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Duke Heart Pulse Week ending September 12th 2021

September 12, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

We all spent the week and weekend remembering 9-11 and all of the Heros, first responders, and brave Americans that have subsequently supported our country at home and abroad. We will always remember the sacrifice and impact on the lives of so many. We hope you all had time this weekend to be with family and friends and reflect on this moment.

Next week we will have updates from our colleagues presentations at the National Heart Failure Society meeting.

Duke Performs First Pediatric DCD Heart Transplant in U.S.

Surgeons at Duke University Hospital successfully performed a “donation after circulatory death” (DCD) heart transplant in a pediatric patient, demonstrating the potential expansion of eligible donor hearts for children with heart failure.

The transplant occurred Aug. 31 and is the first pediatric patient in the U.S. to undergo a DCD transplant using the organ preservation technology developed by Transmedics. A small number of children received early versions of DCD transplant — which uses organs that are retrieved from donors with no cardio-respiratory function — starting in the 1980s, but the method had limitations.

The organ preservation technology, which maintains the heart’s pumping action, received FDA approval this week for adult heart donations after brain death. For their 14-year-old patient, Duke surgeons received a special compassionate use approval from the FDA to use the technology for the DCD transplant.

“This is a landmark achievement for children with end-stage heart failure,” said Joseph Turek, M.D., Ph.D., chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Duke who, along with Benjamin Bryner, M.D., retrieved the donated organs. Nick Andersen, M.D., and Jacob Schroder, M.D., led the eight-hour surgery, which also included a team of nurses, perfusionists and anesthesiologists.

“Children are, unfortunately, an underserved population when it comes to innovation, adaptation of technology and clinical trials,” Turek said. “It is our duty to advocate for them and to continue to advance the care in pediatric medicine.”

Duke has been a leader in DCD transplantation. In 2019, Duke surgeons performed the first adult DCD heart transplant in the United States and led the nation in DCD heart transplants as part of a clinical trial that contributed to the company’s FDA application for approval.

“This case highlights how Duke is uniquely suited to pioneer innovations in pediatric heart transplantation, due to our close collaboration and teamwork with the renowned adult heart transplant team,” Andersen said.

While the DCD technology cannot yet be used for the smallest children, it could potentially be adapted to older youngsters. At Duke alone, the method could be indicated for as many as five children a year. Having this option could significantly reduce the amount of time children spend waiting for a donor heart.

“It’s heartbreaking that children die while waiting for a heart transplant, and every advancement that makes more hearts available is one that saves lives,” said Schroder, director of Duke’s heart transplant program. “We are eager to explore all options that give children and their families hope.”

The pediatric patient, Jaynzra “Nae” Rice, is a 14-year-old who was born with a gene deletion syndrome and can’t verbally communicate what she’s experiencing. Hospitalized at Duke earlier this year with breathing difficulties, she received an LVAD – a left ventricular assist device that helps the heart pump – and spent three months in the hospital.

Nae’s mother, Brandaline Rice, said she feared not knowing what was going to come next for her daughter. But about three months after the hospital discharge, the family received word Nae was eligible for the first pediatric DCD heart transplant.

Since the Aug. 31 procedure, Nae continues to improve. While the teen still has a long journey ahead with rehab, her mom has faith in her fighting spirit. The family looks forward to Nae getting back to riding the bus to school and enjoying time with her 10-year-old sister.

“God grants second chances,” Brandaline said of her daughter’s journey to become the first child to receive this kind of procedure.

2021 Quality Awards from AHA

We are very excited to share with you the following American Heart Association 2021 Quality Awards recently achieved by our teams at Duke University Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital and the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The awards are based on 2020 data.

Duke University Hospital

GWTG AFIB, Bronze
Mission: Lifeline STEMI, Gold Receiving Plus
Mission: Lifeline NSTEMI, Gold
GWTG Heart Failure, Gold Plus
GWTG Heart Failure, Target HF Honor Roll
GWTG Heart Failure, Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
GWTG Stroke, Gold Plus
GWTG Stroke, Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll
GWTG Stroke, Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Duke Raleigh Hospital

GWTG Stroke, Gold Plus
GWTG Stroke, Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll
GWTG Stroke, Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Durham VAMC*

Mission: Lifeline NSTEMI, Silver

*Currently, there are nine VA Hospitals across the U.S. participating in at least one GWTG program. Just one of them is participating in GWTG CAD, and that is the Durham VAMC.

Congrats to Sunil Rao, his team at the VA, and to all Duke Heart team members for the work you do each day to help us achieve these award levels. Great job!

Shout-out to Mall

We received the following note this week regarding Anna Mall, clinical lead in the cath lab:

“Thank you for staying late last night to help get the final cases completed. I think that you showed true leadership by pitching-in and doing whatever it took to move things forward. Your “can do” good natured attitude was not lost on the staff nor me for that matter. Also, being thoughtful enough to provide food was even more special as everyone was clearly tired and hungry, but willing to work with a good attitude; I think that was a reflection on you! Great Job.” — Larry Crawford

Way to go, Anna!

CGR Kick-off with Lefkowitz, Sept. 14

Don’t miss Robert Lefkowitz, MD as our opening presenter of Cardiology Grand Rounds (CGR) on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. The title of his talk is, A Few Things I’ve Learned Along the Way. The event will be held via Webex. This will be an hour well spent!

SingHealth Duke-NUS Scientific Congress

The 6th SingHealth Duke-NUS Scientific Congress will be held Sept. 17-18 on a virtual platform. Geoffrey Ginsburg will give the keynote lecture, The Forefront of Precision Medicine: Local and Global Opportunities. Ginsburg is also scheduled to speak during the Genomics Symposium, Precision Medicine: The New Paradigm during the event. He is presenting Harnessing Host Response Genomics for Early Detection and Diagnosis. For the full program and to learn more, please visit: https://bit.ly/3tAXjZ1.

ESC Congress Follow-up

Renato Lopes presented several high profile sessions during the recent European Society of Cardiology Congress. Lopes presented on the PRONOUNCE trial in the Late-Breaking Clinical Trials session and discussed both the Envisage-TAVI and Amulet-IDE trials, also during LBCT sessions. He provided the following photos for Pulse –he was one of only a few Americans to join the Congress in person this year.

Also during the LBCT sessions, Jon Piccini presented on the Micra Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) Study, the largest evaluation of leadless pacemakers to date, which showed the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System was associated with a 38 percent reduction in reinterventions and a 31 percent reduction in chronic complications at 2-years compared with traditional transvenous pacemakers.

“There is considerable evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of leadless pacemakers, but limited data evaluating their long-term outcomes compared to traditional pacemakers in a real-world setting,” said Piccini. “The results from this study further support the connection of a lower risk of complications with leadless pacing compared with traditional transvenous single chamber pacing. These data should help guide physicians as they determine the best pacing options for their patients.”

Pam Douglas gave several important talks on the future of cardiac imaging including the role of AI and ways in which anatomic imaging will be dominant.

We had terrific representation this year at ESC — great work by all Duke presenters!

2021 Heart Walk Seeking Team Captains, Walkers

The Triangle Heart Walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 10. Recruitment of team captains and walkers for Duke Health is underway. Start your own team or join an existing one. Registration is quick and easy: simply visit triangleheartwalk.org/dukehealth2021. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to email Kimberly Burrows, senior director of development for the Triangle AHA, at kimberly.burrows@heart.org.

Due to pandemic circumstances, teams and walkers will decide their own walking path. The American Heart Association will have “pop-up” start lines at various locations throughout the Triangle (locations yet to be announced) or you can choose to walk on your own, wherever is most convenient to you.

We are looking for more teams to represent Duke Heart! Please join us!

Flu Vaccination Update

Duke University Health System (DUHS) requires all healthcare workers to comply with our Healthcare Worker Flu Vaccination policy by either being vaccinated annually against the flu or receiving an approved exemption. This is in alignment with our core value of “caring for our patients, their loved ones and each other.” Annual policy compliance is a condition of employment for all DUHS team members. Annual vaccination or policy compliance is also a condition of access to Duke Health facilities, including information systems, for those holding clinical privileges in a Duke Health facility and learners who wish to train in our facilities.

Please note these key dates for the upcoming flu vaccination season:

Launch of Flu Vaccination Season is Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021.
Applications for Medical or Religious Exemption should be submitted before Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. This will allow sufficient time for review and for communication of the review decision. Please note: Due to the availability of an egg-free formulation of the flu vaccine, egg allergy is not a reason for a medical exemption.
Policy compliance through vaccination or granted medical or religious exemption by Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, at 10 a.m.
More info available here: https://bit.ly/3lm5XXR

Timeline Reminder: COVID vaccination

Whitted Retirement Celebration Held

Thanks to all who were able to join us in celebrating with Lorraine Whitted. Her last day at Duke was Thursday, September 9, 2021. Lorraine is retiring after 44 years of service at Duke. We wish her all the best!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 14: CGR Kick-off event: A Few Things I’ve Learned Along the Way with Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, James B. Duke Professor of Medicine; Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 5 p.m., Webex.

September 21: ESC 2021 Recap with Bernard Gersh (Mayo Clinic) and Christopher Granger. 5 p.m., Webex.

September 28: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Guidelines and Treatment Update with Andrew Wang. 7:15 a.m., Webex.

October 5: Critical Care Cardiology in the 21^st Century with Anthony Carnicelli. 5 p.m. Webex.

October 12: Lessons from ADAPTABLE and PREVENTABLE: Is Pragmatism the Answer? with Schuyler Jones. 5 p.m. Webex.

Upcoming Duke Heart CME

October 8: Duke Heart Failure Symposium: The Leading Edge of Heart Failure Management. Course directors are Richa Agarwal and Robert Mentz. 12 – 4:30 p.m. Zoom Webinar. To learn more and to register, please visit: http://duke.is/Q1sBtf

November 5: 13^th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium. Course directors are H. James Ford (UNC) and Terry Fortin. 8:30 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. Morning case-based workshops will be live, in person at Durham Convention Center (subject to change pending pandemic conditions). Masks and COVID vaccination required. Afternoon portion will be held via Zoom. For more information and to register, please visit: https://bit.ly/3DrZwuv.

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.

Duke Heart in the News:

September 1 — Andrew Landstrom

tctMD

Genetic Testing for CVD in Children: AHA Statement Suggests Focus on Multidisciplinary Care

http://duke.is/u8Kb7p

September 1 — Edward Chen

Duke Chronicle

‘He’s done so well’: Recipient of first new generation heart transplant is recovering as expected

http://duke.is/GwrQre

September 2 — Manesh Patel

Charlotte Observer

Delta surge is hitting NC hospitals hard. I saw it as an ER heart patient.

http://duke.is/MQQeMT

September 3 — E. Magnus Ohman

Medscape

Antiplatelets and Anticoagulation Post-PCI: More on MASTER DAPT

http://duke.is/pticuD

September 3 — Jonathan Piccini

Medscape

Micra Leadless Pacemaker Holds Up at 2 Years in Real-World Use

http://duke.is/iXLqWr

September 4 — Vanessa Blumer

WUVP-TV 17 (Univision, Philadelphia, PA)

Duke esta desarrollando el estudio COVID mas grande a nivel nacional, la meta es poder estudiar en este ano mas de 15.000 pacientes

No link available

September 7 — Neha Pagidipati

Healio/Cardiology

Web app for self-prescription of statins 96% concordant with physician reviewers

http://duke.is/eC7xvR

September 7 — Neha Pagidipati

Medpage Today

‘Self-Service’ Statin Prescribing? Study Suggests It’s Possible

http://duke.is/tnrXzV

September 8 — Jacob Schroder

Impact Lab

First Successful Transplant of a Robotic Heart

http://duke.is/JAQ2vJ

September 8 — Adrian Hernandez

Wired

Better Data on Ivermectin Is Finally on Its Way

http://duke.is/WFjyhB

September 8 — Jacob Schroder

Cardiovascular Business

FDA approves new solution for preserving hearts before transplantation

http://duke.is/WRZ96S

September 8 — Michelle Kelsey

U.S. News & World Report

AHA News: How a Simple Tape Measure May Help Predict Diabetes in Black Adults

http://duke.is/ZdD57d

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed September 2‒8, 2021

Califf RM, Zarin DA. Monitoring the Pediatric Clinical Trials Enterprise. Pediatrics 2021;148(3):e2021051589. PM: 34465589.

Carnicelli AP, Clare R, Hofmann P, Chiswell K, DeVore AD, Vemulapalli S, Felker GM, Sarocco P, Mentz RJ. Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction After a Recent Worsening Heart Failure Event. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(17):e021276. PM: 34472362.

Chouairi F, Fuery M, Clark KA, Mullan CW, Stewart J, Caraballo C, Clarke JD, Sen S, Guha A, Ibrahim NE, Cole RT, Holaday L, Anwer M, Geirsson A, Rogers JG, Velazquez EJ, Desai NR, Ahmad T, Miller PE. Evaluation of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cardiac Transplantation. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(17):e021067. PM: 34431324.

Fanaroff AC, Yang L, Nathan AS, Khatana SAM, Julien H, Wang TY, Armstrong EJ, Treat-Jacobson D, Glaser JD, Wang G, Damrauer SM, Giri J, Groeneveld PW. Geographic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Major Lower Extremity Amputation Rates in Metropolitan Areas. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(17):e021456. PM: 34431320.

Gerstein HC, Sattar N, Rosenstock J, Ramasundarahettige C, Pratley R, Lopes RD, Lam CSP, Khurmi NS, Heenan L, Del Prato S, Dyal L, Branch K. Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes with Efpeglenatide in Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med 2021;385(10):896-907. PM: 34215025.

Greene SJ, Khan MS. Practical and Evidence-Based Approaches to In-Hospital Decongestion for Heart Failure: Are We There Yet? JACC Heart Fail 2021;9(9):649-652. PM: 34246608.

Gumus Balikcioglu P, Ramaker ME, Mason KA, Huffman KM, Johnson JL, Ilkayeva O, Muehlbauer MJ, Freemark M, Kraus WE. Branched-Chain Amino Acid Catabolism and Cardiopulmonary Function Following Acute Maximal Exercise Testing in Adolescents. Front Cardiovasc Med 2021;8:721354. PM: 34485418.

Ibrahim NE, Felker GM. Don’t Be So Fast to Discard That Clean Catch! JACC Heart Fail 2021;9(9):624-626. PM: 34246605.

Johnson CS, Shively C, Michalson KT, Lea AJ, DeBo RJ, Howard TD, Hawkins GA, Appt SE, Liu Y, McCall CE, Herrington DM, Ip EH, Register TC, Snyder-Mackler N. Contrasting effects of Western vs Mediterranean diets on monocyte inflammatory gene expression and social behavior in a primate model. Elife 2021;10:10.7554/eLife.68293. PM: 34338633.

Lopez-Ayala P, Nestelberger T, Boeddinghaus J, Koechlin L, Ratmann PD, Strebel I, Gehrke J, Meier S, Walter J, Rubini Gimenez M, Mutschler E, Miró Ò, López-Barbeito B, Martín-Sánchez FJ, Rodríguez-Adrada E, Keller DI, Newby LK, Twerenbold R, Giannitsis E. Novel Criteria for the Observe-Zone of the ESC 0/1h-hs-cTnT Algorithm. Circulation 2021;144(10):773-787. PM: 34376064.

Moeller S, Hansen CM, Kragholm K, Dupre ME, Sasson C, Pearson DA, Tyson C, Jollis JG, Monk L, Starks MA, McNally B, Thomas KL, Becker L, Torp-Pedersen C, Granger CB. Race Differences in Interventions and Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in North Carolina, 2010 to 2014. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(17):e019082. PM: 34431375.

Pillsbury MKM, Mwangi E, Andesia J, Njuguna B, Bloomfield GS, Chepchumba A, Kamano J, Mercer T, Miheso J, Pastakia SD, Pathak S, Thakkar A, Naanyu V, Akwanalo C, Vedanthan R. Human-centered implementation research: a new approach to develop and evaluate implementation strategies for strengthening referral networks for hypertension in western Kenya. BMC Health Serv Res 2021;21(1):910. PM: 34479556.

Ruchman SG, Delong AK, Kamano JH, Bloomfield GS, Chrysanthopoulou SA, Fuster V, Horowitz CR, Kiptoo P, Matelong W, Mugo R, Naanyu V, Orango V, Pastakia SD, Valente TW, Hogan JW, Vedanthan R. Egocentric social network characteristics and cardiovascular risk among patients with hypertension or diabetes in western Kenya: a cross-sectional analysis from the BIGPIC trial. BMJ Open 2021;11(9):e049610. PM: 34475172.

Shah P, Agbor-Enoh S, Tunc I, Hsu S, Russell S, Feller E, Shah K, Rodrigo ME, Najjar SS, Kong H, Pirooznia M, Fideli U, Bikineyeva A, Marishta A, Bhatti K, Yang Y, Mutebi C, Yu K, Kyoo Jang M, Marboe C, Berry GJ, Valantine HA. Response by Shah et al to Letter Regarding Article, “Cell-Free DNA to Detect Heart Allograft Acute Rejection”. Circulation 2021;144(10):e198-e199. PM: 34491771.

