Parallax by Ankur Kalra

In this week’s episode Ankur Kalra asks Dr Suzanne J Baron, Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center: How do we measure the value of a novel technology? During her interventional cardiology fellowship, Dr Baron became fascinated by the implementation of novel technologies. She earned her degree in Clinical Epidemiology and spent a year working at the FDA’s Device Evaluation unit. In 2019 Dr Baron presented the results of her late-breaking trial, COAPT. Ankur invites Suzanne to discuss the economic analysis of the study and to give a short introduction to cost-effectiveness analysis. Suzanne provides an overview of the trial and they talk about the importance of understanding the value and benefits of new devices from both the patient and the health-economic point of viewpoint. What convinced Dr Baron to become an interventional cardiologist? How does Dr Baron interpret the results of the COAPT trial in light of MITRA FR? What is good value from a health-economic p

In this week’s Parallax, host Ankur Kalra is joined by Charles (Chuck) Simonton, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Abiomed. Chuck talks about how his father’s leadership and service as a Methodist minister inspired him to become a doctor. He recalls the dawn of interventional cardiology: the birth of angioplasty and stenting. Drawing from his experiences as a trialist who worked with some of the most influential minds, he offers practical tips to young doctors. Finally, Ankur asks Chuck about the Impella device controversy and the recent decision of Abiomed to accelerate their clinical research. How should you start building a research programme? What are Chuck Simonton’s thoughts on the relationship between doctors and the industry? What is Chuck’s message to young cardiologists? Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit your questions to Ankur via: podcast@radcliffe-group.com.

Martha Gulati, Professor of Medicine and the Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona joins Ankur Kalra to continue the important conversation on how the cardiovascular community can stand up against sexism. After the #MedBikini campaign provoked by a misogynistic study that scrutinized female doctors’ social media posts, this week’s episode is about creating a safer environment for female healthcare professionals. Martha shares her leadership experiences as the chief and only woman of her division. She talks about the forms of sexism that are prevalent in the cardiovascular community, where less than 14% of the doctors are female. Ankur asks Martha about how men can become better allies for women in cardiology. They discuss the importance of a fair and welcoming environment for professionals and patients alike. How to diagnose and treat sexism? How to recognise patterns of discrimination? How to call out sexism at your workplace? These are the questions Professor Gulati and Ankur Kalra pose and

This week’s guest, Prof Roxana Mehran, Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Founding Director of Women as One, is a phenomenon in interventional cardiology. Her pioneering work as clinician, trialist and advocate is well known within the community. In this episode we learn what makes Roxana tick and what were the odds she had to defy as an immigrant from Iran to fulfil her ‘impossible dream’. The charity organisation, Women as One is an agent for women and men to be part of a medicine that is built on talent, rather than privilege. Roxana and Ankur discuss the role of mentorship and family-friendly work environment in mending the broken house of cardiology. Roxana talks about the practical tools that are available for women to take the next steps in their career and achieve their goals. We have much to do, check out Women as One’s website https://www.womenasone.org for more information. Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit y

This week’s guest is Dr Laura Mauri who became Vice President of Global Clinical Research and Analytics at Medtronic in 2018 after an illustrious career in academic medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr Kalra asks Dr Mauri about early influences and her traineeship with legendary interventionalists, the late Donald Baim and Richard Kuntz. Dr Mauri talks openly about her decision-making process and the importance of selecting your priorities and committing to them. Ankur asks Laura about her decision to go into industry. Laura shares her thoughts on medical innovations and meeting urgent needs with unique perspectives. What is Dr Mauri’s advice for young cardiologist? How did she balance research and patient care? What are the questions that helped her decision making? How does Dr Mauri think about innovations in medicine? Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit your questions to Ankur via: podcast@r

In the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement, a group of internal medicine residents posed a question: What can we do about racial disparity within our institution? Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Health Equity Committee decided to confront the status quo by asking: How is racism on a structural level present within our walls? Ankur Kalra’s guests Michelle Morse (Founding Co-Director of EqualHealth and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School) and Lauren Eberly (Cardiology Fellow at University of Pennsylvania) are co-authors of a retrospective study that demonstrated what had previously only been observed: That black or brown heart failure patients ended up in general medicine rather than specialised cardiology services. Following publication of the study in November 2019, the Health Equity Committee started to roll out anti-racism trainings and to work on objective admission guidelines to mitigate biased behaviours. Aarti Bhatt (Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Minnesota), mem

