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.
All Episodes
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This week Parallax welcomed its first non-physician/researcher guest: health advocate Lindsay Davis. Lindsay, ballerina with ambitions to study at Julliard, was experiencing the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) from her early teens, but she had not been diagnosed until she was 17.
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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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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?
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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.
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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.
Read More
Parallax’s guest this week is Dr Eric David Adler, Medical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health.
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
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?
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Just after 9/11, Heval, the 18-year-old Syrian Kurdish refugee found a job as a dishwasher. At this point, he was the sole provider of his family. The pressure that comes from being poor did not leave him for many years. Today, he is firm believer in giving back to underserved communities by spreading awareness within the medical community. As he says, well-meaning people of privilege are sometimes afraid to act. What we need is more people to bridge the gap and find ways to help each other.
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In one of her many posts on Instagram, we can see Dr Hafiza Khan holding a table summarising her reactogenicity after her second COVID shot. In the frame next to her is her son listing his own reactions. In this episode, Ankur asks Hafiza to talk about Instagram and reaching millennial and gen Z audiences, as well as the importance of developing and maintaining trust between different communities at a time of information overload.
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