Shern JF, Selfe J, Izquierdo E, Patidar R, Chou HC, Song YK, Yohe ME, Sindiri S, Wei J, Wen X, Rudzinski ER, Barkauskas DA, Lo T, Hall D, Linardic CM, Hughes D, Jamal S, Jenney M, Chisholm J, Brown R, Jones K, Hicks B, Angelini P, George S, Chesler L. Genomic Classification and Clinical Outcome in Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Report From an International Consortium. J Clin Oncol 2021;39(26):2859-2871. PM: 34166060.

Simonin M, Rocca JD, Gerson JR, Moore E, Brooks AC, Czaplicki L, Ross MRV, Fierer N, Craine JM, Bernhardt ES. Consistent declines in aquatic biodiversity across diverse domains of life in rivers impacted by surface coal mining. Ecol Appl 2021;31(6):e02389. PM: 34142402.

Varshney AS, Minhas AMK, Bhatt AS, Ambrosy AP, Fudim M, Vaduganathan M. Contemporary Burden of Primary Versus Secondary Heart Failure Hospitalizations in the United States. Am J Cardiol 2021;156:140-142. PM: 34315568.

Wang T, Douglas PS, Reza N. Gender Gaps in Salary and Representation in Academic Internal Medicine Specialties in the US. JAMA Intern Med 2021;181(9):1255-1257. PM: 34251403.

Weissler EH, Naumann T, Andersson T, Ranganath R, Elemento O, Luo Y, Freitag DF, Benoit J, Hughes MC, Khan F, Slater P, Shameer K, Roe M, Hutchison E, Kollins SH, Broedl U, Meng Z, Wong JL, Curtis L, Huang E, Ghassemi M. Correction to: The role of machine learning in clinical research: transforming the future of evidence generation. Trials 2021;22(1):593. PM: 34488840.

Duke Heart Week Ending 9-5-2021

September 5, 2021 / Leave a comment

In Memoriam: Roger Gammon, MD

We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing last weekend of Dr. Roger Gammon, an interventional cardiologist who trained at Duke and spent his career in Austin, TX. Prior to his retirement earlier this year, he served as director of the Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Research at Austin Heart. Gammon died in Austin on Sunday, August 29 after a brief illness. He was 61 years old.

Gammon did his clinical cardiology fellowship and interventional cardiovascular fellowship training at Duke from 1988 to 1992. He then went into practice at Austin Heart where he had been recruited by Dr. George Rodgers.

Born in Paola, KS, Gammon excelled as a scholar and athlete. He went on to become valedictorian of Drexel High School’s class of 1978 having lettered in three sports, serving as class president, band president and president of the National Honor Society. Gammon entered the University of Missouri – Kansas City where he would complete a B.A. in biology, become a University Scholar and go on to attend UM-Kansas City School of Medicine. His internship and residency were completed at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he also served as chief resident prior to joining the Duke fellowship.

A letter of recommendation for his entry to Duke’s fellowship program mentions, “He is quiet, but not shy, very practical, down to earth and effective in dealing with people. He is well read and knowledgeable and is generally regarded as one of the very best residents in his group.”

During his training at Duke, Gammon spent dedicated research time in the laboratory of Richard S. Stack, MD, professor emeritus at Duke and president of Synecor, LLC.

“Roger stood out as one of the most outstanding fellows that I ever had the privilege of training. Not only was he incredibly skillful in performing interventional procedures, but he also spent a dedicated year with me in my research laboratory developing the first bioabsorbable stent in the world,” said Stack. “Further, we took that to the discovery of placing drugs into the polymer that would prevent restenosis. Importantly, this research led directly to the use of polymers on metal stents that were used to deliver antiproliferative drugs that were applied directly to one of the most popular and successful drug-eluting stents of all time. This research was combined with the engineering efforts of Guidant Corporation to result directly in the development of the Xience stent, which by the end of last year, had been placed in 50 million people in the U.S. and around the world.”

We extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Laura (a former Duke CCU nurse), their children and extended family members, and to his many friends and colleagues, particularly those at Austin Heart.

Dr. Gammon was an active member of DUCCS and is remembered fondly by many Duke alums – here and throughout the U.S.

Here are some of their thoughts:

“Roger was just a great human being. Kind, generous, really funny. I have some really good Gammon stories. He was very generous to the new fellows in the cath lab, including myself, in terms of his time and his teaching. He was really excellent, technically, and a very good physician. I would run into him every so often at various investigator meetings and at the professional society meetings. He always had a big smile and was always happy to reconnect. He enjoyed what he did and was very good at it. He truly was all the things that are good about being a Duke fellow. He had all of the characteristics: he worked hard, was smart, collegial, collaborative, and he had a really great sense of humor. He always lightened the situation.” – Robert A. Harrington, MD, Arthur L. Bloomfield Professor of Medicine and Chair, Department of Medicine at Stanford University

“I entered my training a little before Roger did, but we overlapped here at Duke and I remember him well. I recall Roger as a great team player. He was always there to support his fellows. His patient care was impeccable. He was truly committed to his patients and provided excellent care – some of the best I’ve seen. Not only was he a gifted clinician, he was just a great guy.” – Mike Sketch, MD

“I remember him as one of the nicest and most competent interventional fellows ever. He was a favorite among his peers and with the staff in general. What a tragic loss.” — Thomas Bashore, MD

“Roger came to Duke as a cardiology fellow in 1988, as one of the early stars from UT Southwestern, where he had been chief resident. We remember him as soft spoken, friendly, and an astute clinician. He also was an excellent actor in the cath lab fellow skit, where he cut quite a figure in tights! He completed his fellowship in 1992 and returned to Texas, where he stayed active and loyal as a Duke alumnus. He was a beloved member of the Duke Cardiology family, and we will miss him.” — Christopher Granger, MD

“Roger was very quiet, a gentle person – understated. He always did the right thing. He did some really innovative research while working under Richard Stack. What was interesting to me was he went into private practice after his fellowship, but he actually continued to do high level phase 3 research. He recruited another one of our fellows, Frank Zidar, to his practice later on and the two of them worked really hard together keeping up with academic research work and clinical trials. Roger was always participating in the DUCCS meetings and remained active in DUCCS throughout his career. I really enjoyed working with him in the cath lab during his training. He was a really terrific guy.” – E. Magnus Ohman, MD

Service/memorial information for Dr. Gammon was not available at the time of this posting, but we will share more when we are able to do so.

Lorraine Whitted Retirement; 44 Years of Service in Heart Care

Lorraine Whitted, administrative assistant/Health Unit Coordinator for Duke Heart, will be retiring on September 9 after 44 years of service at Duke. Lorraine has worked in Heart services since 1977 in varying roles including Health Unit Coordinator (HUC), HUC Supervisor, Unit Service Coordinator, Staff Specialist, and her most recent role of Administrative Assistant/HUC Supervisor.

Throughout her time at Duke, she coordinated many Heart Center related projects, assisted with grant writing, and served on the Duke Hospital HUC Council. She was nominated three times for the highly esteemed Susan B. Clark Administrative Leadership award.

Lorraine is known for her positive approach to work, willingness to help others, and serving as an expert resource internally and externally to Heart Services. Congratulations, Lorraine and thank you for your many years of service at Duke! You will be missed!

2021 HF Collaboratory/HFSA Research Awards Announced

Congratulations to the Duke Heart Failure Research Cluster and the following individuals for receiving 2021 HF Collaboratory/HFSA Research Awards! These awards recognize top Research Sites, Principal Investigators and Site Coordinators and will be presented during the HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting in Denver on September 11.

Top Principal Investigators

Tracy DeWald, PharmD for TRANSFORM – HF

Top Site Coordinators

Kim Biever for TRANSFORM – HF, REHAB-HF
Inneke Johnson for Splanchnic Nerve Blockage in Acute HF and Splanchnic Nerve Blockage in Chronic HF

Top Research Sites

Duke University

PI: Tracy DeWald, PharmD

TRANSFORM-HF, CONNECT-HF

Site Coordinator: Kim Biever

Duke University

PI: Robert Mentz, MD; Intervention Leader: Amy Pastva, PhD

REHAB-HF

Site Coordinator: Kim Biever

Duke University

PI: Kishan Parikh, MD

SPIRRIT-HFpEF

Site Coordinator: Kim Biever

Wow!!! Great work, everyone!

Loring Selected for NIH/SBIR Grant Funding

Congratulations to Zak Loring, a fellow in our Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology training program! We learned that he has received official notification that a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant that he submitted to the National Institutes of Health, in partnership with a company called Huxley Medical, Inc., has been funded. The grant title is Non-invasive hemodynamic sensor patch for remote, early detection and prevention of heart failure with left bundle branch block and will be a prospective study cross-validating a novel, multi-modal patch sensor against echocardiography to identify upstream predictors of cardiomyopathy development in left bundle branch block patients.

Loring petitioned the School of Medicine and has been granted PI status for the project as well. Great work, Zak, way to go!

Lefkowitz to Kick-off CGR on Sept. 14

We are pleased to welcome Robert Lefkowitz, MD as our opening presenter of Cardiology Grand Rounds (CGR) on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. The title of his talk is, A Few Things I’ve Learned Along the Way. The event will be held via Webex. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!

“We are so excited to have Dr. Lefkowitz make the opening pitch to kick off another season of cardiology grand rounds,” said Nishant Shah, MD, assistant professor of medicine in cardiology and one of the co-leaders of Cardiology Grand Rounds. “He is an inspiration to many and has made amazing contributions to the field of medicine. We couldn’t be more honored to have him share his experiences and insights on advancing cardiovascular research, particularly in the current times.”

Shah is stepping in this year to co-lead CGR with Jenn Rymer, MD. Together, they thank Chris Holley for all he has done in the past to support CGR. If you have suggestions for speakers or topics you would like to see at upcoming CGRs this year, please email Nishant and Jenn.

We look forward to seeing you (virtually) on Sept. 14!

Cardiac Ultrasound Program Celebrates First Commencement

The Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program celebrated their first commencement on Saturday, August 28, at the Trent Semans Center for Health Education. Speakers included Anita Kelsey, medical director of the program, and Richard Palma, director and clinical coordinator of the program. Guest speakers included Manesh Patel, Joseph Kisslo and two members of the graduating class — Jamie Falcha and Karl Hofmeister.

Hofmeister received the outstanding student award, which was renamed the Joseph Kisslo, MD Outstanding Award. The renaming of the award was announced during the commencement ceremony when Kisslo was presented with an award for his dedication to teaching.

Ashlee Davis, Brenda Sedberry and Jon Owensby – Duke sonographers – each received recognition awards for “outstanding service to sonographer education”.

In addition to Falcha and Hofmeister, program graduates included Patricia Derozier, Michelle Garvey, Erica Guerra, Aliyah Jordan and Brianna Lubrano.

Congratulations to all!

Duke Heart Grows by One!

Congratulations to Kasey Williams and her family on the birth of their baby girl, Julia Mae, this past week. She weighed 8 lbs., 4 oz., and measured 21 inches long. All are doing well and we look forward to meeting her!

2021 Heart Walk Seeking Team Captains, Walkers

The Triangle Heart Walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 10. Recruitment of team captains and walkers for Duke Health is currently underway – please consider joining us! You can start your own team or join an existing one. Registration is quick and easy: simply visit triangleheartwalk.org/dukehealth2021. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to email Kimberly Burrows, senior director of development for the Triangle AHA, at kimberly.burrows@heart.org.

This is not a mass gathering event. Due to pandemic circumstances, teams and walkers will decide their own walking path. The American Heart Association will have “pop-up” start lines at various locations throughout the Triangle (exact locations to be announced at a later date) or you can choose to walk on your own, wherever is most convenient to you.

The Heart Walk is a great way to set activity goals and put yourself and your health first while engaging in friendly competition among other teams and walkers.

DHTS Deploying Zscaler to all Duke Health Computers

This month, DHTS will deploy Zscaler to all Duke Health computers to combat increasing threats and cyberattacks that occur regularly to the Duke Health network. Zscaler is a software service that provides additional protection from computer malware, viruses and ransomware. The software protects Duke Health computers from accessing malicious internet sites and provides an extra layer of security when accessing commonly used sites (e.g., social media, external email, third-party email marketing platforms, etc.)

Once Zscaler is installed on computers, users will see the log in screen (example appears in the image shown here) and must enter their NetID and password in order to activate the software. Access to the network and internet will be denied if users do not login to Zscaler when prompted. Users should only have to login once following software installation, and will not be prompted to login again in the future.

Watch this video for more information about Zscaler.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 21: ESC 2021 Recap with Bernard Gersh (Mayo Clinic) and Christopher Granger. 5 p.m., Webex.

September 28: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Guidelines and Treatment Update with Andrew Wang. 7:15 a.m., Webex.

Upcoming Duke Heart CME

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

August 28 — Renato Lopes

tctMD

ENVISAGE-TAVI AF: Edoxaban Disappoints in TAVI Setting

https://www.tctmd.com/news/envisage-tavi-af-edoxaban-disappoints-tavi-setting

August 28 — Renato Lopes

Medpage Today

Edoxaban: A Mixed Bag for TAVR Patients Needing Anticoagulation

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/esc/94264?vpass=1

August 28 — E. Magnus Ohman

Medpage Today

One Month of DAPT Reasonable in Patients at High Bleeding Risk

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/esc/94265

August 28 — E. Magnus Ohman

HCP Live

Single Month of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Noninferior to Continued Therapy After PCI

https://www.hcplive.com/view/single-month-dual-antiplatelet-therapy-noninferior-continued-therapy-after-pci

August 28 — E. Magnus Ohman

Healio/Cardiac/Vascular Intervention

DAPT for 1 month after PCI safe, effective in patients at high bleeding risk: MASTER DAPT

https://www.healio.com/news/cardiac-vascular-intervention/20210828/dapt-for-1-month-after-pci-safe-effective-in-patients-at-high-bleeding-risk-master-dapt

August 28 — Renato Lopes

Medscape

‘Less Is More’ for Edoxaban in Post-TAVI Anticoagulation: ENVISAGE-TAVI AF

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/957466

August 30 — Renato Lopes

MDedge

Although inconclusive, CV safety study of cancer therapy attracts attention

https://www.mdedge.com/familymedicine/article/244979/acute-coronary-syndromes/although-inconclusive-cv-safety-study-cancer

August 30 — Renato Lopes

Medscape

Amulet Bests Watchman for LAAO But Not for Bleeding: AMULET-IDE

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/957571

August 30 — Renato Lopes

Healio/Cardiology

CV safety of prostate cancer therapies ‘remains unresolved’: PRONOUNCE

https://www.healio.com/news/cardiology/20210830/cv-safety-of-prostate-cancer-therapies-remains-unresolved-pronounce

August 30 — James Blumenthal

Healio/Psychiatry

Escitalopram reduces anxiety and depression in patients with CHD

https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20210830/escitalopram-reduces-anxiety-and-depression-in-patients-with-chd

August 30 — Renato Lopes

tctMD

PRONOUNCE: No Difference in CVD Risks With Degarelix and Leuprolide for Prostate Cancer

https://www.tctmd.com/news/pronounce-no-difference-cvd-risks-degarelix-and-leuprolide-prostate-cancer

Duke Heart Week Ending August 29th 2021

August 29, 2021 / Leave a comment

Chief’s message: Cardiac Sonographers graduation, Digital European Society of Cardiology Meeting and other highlights.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the graduation of the first Duke Cardiac Sonographers certificate program – a program many years in the making. The program originally conceived of by Joe Kisslo was never put into place until we had the fortune of recruiting both Anita Kelsey and Richie Palma from Connecticut – where they had run a successful training course for many years. We will have the official write up of it next week – but I include a few photos I took here. The school, training, and CDU work by this group is a testament to the teamwork, quality, and long-standing desire to continue to strive for excellence in imaging that Joe Kisslo and others have embedded at Duke. More to come on this accomplishment, but I wanted to include a few photo’s here as it was great to see the first class graduate.

Additionally, this weekend had the start of the European Society of Cardiology meeting with several important studies and highlights. Some of our key faculty presentations are below, and we have several more to come. My vote for the most impactful trial to human health is the Salt Substitution study (SSaSS) where 600 villages in China were cluster randomized to getting usual salt (100% Sodium Chloride) or salt substitute (75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride- KCl). The Salt Substitute reduced cardiovascular events and reduced mortality by 12%. Although our sources of salt are different in the US, we will quickly be hearing about how this type of substitution should be considered and tested in our communities to improve health through BP improvement and CV event reduction. Other key findings from the ESC were around new therapies for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (heart failure with normal heart function) – EMPERIOR-Preserved, the testing of short course Dual Anti-platelet therapy in patients with high bleeding risk post MI (1 vs. 3 months) – MASTERDAPT. This study showed no difference in clinical outcomes, less bleeding with 1 month (mostly in patients not on oral anti-coagulants). Our own Magnus Ohman writes the editorial in the New England Journal for this trial (you will see the link below). Additionally, important studies around managing atrial fibrillation both with exercise to prevent AF, anticoagulation in patients identified by screening and the benefit or lack thereof of routine screening for subclinical AF, and the benefit of prolonged anticoagulation post COVID-19 hospitalization by Renato Lopes and colleagues in Brazil were all presented. Lots of great science, and I know many of our faculty were up early hours on the weekend to present in the European time zone. Congratulations to all of our faculty, colleagues and collaborators who continue to help us advance the field of cardiovascular medicine.