Heart surgery is not the best option for every patient suffering from structural heart disease. This was recognized by interventional cardiologist Anmar Kanaa’N and cardiac surgeon Joseph Lahorra who decided to unify their skillsets and bring the Structural Heart Program to life. Their vision was to offer patients with heart valve diseases all available options at Cleveland Clinic’s Akron General. In this week’s Parallax, Dr Kanaa’N, the director of the program, and Dr Lahorra, chairman of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Department of Akron General introduce the listeners to the foundations of their program and the paradigm shift brought by TAVR. Tune in to hear host Ankur Kalra ask Dr Kanaa’N and Dr Lahorra to share the practicalities of setting up the state-of-the-art program. Questions and comments can be sent to “podcast@radciffe-group.com” and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode. Guests Anmar Kanaa’N and Joseph Lahorra, hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

The State of Ohio reported its first coronavirus cases on March 9. Prior to that, on February 28, the Cleveland Clinic announced that they are prepared to open 1,000 additional hospital beds if needed. Ohio was one of the states to follow recommendations and intervene quickly. Ankur Kalra asks Grant W Reed, Director of the Cleveland Clinic’s STEMI program, to reflect on the actions they took and the challenges of delaying cardiovascular procedures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Reed offers insight on the factors that influenced the Cleveland Clinic’s STEMI policy for COVID-19. Ankur and Grant discuss the triage considerations for patients with structural heart disease and the steps the clinic took to protect its healthcare workers. In this week’s Parallax Dr Kalra and Dr Reed are addressing questions in the wake of Cleveland Clinic’s decision to reopen services for essential procedures. Which cardiac operations should be performed? What is the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on cardiac surgery? How

This week Ankur Kalra talks with Lisa Rosenbaum, national correspondent for The New England Journal of Medicine and cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Lisa Rosenbaum has been writing extensively about the human face of medicine. Her articles have been widely circulated by publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker and The New England Journal of Medicine. In this edition of Parallax Dr Kalra asked Dr Rosenbaum about the influences that shaped her choices as a writer and as a healthcare professional. Dr Rosenbaum opens up about her childhood and how she connected to her grandfather through writing and medicine. We learn about Lisa’s first day at medical school and her latest writing project. Tune in to learn about a doctor’s path to medical journalism. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Connect and submit your questions to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Related sources: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2009984 https://books.google.co.uk/b

A week after Jag Singh had tested positive for COVID-19, he became a patient in his hospital’s intensive care unit. This week he joins Ankur Kalra, MD to tell us about his journey as a clinician-scientist. Jagmeet P Singh, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a renowned Clinical Trialist, and the past Clinical Chief of Cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital joins Ankur Kalra for a deep conversation about his journey across three continents. Dr Singh talks about the importance of choosing fulfillment over success. We gain more insights on the recent late-breaking clinical trial, MADIT-CHIC focusing on cardiac resynchronization therapy. Ankur asks Jag about his experience of being on the other side of the healthcare system as a patient and his participation in an investigational drug study. What is Dr Singh’s advice for young cardiologists? How does he balance his responsibilities? How did his hospitalisation shape Dr Singh’s outlook on his role as a medical professional? Tune in to list

“It’s a tsunami not just a wave. The worst tsunami you can imagine” Prof Michele Senni is Director of Cardiology at Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, Bergamo Italy. He contracted COVID-19 himself and in this latest podcast he meets with Ankur Kalra, MD to discuss his personal experience in dealing with patients and COVID-19 in Europe’s outbreak epicentre. Hear them discuss the burden on healthcare, patient selection, the importance of testing and PPE and how COVID has resulted in a reduction of acute myocardial infarction and heart failure in patients. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. What to listen for: In this episode they discuss: • [03.00] Personal experience from the front line in Bergamo, Italy • [19.45] ACS and COVID-19 patients • [24.00] Myocarditis reduction in COVID-19 patients • [25.30] Acute onset heart failure and cardiomyopathy in COVID-19 patients • [29.40] Increased pulmonary pressure in COVID-19 patie

“We are at war with a pandemic and the enemy is not each other, it’s the virus.” In this latest episode, Ankur Kalra, MD meets with Andrew Sauer, MD, co-author of upcoming paper in US Cardiology Review on COVID-19 and Cardiovascular Disease that provides a concise and current summary of cardiovascular complications from COVID-19. Hear them discuss the latest issues surrounding the pandemic, the known cardiac implications and the rapidly emerging data. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. What to listen for: In this episode they discuss: [00.00] Introductions [05.55] The importance of lessons learned from other countries and the importance of social distancing [09.25] Troponin elevation in COVID-19 positive patients [13.15] Receptor mechanisms and treating COVID-19 patients with hypertension [19.19] Cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms in COVID-19 patients [23.00] Fulminant myocarditis, co

