SS, Pandey A, Mentz RJ, Fonarow GC, Butler J, Khan MS. Trends in Heart Failure-Related Mortality Among Older Adults in the United States From 1999-2019. JACC Heart Fail 2022 Nov;10(11):851-859. PM: 36328654.

Srinivasan ES, Wang TY, Rapoport A, Erickson MM, Abd-El-Barr MM, Shaffrey CI, Than KD. Minimally invasive lateral retroperitoneal transpsoas approach for lumbar corpectomy and fusion with posterior instrumentation. Neurosurg Focus Video 2022 Jul 1;7(1):V7. PM: 36284723.

Tomaszewski WH, Waibl-Polania J, Chakraborty M, Perera J, Ratiu J, Miggelbrink A, McDonnell DP, Khasraw M, Ashley DM, Fecci PE, Racioppi L, Sanchez-Perez L, Gunn MD, Sampson JH. Neuronal CaMKK2 promotes immunosuppression and checkpoint blockade resistance in glioblastoma. Nat Commun 2022 Oct 29;13(1):6483. PM: 36309495.

Vaduganathan M, Claggett BL, Jhund P, de Boer RA, Hernandez AF, Inzucchi SE, Kosiborod MN, Lam CSP, Martinez F, Shah SJ, Desai AS, Lindholm D, Petersson M, Langkilde AM, McMurray JJV, Solomon SD. Estimated Long-Term Benefit of Dapagliflozin in Patients With Heart Failure. J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Nov 8;80(19):1775-1784. PM: 36041669.

Vaios EJ, Batich KA, Buckley AF, Dunn-Pirio A, Patel MP, Kirkpatrick JP, Goudar R, Peters KB. Addendum: Resolution of radiation necrosis with bevacizumab following radiation therapy for primary CNS lymphoma. Oncotarget 2022 Oct 20;13:1165. PM: 36289014.

White EJ, Susman SJ, Bouffler A, Leahy JC, Griffin SM, Christenson R, Newby LK, Gordee A, Kuchibhatla M, Limkakeng AT. Predictors of Stress-Delta High-Sensitivity Troponin T in Emergency Department Patients Undergoing Stress Testing. Cureus 2022 Sep 26;14(9):e29601. PM: 36321030.

Yazdi D, Patel S, Ozonat K, Fudim M, Smith S, Centen C. Feasibility of a Cardiac Scale in Measuring Blood Pressure. J Cardiovasc Transl Res 2022 Oct;15(5):1212-1214. PM: 35396626.

Chief’s message:

This weekend is the kickoff of the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022 in person with a virtual component in Chicago.  The meeting has gotten off to a great start with many presentations of science from Duke Faculty and Fellows, opportunities to connect and see people in person, and in general get to participate and see science (much of which is not related to COVID).  The meeting also highlights for us the amazing colleagues, connections, and people that we have had through the years as part of the Duke Fellowship, Faculty, and research and clinical collaborations.  It is humbling to be the Chair for this years AHA Scientific Sessions. I was reminded as well about our mission and responsibility in the opening session for the AHA that included two US Surgeons General (Jerome Adams and Regina Benjamin), FDA Director Rob Califf, and AHA president Michelle Albert and World Heart Federation president Fausto Pinto.  These scientific session meetings and even our own meetings at Duke with our faculty and fellows to discuss clinical care and science have highlighted how energizing and reinvigorating in person engagement is for us all.

Highlights of the week:

Scientific Sessions Kicks Off in Chicago!

So many of our team members throughout Duke Heart and the Duke Clinical Research Institute have been preparing for the 2022 American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions and it’s finally here. We’ll have coverage this weekend and next to showcase as much of it as we can.

We are extremely proud of all the work – from the research done at (and in partnership with) Duke that will be presented during Sessions, to the effort that has gone into planning this event at the national level, to the work done to organize our annual presence in the Exhibit Hall – it takes a lot of planning and effort by a lot of people. On behalf of the Duke Heart leadership team, thank you.