Highlights of the week:

ESC Congress 2021: The Digital Experience

The European Society of Cardiology’s ESC Congress 2021 is underway (Aug. 27-30)! Duke presenters include include Jonathan Piccini, Renato Lopes, Sana Al-Khatib, Pamela Douglas, Manesh Patel and Adrian Hernandez and many others.

Note, the below links will only work for those who have registered (and it’s not too late to do so!)

On-Demand Content:

ePoster: Efficacy and safety of vericiguat in patients with HFrEF treated with sacubitril/valsartan: results from the VICTORIA trial

Adrian F Hernandez, MD, MHS

ePoster: Hemoglobin, anemia, and clinical outcomes in vericiguat global study in subjects with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (VICTORIA)

Adrian F Hernandez, MD, MHS

ePoster: Vericiguat and health status outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: Insights from the VICTORIA trial

Adrian F Hernandez, MD, MHS

Sessions:

August 27, Will computers interpret all cardiac imaging?

Pamela S Douglas, MD, MACC, FASE, FAHA

August 27, Late-Breaker: Two-Year Outcomes with Leadless Pacing- Micra CED Results

Jonathan P Piccini, MD, MHS, FHRS

August 28, Evolving Cardiovascular risk: Your patient’s past, present and future

Manesh R Patel, MD

August 28, Satellite Session: Building the evidence base for cardiac interventions in non-valvular atrial fibrillation

Renato D Lopes, MD, PhD

Remaining sessions include:

August 30 (2:15-3:00 a.m., on Live Abstracts: COVID-19 2), Live Abstract: COVID-19 and cardiovascular pharmacotherapy

Renato D Lopes, MD, PhD

August 30 (2-2:45 a.m., on Channel 5: Coronary Artery Disease), Great Debate: rise of the machines? – human vs. artificial intelligence for ECG interpretation

Sana M Al-Khatib, MD, MHS

August 30 (8:30-9:00 a.m., in Exhibit Hall B2), PRONOUNCE: comparing cardiovascular safety of degarelix vs. leuprolide in patients with advanced prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease

Renato D Lopes, MD, PhD

Congratulations to all the presenters.

NIH Funding Awarded to Piccini, Mathew

Congratulations to Jonathan Piccini and Joseph Mathew! They were notified this week by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging that their project, Neurocognition and Greater Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm in AF (NOGGIN AF), has been selected for award funding. The award is for $740,086 effective Sept. 1.

Piccini, Mathew and team will be using functional MRI and other cognitive testing to examine the hypothesis that catheter ablation leads to better preservation of brain function.

Nafissi Abstract Selected for 2021 NCYIF

Congratulations to Navid Nafissi, fellow in our Advanced Training in Cardiology fellowship program – his abstract, Integration of Electronic Health Records with Genetics in Monogenic Electrophysiologic Disorders, has been selected for presentation at the 17th Annual Northwestern Cardiovascular Young Investigators’ Forum (NCYIF) being held at The Omni Chicago Hotel, October 14-16, 2021, in Chicago, IL. His mentor is Svati Shah.

The event is presented by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Creative Educational Concepts, Inc., and supported by an independent educational grant from AstraZeneca.

Congratulations Navid!

Gail Cox Retirement Party Held

The Duke Cardiology at Southpoint team celebrated with nurse clinician Gail Cox on Friday, August 27. Cox recently announced her retirement from Duke and we know she will be missed by many!

“Gail is a great nurse who always provided compassionate care for our patients. She was also a trail blazer for the nurse clinician role with dual inpatient rounding and outpatient roles, which has evolved over the years.” — Carolyn Lekavich, PhD

“Gail is one of the longest serving nurse clinicians in Duke Cardiology. She started as nurse in the late 1980s on 7100. Her initial nurse clinician job was with Dr. Tom Wall and she worked with him on both the wards and in the clinic. When Tom left to take on a new position as a cardiologist in Greensboro, she was assigned to work with me. We worked together for over 25 years and Gail was a very thoughtful and caring nurse clinician in the clinic.

She was deeply involved with all her patients and they loved her back. An example of how much she connected with her patients came when she got remarried a number of years ago. At least 20 patients who Gail had helped came to her wedding! A true testament to her skill of connecting with our patients. I still see many patients who would like to get a ‘Gail update.’”

— Magnus Ohman, MD

“She has spent over 20 years with Duke Cardiology in support of various attendings including myself, Magnus and initially Tom Wall. Her experience and expertise in delivering patient-centered care through her role as a nurse clinician (a role she both defined and embodied) will be irreplaceable. She will be deeply missed by all of our patients, the staff at Southpoint and mostly myself.” — Mike Blazing, MD

Thank you, Gail, for the great patient care and support you’ve given over the years!

ICYMI: Ohman NEJM Editorial

The New England Journal of Medicine posted an editorial by E. Magnus Ohman on August 28. “The Evolving Post-PCI Antithrombotic Therapies” is available for viewing here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2112747

Congratulations, Magnus!

CTICU APP Team Receives Preceptor Award

Our Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit Advance Practice Provider team has been awarded the 2021 Acute Care Preceptor Award from the Duke University School of Nursing MSN Program.

The award notification states:

“Due to your impressive leadership, scholarly success, and commitment to DUSON’s students and core values, and your ability to model effective teamwork while making our students feel part of the team is appreciated. As a team, you collectively worked to ensure our students had quality critical care experiences that not only reinforced what they learned in class, but informed their own practice as well. In a high stress environment, you showed the importance of grace under fire and treating patients with dignity and respect. Thank you for all of your efforts to help our students learn and grow as healthcare providers.”

Way to go — congratulations to all!

2021 Heart Walk Seeking Team Captains, Walkers

Recruitment for team captains and walkers is underway! Duke Heart is proud to again be sponsoring and participating in the Triangle Heart Walk, which is scheduled for Sunday, October 10. Due to pandemic circumstances, this year you can decide your walking path. The American Heart Association will have “pop-up” start lines at various locations throughout the Triangle (exact locations to be announced later) or you can choose to walk on your own, wherever is most convenient to you! The 2021 Heart Walk will offer maximum flexibility but remains focused on improving health of residents in the Triangle and to raising funds for lifesaving research.

The Heart Walk is a great way to put yourself and your health first. This year, an activity tracker has been built into the Heart Walk App, which goes live 30 days before the event (Sept. 10). Let’s see who can get the most minutes and be at the top of the leaderboard!

You can start your own team or join an existing one. Registration is quick and easy: simply visit triangleheartwalk.org/dukehealth2021. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to email Kimberly Burrows, senior director of development for the Triangle AHA, at kimberly.burrows@heart.org.

Celebration Held for McKinney

Thanks to all who were able to join us in celebrating with Heather McKinney. Her last day at Duke was Friday, August 27. McKinney is headed to Duke Lifepoint Healthcare’s Maria Parham Health in Henderson, NC, to serve as ICU/PCU Director.

Well-Being Resources Available
Over the past year and a half, the COVID pandemic has taken a toll on our mental and emotional health. Now more than ever, many people are experiencing increased feelings of burnout, depression and anxiety. We realize this is also true for many of our team members, especially those on the front lines caring for patients.

Caring for our patients, their loved ones and each other starts with caring for yourself. The ongoing challenges of the COVID pandemic are real. Please consider taking advantage of the many tools that are available to help manage feelings of burnout, anxiety and grief.

Duke’s Personal Assistance Service offers a variety of programs. The Business Health Services program is available for Duke Raleigh Hospital and Wake County-based team members. This coping card, developed by the Duke Center for Healthcare Safety & Quality includes practical, at-a-glance strategies, as well as additional well-being resources and contact phone numbers.

Thank you for the incredible care and compassion you provide to our patients, their loved ones and each other every day. Please remember to also take care of yourself.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Cardiology Grand Rounds

September 21: ESC 2021 Recap with Bernard Gersh (Mayo Clinic) and Christopher Granger. 5 p.m., Webex.

September 28: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Guidelines and Treatment Update with Andrew Wang. 7:15 a.m., Webex.

Upcoming Duke Heart CME

MDEpiNet Predictable and Sustainable Implementation of National Cardiovascular Registries (PASSION CVR): Registry-Supported Prospective Trials: What are we missing?

September 9: Part 1: Exploring Predicates and Lessons Learned. Noon – 5 p.m. ET. Virtual.

Join us for this Virtual Mini-Think Tank to explore opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned related to the uptake and adoption of registry-supported trials infrastructure! To register, please visit: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b3Egi7WMPhsG8MS

Meeting Objectives:

This collaborative, pre-competitive think tank aims to:

Part I (September 9th):

to provide a forum for frank discussion of predicates and “lessons learned” including operational barriers such as logistical, technical, fiscal and conceptual issues across key stakeholders
to develop themes for focused Working Groups going forward

Part II (Date TBD):

to target specific operational barriers with solution-oriented working groups tasked to define and develop concrete deliverables on a 12 month timeline in parallel with more aspirational deliverables of future import
to develop prospective study “use-case” opportunities leveraging prospective studies targeting regulatory- or clinical best practice- evidence collections

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

August 20 — Andrew Langstrom

Healio/Cardiology

AHA issues recommendations on pediatric genetic testing for heritable CVDs

http://duke.is/mIuSj2

August 20 — Andrew Langstrom

ClinicalOmics.com

AHA Provides its First Guidance on Cardiac Genetic Testing in Children

http://duke.is/Az78Y4

August 20 — Andrew Langstom

ScienceDaily

Cardiovascular disorder genetic testing in children presents unique challenges

http://duke.is/VbwW6H

*carried by 12 additional news outlets

August 20 — Andrew Langstrom

Heart.org

Genetic testing in children for heart disorders should be family-centered, include counseling

http://duke.is/Va14pg

August 23 — Robert Lefkowitz

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

Robert Lefkowitz: A Soldier of Science

http://duke.is/gFyVkm

August 24 — Manesh Patel

HCPLive

FDA Approves Rivaroxaban for Post-LER Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease

http://duke.is/387Nq3

August 24 — Christopher Granger

U.S. News & World Report

AHA News: Cardiac Arrest Program May Improve Bystander CPR But Not Survival in Black People

https://bit.ly/3krGKuw

*article appears in 21+ news outlets

August 25 — Paul Wischmeyer (Anesthesiology/Critical Care)

August 27 — James Blumenthal (Psychiatry)

Medscape

Antidepressant, Exercise Help Combat Anxiety in Coronary Heart Disease

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/957364

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed August 19-25, 2021

Alba GA, Atri D, Darbha S, Singh I, Tapson VF, Lewis MI, Chun HJ, Yu YR, Maron BA, Rajagopal S. Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: the Bench. Curr Cardiol Rep 2021;23(10):141. PM: 34410515.

Bertges DJ, Eldrup-Jorgensen J, Drozda J, Jones WS, Sedrakyan A, Krucoff MW, Cronenwett JL. Toward a better system for the sustainable development of objective performance goals for peripheral vascular interventions. J Vasc Surg 2021;74(3):1013-1014. PM: 34425943.

Greene SJ, Fonarow GC. Clinical inertia and medical therapy for heart failure: the unintended harms of ‘first, do no harm’. Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(8):1343-1345. PM: 34184376.

Jones WS, Wruck LM, Hernandez AF. Aspirin Dosing in Cardiovascular Disease. Reply. N Engl J Med 2021;385(8):765. PM: 34407354.

Matusov Y, Singh I, Yu YR, Chun HJ, Maron BA, Tapson VF, Lewis MI, Rajagopal S. Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: the Bedside. Curr Cardiol Rep 2021;23(10):147. PM: 34410530.

Neshteruk CD, Zizzi A, Suarez L, Erickson E, Kraus WE, Li JS, Skinner AC, Story M, Zucker N, Armstrong SC. Weight-Related Behaviors of Children with Obesity during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Child Obes 2021;17(6):371-378. PM: 33902326.

Ponikowski P, Alemayehu W, Oto A, Bahit MC, Noori E, Patel MJ, Butler J, Ezekowitz JA, Hernandez AF, Lam CSP, O’Connor CM, Pieske B, Roessig L, Voors AA, Westerhout C, Armstrong PW. Vericiguat in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the VICTORIA trial. Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(8):1300-1312. PM: 34191395.

Rosario KF, DeVore AD. Can we prevent infections in patients with left ventricular assist devices? Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(8):1416-1418. PM: 34132005.

Valle JA, Li Z, Kosinski AS, Nelson AJ, Vemulapalli S, Cleveland J, Fullerton D, Messenger JC, Rove JY, Bricker RS, Bradley SM, Masoudi FA, Yeh RW, Armstrong EJ, Waldo SW, Carroll JD. Dissemination of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in the United States. J Am Coll Cardiol 2021;78(8):794-806. PM: 34412813.

Voors AA, Mulder H, Reyes E, Cowie MR, Lassus J, Hernandez AF, Ezekowitz JA, Butler J, O’Connor CM, Koglin J, Lam CSP, Pieske B, Roessig L, Ponikowski P, Anstrom KJ, Armstrong PW. Renal function and the effects of vericiguat in patients with worsening heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the VICTORIA (Vericiguat Global Study in Subjects with HFrEF) trial. Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(8):1313-1321. PM: 33999486.

Zhang Y, Kontos CD, Annex BH, Popel AS. A systems biology model of junctional localization and downstream signaling of the Ang-Tie signaling pathway. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2021;7(1):34. PM: 34417472.

Duke Heart Week Ending August 22nd 2021

August 22, 2021 / Leave a comment

Transitions: McKinney Heading for New Role with Duke Life Point

Heather McKinney, MSN, RN, NE-BC, will be leaving Duke on August 27, 2021 for a position as ICU/PCU Director at a Duke LifePoint Hospital. Heather has worked in the Heart Center since 2002 in varying roles including as a staff nurse on 3100 and, for the past 13 years, as a Nurse Manager on 3100. During her time at Duke, Heather completed the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Nurse Manager fellowship, served on Duke University Health System and Duke University Hospital Committees, and had several presentations accepted at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses National Teaching Institute conference.

Heather, who is widely known for ‘leading with her heart,’ has a passion for mentorship of staff and leaders and has supported the professional growth and development of many throughout the service line. She has nominated several leaders who won Great 100 or Friends of Nursing awards.

On behalf of the entire Duke Heart Leadership Team, we thank Heather for her dedication to our patients, the faculty and staff of Duke Heart, as well as to Duke University Hospital. She will certainly be missed.

Please join us in wishing her well in her new role!

Friede Abstract Selected for 2021 NCYIF

Congratulations to interventional cardiology fellow Kevin Friede – his abstract, A Gene Expression Signature Reflective of Exposure to Antiplatelet Therapy is Associated with Bleeding, has been selected for presentation at the 17th Annual Northwestern Cardiovascular Young Investigators’ Forum (NCYIF) being held at The Omni Chicago Hotel, October 14-16, 2021, in Chicago, IL. His mentor is Deepak Voora.

The event is presented by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Creative Educational Concepts, Inc., and supported by an independent educational grant from AstraZeneca.

Congratulations Kevin!

Shout-out to Rymer, Freedman

A big shout-out this week for Jennifer Rymer and Neil Freedman from Jordan Pomeroy, who shared a note of gratitude with us:

“Huge praise for Jenn Rymer and Neil Freedman for covering/switching shifts with me this week for CAD Night coverage. It brings significant peace of mind to know that I will be home to help my wife and kids while she recovers. I greatly appreciate my colleagues!”

Way to go, Jenn and Neil! We love the teamwork and support our colleagues show to one another.

Faculty/Fellows Gathering Held

Thanks to all who were able to join us on Thursday evening at Ponysaurus Brewing Company here in Durham to welcome our newest fellows to Duke!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

September 9: MDEpiNet Predictable and Sustainable Implementation of National Cardiovascular Registries (PASSION CVR): Registry-Supported Prospective Trials: What are we missing? Part 1: Exploring Predicates and Lessons Learned. Noon – 5 p.m. ET. Virtual.

Meeting Objectives:

This collaborative, pre-competitive think tank aims to:

Part I (September 9th):

to provide a forum for frank discussion of predicates and “lessons learned” including operational barriers such as logistical, technical, fiscal and conceptual issues across key stakeholders
to develop themes for focused Working Groups going forward

Part II (TBD):

to target specific operational barriers with solution-oriented working groups tasked to define and develop concrete deliverables on a 12 month timeline in parallel with more aspirational deliverables of future import
to develop prospective study “use-case” opportunities leveraging prospective studies targeting regulatory- or clinical best practice- evidence collections

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

August 12 — Adrian Hernandez

Reuters

Fact Check-Animal Ivermectin should not be used on humans

http://duke.is/9SvqTC

August 12 — Mitchell Krucoff and E. Magnus Ohman

tctMD

Conversations in Cardiology: Music in the Cath Lab?

http://duke.is/ceyJww

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed August 12-18, 2021

Atwater BD, Li Z, Pritchard J, Greiner MA, Nabutovsky Y, Hammill BG. Early Increased Physical Activity, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Survival After Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Implantation. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2021;14(8):e007580. PM: 34284598.

