Cardionerds: A Cardiology Podcast

The CardioNerds explore the cardiovascular implications of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV 2, in patients with and without underlying cardiovascular disease. We discuss a range of important topics such as ACE-I and ARBS and COVID-19, a 4 part ID mini-series on SARs-CoV 2, important perspectives from clinicians on the frontlines of Italy and Iran, a primer on ICU care for COVID-19 positive patients and so much more! The series kicks off with Dr. Oscar Cingolani, Director of the Hypertension Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital is joined by Drs. Amit Goyal, Carine Hamo, and Daniel Ambinder and discuss what is known about the interplay between ACE-I and ARBS and COVID-19. We also learn tips and tricks from Dr. Cigolani’s experience with telemedicine use with the hypertension clinic. Flutter Moment by Dr. Stephen Lockey (Orthopedic Surgery) Check out the COVID-19 series page! Take me to episode topics page Follow us on Twitter! Dr. Oscar Cingolani earned his medical degree from the National University of La Plata, Argentina, and completed his Internship and Internal Medicine Residency at CEMIC, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and hypertension research post-doctoral fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. After completing his Internal Medicine Residency at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Pennsylvania, Dr. Cingolani joined The Johns Hopkins Hospital as a Cardiology fellow, where he remained on Faculty after his training. He is currently the Associate Director of The Johns Hopkins Hospital Cardiac Care Unit and the Director of the Hypertension Center. Dr. Cingolani’s research interests focus on hypertensive heart disease and its transition to heart failure. Dr. Stephen Lockey graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine and obtained an MBA from the McDonough School of Business. He is currently a third-year resident in Orthopaedic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital. He is interested in pursuing additional training in spine surgery.

Best-selling author Dr. Martha Gulati joins the CardioNerds squad, Carine Hamo, Heather Kagan, Amit Goyal, and Daniel Ambinder for an unbelievable discussion on women’s cardiovascular health relevant to anyone taking care of women. Topics discussed include disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in women vs men, sex specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease, special considerations for the evaluation of women presenting with chest pain, and cardiac conditions that have a female predominance, how to be a trailblazer in cardiovascular medicine and so much more! Check out the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Topic Page Take me to episode topics page Dr. Martha Gulati completed medical school at the University of Toronto, Canada and her internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Chicago. She previously served as the Sarah Ross Soter Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and the section director for Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Preventive Cardiology at Ohio State University. She currently serves as division chief of Cardiology for the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix. She is also editor-in-chief of ACC’s CardioSmart.  Dr. Gulati has made incredible contributions to researching cardiovascular disease in women. She is the principal investigator of the St. James Women Take Heart Project, a co-investigator on the Women Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE); previously served as a co-investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI); a member of numerous advisory boards and societies, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology; and has published articles in The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She is also the best-selling author of Saving Women’s Hearts! References Gulati, M., & Merz, C. (2016). Advances in Lipid Therapy: The Role of Lipid Treatment in Women in Primary Prevention. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. Gulati, M. (2017). Improving the Cardiovascular Health of Women in the Nation: Moving beyond the Bikini Boundaries. Circulation, 135(6), 495-498. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Wenger NK (2005) Women in cardiology: The US experience. Heart. Douglas PS, Rzeszut AK, Noel Bairey Merz C, Duvernoy CS, Lewis SJ, Walsh MN, Gillam L (2018) Career preferences and perceptions of cardiology among us internal medicine trainees factors influencing cardiology career choice. JAMA Cardiol. Wenger NK, Speroff L, Packard B (1993) Cardiovascular Health and Disease in Women. N Engl J Med. Burgess S, Shaw E, Zaman S (2019) Women in Cardiology. Circulation.

Duke cardiology fellow, Rahul Loungani, interviews Dr. Jonathan Piccini, director of the Electrophysiology Clinical Trials Program and Arrhythmia Core Laboratory at Duke University, about atrial fibrillation management in patients with heart failure. They discuss rate vs rhythm control and strategies for both, new onset AF in the context of critical illness, wearable devices in AF, escalation of therapy in AF, ideal patient for catheter ablation, and AF patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy. On the CardioNerds Heart Failure topic page you’ll podcast episodes, references, guest experts and contributors, and so much more. Take me to the Heart Failure Topic Page Take me to episode topics page Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Primer – Youtube Jonathan P. Piccini, MD, MHS is a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Clinical Research Institute. His research interests include the conduct of clinical trials and the assessment of cardiovascular therapeutics for the care of patients with heart rhythm disorders. At present, he is the Director of the EP Clinical Trials Program and Arrhythmia Core Laboratory at Duke University. He also serves on the Clinical Working Group of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Atrial fibrillation (GWTG-Afib) registry program. He is an associate editor for the American Heart Journal and serves on the editorial board of Heart Rhythm, the European Heart Journal, and the Journal of Cardiac Electrophysiology. He is the Principal Investigator of the data and coordinating center for ORBIT AF, a 25,000 patient registry focused on quality of care and improving outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation. He is also the PI of the GENETIC AF clinical trial, the first clinical trial to study genotype-directed rhythm control therapy for atrial fibrillation. He also serves on the steering committees of multiple international randomized trials focused on the treatment of atrial fibrillation.  Dr. Piccini has more than 175 publications in the field of heart rhythm medicine. Clinically, his focus is on the care of patients with atrial fibrillation and complex arrhythmias, with particular emphasis on catheter ablation and lead extraction. Dr. Rahul Loungani completed medical school at the medical university of SC and then traveled to Baltimore for internal medicine training in the Osler Residency Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Here he fell in love with the management and hemodynamics of critically ill patients. He is currently a third-year cardiology fellow at Duke University Medical Center where he will also be pursuing fellowship in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology next year. His current interests are in Cardiac amyloid, In particular its arrhythmic manifestations, early diagnosis, and novel therapeutics. He also loves teaching the housestaff and was awarded the Cassell-Saperstein award at Duke,  recognizing the fellow who most demonstrates a commitment to teaching and passion for clinical education. Outside of the hospital loves being a new dad to baby Arya