We kick off our coverage this weekend with two of our late-breaking clinical trial presentations and close out with two award winners.

We hope those of you who have traveled to be in Chicago this weekend are having a great time. Once again, congratulations to all, and thank you for all that you do!

 

AHA.22 LBCT: Comparative Study of Two Heart Failure Drugs Finds No Difference in Outcomes

In a head-to-head comparison of two so-called ‘water pills’ that keep fluid from building up in patients with heart failure, the therapies proved nearly identical in reducing deaths, according to a large study led by Duke Health researchers.

The study compared the diuretics torsemide and furosemide that were prescribed to patients with heart failure starting in the hospital setting. While prior data suggested a potential reduction in deaths among patients taking torsemide, the current study found no such benefit, providing clarity for both doctors and patients.

“Given that the two different therapies provide the same effect on outcomes, we shouldn’t spend time switching patients from one to the other, and instead concentrate on giving the right dose and adjusting other therapies that have been proven to have long-term benefits,” said cardiologist Robert J. Mentz, MD, chief of the heart failure section in the Division of Cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine and member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Mentz was lead author of the study, called TRANSFORM-HF and funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He presented the findings as a late-breaking clinical trial yesterday at the American Heart Association’s 2022 Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

The study was designed as a direct comparison of loop diuretics, which are commonly prescribed to reduce the fluid buildup that causes swelling and breathing difficulties in patients with heart failure.

Mentz and colleagues enrolled more than 2,800 patients hospitalized with heart failure. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either torsemide or furosemide, and doctors determined the dosing. The study group was diverse, with women comprising 37% of participants and Black patients comprising 34%.

The main question was whether torsemide reduced patient deaths due to any cause over long-term follow-up (average of more than 17 months). The researchers found that death occurred in 373 of 1,431 study participants (26.1%) in the torsemide group and 374 of 1,428 patients (26.2%) in the furosemide group.

A secondary outcomes analysis looked at deaths or hospitalizations within 12 months, and again found little difference, with death or hospitalization occurring in 677 patients (47.3%) in the torsemide group and 704 patients (49.3%) in the furosemide group.

“This study has immediate clinical applications,” Mentz said. “Doctors spend a lot of time considering whether they will change from one diuretic to another, but there is no difference between the two for outcomes. This provides much-needed clarity. The insights from TRANSFORM-HF add to the evidence base that should help us improve patient care.”

In addition to Mentz, study authors include Kevin J. Anstrom, Eric L. Eisenstein, Shelly Sapp, Stephen J. Greene, Shelby Morgan, Jeffrey M. Testani, Amanda H. Harrington, Vandana Sachdev, Fassil Ketema, Dong-Yun Kim, Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, Bertram Pitt, and Eric J. Velazquez.

Congratulations to all TRANSFORM-HF team members – nicely done!

AHA.22 LBCT: Largest Randomized Trial Evaluates Steroids for Infant Heart Surgery

For more than four decades, doctors have been split on whether giving steroids during a pediatric open-heart surgery could be helpful for post-operative recovery. A new study is providing a bit more clarity, suggesting there are some benefits for certain kinds of patients.

Led by Duke Health researchers, the study was the largest trial designed to resolve the long-standing issue. More than 1,200 infants with heart disease were enrolled at 24 U.S. centers, with roughly half randomly assigned to receive steroids prior to heart surgeries, and the other half randomized to receive a placebo.

The main focus was whether prophylactic steroid use reduced any of more than a dozen complications, including death and heart transplant, compared to a placebo.

In the primary analysis, the researchers found no differences in the two groups, but steroid use was associated with elevated blood-sugar levels that required insulin therapy in some cases. Results showed 19% of participants using steroids required insulin therapy, compared to 8% in the placebo group. However, like many trials, the results were more nuanced and secondary analyses showed that some children might benefit.