Benjamin EJ, Al-Khatib SM, Desvigne-Nickens P, Alonso A, Djoussé L, Forman DE, Gillis AM, Hendriks JML, Hills MT, Kirchhof P, Link MS, Marcus GM, Mehra R, Murray KT, Parkash R, Piña IL, Redline S, Rienstra M, Sanders P, Somers VK, Van Wagoner DR, Wang PJ. Research Priorities in the Secondary Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation: A National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Virtual Workshop Report. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(16):e021566. PM: 34351783.

Brennan JM, Lowenstern A, Sheridan P, Boero IJ, Thourani VH, Vemulapalli S, Wang TY, Liska O, Gander S, Jager J, Leon MB, Peterson ED. Association Between Patient Survival and Clinician Variability in Treatment Rates for Aortic Valve Stenosis. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(16):e020490. PM: 34387116.

Colaco NA, Wang TS, Ma Y, Scherzer R, Ilkayeva OR, Desvigne-Nickens P, Braunwald E, Hernandez AF, Butler J, Shah SH, Shah SJ, Hsue PY. Transmethylamine-N-Oxide Is Associated With Diffuse Cardiac Fibrosis in People Living With HIV. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(16):e020499. PM: 34365799.

Cremer PC, Wang TKM, Rodriguez LL, Lindman BR, Zhang Y, Zajarias A, Hahn RT, Lerakis S, Malaisrie SC, Douglas PS, Pibarot P, Svensson LG, Kapadia S, Leon MB, Jaber WA. Incidence and Clinical Significance of Worsening Tricuspid Regurgitation Following Surgical or Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Analysis From the PARTNER IIA Trial. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2021;14(8):e010437. PM: 34266311.

Dehghani P, Cantor WJ, Wang J, Wood DA, Storey RF, Mehran R, Bainey KR, Welsh RC, Rodés-Cabau J, Rao S, Lavi S, Velianou JL, Natarajan MK, Ziakas A, Guiducci V, Fernández-Avilés F, Cairns JA, Mehta SR. Complete Revascularization in Patients Undergoing a Pharmacoinvasive Strategy for ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Insights From the COMPLETE Trial. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2021;14(8):e010458. PM: 34320839.

Dungan JR, Qin X, Hurdle M, Haynes CS, Hauser ER, Kraus WE. Corrigendum: Genome-Wide Variants Associated With Longitudinal Survival Outcomes Among Individuals With Coronary Artery Disease. Front Genet 2021;12:726466. PM: 34386044.

Eliya Y, Whitelaw S, Thabane L, Voors AA, Douglas PS, Van Spall HGC. Temporal Trends and Clinical Trial Characteristics Associated With the Inclusion of Women in Heart Failure Trial Steering Committees: A Systematic Review. Circ Heart Fail 2021;14(8):e008064. PM: 34281362.

Giugliano RP, Gencer B, Wiviott SD, Park JG, Fuchs CS, Goessling W, Musliner TA, Tershakovec AM, Blazing MA, Califf R, Cannon CP, Braunwald E. Prospective Evaluation of Malignancy in 17,708 Patients Randomized to Ezetimibe Versus Placebo: Analysis From IMPROVE-IT. JACC CardioOncol 2020;2(3):385-396. PM: 34396246.

Gomez JA, Payne A, Pratt RE, Hodgkinson CP, Dzau VJ. A role for Sfrp2 in cardiomyogenesis in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021;118(33):e2103676118. PM: 34380738.

Greene SJ, Choi S, Lippmann SJ, Mentz RJ, Greiner MA, Hardy NC, Hammill BG, Luo N, Samsky MD, Heidenreich PA, Laskey WK, Yancy CW, Peterson PN, Curtis LH, Hernandez AF, Fonarow GC, O’Brien EC. Clinical Effectiveness of Sacubitril/Valsartan Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(16):e021459. PM: 34350772.

Melloni C, Slovin SF, Blemings A, Goodman SG, Evans CP, Nilsson J, Bhatt DL, Zubovskiy K, Olesen TK, Dugi K, Clarke NW, Higano CS, Roe MT. Cardiovascular Safety of Degarelix Versus Leuprolide for Advanced Prostate Cancer: The PRONOUNCE Trial Study Design. JACC CardioOncol 2020;2(1):70-81. PM: 34396210.

Moll-Bernardes R, de Sousa AS, Macedo AVS, Lopes RD, Vera N, Maia LCR, Feldman A, Arruda GDAS, Castro MJC, Pimentel-Coelho PM, de Albuquerque DC, de Paula TC, Furquim TAB, Loures VA, Giusti KGD, de Oliveira NM, De Luca FA, Kotsugai MDM, Domiciano RAM, et al. IL-10 and IL-12 (P70) Levels Predict the Risk of Covid-19 Progression in Hypertensive Patients: Insights From the BRACE-CORONA Trial. Front Cardiovasc Med 2021;8:702507. PM: 34386533.

Paul S, Wong M, Akhabue E, Mehta RC, Kramer H, Isakova T, Carnethon MR, Wolf M, Gutiérrez OM. Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in Middle-Aged Adults. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(16):e020196. PM: 34387090.

Piccini JP, Dufton C, Carroll IA, Healey JS, Abraham WT, Khaykin Y, Aleong R, Krueger SK, Sauer WH, Wilton SB, Rienstra M, van Veldhuisen DJ, Anand IS, White M, Camm AJ, Ziegler PD, Marshall D, Bristow MR, Connolly SJ. Bucindolol Decreases Atrial Fibrillation Burden in Patients With Heart Failure and the Arg389Arg Genotype. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2021;14(8):e009591. PM: 34270905.

Szarek M, Bhatt DL, Steg PG, Cannon CP, Leiter LA, McGuire DK, Lewis JB, Riddle MC, Voors AA, Metra M, Lund LH, Komajda M, Testani JM, Wilcox CS, Ponikowski P, Lopes RD, Banks P, Tesfaye E, Ezekowitz JA, Verma S, Pitt B. Effect of Sotagliflozin on Total Hospitalizations in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Worsening Heart Failure : A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med 2021;174(8):1065-1072. PM: 34152828.

Weissler EH, Osazuwa-Peters OL, Greiner MA, Hughes GC, Long CA, Vemulapalli S, Patel MR, Jones WS. National trends in repair for type B aortic dissection. Clin Cardiol 2021;44(8):1058-1068. PM: 34173677.

Duke Heart Week Ending August 15th 2021

August 15, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Kisslo Celebrated on 80^th

Members of the Duke Heart team gathered this past week both in person and virtually to celebrate Joe Kisslo’s recent (80th) birthday.

“From the first phased array to the world of echo and cardiology with more than 45 years at Duke echo lab!” – Fawaz Alenezi, MD

Happy birthday, Joe!

Many thanks to all who were able to participate, and special thanks to members of the Duke echo lab, especially Sreekanth Vemualapalli, Fawaz Alenezi and sonographers Ashlee Davis, Batina Kight and Brenda Sedberry for helping to make arrangements. We like the disco lighting!

Photos courtesy of Fawaz Alenezi.

Members of HF Team to be Recognized by HFSA

Congratulations to Tracy DeWald, PharmD; Kishan Parikh, MD, and Kimberly Biever, CRC – members of Duke’s Heart Failure team. They will be recognized during the Research Network Session of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Scientific Sessions (Sept. 10-13). Duke was selected for a Top Research Site Award for outstanding performance in the TRANSFORM, CONNECT-HF and SPIRRIT HFpEF clinical trials.

In a letter shared with us this past week, we learned:

“Congratulations! On behalf of Dr. O’Connor, HFSA Research Committee Chair and HF-Collaboratory PI, we are pleased to notify you that Duke University has been selected for a Top Research Site Award for your outstanding performance in the TRANSFORM, CONNECT-HF and SPIRRIT HFpEF clinical trials. You were nominated by Dr. Marat Fudim.

As an awardee, you will receive a $500 credit towards registration and membership for the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Scientific Sessions September 10 – 13 at the Gaylord Rockies in Denver, Colorado. Awardees will be recognized during the Research Network Session. We hope you can attend in person to be recognized; however, there will be a virtual option if you are unable to attend in person. You will also receive a certificate by mail.

In addition, we would be thrilled to have you join the HFSA Research Network. As part of this strong, integrated network of clinical investigators and coordinators under the umbrella of the HFSA, you will have access to best practices, be eligible to assist with site development and training, and make connections with sponsors interested in engaging research sites in their clinical trials. We are also developing future opportunities for central contracting, institutional review board, and budget negotiations.

As a Top Research Site, you will be recognized at the annual meeting, through Twitter, and on the HFSA and HF Collaboratory websites. In addition, we encourage you to join and maintain membership in the HFSA and continue to enjoy the benefits of membership.

Congratulations on this accomplishment!” — Sincerely, Christopher O’Connor, PI, Heart Failure Collaboratory and chair, HFSA Research Network and Research Committee.

Way to go!

Study Will Determine Rate of COVID Heart Inflammation Among Elite Athletes

An innovative study at Duke Health aims to determine the prevalence of COVID-related heart inflammation among top-level athletes and establish the symptoms and clinical features to ensure they receive timely and accurate diagnoses.

Heart inflammation, called myocarditis, can arise from COVID infections, and can cause chest pain, heart palpitations and shortness of breath. In severe cases, it can cause permanent damage. Numerous college and professional athletes have tested positive for COVID, adding heightened urgency to research on the cardiovascular effects of the infection.

The Duke-led study is an outgrowth of the Hearts of Athletes study that was launched to establish a better understanding of how hearts are altered by high-level athletic activities. With the new focus on COVID, the study will enroll 300 NCAA, professional and Olympic athletes around the country – 200 who have had COVID and 100 who have not – to undergo heart tests and participate in ongoing monitoring via a health app.

“Even before COVID, we did not have enough information about how the hearts of elite athletes might be different than other healthy people,” said study lead Manesh Patel, MD, chief of cardiology at Duke. “Now with COVID and its potential impact on the heart, it’s more important than ever to understand whether athletes face unique risks or greater protections based on their cardiovascular features.”

The Hearts of Athletes study is funded by The Joel Cornette Foundation, which was established by the family of former Division 1 basketball player Joel Cornette after he died unexpectedly in his mid-30s from an undiagnosed heart condition. The Cornette Foundation supports research into heart disease among athletes and selected Duke as the analytic center for the Hearts of Athletes study.

The study will be available to top athletes from across the U.S. through the Hearts of Athletes app — built on Deloitte’s ConvergeHEALTH MyPath for Clinical cloud-based digital platform — downloaded to their mobile devices.

Both COVID-positive and -negative study participants will undergo standard heart workups — including an echocardiogram followed by a cardiac MRI — at a medical facility where they live. Athletes who have received COVID vaccinations will also be eligible. Their de-identified cardiac images will then be sent to the Duke Heart Center for a blinded analysis. Those who have abnormalities will undergo additional observation and treatment.

Participants will also complete a daily health survey for a month, noting COVID symptoms and other health information, via the app.

The study will determine the rate of COVID-related myocardial involvement among athletes, as well as the symptoms and clinical features associated with the condition. Additionally, the data and images of the athletes’ hearts will be archived for additional research that could inform medical care and treatment.

“This study will help us better understand how COVID affects the hearts of athletes and, more importantly, how playing sports affects the heart more broadly,” Patel said. “Athletes need to know if they have heart conditions that put them at risk – this is information that is empowering. We need to be able to identify those conditions and weigh the impact.”

Shout-out to Nuttall

This past week, we were forwarded a note recognizing Savannah Nuttall, CNI on 7300, for compassionate care shown to a patient.

“Savannah, I just wanted to point out the wonderful care that you provided a patient in his last day and hours. I will long remember you holding his hand and comforting him as he passed, one of the most compassionate gestures I have seen in my career at Duke. The patient had no family, yet he passed with great comfort from you. You certainly have chosen the right field and we and our patients are fortunate to have you at Duke.” – Jamie Jollis, MD

“Savannah, thank you for the compassion you showed for our patient. Your display of caring helps us all remember the real reason we are healthcare providers. Thank you for providing him with support and human touch during his last day and hours. You exemplify what a nurse and healthcare provider brings to those in need. We are so fortunate to have you as part of the Duke Heart team.” – Jill Engel, DNP, ACCNP, NEA-BC, FAANP, AVP Heart Services

Monica Harper, nurse manager operations, 7300, shared, “We all want to thank Savannah for taking time to comfort a patient as he was dying. Her caring and meaningful actions truly exemplify Duke values of putting patients first.”

Savannah wanted to ensure that Dr. Jollis and Janny Sweetow were also recognized, as both advocated and cared for the patient. Both “went above & beyond to make sure he was comfortable as well as check in on me & make sure I was okay.”

We thank each of you for the compassionate care given to this patient as he neared the end of his life. Well done.

Jon Andrews, MD, Joins Cardiac Anesthesiology Team

Mihai Podgoreanu, chief, division of cardiac anesthesiology, announced the addition of Jon Andrews, MD, to the Duke Cardiac Anesthesiology faculty. In a note sent last weekend, Podgoreanu wrote:

“Please join me in welcoming Jon Andrews, MD to our Cardiothoracic family. After serving our country during multiple deployments as part of the US Army Special Forces, Jon obtained his medical degree, anesthesiology residency and dual fellowship training in adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesia at Duke. Jon will start in the CTOR tomorrow (Monday, August 9), and will participate in the care of both adult and pediatric cardiac surgical patients.”

Please give Jon a warm welcome when you meet him!

Reminder: Faculty & Fellows Gathering

Please join us for a cardiology faculty and fellows happy hour at Ponysaurus Brewery on Thursday, August 19th from 5-8 p.m. We have rented the covered top deck of the brewery so that we can get together rain or shine!

Some Duke Photos from the Week:

Dr. Bashore checking in with Dr. Sketch on the weekend

Submitted by Jason Katz: Cardiology and Anesthesiology/critical care fellows working together in the CTICU on a procedure.

Scholars Tip of the Month: First Impressions

As we prepare for the start of another academic year, consider giving your Scholars@Duke profile a fresh new look. Your profile picture is often the very first thing someone sees on your profile, so please take a moment to ensure you are leveraging your photo correctly to establish a friendly and professional first impression with students, patients, and peers. We’ve gathered five tips to help you select the perfect profile picture. – Scholars@Duke team

5 Tips for a Perfect Profile Picture

Choose a photo that looks like you. Make sure your Scholars profile picture is up-to-date (within the past few years) and reflects how you look on a daily basis – your hair, glasses, makeup, etc.
Make sure your face takes up at least 60% of the frame. Crop your picture from the top of your shoulders to just above your head so that your face fills the frame and shows off your smile.
Choose the right expression. You want to appear warm and friendly. That way, viewers of your profile (i.e., potential collaborators, students, patients) will be able to imagine having a pleasant conversation with you.
Wear what you would wear to work. Wear clothes that match the level of dressiness at your office. Also, note that solid colors tend to do best on camera.
Choose a background that isn’t distracting. After you put all that effort into having the perfect expression, you don’t want anything to distract from your face. Keep the background simple so that you are the focal point.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

July 29 — Matthew Moore (patient)

WJZY/Fox 46 News (Charlotte)

NC father receives new-generation artificial heart, the first in North America

http://duke.is/BrxLjX

July 30 — Karen Alexander

US News & World Report

AHA News: Dementia Can Complicate Heart Recovery and Treatment

http://duke.is/qbRsRk

July 30 — Jonathan Piccini

Medscape

Prefer Direct Oral Anticoagulants Over Aspirin After Ventricular Ablations: STROKE-VT

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/955728

August 1 — W. Schuyler Jones

Pharmacy Today

What’s the right aspirin dose for CVD patients?

http://duke.is/g5Cyvd

August 1 — Derek Chew and Duke Clinical Research Institute

Medpage Today

CABANA Paints Afib Ablation as Cost ‘Attractive’

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/hrs/93849

August 2 — William Kraus

Medscape

Modest Calorie Cut Plus Exercise May Improve Vascular Health

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/955833

August 4 — Mary Ann Fuchs

The Business Journals

Health care employers step up DE&I efforts

http://duke.is/U4T1rn

August 4 — Derek Chew

tctMD

Catheter Ablation ‘Good Value’ in CABANA Economic Analysis

http://duke.is/M6AARW

August 5 — Adam DeVore

Medscape

Hospital Intervention Fails to Improve Heart Failure Outcomes

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/956108

August 8 — Alvin Wells (Rheumatology and Immunology)

Healio/Rheumatology

‘What we see that kills patients’: Managing cardiovascular event risk in lupus nephritis

http://duke.is/T1Ks9D

August 8 — Matthew Moore (patient)

WNCN/CBS 17 News

Heart Implant Recipient Celebrates 40th Birthday in Hospital

http://duke.is/1N5GjN

August 9 — Tracy Wang

Everyday Health

Cutting Just 250 Calories a Day and Adding 4 Days of Moderate Exercise Could Help Prevent Heart Disease

http://duke.is/r4SdqR

August 9 — Manesh Patel

WNCN CBS 17 News

Duke studying how top athletes are impacted by COVID-19 infections

http://duke.is/cuggiu

August 9 — Manesh Patel

WRAL NBC 5 News

Duke Health to study heart inflammation from COVID-19 in athletes

http://duke.is/SEk5iY

August 9 — Matthew Moore

WNCT CBS 9 News (Greenville, SC)

Duke Hospital artificial heart recipient celebrates 40th birthday as he continues recovery

http://duke.is/tXaFtb

August 10 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

US News: The top hospital for heart care by state

http://duke.is/wPrvrx

August 11 — Adrian Hernandez

WBTW CBS-13 News Charlotte

Activ-6 study examines medications’ effects on COVID-19

http://duke.is/KzfcHz

August 11 — Adrian Hernandez

WFXB Fox-43 News Myrtle Beach

Duke study looks at medications’ effects on COVID-19

http://duke.is/i9IkKT

August 11 — Adrian Hernandez

WUNC-FM 91.5

Researchers at Duke examine existing medications and their effects on COVID-19

http://duke.is/z131S7

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed July 30 – Aug 4, 2021

Ali-Ahmed F, Dalgaard F, Allen Lapointe NM, Kosinski AS, Blumer V, Morin DP, Sanders GD, Al-Khatib SM. Right ventricular lead location and outcomes among patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy: A meta-analysis. Prog Cardiovasc Dis May-Jun 2021;66:53-60. PM: 33864874.

