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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EP 61: The Year 2021 in Review with Dr Sukh Nijjer — Top Trials in Heart Failure and Cardiac Surgery
In the second part of Parallax’s review of 2021, Dr Sukh Nijjer, Interventional Cardiologist from Imperial College London, and Dr Ankur Kalra discuss key advances in the field of heart failure and cardiac surgery.
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In the last Parallax episode of the year, Dr Ankur Kalra welcomed back Dr Sukh Nijjer, Interventional Cardiologist from Imperial College London, to review the most impactful events and advances in cardiology from 2021.
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In this AHA 2021 episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Amit Khera, Professor and Director of Preventive Cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas and Vice Chair of the Scientific Sessions. For this week’s show, Dr Khera selected three thought-provoking late-breaking trials that will inform or change clinical practice.
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In this TCT 2021 episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Prof Mamas Mamas, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), Professor of Cardiology at Keele University and Senior Clinical Editor of TCTmd.
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In celebration of Diwali, Dr. Ankur Kalra sat down with Dr. Ambarish Pandey, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, to talk about his career path and the questions that shaped his decision-making over the years.
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This week’s Parallax in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) explores the many ways organisations can embrace the needs of a diverse community and create a culture that can react to the realities of patientcare.
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In the second ESC 2021 episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr. Mirvat Alasnag, interventional Cardiologist and Director of Catheterization Laboratory at the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital (KFAFH) in Saudi Arabia. Dr Alasnag was a programme committee member at this year’s ESC and regional PI of one of the late-breaking trials presented.
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In this special ESC 2021 edition of Parallax, Ankur asks Purvi to review the highlights of the congress. Purvi summarises the design and findings of the trials and their importance in the treatment of patients. Ankur and Purvi discuss how the novel data presented at ESC will inform their practice.
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Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Nasrien Ezzeldin Ibrahim, Director of Heart Failure Clinical Research at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute and the writer of SPARKPLUG: The Roadmap to Confidently Ignite and Navigate Your Career Without Compromising Your Dreams.
In this candid episode of Parallax, Nasrien and Ankur open up about their experiences of being an immigrant. Ankur asks Nasrien about her journey to medicine. Nasrien shares the lessons she took away from her years under the mentorship of Dr JoAnn Lindenfeld and later, Dr. James Januzzi. Finally, Nasrien shares her recent experience of writing Sparkplug and how she embraced life with its imperfections and found her purpose.
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In this candid episode of Parallax, Nasrien and Ankur open up about their experiences of being an immigrant. Ankur asks Nasrien about her journey to medicine. Nasrien shares the lessons she took away from her years under the mentorship of Dr JoAnn Lindenfeld and later, Dr. James Januzzi. Finally, Nasrien shares her recent experience of writing Sparkplug and how she embraced life with its imperfections and found her purpose.
This week’s episode starts a series in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA). Host, Ankur Kalra’s guests are Robert Mentz and Anuradha Lala Senior Editorial Team of the Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF), the official journal of the HFSA and the Japanese Heart Failure Society (JHFS).
In this practical and insightful episode, Dr Kalra asks what does diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging mean to the editorial board of JCF and what were the steps taken to put these principles into practice.
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In this practical and insightful episode, Dr Kalra asks what does diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging mean to the editorial board of JCF and what were the steps taken to put these principles into practice.
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.