The findings appear Nov. 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine and were presented this morning at the AHA’s 2022 Scientific Sessions.

Lead author of the study, Kevin Hill, MD, a member of the DCRI and chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine, described the nuances of the study. Secondary results suggested that patients with less complex cases might be the ones who do better with steroids.

“Steroids reduce inflammation, and their benefit may be highest in children undergoing less complex procedures where inflammation is manageable,” Hill said. “But when you have the most complicated patients with severe inflammation affecting multiple organ systems, using steroids is like throwing a glass of water on a forest fire, and they seem to have less impact.”

Jennifer S. Li, MD, is the senior author of the paper and a professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Medicine at Duke. She says there’s a need for further study.

“We need to hone in on the patients who can actually benefit most from steroid use and develop a targeted approach to using this medicine, so that we maximize its benefit and minimize adverse effects,” Li said.

The DCRI performed the trial administration, data management and statistical analyses. The study was performed as a “trial within a registry” leveraging the infrastructure of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database to conduct a low cost, pragmatic trial.

In addition to Hill and Li, study authors include, Prince J. Kannankeril, Jeffrey P. Jacobs, H. Scott Baldwin, Marshall L. Jacobs, Sean M. O’Brien, David P. Bichel, Eric M. Graham, Brian Blasiole, Ashraf Resheidat, Adil S. Husain, S. Ram Kumar, Jerry L. Kirchner, Dianne S. Gallup, Joseph W. Turek, Mark Bleiweis, Bret Mettler, Alexis Benscoter, Eric Wald, Tara Karamlou, Andrew H. Van Bergen, David Overman, Pirooz Eghtesady, Ryan Butts, John S. Kim, John P. Scott, Brett R. Anderson, Michael F. Swartz, Patrick I. McConnell, David F. Vener, and the STRESS Network Investigators.

Well done, team! Congratulations!

 

AHA.22: Presenters and Session Moderators

Between today and yesterday there were 35 Abstract Poster Session presentations by Duke Heart team members including Stephen Greene, Shahzeb Khan, Michelle Kelsey, Caitlin Drescher, Josephine Harrington, Michael Cosiano, Anand Shah, Jenn Rymer, Nishant Shah, and Conrad Hodgkinson – just to name a few.

Cardiology fellow Michael Cosiano presented “Comparing Patient Reported Outcomes and New York Heart Association Class Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure” during abstract poster sessions on Saturday. He is lead author on the paper that was simultaneously published in Circulation: Heart Failure. His co-authors include Andrew Vista, Jie-lena Sun, Brooke Alhanti, Josephine Harrington, Adrian Hernandez, Robert Mentz, Stephen Greene, et al. This paper earned Cosiano recognition as a Circulation: Heart Failure (Circ HF) “Emerging Investigator.” Circ HF editors will feature his work as part of their series highlighting young investigators—defined as individuals less than ten years out of training—in the fields of heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, cardiac transplantation, and pulmonary hypertension. Additionally, this paper will be the focus of an upcoming Twitter journal club sponsored by Circ HF. Way to go, Michael!

Internal Medicine resident Anand Shah presented findings on the study, “In-Hospital Virtual Peer-to-Peer Consultation to Improve Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy for Heart Failure: A Pilot Randomized Trial” which was a Duke Heart Failure team and hospitalist-led pilot program on multidisciplinary care for hospitalized patients with heart failure. The presentation was done during a poster session held yesterday. The study findings were published online earlier this week in Circulation: Heart Failure. ICYMI, Vishal Rao was interviewed by TCTMD about the team’s findings. The TCTMD article was published earlier this week and appears in our News section below. (This was Rao’s first phone interview related to his research and he did a great job explaining the work done by the team. Great job, Vishal!). Other authors on the study include Jamie McDermott, Stephanie Barnes, Evan Murray, Michelle Kelsey, Stephen Greene, Marat Fudim, Adam Devore, Mike Blazing, Cara O’Brien, and Rob Mentz.