Arps K, Chakravartti J, Hess CN, Rao SV. Ventricular Fibrillation Due to Aortocoronary Vein Graft Spasm During Angiography: Case Report and Literature Review. JACC Case Rep 2021 Mar 17;3(3):388-391. PM: 34317543.

Bianco HT, Povoa R, Izar MC, Luna Filho B, Moreira FT, Stefanini E, Fonseca HA, Barbosa AHP, Alves CMR, Caixeta AM, Gonçalves I, Moraes PIM, Lopes RD, Paola AAV, Almeida D, Moises VA, Fonseca FAH. Accuracy of Post-thrombolysis ST-segment Reduction as an Adequate Reperfusion Predictor in the Pharmaco-Invasive Approach. Arq Bras Cardiol 2021 Jul;117(1):15-25. PM: 34320062.

Biegus J, Zymliński R, Fudim M, Testani J, Sokolski M, Marciniak D, Ponikowska B, Guzik M, Garus M, Urban S, Ponikowski P. Spot urine sodium in acute heart failure: differences in prognostic value on admission and discharge. ESC Heart Fail 2021 Aug;8(4):2597-2602. PM: 33932273.

Califf RM. A Perspective on the K-Index. JACC Case Rep 2020 Feb 5;2(2):335-336. PM: 34317237.

Coniglio AC, Agarwal R, Schroder JN, Mentz RJ, Milano CA, DeVore AD, Patel CB. A Case for Re-Gifting. JACC Case Rep 2021 Jun 2;3(7):1010-1012. PM: 34317674.

Friede KA, Wegermann ZK, Rao SV. Navigation of a Dormant AV Fistula for PCI in a Patient With High-Risk NSTEMI. JACC Case Rep 2020 Aug 5;2(11):1671-1674. PM: 34317031.

Gold ME, Nanna MG, Doerfler SM, Schibler T, Wojdyla D, Peterson ED, Navar AM. Prevalence, treatment, and control of severe hyperlipidemia. Am J Prev Cardiol 2020 Aug 13;3:100079. PM: 34327462.

Hertz JT, Madut DB, Rubach MP, William G, Crump JA, Galson SW, Maro VP, Bloomfield GS, Limkakeng AT, Temu G, Thielman NM, Sakita FM. Incidence of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Northern Tanzania: A Modeling Approach Within a Prospective Observational Study. J Am Heart Assoc 2021 Aug 3;10(15):e021004. PM: 34320841.

Jackson LR, Jackson KP, Thomas KL. Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion: A review of current devices, clinical evidence, patient selection, and post procedural antithrombotic management. Prog Cardiovasc Dis May-Jun 2021;66:92-100. PM: 34332665.

Jorbenadze A, Fudim M, Mahfoud F, Adamson PB, Bekfani T, Wachter R, Sievert H, Ponikowski PP, Cleland JGF, Anker SD. Extra-cardiac targets in the management of cardiometabolic disease: Device-based therapies. ESC Heart Fail 2021 Aug;8(4):3327-3338. PM: 34002946.

Kamp NJ, Chery G, Kosinski AS, Desai MY, Wazni O, Schmidler GS, Patel M, Lopes RD, Morin DP, Al-Khatib SM. Risk stratification using late gadolinium enhancement on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Prog Cardiovasc Dis May-Jun 2021;66:10-16. PM: 33171204.

Loungani RS, Sekar S, Rehorn MR, Black-Maier E, Vemulapalli S, Shah SH, Harrison RW. Cardiac Arrest in the Setting of Diffuse Coronary Ectasia: Perspectives on a Unique Ischemic Insult. JACC Case Rep 2020 Sep 15;2(11):1662-1666. PM: 34317029.

Mehta NN, Dey AK, Maddineni R, Kraus WE, Huffman KM. GlycA measured by NMR spectroscopy is associated with disease activity and cardiovascular disease risk in chronic inflammatory diseases. Am J Prev Cardiol 2020 Nov 7;4:100120. PM: 34327480.

Mercado-Alamo A, Singh H, Rosman H, Mehta R, Lalonde T, Kaki A. Unmasking Severe Tricuspid Valve Regurgitation After Percutaneous Debulking of Large Tricuspid Vegetation. JACC Case Rep 2020 Jul 22;3(5):818-822. PM: 34317633.

Morin DP, Al-Khatib SM. Emerging topics in electrophysiology. Prog Cardiovasc Dis May-Jun 2021;66:1. PM: 34332659.

Nayor M, Shah SH, Murthy V, Shah RV. Molecular Aspects of Lifestyle and Environmental Effects in Patients With Diabetes: JACC Focus Seminar. J Am Coll Cardiol 2021 Aug 3;78(5):481-495. PM: 34325838.

Nicolau JC, Feitosa Filho GS, Petriz JL, Furtado RHM, Précoma DB, Lemke W, Lopes RD, Timerman A, Marin Neto JA, Bezerra Neto L, Gomes BFO, Santos ECL, Piegas LS, Soeiro AM, Negri AJA, Franci A, Markman Filho B, Baccaro BM, Montenegro CEL, Rochitte CE, et al. Brazilian Society of Cardiology Guidelines on Unstable Angina and Acute Myocardial Infarction without ST-Segment Elevation – 2021. Arq Bras Cardiol 2021 Jul;117(1):181-264. PM: 34320090.

Piccini JP, Carrillo RG. Attempted lead extraction in low-risk patients without surgical backup: Progress or peril? Heart Rhythm 2021 Aug;18(8):1279-1280. PM: 34023502.

Rao VN, Fudim M, Griffin A, Rymer JA, Jones WS, Koweek LMH, Smith TP, Marin D, DeVore AD. Lawn Mower Versus Left Ventricular Assist Device: A Case of Traumatic Coronary Injury. JACC Case Rep 2020 Mar 18;2(3):406-410. PM: 34317252.

Rehorn MR, Black-Maier E, Loungani R, Sen S, Sun AY, Friedman DJ, Koontz JI, Schroder JN, Milano CA, Khouri MG, Katz JN, Patel CB, Pokorney SD, Daubert JP, Piccini JP. Electrical storm in patients with left ventricular assist devices: Risk factors, incidence, and impact on survival. Heart Rhythm 2021 Aug;18(8):1263-1271. PM: 33839327.

Roth CJ, Clunie DA, Vining DJ, Berkowitz SJ, Berlin A, Bissonnette JP, Clark SD, Cornish TC, Eid M, Gaskin CM, Goel AK, Jacobs GC, Kwan D, Luviano DM, McBee MP, Miller K, Hafiz AM, Obcemea C, Parwani AV, Rotemberg V, Silver EL, Storm ES, Tcheng JE, et al. Multispecialty Enterprise Imaging Workgroup Consensus on Interactive Multimedia Reporting Current State and Road to the Future: HIMSS-SIIM Collaborative White Paper. J Digit Imaging 2021 Jun;34(3):495-522. PM: 34131793.

Sayeed S, Califf R, Green R, Wong C, Mahaffey K, Gambhir SS, Mega J, Patrick-Lake B, Frazier K, Pignone M, Hernandez A, Shah SH, Fan AC, Krüg S, Shaack T, Shore S, Spielman S, Eckstrand J, Wong CA. Return of individual research results: What do participants prefer and expect? PLoS One 2021 Jul 29;16(7):e0254153. PM: 34324495.

Shah KS, Fudim M. Stress Remains in the Eye of the Beholder. JACC Case Rep 2020 Feb 5;2(2):294-295. PM: 34317226.

Sharma A, Greene S, Vaduganathan M, Fudim M, Ambrosy AP, Sun JL, McNulty SE, Hernandez AF, Borlaug BA, Velazquez EJ, Mentz RJ, DeVore AD, Alhanti B, Margulies K, Felker GM. Growth differentiation factor-15, treatment with liraglutide, and clinical outcomes among patients with heart failure. ESC Heart Fail 2021 Aug;8(4):2608-2616. PM: 34061470.

Sharma A, Ofstad AP, Ahmad T, Zinman B, Zwiener I, Fitchett D, Wanner C, George JT, Hantel S, Desai N, Mentz RJ. Patient Phenotypes and SGLT-2 Inhibition in Type 2 Diabetes: Insights From the EMPA-REG OUTCOME Trial. JACC Heart Fail 2021 Aug;9(8):568-577. PM: 34325887.

Shen L, Jhund PS, Anand IS, Carson PE, Desai AS, Granger CB, Køber L, Komajda M, McKelvie RS, Pfeffer MA, Solomon SD, Swedberg K, Zile MR, McMurray JJV. Developing and validating models to predict sudden death and pump failure death in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. Clin Res Cardiol 2021 Aug;110(8):1234-1248. PM: 33301080.

Thomas M, Khariton Y, Fonarow GC, Arnold SV, Hill L, Nassif ME, Chan PS, Butler J, Thomas L, DeVore AD, Hernandez AF, Albert NM, Patterson JH, Williams FB, Spertus JA. Association between sacubitril/valsartan initiation and real-world health status trajectories over 18 months in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. ESC Heart Fail 2021 Aug;8(4):2670-2678. PM: 33932120.

Ugowe FE, Hellkamp AS, Wang A, Becker RC, Berkowitz SD, Breithardt G, Fox KAA, Halperin JL, Hankey GJ, Mahaffey KW, Nessel CC, Singer DE, Patel MR, Piccini JP. Pharmacotherapy for diabetes and stroke risk: Results from ROCKET AF. Heart Rhythm O2 2021 Apr 20;2(3):215-222. PM: 34337571.

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed August 5-11, 2021

Bradley SM, Kaltenbach LA, Xiang K, Amin AP, Hess PL, Maddox TM, Poulose A, Brilakis ES, Sorajja P, Ho PM, Rao SV. Trends in Use and Outcomes of Same-Day Discharge Following Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. JACC Cardiovasc Interv 2021;14(15):1655-1666. PM: 34353597.

Carnicelli AP, Lippmann SJ, Greene SJ, Mentz RJ, Greiner MA, Hardy NC, Hammill BG, Shen X, Yancy CW, Peterson PN, Allen LA, Fonarow GC, O’Brien EC. Sacubitril/Valsartan Initiation and Postdischarge Adherence Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure. J Card Fail 2021;27(8):826-836. PM: 34364659.

Chew DS, Mark DB. Dapagliflozin-Does Cost Make 4-Pillar Heart Failure Therapy Too Herculean a Labor for Medicine? JAMA Cardiol 2021;6(8):875-876. PM: 34037664.

Chow C, Greene SJ, North R, Blumer V, Truby LK, Alhanti B, Butler J, Ezekowitz JA, Starling RC, Mentz RJ. Sex-Differences in Cause of Death for Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Versus Preserved Ejection Fraction (from the ASCEND-HF Trial). Am J Cardiol 2021;154:123-126. PM: 34284862.

Guimarães PO, de Souza FR, Lopes RD, Bittar C, Cardozo FA, Caramelli B, Calderaro D, Albuquerque CP, Drager LF, Feres F, Baracioli L, Feitosa Filho G, Barbosa RR, Ribeiro HB, Ribeiro E, Alves RJ, Soeiro A, Faillace B, Figueiredo E, Damiani LP, do Val RM, Huemer N, Nicolai LG, Hajjar LA, Abizaid A, Kalil Filho R. High risk coronavirus disease 2019: The primary results of the CoronaHeart multi-center cohort study. Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc 2021;36:100853. PM: 34345648.

Lala A, Mentz RJ. Language Matters: Understanding Barriers to Medication Adherence to Better Tailor Heart Failure Care. J Card Fail 2021;27(8):825. PM: 34364658.

Naidu SS, Abbott JD, Bagai J, Blankenship J, Garcia S, Iqbal SN, Kaul P, Khuddus MA, Kirkwood L, Manoukian SV, Patel MR, Skelding K, Slotwiner D, Swaminathan RV, Welt FG, Kolansky DM. SCAI expert consensus update on best practices in the cardiac catheterization laboratory: This statement was endorsed by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) in April 2021. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2021;98(2):255-276. PM: 33909349.

Rizik DG, Rao SV, Stone GW, Burke RF, Hermiller JB, O’Neill WW. Re-instituting a live cardiology meeting without symptomatic COVID-19 transmission. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2021;98(2):295-296. PM: 33984174.

Romano S, Dell’atti D, Judd RM, Kim RJ, Weinsaft JW, Kim J, Heitner JF, Hahn RT, Farzaneh-Far A. Prognostic Value of Feature-Tracking Right Ventricular Longitudinal Strain in Severe Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation: A Multicenter Study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2021;14(8):1561-1568. PM: 33865769.

Sperber NR, Dong OM, Roberts MC, Dexter P, Elsey AR, Ginsburg GS, Horowitz CR, Johnson JA, Levy KD, Ong H, Peterson JF, Pollin TI, Rakhra-Burris T, Ramos MA, Skaar T, Orlando LA. Strategies to Integrate Genomic Medicine into Clinical Care: Evidence from the IGNITE Network. J Pers Med 2021;11(7):647. PM: 34357114.

Thompson PD, Baggish AL, Blaha MJ, Brawner CA, Eickhoff-Shemek JM, Hunt TN, Kraus WE. Increasing the Availability of Automated External Defibrillators at Sporting Events: A Call to Action from the American College of Sports Medicine. Curr Sports Med Rep 2021;20(8):418-419. PM: 34357888.

Truby LK, Regan JA, Giamberardino SN, Ilkayeva O, Bain J, Newgard CB, O’Connor CM, Felker GM, Kraus WE, McGarrah RW, Shah SH. Circulating long chain acylcarnitines and outcomes in diabetic heart failure: an HF-ACTION clinical trial substudy. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2021;20(1):161. PM: 34344360.

Vatterott P, De Kock A, Hammill EF, Lewis R. Strategies to increase the INGEVITY lead strength during lead extraction procedures based on laboratory bench testing. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2021;44(8):1320-1330. PM: 34184293.

Wen J, Xie M, Rowland B, Rosen JD, Sun Q, Chen J, Tapia AL, Qian H, Kowalski MH, Shan Y, Young KL, Graff M, Argos M, Avery CL, Bien SA, Buyske S, Yin J, Choquet H, Fornage M, Hodonsky CJ, Jorgenson E, Kooperberg C, Loos RJF, Liu Y, Moon JY, North KE, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Smith JA, Zhao W, Shang L, Wang T, Zhou X, Reiner AP, Raffield LM, Li Y. Transcriptome-Wide Association Study of Blood Cell Traits in African Ancestry and Hispanic/Latino Populations. Genes (Basel) 2021;12(7):1049. PM: 34356065.

Duke Heart Week ending August 1st 2021

August 1, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Blumer Named Recipient of Mario Foundation Award

Vanessa Blumer, MD, a third-year cardiology fellow, has been selected by the review committee for the Mario Family Foundation as the 2021 recipient of the Mario Family Foundation Award for her research proposal, “Predictors of Clinical and Hemodynamic Response to Intra Aortic Balloon Pump Therapy Across Cardiogenic Shock Phenotypes.”

Blumer will be awarded $35,000 for her project for the duration of one year, retroactively starting July 1.

“Vanessa continues the tradition of Duke cardiology fellows who are true triple threats, excelling not only at clinical care, but leveraging their clinical experience to ask research questions that are critical to fill our knowledge gap in,” said Tracy Wang, MD, professor of medicine in cardiology and Blumer’s primary mentor on the project. “It’s also what makes being a faculty member at Duke so special: being able to mentor such remarkable individuals and watch their career take off into the stratosphere.”

The award announcement was made earlier this week by Kathleen A. Cooney, MD, the George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Medicine and chair, Department of Medicine.