Dr. JoAnn Lindenfeld, Director of Heart Failure at Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, joins fellows Richa Gupta and Jessica Huston for a deep dive into heart transplantation. They explore the intricacies of organ allocation and recipient selection, stressing the need for equitable processes. The discussion also highlights innovative strategies to expand the donor pool, including using hepatitis C positive hearts. Additionally, the team navigates the critical challenges post-surgery, covering the importance of immunosuppressive medications and long-term care strategies.

Carine and Dan delve into left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) 101 with Dr. Steven Hsu, heart failure specialist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. We get big picture, we get detail oriented and we hit the highlights for the psycho-social-and medical management of our LVAD patient population. On the CardioNerds Heart Failure topic page you’ll podcast episodes, references, guest experts and contributors, and so much more. Take me to the Heart Failure Topic PageTake me to episode topics pageAcute Decompensated Heart Failure Primer – Youtube Dr. Steven Hsu received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He did his medical training on the Osler Medical Service, during which he also served as an Assistant Chief of Service. He then completed cardiology and advanced cardiomyopathy training at Hopkins. Dr. Hsu takes care of patients with advanced cardiomyopathies, Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD), and heart transplants. He serves as the medical director of the MCS program. He is also funded by an NIH/NHLBI K23 and leads a translational research effort studying the physiologic and molecular characteristics of right ventricular failure in the setting of pulmonary hypertension. More about this series:In conjunction with the 2020 Heart Failure Awareness Week, sponsored by the Heart Failure Society of America the CardioNerds are supporting the society’s efforts to promote heart failure awareness, patient education, and heart failure prevention by launching our Heart Failure Awareness CardioNerds Series. This series is a tribute to Dr. David Taylor. Dr. Taylor (aka “DOT”) was a heart failure attending at the Cleveland Clinic.  He died on Wednesday, February 5th 2020. We remember him for the legend he is. A passionate clinician, skilled educator, devoted mentor.  His legacy lives on within us. #foreverDOT

Amit and co-fellow Dr. Kartik Telukuntla discuss advanced heart failure therapies, or salvage therapies, with Dr. Jerry Estep, section head of heart failure at the Cleveland Clinic. On the CardioNerds Heart Failure topic page you’ll podcast episodes, references, guest experts and contributors, and so much more. Take me to the Heart Failure Topic Page Take me to episode topics page Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Primer – Youtube Dr. Jerry Estep earned his bachelor of arts at the University of Texas, Austin and subsequently received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed internal medicine residency training at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and went back to Baylor for his cardiology and heart failure fellowship training. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic in 2018 as our section head for the division of heart failure and transplant, Dr. Estep was the Section Head of Heart Failure at Methodist DeBakey in Houston, Texas. Dr. Estep has been involved in numerous clinical trials and co-authored over a 100 peer reviewed articles. He has a special interest in advanced heart failure strategies that include mechanical circulatory support devices and has published heavily on the percutaneous placement of intra-aortic balloon pump in the axillary artery as a long-term  support option to bridge patients to transplant. We are really appreciative of Dr. Estep’s time, expertise and amazing discussion regarding advanced heart failure therapies for the cardionerds cardiology podcast. Dr. Kartik Telukuntla completed medical school in the University of Miami and internal medicine residency at University of Pennsylvania. He is currently a general cardiology fellow at the Cleveland Clinic and is slated to continue on for advanced heart failure fellowship.

Dr. Randall Starling, former section head of Heart Failure at the Cleveland Clinic and past president of the Heart Failure Society of America, shares his expertise on guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure. He discusses the critical role of beta blockers, the importance of personalized treatment approaches, and the challenges faced in diverse clinical trials. The conversation also touches on the emotional journeys of patients, the significance of education in treatment adherence, and the evolving landscape of heart failure medications.