Findings from the study, “Adoption of Sacubitril/Valsartan in Patients with Heart Failure with Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction: The AHA Get With the Guidelines – Heart Failure Registry,” were presented during a poster session yesterday by Duke internal medicine resident Jacob Pierce. His co-authors include Zhen Li, Melissa Greiner, Steven Lippmann, Natalie Chantelle Hardy, Robert Mentz, Emily O’Brien, and Stephen Greene. The team’s findings were simultaneously published in Circulation: Heart Failure.

Cardiology fellow Jessie Duran presented “Abnormal Exercise Electrocardiography With Normal Stress Echocardiography is Associated With Increased Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis: Insights From the Project Baseline Health Study” yesterday during an oral session. Duran highlighted residual cardiovascular risk in a group of patients with positive ECG but negative stress echo. Well done!

Additionally, plenty of our Duke team members served as moderators for sessions throughout the day Saturday. They included: Andrew Landstrom, Larry Jackson, Sreekanth Vemulapalli, Manesh Patel, Neha Pagidipati, Jennifer Rymer, Jason Katz, Bradi Granger, Adrian Hernandez, Howard Rockman, Emily O’Brien, L. Kristen Newby and Rob Mentz.

We have an outstanding presence at Sessions this year! Great work everyone.

 

AHA.22: Douglas, Shah Honored with Council Awards

We’re incredibly proud of Duke Heart team members Pamela Douglas, MD, and Svati Shah, MD. Both received awards last night during separate events at the AHA Scientific Sessions.

Douglas was selected to receive the James B. Herrick Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cardiology by the AHA’s Council on Clinical Cardiology. Douglas delivered the James B. Herrick Lecture as part of the AHA’s Council Named Lecture Series held during Sessions. The series features lectures from some of today’s foremost clinicians and researchers as well as those with a lifetime of

contributions to the field of cardiovascular disease. Congratulations, Pam!

Shah was selected to receive the Genomic and Precision Medicine Mentoring Award by the AHA’s Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine. It was presented to her last night during the Council’s annual reception held this year in the Field Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Congratulations, Svati!

 

 

Frazier-Mills to Co-Lead ABC EP Committee

We are excited to share that electrophysiologist Camille Frazier-Mills, MD has been named co-chair of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) Electrophysiology Committee. Her appointment is effective immediately and ends in April, 2024.

Congratulations, Camille! This is a tremendous honor!

 

 

 

 

CPR Performed by Duke Team Saves In-flight Passenger

Duke Heart CVSSU team member Kaitlyn Allen and her husband, Justin Allen, MD, a Duke hospitalist, were recently in Utah so that Justin could compete in the 2022 Half Ironman World Championship race held Oct. 29 in St. George. On Tuesday, Nov. 1 while flying home toward RDU, a medical emergency was declared approximately 40 minutes into their three-hour flight. Both were nearby when a flight attendant yelled for an AED; Kaitlyn saw a passenger lying on her back in the middle of the aisle in the cabin ahead of her.

She and Justin immediately ran to the passenger’s aid. When they arrived, another passenger – a pediatric physician assistant – was maintaining the passenger’s airway, but neither Kaitlyn nor the PA could feel a pulse. Kaitlyn immediately started chest compressions while Justin took over the airway and prepared the AED. After the second round of compressions, the patient began moving her arms and became responsive. The team then applied oxygen, the AED, and took a set of vitals. Another passenger who happened to be a medical ICU nurse provided a glucometer and a pulse oximeter. With the passenger’s vitals stable, Justin cleared the patient’s cervical spine and she was able to sit upright, and eventually get back into a seat.

Kaitlyn communicated directly with the pilot about the situation. Ultimately the passenger arrived in stable condition and upon landing was handed off to paramedics for further evaluation.