In these unprecedented times, we provide an early release episode to gain insight on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic from Deputy Editor in Chief of US Cardiology Review, a BDG interventional cardiologist, Bill Gogas, MD, PhD practising in East Asia. Hear Bill’s take on how East Asia responded to and successfully managed the pandemic and how they are now seeing a significant reduction in cases outside the epicentre. Hear how the strategy resulted in only 93 patients in Bill’s city of Nanjing, testing positive for coronavirus with a city population of 8 million. Learn about effective responses, the importance of early control and how as a cardiovascular physician your life and practice may be impacted from the virus. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. What to listen for: In this episode they discuss: [02.45]: Opening thoughts [03.35]: What consequences should we expect? [04.43]: Contai

We can count on our fingertips how many “interventional intensivist” exist in the US. In this episode Ankur Kalra, MD meets with Dr Ann Gage, Cleveland Clinic’s first “interventional intensivist”. She discusses her unique skill set, what it means to be an interventionalist in the cath lab but also an expert in cardiovascular intensive care and advocates why such a unique skill set and critical care training are required in today’s modern medicine. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. What to listen for: In this episode they discuss: • [03.00] Becoming an interventional intensivist: a look back • [05.05] Roadblocks and pathways to becoming an ‘interventional intensivist’ • [13.30] Scholarly research on the pathway of the ‘interventional intensivist’ • [15.00] An interventional intensivist is not a critical care doctor • [17.30] Is a direct training pathway coming for the interventional intensivist? • [20.45] The cha

Dr Cavalcante meets with Ankur Kalra, MD to discuss his recent review published in US Cardiology Review 13.2; on a new aortic stenosis staging system that has important implications for clinical outcomes following aortic valve replacements to aid the treatment of aortic stenosis. Listen to this, as well as an overview on his interesting childhood and his views on the future of cardiac imaging to treat TAVR. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

The first female cardiac surgeon qualified in the 1960’s. Today there are only 4.5% women in cardiology and only 4% in thoracic surgery. Ankur Kalra meets with Dr Kendra Grubb, the first women to be trained at the University of Virginia, US, on cardiothoracic surgery and the 250th board certified women in thoracic surgery. Her recent post on social media went viral. It was a photo of an all-women surgical team carrying out a complex structural heart procedure. It had over 100,000 views and was seen by people in over 75 different countries. It’s clear from this online reaction, that now is the time for women to be recognised for the work they are doing in medicine. Listen to this engaging discussion between them on the challenges of being a woman in cardiovascular medicine today. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

In our final episode of the year, Ankur has an long conversation with Sukh Nijjer from Imperial College London about the most impactful, exciting and controversial clinical trials of 2019. Sukh and Ankur also discuss how these trials might change practice in the future, and how practice patterns and decisions differ between the US and the UK. In light of an emerging trend of shared decision making between physicians of different specialities and patients with a vast amount of information at their fingertips, Sukh and Ankur examine what tools they use to reconcile the growing data from clinical trials. Trials discussed in detail include those presented at the ACC in New Orleans: PARTNER 3 & Evolut Low Risk on TAVR/TAVI, and SAFARI & COAPT on radial vs femoral access; presented at the ESC in Paris: THEMIS and ISAR-REACT 5 on DAPT post-PCI, DAPA-HF on SGLT2i’s for heart failure, and COMPLETE on PCI of non-culprit lesions in STEMI; presented at TCT in San Francisco: TWILIGHT on DAPT post-PCI, and EXCEL at 5 yea

Recorded before the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2019, Ankur is joined by Rasha K Al-Lamee, Interventional Cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London and Study Director of the Objective Randomised Blinded Investigation with Optimal Medical Therapy of Angioplasty in Stable Angina (ORBITA) trial. Rasha talks about how she got into academia, the significance of her end-of-training PhD, and what led to the genesis of ORBITA. Ankur and Rasha also discuss the findings and unanswered questions of ORBITA, and how recent research in coronary revascularisation and stable ischemic heart disease has (or has not) changed their clinical practice. Finally, in anticipation of its presentation at AHA 2019, Rasha gives an overview of the International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches (ISCHEMIA). Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

This week, Ankur spoke with Ajay J Kirtane on why he became a cardiologist, how he fell into academic research, and why the cardiology specialty is heavy with people of Indian origin. Ajay also talks about how he has negotiated between competing priorities in clinical and academic work, and how he manages fatherhood with a busy career. Ahead of the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2019, Ajay also shared what he thinks we can expect from the highly anticipated ISCHEMIA trial. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

How did Gregg from Cleveland, Ohio become Gregg W Stone MD, world-leading interventional cardiologist and clinical trialist? This week, Ankur had the pleasure of speaking to Gregg about his personal and professional journey through the ‘golden years’ of interventional cardiology. Gregg also shares his tips on how to progress from clinical practice into academic research, and what it takes to be a successful clinical investigator. Finally, Gregg shares with Ankur what personality traits he looks for in mentees and why presenting a finalized project in your application might not be enough. Submit your question to Ankur via: podcast@radciffe-group.com. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.