EP 45: The Journey of Dr Alin Gragossian, Physician, Heart Transplant Recipient & Advocate
Two and a half weeks before her urgent orthotopic transplantation, Alin led the life of a busy emergency medicine resident. The warning signs of her dilated cardiomyopathy were drowned out by the demands of a 24-hour shift at her critical care unit. She recalls being confused while she was transferred to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and was signed up for the organ transplant list.
After the heart transplant, while coming to terms with her condition, she decided not to let this “inconvenient life event” bring her down and take over her thoughts, and wrote the first post on her blog “a change of heart”. The blog is a space for raising awareness of organ donation, research and charities.
Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Alin Gragossian, a critical care fellow, heart transplant recipient and advocate. In this episode, Alin talks about her journey as a patient, the psychological aspects of her recovery and her advocacy work. Ankur asks Alin about the mindset behind her sense of purpose and her dedication to help raise awareness of organ donation and young heart failure patients.
How did Dr Gragossian receive her diagnosis? How does she feel about her new reality? What drives her? What is her message to our listeners?
Read more about Dr Alin Gragossian's journey here: www.achangeofhe.art/blog
Questions and comments can be sent to “podcast@radciffe-group.com” and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode. Guest @AG_EM33, hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.
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Brought to you by Edwards: www.edwardstavr.com
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According to Dr Eric Adler, at the core of all impactful research is a powerful narrative that makes us reflect on the human condition. In 2006, when the ground-breaking discovery was made that specialized cells can be turned into stem cells, Dr Eric Adler was thinking about how he could create a synergy between his passion for clinical work and his determination to ask compelling questions in research.
Parallax’s guest this week is Dr Eric David Adler, Medical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health.
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Parallax’s guest this week is Dr Eric David Adler, Medical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health.
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In this stimulating and thought-provoking episode, Dr. Kalra and Dr. Anavekar delve into the topic of measuring success in medicine. Dr. Anavekar puts forward the argument that the ambiguous definition of academic achievement often results in damaging biases that have long-term repercussions on the medical field. As a program director, Dr. Anavekar believes that the number of published articles should not be the only or most crucial criterion for evaluating early-career faculty. He argues that it's important to also consider the "distance travelled" by candidates. Dr. Kalra raises pertinent questions about the practical implications of this approach, and Dr. Anavekar provides candid insights into his responsibilities.
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Dr Mahmoudi and Dr Täuber teamed up to explore bullying in academic settings. Together with Dr Kalra they discuss why bullies thrive in such environments and the ways institutions enable such behaviour. Dr Täuber offers solutions and a critical overview of institutional narratives, while Dr Mahmoudi highlights the long-term effects on academic work and medicine. They call for action against toxic behaviour and for stakeholders to eliminate incentives for universities to support perpetrators.
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In 2018, the loss of a friend to suicide compelled Dr Anavekar to embark on a profound journey of contemplative self-exploration. Now, he uses his experience to encourage and guide trainees to pose thought-provoking questions that challenge the status quo of the materialistic approach to medicine, ultimately leading to a more outcome-focused perspective.
What is the Global Cardiology University project? How does Dr Anavekar encourage trainees to re-examine their role in patient care? What is his advice to our listeners?
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What is the Global Cardiology University project? How does Dr Anavekar encourage trainees to re-examine their role in patient care? What is his advice to our listeners?
In the latest episode of Parallax, Dr. Ankur Kalra invites Dr Vijay Rao, the Governor of the Indiana Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, to share his experience and insights with the audience.
As Dr Kalra asks Dr Rao about the ways in which early career faculty members can get involved with the organization at a state level. Dr Rao shares his insider tips and highlights key events where individuals can further their participation.
How can you get involved with your local ACC chapter? How can you improve your leadership skills? What is Dr Rao’s advice for our listeners?
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As Dr Kalra asks Dr Rao about the ways in which early career faculty members can get involved with the organization at a state level. Dr Rao shares his insider tips and highlights key events where individuals can further their participation.
How can you get involved with your local ACC chapter? How can you improve your leadership skills? What is Dr Rao’s advice for our listeners?
Dr Vuyisich shares his personal journey with rheumatoid arthritis and how it led him to explore the intersection of nutrition and the gut microbiome function.
He explains how the complexity of nutrition and the compounds generated by the gut microbiome can impact our health. We learn more about three compounds produced by our gut microbiome that have a strong connection with heart disease.
Through this conversation, Dr Vuyisich invites us to reframe our approach to nutrition and prevention as a question of food education and data-driven science.