This was not the first time the Allen’s have been in an emergency situation together. The two worked together at Lakeland Health in St. Joseph, MI (Kaitlyn’s hometown) during Justin’s internal medicine residency. There, they worked together during rapid responses and code blues. Kaitlyn and Justin concur that it was their previous experiences that allowed them to operate as a cohesive unit during this in-flight emergency. Even in less-than-ideal conditions on a fully booked flight at 29,000 feet with limited medical equipment, they worked together quickly and professionally to save a fellow passenger’s life.

Great teamwork and use of CPR!

Shout-out to D’Amico, Antonia

We received a great message this week regarding a patient compliment for Tommy D’Amico and Scott Antonia:

“My experience in the hospital was excellent. All the personnel treated me extremely well. I am eternally appreciative to Dr. D’Amico and the dream team at Duke University Hospital. All the services of the hospital are excellent. My operation was a success & I am already recovered. My appreciation to Dr. D’Amico & Dr. Scott Antonia for all that they did for me. Thanks.” — a grateful patient (name withheld for privacy)

“Tommy and Scott, I was just delighted to read this lovely compliment about you both on our Patient Satisfaction Survey. Thank you for your excellence and compassion. You clearly made a difference in this patient’s life. Very best wishes, Lisa” — Lisa Clark Pickett, Chief Medical Officer, Duke University Hospital

Nice work!

Halloween Pics

The week started off with fun Halloween celebrations — check out this pumpkin carved by cardiology fellow Ilia Shadrin! That’s the Shadrin family dressed as The Incredibles, and Dennis Narcisse with his twin boys as dinosaurs. So adorable!

We love the holiday spirit shown by our Duke Heritage Cardiology team in Wake County. Your ‘Boo Crew’ t-shirts are awesome. What a great way to show your enthusiasm while providing amazing care to our patients. Great work!

Thank you to all who shared your holiday pics with us for Pulse. We love getting your submissions – please keep them coming.

Samuel L. Katz, doctor who helped develop measles vaccine, dies at 95

We were saddened this week to learn of the passing of our long-time Duke Health colleague, Dr. Sam Katz. A luminary in the field of infectious diseases and pediatrics, Katz was a beloved team member at Duke. His work has impacted millions although few of them may realize it. Our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and colleagues throughout the world.

Remembering Samuel L. Katz, MD

Samuel L. Katz, MD, died on Monday, October 31, 2022.

Dr. Katz was a world-renowned virologist, pediatrician, and chair emeritus and Wilburt C. Davison Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine. He was an honors graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School. After a medical internship at Beth Israel Hospital, he completed pediatrics residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by a research fellowship in virology and infectious diseases.

Dr. Katz then became a staff member at Children’s Hospital working with Nobel Laureate John F. Enders for the next 12 years researching viruses — specifically measles, a disease that at the time killed more than five to six million children each year globally. During this time, Drs. Katz and Enders developed an attenuated measles virus vaccine.

In 1960, David Morley, MD, a British physician working in Nigeria, where the effects of measles were far more severe than they were in the United States, contacted Dr. Katz. Together, they inoculated Nigerian children with the new vaccine, with successful results. Not long after, the vaccine was tested in national clinical trials, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1963, and is now used throughout the world.

In addition to the development of the measles vaccine, Dr. Katz worked extensively on a range of other vaccines, including vaccinia (used as smallpox vaccine), polio, rubella, influenza, pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae b conjugates, and HIV.

In 1968, Dr. Katz was appointed chair of the Duke Department of Pediatrics, where he served for 22 years. In addition to mentoring two decades of students and residents, he established an exchange program with Oxford University and provided training for an annual succession of residents from the American University of Beirut. Throughout his tenure he displayed genuine interest in his patients, faculty, and trainees, actively encouraging female and minority physicians and seeking to diversify the faculty.

“As he did for so many others, Dr. Katz had a profound influence on my career,” said School of Medicine Dean Mary E. Klotman, MD. “His commitment, passion, and warmth were infectious. Duke School of Medicine, Pediatrics, and the world are all the better because of him.”