Given annually to a physician-in-training within any of the divisions in the Duke Department of Medicine, the award has been made available thanks to the generosity of the Mario Family Foundation. Ernest Mario, PhD, launched the foundation in 1997. Mario served on the Duke Board of Trustees, and was chairman of the Duke University Health System board of directors. He was named Trustee Emeritus of Duke University in 2007, and is the second longest serving trustee in the school’s history. He was awarded The University Medal in 2009, Duke’s highest recognition of service to the school.

Congratulations, Vanessa!

Rao Receives NIH/NHLBI Loan Repayment Program Award

Vishal Rao, MD, a fellow in our Advanced Training in Cardiology Fellowship program, has been selected as a recipient of the National Institutes of Health/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI) Loan Repayment Program Award. His selected proposal is for a project titled “Regional Adiposity and Risk of Heart Failure and Mortality.”

The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs established by Congress and designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers.

The escalating costs of advanced education and training in medicine and clinical specialties are forcing some scientists to abandon their research careers for higher-paying private industry or private practice careers. The LRPs counteract that financial pressure by repaying up to $50,000 annually of a researcher’s qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research.

Congratulations, Vishal!

Friede Selected as AHA GPM Finalist

Kevin Friede, MD, a fellow in our Interventional Cardiology Fellowship program, has been selected by the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine (GPM) Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine as a finalist for the 2021 Genomic and Precision Medicine Early Career Investigator Award Competition.

Friede, who has completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in the Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine, will present his abstract, “A Gene Expression Signature Reflective Of Exposure To Antiplatelet Therapy Is Associated With Bleeding” during the Genomic and Precision Medicine Early Career Investigator Award Competition session at the upcoming AHA Scientific Sessions scheduled for November 13-15, 2021, in Boston, MA.

Ashley Named Nurse Manager Operations for 6 East DMP, Effective August 2^nd

Duke Heart is pleased to announce that Ciarra Ashley, BSN, RN, PCCN will become Nurse Manager Operations for Duke University Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Surgical Stepdown Unit 6 East effective Monday, August 2. Ciarra earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011. Ciarra joined the Duke Heart Team in 2012 as a staff nurse on 3300 before assisting with the opening of 6 East and has served as Clinical Lead for 6 East DMP since 2018. Ciarra has held a variety of roles during her time at Duke. She has advanced the clinical ladder by becoming a CNIV and has continued to mentor other nurses throughout Duke Hospital by becoming a Clinical Ladder Advisor. She is also a member of DUHS Clinical Practice Council and has done many team building and leadership activities throughout the Heart Center. She is also active in the community through various outreach projects.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Ciarra to her new role!

Botzenhart Named Nurse Manager DUH 3100, Effective August 2^nd

Duke Heart is pleased to announce that Lindsay Botzenhart, BSN, RN, PCCN, CNIV will become Nurse Manager for Duke University Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Surgical Stepdown Unit 3100 effective Monday, August 2. Lindsay earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Liberty University in 2010. Lindsay joined the Duke Heart team in 2012 as a staff nurse on 3300 and prior to that time, worked as a nurse at Duke Regional Hospital for 2 years. She has served as Clinical Lead for the DUH Cardiothoracic Surgical Stepdown Unit 3300 since 2015. During her time at Duke, Lindsay has been involved in multiple Heart Center initiatives including LVAD education and site visits and DUHS Heart Core classes. She currently serves on the Duke Health System Inpatient Nursing Improvement committee, Friends of Nursing award selection committee, and DUH based Responsiveness/Purposeful Rounding pilot group.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Lindsay to her new role!

Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program Featured in Magnify

Duke Cardiology fellow Dr. Karen Flores Rosario rounding with her team and nurses in the CICU at the DMP.

An article about the important work to increase representation and diversity in our cardiovascular disease fellowship program was published this week in Magnify, the Duke University School of Medicine’s online news magazine. Getting to the Heart of Inclusion, which features Jennifer Rymer, Anna Lisa Crowley, Pam Douglas, and Manesh Patel was written by Duke Heart’s communications director, Tracey Koepke. To read it, please visit: http://duke.is/U7XSH5

ICYMI: Ohman Guest on Heart-to-Heart

Magnus Ohman was the featured guest on Sirius-XM radio’s Heart-to-Heart program on Wednesday, July 28. Heart-to-Heart is hosted by Fred Feit, MD, professor of medicine and interventional cardiologist at NYU School of Medicine. The topic was chronic angina.

PAs Present Smartphrase Results at AAPA

Jordan Hausladen (PA-C) and Todd McVeigh (PA-C) presented a virtual poster session during the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) National Conference in May 2021. With the guidance of Drs. Andrew Wang and Manesh Patel, the pair of APPs implemented a Smartphrase into cardiology discharge summaries (and a smart-text in EPIC available to non-cardiology teams) that would allow providers to more accurately interpret and diagnose patients who have non-ischemic troponin elevations. Data were examined three months before and after intervention, showing that use of the Smartphrase successfully reduced hospital-wide and cardiology-teams’ 30-day MI readmission rates.

Congratulations, Jordan and Todd – great work!

Co-workers Celebrate Upcoming Birth

Several of our Duke Heart team members gathered recently to celebrate the upcoming birth of Baby Williams. Shown L to R: Laura Dickerson, Elizabeth Watts, Kasey Williams, Ashley Barba, and Stephanie Barnes.

REMINDER: Change Passwords to Comply with New Policy

Duke Health users and sponsored guests must update passwords as soon as possible, but will not be required to change passwords in the future – unless you want to update it or your password is compromised.

The new password policy removes the requirement to update passwords every 180 days and requires passwords to be at least 12 characters (special characters and numbers are no longer required); however, including special characters creates a stronger password. In addition, the option to update passwords using CTRL+ALT+DEL is no longer available.

Team members can update their passwords now, but will receive a notice from DHTS via email that requires passwords to be changed by a deadline. Please visit the OIT Account Self Service Portal and create a new NetID password that doesn’t expire.

Tip: If working remotely (at a non-Duke site) users should connect to the Duke Virtual Private Network (VPN) before updating passwords (see page 29 of the Technology Toolkit for more information about the VPN). Passwords can be updated without connecting to the VPN, but passwords are synced across all your Duke log-ins faster if connected to the VPN.

Visit https://security.duke.edu/news-alerts/new-password-policy to review the password policy FAQ.

Attention Omnicell Users

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We are working with Omnicell to upgrade their password policy to remove restrictions across Duke Health. Check the password policy information page for updates.

Contact the Duke Health Service Desk at (919) 684-2243 for technical support.

If you have not yet updated your passcode to fit this policy, please do so as soon as possible. Thank you!

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

July 22 — Jacob Schroder and Carmelo Milano

YouTube/RT en Espanol

Cirujanos implantan el primer corazón artificial de EE.UU

http://duke.is/znqJsd

July 23 — Christopher Granger

Medscape

CLARIFY Confirms Meds, Watchful Waiting in Angina, Stable CAD

http://duke.is/QxnJK1

July 25 — Carmelo Milano

Tech Times

CARMAT Artificial Heart Prosthetic Implant Successful in 39-Year Old, First-Ever US Patient

http://duke.is/qPMZXb

July 26 — Kevin Thomas

Renal & Urology News

Catheter Ablation Improves A-Fib Outcomes in Racial/Ethnic Minorities

http://duke.is/Nx9cNp

July 27 — E. Magnus Ohman

Medscape

Are You at Legal Risk for Speaking at Conferences?

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/955454

July 27 — Adam DeVore

HCPLive

No Benefit Shown In Quality Improvement Intervention For Patients with HFrEF

http://duke.is/LmTFVn

July 28 — Mollie Kettle

STAT

‘There is a real cost’: As Covid shows, barring bedside visitors from ICU deprives patients of the best care

http://duke.is/GU7YAw

July 28 — Manesh Patel and Schuyler Jones

HCPLive

1: Schuyler Jones, MD: CAD/PAD: Identifying Risk & Summary of Recent Clinical Trials

http://duke.is/4ZYcw9

July 28 — Laine Thomas (Biostatistics & Bioinformatics)

Medically Prime

SGLT2 Inhibitor Adds Years of Life to Patients With Heart Failure

http://duke.is/t6s2Fz

Duke Heart Pulse week ending July25th 2021

July 25, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Duke CTS among Top 20 for TSF Funding

The Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF) this week announced its “Top 20” Institutional Honor Roll for 2021. Duke University’s Cardiovascular & Thoracic surgical team ranked at #18 with a total of $365,000 in grant funding received.

TSF, which is the charitable arm of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), provides awards for cardiothoracic surgery research, education, leadership, and surgical outreach in underserved patients. So far in 2021, the Foundation has distributed $861,870 in awards and scholarships. The Foundation plans to award additional grants later in the year.

“Pursuit of the academic mission is deeply entrenched throughout the fabric of this institution,” said Edward P. Chen, MD, chief of Duke’s Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. “Being in the TSF Top 20 Institutional Honor Roll is reflective of not only our Division’s longstanding commitment to scientific discovery and academic development, but is also a testament to the longevity of this commitment.”

The TSF “Top 20” most funded institutions since 1993 are:

#1 University of Pittsburgh

#2 University of Pennsylvania

#3 Washington University

#4 University of California San Francisco

#5 Johns Hopkins Hospital

#6 University of Virginia

#7 University of Washington

#8 Tie – University of California Los Angeles

#8 Tie – Stanford University

#10 University of Michigan

#11 Massachusetts General Hospital

#12 Brigham and Women’s Hospital

#13 University of Toronto

#14 University of Colorado

#15 Baylor College of Medicine

#16 Medical College of Wisconsin

#17 University of Cincinnati

#18 Duke University

#19 Roswell Park Cancer Center

#20 Northwestern Memorial Hospital

“We congratulate each of these institutions for achieving TSF Top 20 Honor Roll status. This status signals the strength of their cardiothoracic surgery programs, faculty, and staff,” said TSF President Joseph E. Bavaria, MD. “Each TSF funding application is thoroughly analyzed and scored by rigorous peer review, without bias or conflict of interest. The TSF Research Committee is composed of more than 46 appointed surgeon-scientist leaders who are actively practicing at medical institutions across the U.S. and Canada. The contributions of award recipients at these Top 20 institutions to cardiothoracic surgery and our patients is significant.”

The Foundation’s 2022 Award cycle launched on July 1, 2021. TSF welcomes applications from qualified cardiothoracic surgeons and residents, employed at any institution with a cardiothoracic surgery program. Award offerings and applications can be accessed at www.thoracicsurgeryfoundation.org/awards. The deadline for most TSF Award applications is September 15, 2021.

Congratulations to all members of our Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery on this great accomplishment!

Blumer Selected as Laennec Finalist

Vanessa Blumer, MD, has been selected by the American Heart Association’s Council on Clinical Cardiology (CLCD) as a finalist for the 2021 Laennec Fellow in Training (FIT) Clinician Award Competition!

The Laennec FIT Clinician Award recognizes the importance of clinical acumen, inductive analytic skills, and teaching ability in future academic cardiologists; it is a highly competitive award category.

Blumer, a third year fellow in our cardiovascular disease fellowship program, will present her abstract, A Challenging Case of Endocarditis — Multi-Disciplinary Approach is an Achievable Chimera during the Laennec FIT Award Competition Session at the upcoming AHA Scientific Sessions scheduled for November 13-15, 2021, in Boston, MA.

Outstanding! Congratulations, Vanessa!

Kudos to Yankey!

This week, we received the following note regarding excellent care and attention provided by Sipa Yankey and team to a patient and their family members at the Durham VAMC.

“Dr. Rao,

This email is to let you know my husband’s comments concerning Doctor Yankey’s diagnosis and treatment for him in Durham VA hospital.

[He] has not been feeling well for some time now and I had been trying to get him to a heart doctor. Once he visited the VA in Salisbury to see Doctor Card, she immediately scheduled him to be seen and treated in Durham. Once we arrived at Durham VA we could see the great care offered to all veterans. The staff is so very professional and caring, especially Doctor Yankey. He installed a stent in the LAD in [my husband’s] heart which was 99 percent blocked. He SAVED his life! And he was so calm as he explained, in detail, what he had to do to correct his problem. He had a nurse by the name of Kim, not sure of last name, but she was excellent also and very detailed on explaining what all the steps would be to give comfort to my wife and daughters. She took the time to answer questions as also Doctor Yankey did to our daughter that is a registered nurse. Kim has a husband that also worked in one of the areas that called to check on him when he arrived home. What great staff and so caring.

We realize you may not always get appreciation shown for your staff. We feel it is important to let you know that with God’s help and the great knowledge and skills that Doctor Yankey has is what saved [my husband]’s life.

Doctor Yankey diagnosed and operated on [my husband] and did an excellent job! How do you thank someone that saves your life?

Again, we both wanted to show appreciation for the care and expert skills that you provide to our veterans who protect our country.

Thank you.” — Name withheld to protect patient privacy

Way to go, Sipa!

Duke Raleigh Hospital Names New President

Barbara Griffith, MD, will be returning to Duke Health to become president of Duke Raleigh Hospital.

Griffith, who currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., had previously been at Duke Regional Hospital as Chief Medical Officer and president and chief financial officer of Durham Emergency Physicians, the medical practice within Duke Regional Hospital’s emergency department.

“Duke Health and North Carolina have always been home,” Griffith said. “It is such a privilege to join the amazing team at Duke Raleigh Hospital when it is growing its footprint in Wake County and opening a beautiful new bed tower, the South Pavilion. I am thrilled that I will soon be a part of it.”

Griffith received her medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is board certified in emergency medicine and has received training in executive health care education at the Wharton School of Business.

“Dr. Griffith joins us at a critical time when the health system is growing to deliver care to the many thousands of patients who seek out the quality care that we provide,” said William J. Fulkerson, Jr., MD, executive vice president of Duke University Health System. “Her experience as a leader in safety and quality and as a highly regarded physician whom our providers and staff trust make her a remarkable fit for this role.”

During the year-long recruitment process, Leigh Bleecker served as interim president of Duke Raleigh Hospital and will return to her role as chief financial officer.

REMINDER: Change Passwords to Comply with New Policy

Visit https://security.duke.edu/news-alerts/new-password-policy to review the password policy FAQ.

Attention Omnicell Users

We are working with Omnicell to upgrade their password policy to remove restrictions across Duke Health. Check the password policy information page for updates.

Contact the Duke Health Service Desk at (919) 684-2243 for technical support.

If you have not yet updated your passcode to fit this policy, please do so as soon as possible. Thank you!

Upcoming Events/Opportunities

Conversations with Colleagues expands offerings

The Conversations with Colleagues program has changed the way we talk with one another about tough topics like COVID-19 and racial justice. Now the team is adding two additional timely topics to the mix, as well as opening up another cohort of their highly popular extended series that takes a deeper dive into racial justice. Deeper Dive and Returning to the Workplace are open to all Duke Health team members, while The Social Side of Medicine is for clinical professionals and PFAC members. Learn more and sign up below.

Racial Justice: Deeper Dive

This six-week transformative experience explores the origins of systemic racism and helps participants understand their own implicit biases and what they can do to have a positive impact on our local community. The curriculum includes mixed media to engage all learning styles. Because this is a cohort-based experience based on building relationships, we ask that attendees commit to all six weeks of the series. You will select a day and time that works for you and will be expected to attend all six sessions on that set day. Sign up for a cohort to start in August:

Wednesdays from 8-9am

https://duke.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtfu2oqDIpHtMLUx6L2EZim8Ldd1RjOiaC

Fridays from 12-1pm

https://duke.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvceyvqz4qHdLjVhx-HDSt6_Aj835UDN_1

New Topic: Returning to the Workplace

Many teams are transitioning back to the office after a long period of working from home. As with any change, this transition can invoke a flurry of different emotions. Your CwC friends are here to talk through this transition with you. Please join us at any of the sessions listed below. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/dukecwc

Wednesday 8/11 8 a.m.