Dan and Carine chat with cardiomyopathy expert Dr. Ed Kasper with regards to his approach to the new onset heart failure patient. This episode is dedicated to Dr. Kasper’s mentor and friend, Dr. Kenneth L. Baughman. On the CardioNerds Heart Failure topic page you’ll podcast episodes, references, guest experts and contributors, and so much more. Take me to the Heart Failure Topic Page Take me to episode topics page Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Primer – Youtube Dr. Edward K. Kasper, is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Natural Sciences. He earned his M.D. at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. His internship and residency in Internal Medicine and assistant chief of service (ACS) of the Thayer service as well as his fellowship in Cardiology, were completed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he then joined the faculty in 1993. He is currently the E. Cowles Andrus Professor of Cardiology and Director of Clinical Cardiology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Dr. Ken Baughman served as director of the cardiology division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., before being recruited to Brigham Hospital in 2002. He was such a hero in cardiology. Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, a cardiology great in his own right, called Dr. Baughman a physician’s physician, and an exemplar of how you can lead and teach as a model to others. His thousands of patients knew him and benefited from his great expertise and his care. Dr. Gary Gottlieb, president of Brigham Hospital at the time,  said His passion for his patients was woven into the fabric of our hospital,” He represented the very best in medicine … He cared so deeply for each and every person he touched. Not only was he an extraordinary clinician, but he was a respected and accomplished researcher and brilliant mentor to dozens of young men and women who benefited from his nurturance and wisdom.” Learn more about Dr. Ken Baughman from a moving tribute authored by Dr. Roger Blumenthal. 

In conjunction with the 2020 Heart Failure Awareness Week, sponsored by the Heart Failure Society of America the CardioNerds are supporting the society’s efforts to promote heart failure awareness, patient education, and heart failure prevention by launching our Heart Failure Awareness CardioNerds Series. This series will include topics that include the evaluation to new onset heart failure, approach to guideline directed medical therapy, approach to advanced heart failure therapies, LVAD 101, heart transplantation 101, atrial fibrillation and heart failure, structural interventions in heart failure, an in-depth discussion on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, an approach to palliative care in heart failure and so much more! CardioNerds Heart Failure Success Series PageCardioNerds Episode PageCardioNerds AcademyCardionerds Healy Honor Roll CardioNerds Journal ClubSubscribe to The Heartbeat Newsletter!Check out CardioNerds SWAG!Become a CardioNerds Patron! This heart failure series is a tribute to Dr. David Taylor. Dr. Taylor was a heart failure attending at the Cleveland Clinic.  He died early morning of Thursday, February 5th 2020.  We remember him for the legend he is. A passionate clinician, skilled educator, devoted mentor. We also dedicate the series in memory of Dr. Ken Baughman who served as director of the cardiology division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., before being recruited to Brigham Hospital in 2002.  He was such a hero in cardiology. Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, a cardiology great in his own right, called Dr. Baughman a physician’s physician, and an exemplar of how you can lead and teach as a model to others. For more on Dr. Baughman, please visit the heart failure topics page. 

Dr. Ron Witteles from Standford university provides an approach to cardiac amyloid and specifically AL (Light-Chain) Cardiac Amyloidosis. The discussion is lead by Amit and Dr. Ashley Bock. This episode is the fourth and final part of our immersive journey into the jungle of beta-pleated sheets in the heart. We focus on AL amyloidosis in this episode. Flutter moment by Lois Adamski. On the CardioNerds Cardiac Amyloid Topic Page you will find podcast episodes, infographic, references, guest contributors, flutter stars, and so much more. Take me to the Amyloid Topic Page Take me to episode topics page Cardiac imaging for Amyloid – Youtube  Dr. Ronald Witteles is a graduate of Northwestern University where he earned his B.A. in Biology, and of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where he earned his M.D. with Honors.  He then moved west to Stanford University where he completed IM residency and Cardiology fellowship training, serving as both Chief Resident and Chief Fellow. He subsequently joined the faculty at Stanford, and is currently appointed as Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine). He has served as Program Director for the Stanford University Internal Medicine Residency Training Program for more than 10 years, where he leads a residency program of approximately 140 residents.  He is Co-Director of the Stanford Amyloid Center – one of the nation’s largest centers in the country which specializes in the treatment of patients with amyloidosis, and he leads an active research program in this area. He also serves as Co-Director of the Stanford Multidisciplinary Sarcoidosis Program, and he is a national leader in Cardio-Oncology, serving as Associate Editor for the country’s premier journal dedicated to the field, JACC: CardioOncology.  Dr. Ashley Bock earned her medical degree at the University of Colorado and completed her internal medicine residency training at Duke University.  From there she came to the Cleveland Clinic for general cardiology fellowship and advanced heart failure training. She joins our team today to discuss AL cardiac amyloidosis with Dr. Witelles.