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He explains how the complexity of nutrition and the compounds generated by the gut microbiome can impact our health. We learn more about three compounds produced by our gut microbiome that have a strong connection with heart disease.
Through this conversation, Dr Vuyisich invites us to reframe our approach to nutrition and prevention as a question of food education and data-driven science.
In this week’s Parallax Dr Kalra welcomes back Dr Nijjer for their annual review of the most impactful and controversial cardiovascular trials of 2022.
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Neurocardiology refers to the intersection between the fields of neurology and cardiology. The mind and heart are deeply interconnected in terms of anatomy, physiology, and various pathologic states.
This episode features a vascular neurologist and an interventional cardiologist who will discuss the relationship between their two fields of medicine.
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This episode features a vascular neurologist and an interventional cardiologist who will discuss the relationship between their two fields of medicine.
Coming from generations of doctors, Dr Kittleson describes herself first and foremost a dedicated clinician. With her new book, Dr Kittleson offers her mentorship and shares her advice on how to make patient care fulfilling for both clinicians and patients.
In this rich and insightful discussion, Dr Kittleson talks about the origins of famous #kittlesonrules, a collection of tips for doctors shared on Twitter, and her thoughts on mentorship. We learn more about Mastering the Art of Patient Care. Dr Kalra and Dr Kittleson discuss strategies for managing difficult situations in patient care.
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In this rich and insightful discussion, Dr Kittleson talks about the origins of famous #kittlesonrules, a collection of tips for doctors shared on Twitter, and her thoughts on mentorship. We learn more about Mastering the Art of Patient Care. Dr Kalra and Dr Kittleson discuss strategies for managing difficult situations in patient care.
Dr Lawrence Huntoon, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, returns for a deep dive into the topic of the hospital peer review system.
What do you need to know about hospital investigations? What is the difference between OPPE and FPPE? How can you get educated on hospital bylaws and processes?
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What do you need to know about hospital investigations? What is the difference between OPPE and FPPE? How can you get educated on hospital bylaws and processes?
In this week’s Parallax Dr Kalra’s guests are the team that fought for justice in Dr Kaki’s case: Dr Lawrence R. Huntoon, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and Deborah Gordon, employment attorney.
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In 2020, women still only represent 16% of editorial boards.
US Cardiology Review journal, has recently seen a 7-fold increase in female editorial board members in response to journal-based strategic initiatives and the stellar work of USC editorial board leadership, Ankur Kalra (Editor in Chief) and Bill Gogas (Deputy Editor in Chief), who were keen to drive this change. With thanks to Dr Anastasia Mihailidou’s tenure as a new board member and her suggested nominees, ten new female board members have recently joined US Cardiology Review’s editorial board.
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US Cardiology Review journal, has recently seen a 7-fold increase in female editorial board members in response to journal-based strategic initiatives and the stellar work of USC editorial board leadership, Ankur Kalra (Editor in Chief) and Bill Gogas (Deputy Editor in Chief), who were keen to drive this change. With thanks to Dr Anastasia Mihailidou’s tenure as a new board member and her suggested nominees, ten new female board members have recently joined US Cardiology Review’s editorial board.
One of the first things painted by the young Mike Gibson, today Professor of Medicine at Harvard, researcher and interventional cardiologist, was a cloud. Years later while painting angiograms Dr Gibson came up with the idea of myocardial blush: The blush was that cloud of dye in the heart muscle.
In this episode, Mike opens up about his childhood in Stilwell, Oklahoma. Ankur and Mike discuss how the inductive quality of art can complement the deductive principles of science. Mike recalls earlier stages of his career and warns about the blinding effect of the ego-driven, competitive culture of cardiology. Ankur asks Mike about fatherhood and about his role as an educator.
What does it mean to be fearless as a medical professional? How can you protect yourself from the emotional toll of the profession? What is Mike’s advice to early career cardiologists?
Sponsored by Edwards.
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In this episode, Mike opens up about his childhood in Stilwell, Oklahoma. Ankur and Mike discuss how the inductive quality of art can complement the deductive principles of science. Mike recalls earlier stages of his career and warns about the blinding effect of the ego-driven, competitive culture of cardiology. Ankur asks Mike about fatherhood and about his role as an educator.
What does it mean to be fearless as a medical professional? How can you protect yourself from the emotional toll of the profession? What is Mike’s advice to early career cardiologists?
Sponsored by Edwards.
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.
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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.
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?
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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?
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 episode is about creating a safer environment for female healthcare professionals.
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After the #MedBikini campaign provoked by a misogynistic study that scrutinized female doctors’ social media posts, this episode is about creating a safer environment for female healthcare professionals.