Wednesday 8/11 12 noon

Friday 8/13 at 12 noon

For Clinical Professionals and PFAC Council Members: The Social Side of Medicine

Patient and Family Engagement (PFE) and Conversations with Colleagues are excited to offer a different kind of conversation. We invite clinical professionals of all disciplines and Patient and Family Advisors (PFAs) who serve on one of Duke Health’s 10 Patient and Family Advisory Councils to come together and discuss the “Social Side of Medicine.” During this guided, hour-long conversation, we will explore communication between patients and clinical professionals, how we can build stronger partnerships, and how we can continually improve the quality and delivery of care. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/dukecwc

Wednesday 7/28, 6pm

Friday 7/30, 12 noon

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

July 19 — Duke University Hospital

Healio

Top in cardiology: Next-generation artificial heart, methamphetamine-related heart failure

http://duke.is/Mn3FSY

July 20 — Carmelo Milano

Interesting Engineering

First Total Artificial Heart Successfully Transplanted In the US

http://duke.is/bSLrGq

July 20 — Carmelo Milano

Republic World

French Prosthetics Company Carmat Makes First-ever Commercial Sale Of Artificial Heart

http://duke.is/kiGytc

July 20 — Robert Califf

Infection Control Today

COVID-19 Isn’t Done with Us Yet, Medical Experts Warn

http://duke.is/VbDuxR

July 20 — Duke University Hospital

QMED New Product News

First US Implant of Carmat’s Total Artificial Heart Performed at Duke

http://duke.is/mCRfT6

*story carried in 17 other news outlets

July 20 — Stephen Greene and Muhammad Shahzeb Khan

Healio/Cardiology Today

Lung ultrasound in ED to manage acute HF confers no benefit vs. usual care

http://duke.is/gm8Ebz

July 20 — Carmelo Milano

Home Healthcare Business News

Duke implants first new generation artificial heart in North America

https://www.dotmed.com/news/story/55378

July 21 — Carmelo Milano and Jacob Schroder

Insider.com

A 39-year-old dad who suffered sudden heart failure and coded for 45 minutes survived against the odds — and just received America’s most advanced artificial heart

http://duke.is/kabNC6

July 21 — Duke University Hospital

WTRF.com (Wheeling, WV)

U.S patient gets first total artificial heart implant

http://duke.is/nId6CE

July 21 — Carmelo Milano and Jacob Schroder

Plastics Today

Transatlantic Milestones for Carmat’s Total Artificial Heart

http://duke.is/Yd9gqv

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed July 15-21, 2021

Amin AP, Rao SV, Seto AH, Thangam M, Bach RG, Pancholy S, Gilchrist IC, Kaul P, Shah B, Cohen MG, Gluckman TJ, Bortnick A, DeVries JT, Kulkarni H, Masoudi FA. Transradial Access for High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Implications of the Risk-Treatment Paradox. Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2021;14(7):e009328. PM: 34253050.

Biering-Sørensen T, Minamisawa M, Liu J, Claggett B, Papolos AI, Felker GM, McMurray JJV, Legg JC, Malik FI, Honarpour N, Kurtz CE, Teerlink JR, Solomon SD. The effect of the cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, on right ventricular structure and function in chronic systolic heart failure (COSMIC-HF). Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(6):1052-1056. PM: 33826209.

Desai ND, O’Brien SM, Cohen DJ, Carroll J, Vemulapalli S, Arnold SV, Forrest JK, Thourani VH, Kirtane AJ, O’Neil B, Manandhar P, Shahian DM, Badhwar V, Bavaria JE. Composite Metric for Benchmarking Site Performance in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Results From the STS/ACC TVT Registry. Circulation 2021;144(3):186-194. PM: 33947202.

Gilotra NA, Pamboukian SV, Mountis M, Robinson SW, Kittleson M, Shah KB, Forde-McLean RC, Haas DC, Horstmanshof DA, Jorde UP, Russell SD, Taddei-Peters WC, Jeffries N, Khalatbari S, Spino CA, Richards B, Yosef M, Mann DL, Stewart GC, Aaronson KD, Grady KL. Caregiver Health-Related Quality of Life, Burden, and Patient Outcomes in Ambulatory Advanced Heart Failure: A Report From REVIVAL. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(14):e019901. PM: 34250813.

Giroux NS, Ding S, McClain MT, Burke TW, Petzold E, Chung HA, Palomino GR, Wang E, Xi R, Bose S, Rotstein T, Nicholson BP, Chen T, Henao R, Sempowski GD, Denny TN, Ko ER, Ginsburg GS, Kraft BD, Tsalik EL, Woods CW, Shen X. Chromatin remodeling in peripheral blood cells reflects COVID-19 symptom severity. bioRxiv 2020:2020.12.04.412155. PM: 33300002.

Goldsweig AM, Povsic TJ. Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Discrete Entity or Just Another Subgroup to Analyze? Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2021;14(7):e010891. PM: 34130479.

Haga SB, Mills R, Moaddeb J, Liu Y, Voora D. Delivery of Pharmacogenetic Testing with or without Medication Therapy Management in a Community Pharmacy Setting. Pharmgenomics Pers Med 2021;14:785-796. PM: 34276225.

Hiatt WR, Hess CN, Bonaca MP, Kavanagh S, Patel MR, Baumgartner I, Berger JS, Blomster JI, Jones WS, Katona BG, Mahaffey KW, Norgren L, Rockhold FW, Fowkes FGR. Ankle-Brachial Index for Risk Stratification in Patients With Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease With and Without Prior Lower Extremity Revascularization: Observations From the EUCLID Trial. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 2021;14(7):e009871. PM: 34253048.

Jering KS, Claggett B, Pfeffer MA, Granger C, Køber L, Lewis EF, Maggioni AP, Mann D, McMurray JJV, Rouleau JL, Solomon SD, Steg PG, van der Meer P, Wernsing M, Carter K, Guo W, Zhou Y, Lefkowitz M, Gong J, Wang Y, Merkely B, Macin SM, Shah U, Nicolau JC, Braunwald E. Prospective ARNI vs. ACE inhibitor trial to DetermIne Superiority in reducing heart failure Events after Myocardial Infarction (PARADISE-MI): design and baseline characteristics. Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(6):1040-1048. PM: 33847047.

Khan MS, Fonarow GC, Greene SJ. Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors for heart failure: clinical trial efficacy and clinical practice effectiveness. Eur J Heart Fail 2021;23(6):1023-1025. PM: 33779013.

Khan MS, Sreenivasan J, Shahid I, Bhinder J, Fudim M, Greene SJ, Butler J. Trends in Substance Abuse Disorders Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure in the United States. Circ Heart Fail 2021;14(7):e008147. PM: 34233481.

Kitzman DW, Whellan DJ, Duncan P, Pastva AM, Mentz RJ, Reeves GR, Nelson MB, Chen H, Upadhya B, Reed SD, Espeland MA, Hewston L, O’Connor CM. Physical Rehabilitation for Older Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure. N Engl J Med 2021;385(3):203-216. PM: 33999544.

Kochar A, Summers MB, Benziger CP, Marquis- Gravel G, DeWalt DA, Pepine CJ, Gupta K, Bradley SM, Dodson JA, Lampert BC, Robertson H, Polonsky TS, Jones WS, Effron MB. Clinician engagement in the ADAPTABLE (Aspirin Dosing: A Patient-centric Trial Assessing Benefits and Long-Term Effectiveness) trial. Clin Trials 2021;18(4):449-456. PM: 33541120.

Matos JD, McIlvaine S, Grau-Sepulveda M, Jawitz OK, Brennan JM, Khabbaz KR, Sellke FW, Yeh R, Zimetbaum P. Anticoagulation and amiodarone for new atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting: Prescription patterns and 30-day outcomes in the United States and Canada. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021;162(2):616-624. PM: 32197901.

O’Brien EC, Raman SR, Ellis A, Hammill BG, Berdan LG, Rorick T, Janmohamed S, Lampron Z, Hernandez AF, Curtis LH. The use of electronic health records for recruitment in clinical trials: a mixed methods analysis of the Harmony Outcomes Electronic Health Record Ancillary Study. Trials 2021;22(1):465. PM: 34281607.

Rao VN, Bush CG, Mongraw-Chaffin M, Hall ME, Clark D, Fudim M, Correa A, Hammill BG, O’Brien E, Min YI, Mentz RJ. Regional Adiposity and Risk of Heart Failure and Mortality: The Jackson Heart Study. J Am Heart Assoc 2021;10(14):e020920. PM: 34238024.

Roe MT, Patrick-Lake B, von Eschenbach AC. Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: Leveraging the Patient Perspective and Technological Innovations to Enable the Delineation of Effective Treatments. Drugs 2021;81(10):1235-1237. PM: 34132992.

Duke Heart Pulse Week ending 7-18-2021

July 18, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

New Generation Artificial Heart Implanted in Patient at Duke – First in U.S.

A surgical team at Duke University Hospital, led by Drs. Jacob Schroder and Carmelo Milano, successfully implanted a new-generation artificial heart in a 39-year-old man with heart failure, becoming the first center in North America to perform the procedure.

The artificial heart was developed by CARMAT and has been studied in Europe, where it is approved for use. Last year, the company received FDA approval to begin studies in the U.S. to potentially enroll 10 patients with end-stage bi-ventricular heart failure. The study will evaluate whether the artificial heart is a viable option as a life-saving step before transplant.

“We are encouraged that our patient is doing so well after the procedure Monday,” said Milano, a transplant surgeon and the principal investigator of the device study at Duke. “As we evaluate this device, we are both excited and hopeful that patients who otherwise have few to no options could have a lifeline.”

The Duke patient, Matthew Moore, is from Shallotte, N.C., and was referred to Duke in June after a sudden, unexpected diagnosis of heart failure. Moore and his wife, Rachel, recently adopted their two-year-old foster son, Marshall, and arrived at Duke expecting only to undergo heart bypass surgery.

As Moore’s condition quickly deteriorated, however, traditional options, including transplant, became too risky. Meanwhile, Duke was among just three transplant centers in the United States selected to join the device study, and the procedure team received specialized training to prepare for the implant surgery.

“As a nurse, I understand how important it is to bring these advancements forward,” Rachel Moore said. “Both Matthew and I are so grateful that we’ve been provided an opportunity to participate in something that has the potential to have an impact on so many lives. We are just taking it day-by-day and hope everything continues to progress well.”

The artificial heart developed by CARMAT is an implantable prosthetic that includes biological valves derived from bovine tissue. It operates on an external power supply.

If the device receives FDA approval, it would provide a bridge to transplant for patients whose hearts require assistance to pump blood through both chambers. Current technology – notably a left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) — supports just one chamber.

“Because of the shortages of donor hearts, many patients die while waiting for a heart transplant,” said Schroder, a transplant surgeon who led the implant procedure. “We are hopeful for new options to help these patients, many like Mr. Moore who have devastating disease and cannot otherwise be considered for a transplant.”

Manesh Patel, M.D., chief of the Division of Cardiology in Duke’s Department of Medicine, said the heart care program at Duke has fostered a culture of innovation over decades, aimed at improving care for patients.

“Our goal is to both deliver the best health care and to play a role in discovering it,” Patel said. “Innovation is essential for this. Patients locally and nationally are seen by our heart transplant team for care they may not get elsewhere. The key is the culture of innovation and the teamwork between our cardiac surgeons, heart failure cardiologists, nurses and all the heart center staff that care for our patients.”

Dr. Jason Katz, co-director of Duke’s Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and co-PI on the CARMAT trial agrees, “This is another example of multidisciplinary collaborative innovation for our advanced heart failure patients and speaks to how important innovation of patient care is to the entire team. It’s the first of what I hope will be many innovative options for this high risk patient population.”

Clinical research nurse coordinator for the trial, Frank Benedetti added, “A million things had to happen over the past several weeks, but all the pieces fell in line. When I got the call that the patient was out of the OR and had done well, I teared up with joy. It was such a proud moment to see all of our hard work come together and really pay off for this patient – I am so proud of our whole team.”

“The successful implant of the CARMAT artificial heart represents the latest in a long list of accomplishments by the Duke heart transplant team aimed at further expanding the treatment options available for patients with end-stage cardiac disease,” said Edward P. Chen, M.D., chief of the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in Duke’s Department of Surgery.

Many thanks to our cardiothoracic surgical team led by Drs. Jacob Schroder and Carmelo Milano; to our Cardiac

Anesthesiology team members, Drs. Sharon McCartney, Alina Nicoara, Meredith Whitacre and Mihai Podgoreanu; all of our VAD coordinators, Laura Blue, Kevin Cox, Catherine Shuford, Dakota Bentz; our perfusion team; the entire nursing staff of the CTICU and clinical stepdown unit teams, including the Advance Practice Providers who are getting very familiar with a device that no other APP team in the U.S. is familiar with; and our Clinical Research Team, especially our clinical research nurse coordinator Frank Benedetti, “who was asked to do a lot on a very short timeline and came through with flying colors,” said Katz. We also thank the CICU who help care for the patient during his course of illness and kept him stable and supported to get to the CT surgical team.

Benedetti acknowledged the help of dozens of people including Robyn Osborne, laboratory manager at Substrate Services Core Research Support team in the Department of Surgery; Susan Churchill with the Multi-Dimensional Image Processing Laboratory in Duke Radiology, Brian Gore with Duke University Hospital Clinical Engineering; Diane Pinder, a fellow clinical research nurse coordinator, and Clancy Leahy, research project manager with SOCR.

A Duke press conference to discuss the device was held on Thursday afternoon. A link to the recording can be found here: https://youtu.be/GAI22Y6ksjo.

Shout-out to Barba & Team!

We received a recognition note this past week from Diane Sauro, director – Advanced Practice, for Ashley Barba and members of the patient care team.

“Ashley, see below comment from report I received from Patient Visitor Relations. The awesome, compassionate care you provide to your patients does not go unnoticed. You are a role model to your team. Thank you for everything you do for Heart patients and your team.” —Diane

“Patient complimented Dezarae, Sonya, Taylor, Kaitlyn, Samantha, Ashley and Kat. Patient stated, “They were outstanding nurses!!! They were always attentive and very responsive. They listened to me and answered all of my questions in ways that I could understand. Most importantly they always treated me as a person and not just a patient!”

Great job, everyone!

Upcoming Events/Opportunities

July 20: COVID-19 Research Seminar Series featuring Christina Barkauskas and Manesh Patel. 4-5 p.m. Zoom. Sponsored by Duke University School of Medicine.

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

July 9 — Duke Clinical Research Institute

Becker’s Health IT

8 hospitals, health systems that launched innovation centers in 2021

https://bit.ly/3Bea92R

July 14 — Duke University Medical Center

Rev Cycle Intelligence

Study Raises Concerns About Gender Pay Gap in Healthcare

https://bit.ly/3BgtnoE

July 15 — Carmelo Milano and Jacob Schroder

WRAL/NBC-5

Adoptive father of 2-year-old becomes first patient to get artificial heart at Duke

https://bit.ly/3BhwQTJ

July 15 — Duke University Hospital

Nuevo Periodico

La empresa francesa Carmat realiza la primera implantación humana de su corazón artificial total

https://bit.ly/3rhlIln

July 15 — Carmelo Milano and Jacob Schroder

Healio/Cardiology Today

First North American patient implanted with next-generation total artificial heart

https://bit.ly/2Ui58G6

July 15 — Carmelo Milano and Jacob Schroder

Yahoo News/Business Wire

CARMAT Announces the First Human Implant of Its Total Artificial Heart in the United States

https://yhoo.it/3rgQURE

July 15 — Duke University Hospital

The Sun

First US-based artificial heart implant for French firm

https://bit.ly/3rpRxsf

July 15 —Carmelo Milano and Jacob Schroder

Health Tech World

CARMAT bioprosthetic heart implanted

https://bit.ly/3Bf0HfG

July 15 — Adrian Hernandez and W. Schuyler Jones

Healio/Cardiology Today

ADAPTABLE points to solutions about aspirin dose, conduct of pragmatic trials

https://bit.ly/3kuhntA

Duke Heart Week Ending July 11th 2021

July 11, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

EXACT Trial Launched; New Gene Therapy Option for Refractory Angina, CAD Patients

EXACT, a first-in-human clinical trial examining the safety and efficacy of using an adenoviral vector to more efficiently deliver human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) directly into the myocardium with the goal of stimulating angiogenesis in patients suffering from refractory angina due to advanced coronary artery disease (CAD), has launched at Duke. Investigators on the trial include E. Magnus Ohman, Thomas Povsic (serving as site and national PI) and cardiothoracic surgeon Adam Williams.

The first treatment at Duke was performed by Williams on June 23.

“This is a very exciting time – this trial is the first of its kind,” said Williams. “It has the potential to change the landscape for patients with refractory angina by providing a new therapy that has the potential to stimulate the body to grow new blood vessels in the heart.”

Patients with refractory angina due to advanced CAD are often referred to as ‘no-option’ patients, according to Ohman.

When patients are first diagnosed with CAD, the treatment approach typically involves lifestyle changes along with medications and, as the disease progresses, interventions such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting can be performed to improve blood flow throughout the heart. As CAD becomes more severe, however, medications may not be as effective and patients eventually exhaust all options for revascularization. Patients with refractory angina due to CAD have typically had prior interventions to open vessels in the heart, but can continue to experience pain or pressure in their chest due to the diffuse nature of their disease. This is an experience that can be severely debilitating, occurring on a daily basis, significantly limiting their quality of life.

“At this point, Ohman says, “there are very few options and we have been working on trying to figure out more ways to help these patients. This trial represents a significant new option for them.”

Other EXACT trial sites enrolling patients are located in OH, MN, GA and FL.

“Treatments for patients such as these are desperately needed and this is a new option offered here at Duke that is not available elsewhere in this region,” says Povsic. “This option represents a novel approach from conventional revascularization or medical therapy, and aims to address the fundamental deficit of microvascular dysfunction and lack of blood flow to the myocardium.”

According to Williams, most gene therapy trials that have been done in humans use an adeno-associated virus, but EXACT is using an adenoviral vector to deliver VEGF directly into the myocardium. This is done, he says, through a very small, minimally invasive incision to reach the heart tissue. Under direct vision, the surgeon then injects areas of the heart muscle that are known to be ischemic with the goal of stimulating new blood vessel development in that area.

Adenovirus, Williams says, has a quick onset of action – it begins within a couple of days – and after a couple of weeks, it stops expressing the VEGF. The team expects it will take 1 to 2 months post-therapy to start seeing a noticeable difference in the heart tissue.