“Dr. Katz has been a stellar role model for all of us, as a clinician, as a teacher, as an investigator, and as an advocate for children,” said Department of Pediatrics Chair Ann M. Reed, MD. “He set a high bar, advancing medicine in ways that have improved children’s health around the world–he is truly one of the outstanding pediatric investigators of our times.”

In addition to seeing patients and supporting faculty, Dr. Katz expanded his role as an advocate for vaccination. Experiencing firsthand the ways in which disease affects children living in resource-poor countries contributed to Dr. Katz’s lifelong advocacy, within the United States, and around the world. He chaired the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Vaccine Priorities Study of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and several World Health Organization (WHO) vaccine and HIV panels. He served on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Committee for AIDS Vaccines and co-chaired the India-U.S. Vaccine Action Program and the National Network for Immunization Information. In addition, he served as chair of the Public Policy Council of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), co-chaired IDSA’s Vaccine Initiative, and worked on behalf of UNICEF and the American Red Cross.

Dr. Katz earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including the inaugural Joseph St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award in 1988, the 2003 Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal awarded by the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and the 2015 Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement for his contributions to vaccine discoveries during his career.

Please see link to The Washington Post news brief about his death in our News section below.

Reminder: Voting Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8 and a list of polling locations can be found here. Visit the State Board of Elections website or vote.duke.edu for additional information. Please vote!!!

On Thursday, Nov. 10 from Noon – 1 p.m., the Duke State Relations team and Duke Health’s Government Relations team are offering a post-election briefing to discuss the outcomes of the 2022 Election, how it will impact Duke Health, and provide a preview of the 2023 legislative sessions in Raleigh and Washington, DC. This event will be moderated by Dev Sangvai, MD, interim president, Duke Regional Hospital. To participate via Zoom, visit https://duke.is/2eq4k.

CulturePulse 2022 — Be Heard

All Duke Health team members were emailed a link to the 2022 CulturePulse survey on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The brief survey is confidential, mobile-friendly, and simple to complete.

The survey link will remain open through Nov. 16; you can also find it via the QR code you’ll see on digital signage and printed flyers around Duke.

CulturePulse is a way for team members to share their feedback about what’s going well and what could be improved at Duke Health. Please participate and encourage your team members to do so as well. You will receive automatic reminders about the survey until you complete it or it closes. This is a great opportunity for all of us to have our voices heard.

 

ORA Holiday Deadlines

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) will operate with reduced staff during the holiday season to allow team members time to recharge. During this period, please plan as far in advance as possible.

To help ORA respond as timely as possible to your needs, please plan in advance based on the following:

Thanksgiving Day and the Friday After

If you need something processed BEFORE the Thanksgiving holiday, please have it submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, November 17. Otherwise, if it can wait, ORA will process it the following week (beginning November 28).

Last two weeks of December

For any transactions with due dates between December 19 – January 2, please have them submitted in ready-form to ORA by Thursday, December 15 to ensure there is adequate time and staffing to respond to your needs.

Please note: the next NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is Jan. 5, 2023, and the internal deadline is 8 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2022. Because this deadline falls in the last two weeks in December when ORA will be operating with reduced staff and because these award mechanisms are usually complex and require careful institutional coordination before submission:

1. Please complete Intent to Submit for all planned SBIR/STTR applications no later than Dec. 5, 2022; and
2. Please plan to route a submission-ready application no later than Dec. 15, 2022; if more time is needed, please submit a late waiver request so that ORA can plan for appropriate coverage to support these applications.

For anything submitted in the last two weeks of December that can wait until after the holiday break, ORA will be back up to speed with a full team on Jan. 3, 2023 and will look forward to managing all pending issues at that time.

This has been another year of tremendous growth in research at Duke. The Office of Research Administration thanks you for your continued partnership in support of Duke’s research mission and they send warm holiday wishes to all!

