This week’s Parallax episode is focusing on the latest science and questions surrounding one of the conundrums of cardiovascular science: Lipoprotein(a).
Dr. Ankur Kalra invites Dr Salim S Virani to help simplify the concept of Lp(a) with answering key questions about its measurement and its place in practice and prevention.
Dr Virani is a Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Director of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program and Vice Provost of Research at Aga Khan University from early next year.
Lp(a) was first described in 1963. Since then, many epidemiologic studies have noted association of high Lp(a) levels with elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, however, the role of this particle remained a conundrum (Kamstrup, 2017). New data from the development of novel drugs are offering strong evidence on the causality between Lp(a) and ASCVD and AVS (Kronenber et al. 2022).
Dr Virani, one of the authors of the new European Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement on Lipoprotein(a) in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and aortic stenosis, summarises the key concepts, shares his advice on clinical practice and talks about emerging therapies.
What is Lp(a) and what are the main associations? In what patient population should we lower LP(a)? What do you tell patients about Lp(a) testing and how easy it is to get it tested?
Questions and comments can be sent to “podcast@radcliffe-group.com” and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode.
Guest: @virani_md, host: @AnkurKalraMD and produced by: @RadcliffeCARDIO.
Exploring Art & Advancement Within Medicine - A Conversation with an Interventional Cardiologist.
The American College of Cardiology surveyed cardiologists across the globe to have a more detailed understanding on the impact of hostility, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace. Of almost 6000 cardiologists who took part in the survey 44% reported hostile work environment.
In this week's latest podcast episode, host, Ankur Kalra, MD, meets guest Prof Madhav Swaminathan (Duke University Health System, NC, US) to discuss how he has orchestrated a major humanitarian effort, in association with Duke University Health and The American Society of Echocardiography, to supply ventilation equipment and PPE to hospitals and NGOs during the current COVID-19 crisis in New Delhi, India.
Hear them discuss the challenges and learnings associated with the supply chain, inventory, logistics and cost to deliver this humanitarian effort; which most recently resulted in $140,000 of life-changing equipment being delivered to four key hospitals in New Delhi. A most inspirational episode.
In this candid and spiritual conversation Amit and Ankur take a journey through former episodes of Parallax and Ankur’s writings to explore what it takes to strive for a deeper knowledge of ourselves; or, as Ankur puts it, dharma, the inherent order of reality.
Parallax’s guest this week is Dr Eric David Adler, Medical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health.
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?
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.
What drives Dr Nishtha Sodhi? What were the formative moments of Dr Sodhi’s career? What are the new frontiers of cardiology?
In this week’s episode Ankur’s guest is Dr Mandeep R Mehra, Medical Director of Brigham Heart and Vascular Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
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.
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?
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.
The charity organisation, Women as One is an agent for women and men to be part of medicine that is built on talent, rather than a 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.
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 a 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?