Importantly, the team will evaluate enrolled patients using positron emission tomography (PET) scans over the course of a year. The scans will provide critical objective data as to whether the intervention is leading to increased blood supply to the ischemic areas.

The team is happy to evaluate any patients who have ongoing angina (chest pain due to coronary artery disease) for inclusion in this or other potential trials. To learn more about the EXACT Trial criteria, please visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04125732. To make a referral or discuss a possible patient with a member of the team, please contact the offices of either Dr. Povsic, 919-684-1284, or Dr. Ohman, 919-681-2069, or email Dr. Povsic directly at thomas.povsic@duke.edu.

Pokorney & Duke EP Enroll 1^st Patient for Extravascular ICD Trial

Congratulations to electrophysiologist Sean Pokorney and the Duke EP team – they recently became an enrolling site for the Medtronic Extravascular Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (EV ICD) Pivotal Study. Pokorney and team did their first implant of the investigational device on Monday, June 14^th.

The clinical trial is designed to determine the safety and efficacy of using Medtronic’s investigational EV ICD system to treat patients who are at increased risk of dangerous ventricular rhythms – patients who are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death, who have an ejection fraction of 35 percent or less.

Traditional ICDs are implanted under the skin below the patient’s collarbone with electrode wires (“leads”) placed transvenously, meaning the wires are placed through a vein and into the heart, where they are attached directly into the heart muscle. The location of the leads directly inside blood vessels and heart tissue can increase the risk of blood stream infections in patients.

The EV ICD utilizes extravascular placement, meaning the leads are not placed inside the blood vessels, which eliminates the risk of blood stream infections. The device is the same size as traditional ICDs with a wire that is designed to be placed underneath the sternum and close to the heart without the need for transvenous positioning, according to Pokorney.

“This allows the device to both pace the heart and shock the heart out of ventricular tachycardia,” said Pokorney.

The EV ICD Pivotal Study is a worldwide clinical trial with 50 sites, 23 of which are based in the U.S. Duke is the only enrolling site between Washington, DC and Jacksonville, FL. To learn more about eligibility criteria, please visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04060680.

Shout-out to Lindgren!

We received a recognition note this past week about Allison Lindgren, a cardiology PA on 7700. The note was sent to Rio Landa and Faith Williams by Katherine Adams, a clinical team lead for 7700, the cardiology stepdown unit at Duke University Hospital.

“Hi Rio & Faith, I wanted to take a moment to recognize Allison Lindgren. The nursing staff on 7700 submitted a recognition form for Allison for the quality care and team work that she provided from 6/21-6/23/2021. The staff members wrote this on the recognition form:

“Thank you for being someone who we can rely on. You are a great person to work with and we are so lucky to have you as a colleague”

Allison – thank you so much for all of your excellent work on the unit! We really appreciate you!” — Katherine

Way to go, Allison!

ICYMI: Duke Raleigh Hospital Opens New South Pavilion Bed Tower

Duke Raleigh Hospital celebrated the opening of its South Pavilion on Thursday, July 8, with move-in for patients expected to begin on Monday, July 12.

The nearly $196 million dollar project – which includes renovations to the hospital’s existing bed tower — is Duke Health’s largest investment in Wake County to date. The South Pavilion features 92 single-occupancy patient rooms, nine state-of-the-art operating suites and a new kitchen and café for patients and visitors.

“The newly completed South Pavilion adds space, not just for innovative care, but more room for families to be involved in the healing process during their stay,” said Leigh Bleecker, Duke Raleigh Hospital interim president. “This expansion brings us to 256 available beds in our facility — 186 licensed inpatient beds, plus 70 beds for observation and outpatient procedures. This total includes 28 ICU beds — an increase from the 15 we have today.”

The six-story South Pavilion compliments the hospital’s existing North Pavilion, which will be undergoing renovations in August to expand surgical areas, enhance the chapel and create a new corridor to link the two patient towers.

Construction on the new, 210,200-square-foot South Pavilion building began in 2018 and was designed to enhance patient and visitor experiences during their stays. Patient rooms include separate sitting areas for families, and new waiting rooms on inpatient floors overlooking Wake Forest Road.

Additionally, the new building incorporates art throughout, with a large, open lobby displaying work from local artists. The expanded café includes seating for nearly 200 guests and a menu featuring varied cuisines. An outdoor courtyard with dining areas, a tranquility garden and walking paths provides patients and visitors an opportunity to enjoy fresh air and sunshine.

With the new building and renovations in the North Pavilion, Duke Raleigh Hospital will have a new unified front entrance off Wake Forest Road in 2022.

“The building projects at Duke Raleigh Hospital – including construction of the South Pavilion bed tower and the upcoming renovations to the North Pavilion – represent the strength of our commitment to Wake County and the communities we serve,” said William Fulkerson, MD, executive vice president of Duke University Health System. “These projects are designed with careful attention to meeting the health and wellness needs of our patients, visitors and staff — both now and into the future.”

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

July 6 — Christopher Granger, Tracy Wang and Manesh Patel

HCP Live

Christopher Granger, MD: Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

https://bit.ly/3qYo0FH

July 6 — Kevin Thomas

Medscape

CABANA: Ablation Bests Drugs for AF in Racial/Ethnic Minorities

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/954248

July 7 — Kevin Thomas

Physician’s Weekly

Catheter Ablation May Be Better Option for Non-White AFib Patients

https://bit.ly/2UAk8yQ

July 7 — Stephen Greene and Mohammad Shahzeb Khan

Medpage Today

HF Care in the ED Languishes Despite Congestion-Driven Treatment Strategy

https://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/chf/93460

July 7 — Manesh Patel

HCP Live

Manesh Patel, MD: New Therapies for Cardiovascular Risk Management

https://bit.ly/3dXCzEs

July 7 — Schuyler Jones and Tracy Wang

HCP Live

Schuyler Jones, MD: Identifying High Risk Patients for CAD/PAD

https://bit.ly/3woSjXj

July 7 — Kevin Thomas

Reuters Health/MD Alert

Ablation bests drug therapy for minorities with afib in North America

https://bit.ly/3e1RnSC

July 8 — Derek Chew and Duke Clinical Research Institute

Medscape

IV Iron Cost-Effective, Maybe Even Cost-Saving in HF With Iron Deficiency

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/954455

July 8 — Kevin Thomas

HealthDay News

Catheter Ablation Improves A-Fib Outcomes in Racial/Ethnic Minorities

https://bit.ly/3AGFgUF

Duke Heart Week – July 4th 2021

July 4, 2021 / Leave a comment

Highlights of the week:

Welcome New Cardiology Fellows

This week, we welcomed 10 cardiology fellows to the Duke Cardiovascular Disease fellowship. They are all incredibly talented and have accomplished so much already. We are excited to work with them, get to know them, and watch their careers unfold!

Shown L-R are: Sara Coles; Willard Applefield; Manasi Tannu; Ijeoma Eleazu; Nkiru “Kiki” Osude; Balim Senman; Ilya Shadrin; Lonnie Sullivan; M. Shahzeb Khan, and V. Mark Kittipibul.

Please give them a warm welcome when you see them!

Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Residents, Fellows Celebrated

Congratulations to our incredible residents and fellows who wrapped up their training with us in May:

Hai Viet-Nguyen Salfity, MD, MPH, Thoracic Surgery Residency Program. She is headed to the University of Cincinnati Medical School, Cincinnati, OH.
Robert Patrick Davis, MD, Thoracic Surgery Residency Program. He is heading to Yale in New Haven, CT.
Charles Wojnarski, MD, Thoracic Surgery Residency Program. He is heading to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, WA.
Eriberto Michel, MD, Thoracic Transplant and Advanced Cardiac Surgery Fellowship. He is headed to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.
John M. Trahanas, MD, Advanced Aortic and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship. He is headed to Vanderbilt Medical School of Medicine in Nashville, TN.

Shown L-R are: E. Michel; J. Trahanas; H. Salfity (front); R. Patrick Davis (rear) and C. Wojnarski; with B. Zwischenberger, associate program director; J. Haney, program director; E. Chen, division chief; B. Tong, associate program director; and P. Smith, former division chief.

We are so excited for you! Best wishes as you embark on the next phase of your careers.

Rao Appointed VISN 6 Cardiology Lead

We are pleased to share that Sunil V. Rao, professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke and section chief of cardiology at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, has been appointed as the Cardiology Lead for the VA’s Virtual Integrated Service Network (VISN) 6!

The Veterans Health Administration is the largest integrated health care system in the U.S. and is comprised of 18 VISNs. VISN 6 is the VA’s Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, which includes 7 inpatient Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, 7 VA outpatient clinics, and 30 Community-based outpatient clinics in North Carolina and Virginia.

“It is an honor to do this work and it’s a natural progression of the work that all of us at the VA have been doing,” says Rao. “We’ve got a great team at the Durham VA and everyone is interested in increasing the level of care we’re providing.”

Cardiovascular care is a big proportion of the care the VA delivers both on an inpatient and outpatient basis, according to Rao. Because there are a lot of complexities within the scope of cardiovascular services provided, there had become a need to have someone who could serve in a coordinating role in order to improve care delivery to veterans across the VISN.

Rao credits his team at the VA and the strong partnership with Duke as the academic partner for the Durham VAMC, for their ability to provide extraordinary care to veterans.

“We’ve been able to develop treatment pathways – frequently in coordination with Duke –particularly as it relates to the things that the VA just can’t offer, like transplantation and advanced heart care therapies,” says Rao. “To serve as the cardiology lead for the VISN, for me, this is a chance to bring the work that our team at the VA has done and introduce it to a broader audience and try and make cardiology care around the entire VISN more efficient and to increase access to care for veterans.”

According to Rao, he and others within the VISN will be working to identify and address gaps in care for cardiology patients. Their goal is for patients in VISN 6 to get access to the top notch care they need in the places nearest them, and, when necessary, to more efficiently coordinate care with sites in Durham, Richmond or Asheville in the event that more advanced care is needed.

“I think for all of us, it’s really an honor to be able to serve people who have served their country and that is what keeps us dedicated to the VA,” says Rao. “I’m looking forward to seeing how we can elevate the level of care within the VA system both in NC and Virginia. I’m really looking forward to working with the entire team at the VISN level to try and do that.”

Congratulations, Sunil!

Piccini and Duke EP Launch DEFINE AFib Trial with Medtronic

Congratulations to Jon Piccini and the Duke EP team for enrolling one of the first two patients into the DEFINE AFib clinical trial, a research study funded by Medtronic. Using data collected from Medtronic’s LINQ family of insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs), the study aims to address unanswered questions around atrial fibrillation (AF) burden and its impact on patient outcomes, quality of life, and healthcare utilization. This is the first app-based research study for Medtronic.

Piccini enrolled Duke’s first patient on June 21. A second patient was enrolled the same day at Florida Electrophysiology Associates in Atlantis, FL.

DEFINE AFib will be conducted remotely through the new Medtronic Discovery App in coordination with U.S. sites that will collectively enroll approximately 5,000 patients. Study participants will include patients age 22 or older who have a history of AF, an iPhone device (iOS version 13 or higher), and one of the LINQ family of ICMs, among other criteria. The study will incorporate both device data and patient-reported data derived from scheduled patient surveys and the HealthKit — coupled with electronic health record information about medications and previous cardiac procedures — to provide comprehensive, actionable insights. Through a machine learning approach, aggregated study data will be leveraged to enable improved AF management in the future.

“When it comes to managing atrial fibrillation, there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, and the hope is that DEFINE AFib may give us the tools to help personalize AF management based on a patient’s individual health profile and physiology,” said Piccini, associate professor of medicine and director of electrophysiology at Duke, who is also chair of the DEFINE AFib Steering Committee. “DEFINE AFib will harness the power of digital health to make fundamental discoveries about how we can manage atrial fibrillation better in each and every one of our patients.”

Congratulations, Jon and team!

Shout-out to DeVore & Karra

We received the following note this week from our anesthesiology colleague Yuriy Bronshteyn:

“Hi, I’m an intensivist-anesthesiologist here at Duke and wanted to recognize two of your faculty for their dedication and patient-centric care:

Adam DeVore
Ravi Karra

Last week, a patient who lives 4+ hours away came to our anesthesia pre-op clinic anticipating surgery the next day for a slow-growing cancer. Unfortunately, her EKG showed some concerning findings so her surgeon asked that the cancer surgery by postponed pending a cardiology evaluation. The patient was distraught and asked only that her cardiology workup happen at Duke the next day since she was already staying at a local hotel overnight and that she would have difficulty returning to Duke later. At 5:30 p.m., Dr. DeVore – while wrapping up a busy clinic day – personally scoured the cardiology schedules and found a slot for the patient the next day with Dr. Karra. Dr. Karra then generously agreed to see the patient and proceeded to take excellent care of her.

Dr. DeVore and Dr. Karra went above and beyond to help a patient who was at risk of falling through the cracks of the healthcare system. And at a time when the patient was dealing with the emotional consequences of a cancelled cancer surgery. It is acts like this that make Duke an exceptional place to work and receive care.

Thank you to Dr. DeVore and Dr. Karra!” — Yuriy

We agree! Nicely done, Adam and Ravi!

Have news to share?

Duke Heart in the News:

June 29 — L. Kristin Newby

Mirage News

More than $11 million in research grants awarded for scientific exploration of disparities in cardio-oncology

https://bit.ly/3hkTL7K

June 29 — Raymond Kim

Diagnostic Imaging

Cardiac MRI Picks Up Myocarditis in Patients Fully Vaccinated for COVID-19

https://bit.ly/2TwVv5S

June 30 — Susan Dent (medical oncology)

Health Day

AHA News: Women With Heart Failure From Breast Cancer Treatment May Fare Better Than Previously Thought

https://bit.ly/3hvnoDs

June 30 — Keisha Bentley-Edwards (internal medicine)

Triangle Tribune

‘Denomination matters’ in Black-focused faith-based health programs

https://bit.ly/3qRO3i4

July 1 — Han Kim

Physician’s Weekly

Covid-19: New Reports of Vaccine Linked Myocarditis

https://bit.ly/2V40Thk

Division of Cardiology Publications Indexed in PubMed June 24-30, 2021

Curtis LH, Hoffman MN, Califf RM, Hammill BG. Life expectancy and voting patterns in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. SSM Popul Health 2021;15:100840. PM: 34169139.

Hamo CE, Abdelmoneim SS, Han SY, Chandy E, Muntean C, Khan SA, Sunkesula P, Meykler M, Ramachandran V, Rosenberg E, Klem I, Sacchi TJ, Heitner JF. OUTpatient intravenous LASix Trial in reducing hospitalization for acute decompensated heart failure (OUTLAST). PLoS One 2021;16(6):e0253014. PM: 34170908.

Hoffmann U, Lu MT, Foldyna B, Zanni MV, Karady J, Taron J, Zhai BK, Burdo T, Fitch KV, Kileel EM, Williams K, Fichtenbaum CJ, Overton ET, Malvestutto C, Aberg J, Currier J, Sponseller CA, Melbourne K, Floris-Moore M, Van Dam C, Keefer MC, Koletar SL, et al. Assessment of Coronary Artery Disease With Computed Tomography Angiography and Inflammatory and Immune Activation Biomarkers Among Adults With HIV Eligible for Primary Cardiovascular Prevention. JAMA Netw Open 2021;4(6):e2114923. PM: 34185068.

Lopes RD, de Barros E Silva PGM, Furtado RHM, Macedo AVS, Ramacciotti E, Damini LP, Bronhara B, Cavalcanti AB, Rosa RG, Azevedo LCP, Veiga VC, Machado FR, Ritt LE, Martins PA, Alexander JH, Avezum A, Berwanger O, et al. Randomized clinical trial to evaluate a routine full anticoagulation Strategy in Patients with Coronavirus Infection (SARS-CoV2) admitted to hospital: Rationale and design of the ACTION (AntiCoagulaTlon cOroNavirus)-Coalition IV trial. Am Heart J 2021;238:1-11. PM: 33891907.

Malian HM, Smith PJ, Hoffman B, Jiang W, Ammerman K, Kraus WE, Hinderliter A, Sherwood A, Blumenthal JA. Effects of Acute Exercise on Anxiety Ratings in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease and Elevated Anxiety. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev 2021;41(4):277-281. PM: 34158457.

Singh H, Mehta RH, O’Neill W, Kapur NK, Lalonde T, Ohman M, Ghiu I, Chen-Hsing Y, Dutcheshen K, Schreiber T, Rosman H, Kaki A. Clinical features and outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction: early vs recent experience with impella. Am Heart J 2021;238:66-74. PM: 33848505.

Vogel RF, Delewi R, Angiolillo DJ, Wilschut JM, Lemmert ME, Diletti R, van Vliet R, van der Waarden NWPL, Nuis RJ, Paradies V, Alexopoulos D, Zijlstra F, Montalescot G, Krucoff MW, van Mieghem NM, Smits PC, Vlachojannis GJ. Pharmacodynamic Effects of Pre-Hospital Administered Crushed Prasugrel in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction. JACC Cardiovasc Interv 2021;14(12):1323-1333. PM: 34167672.

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