 

Matters of Grief: Grief Symposium 2022

The Duke Health Office of Culture and Well-being is offering Grief Symposium 2022 on Tues., Nov. 15 and a panel discussion on Wed., Nov. 16. Please consider joining for one or more events (most are virtual) in which they and participants will explore the many aspects of grief, including common grief reactions, how to support those who are grieving, professional grief, grief around loss of function or role, disenfranchised grief, rituals that may help us in the grieving process, and how to turn grief into positive action. Register here (please use your Duke e-mail to complete your registration).

• Grief Symposium: Tues., Nov. 15, noon-2 p.m.
• Grief Panel Discussion: Wed., Nov. 16, 1-2 p.m.
• Small Group Interactive Activities: Wed-Fri, 11/16-11/18. These will include: Somatic Body Work, Narrative Writing, Mandala Art, and Restorative Circles: Personal Grief, Pet Grief, and Gun Violence.

To learn more, please visit: https://cultureandwellbeing.dukehealth.org/grief-toolkit-symposium. A link to last year’s symposium is available on that page.

 

Additional Reminders:

• It is vital that we remain vigilant with masking, hand hygiene, PPE, and other safe behaviors to prevent the spread of infection. Please pay special attention to the proper wearing and securing of gowns and be mindful of PPE compliance. Thank you for all you do to keep everyone safe and healthy.
• November is American Diabetes Month, Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, and National COPD Awareness Month. Thanks for all you do to help patients with these conditions!
• The deadline for staff flu vaccinations is Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. Vaccination sites for faculty and staff can be found here: https://flu.duke.edu/vaccination/employees/

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

November 8: Topic, presenter TBD. Watch your email for the Zoom link!

CME & Other Events

November 8: Election Day. Please vote!

November 8: DOM Research Quality Town Hall. Topic: 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. 12-1 p.m. via Zoom. Register here. You must register to receive the Zoom link for the event.

November 14: Prostate Cancer & CVD Symposium, Webinar 4. Final of a four-part webinar series. Collaboration between the International Cardio-Oncology Society & Duke Heart. Noon, Eastern. Free. To register visit https://duke.is/ptjbs.

 

Call for abstracts: 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference

The virtual poster submission period for the 2023 Duke Health Quality and Safety Conference is now open. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, Dec. 14. The 2023 Conference will be held the weeks of March 13 and 20, with an in-person event on Thursday, March 23.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please click here.

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:

October 27 — Duke Clinical Research Institute

Reuters

U.S. government to test Pfizer’s Paxlovid for long COVID

https://duke.is/7nbtf

October 28 — Duke Health

CBS17.com

450+ turn out for Duke Health event to help caregivers in Durham

https://duke.is/g9zvx

October 28 — Joseph Turek and the Sinnamon family

KALB-TV (Alexandria, LA)

Health headlines: First-of-its-kind heart and thymus surgery proves successful

https://duke.is/ga2km

October 28 — Duke Health

Becker’s Hospital Review

4 recent Paxlovid updates

https://duke.is/vfeed

October 28 — Duke Clinical Research Institute

MSN/Washington Examiner

NIH to use Pfizer’s Paxlovid to study causes of long COVID

https://duke.is/m6t8h

October 31 — Jonathan Piccini

Patientcareonline.com

Black Patients with Afib Significantly Less Likely to Receive Oral Anticoagulation at Hospital Discharge

https://duke.is/8cpbk

October 31 — Joseph Turek and the Sinnamon family

WFMZ-TV (Allentown, PA)

Doctors pioneer a heart transplant technique involving another life-saving procedure

https://duke.is/2hzxe

November 2 — Betty Tong

WNCN-CBS17.com

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month; Duke doctor recommends screening

https://duke.is/zq27k

November 3 — Samuel Katz (pediatrics)

The Washington Post

Samuel L. Katz, doctor who helped develop measles vaccine, dies at 95

https://duke.is/mrcde