Parallax by Ankur Kalra

Early in his career, Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt was considering becoming a basic science researcher. After an exchange with one of his mentors about doing science for the science’s sake, he had a self-realisation: He wanted his work to have a direct impact on patient care. In the 50th episode of Parallax, Dr. Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt leading physician, researcher, lecturer, and educator who has authored or co-authored over 1650 publications and was recipient of the ACC’s Distinguished Mentor Award in 2018 and AHA’s Distinguished Scientist Award in 2019. In this candid and personal interview, Dr. Bhatt talks about the lessons he took away from being a proceduralist and how he applies them in his everyday life. Dr. Kalra asks Dr. Bhatt to share some of the housekeeping rules that guided him over the years. We learn more about the importance of mentorship and the people who shaped Dr. Bhatt. He reflects on what it means to be a physician and a researcher while he considers what makes scientific work

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. Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest this week is Dr Garima Sharma, Director of CardioObstetrics and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University as well as an investigator of the “Global Prevalence and Impact of Hostility, Discrimination, and Harassment in the Cardiology Workplace”. According to Dr Sharma, the culture of a place is defined by what is tolerated. In this introspective and solution-seeking interview Garima explains how can microaggressions be identified and how does institutional culture normalise hostility by numbing the victims and making allowances for the perpetrators. In light of the data, they talk about the burden on early career cardiologists, and examine the role of institutions, senior faculty, a

"A failure to finish is a failure to start" 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. Questions and comments can be sent to “podcast@radcliffe-group.com” and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode. Guest @mswami001, hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Brought to you by Edwards: www.edwardstavr.com

Over the past two years, Parallax listeners have gotten to know Dr Ankur Kalra through his conversations with our guests. In this episode, we turned the tables and invited CardioNerds co-founder Dr Amit Goyal to reintroduce Dr Ankur Kalra interventional cardiologist, researcher, writer, and the host of this podcast. 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. Amit asks Ankur’s advice for foreign graduates who are aspiring to make a career in the US. They discuss mentorship as one of the inspirations for Parallax and Ankur’s personal experiences. Ankur examines what it means to be spiritual as a clinician: putting focus on our actions can help us recognize the value of everyday interactions and place the patient in the center of care. What makes Ankur tick? How do Ankur and Amit think about th

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. Dr Adler embarked on this question when a patient died unexpectedly and Dr Stacey Clegg, a fellow working with Dr Adler, grew the cells and discovered that the patient suffered from a devastating multisystemic disorder called Danon disease. Today the new gene therapy that his team developed is on clinical trial. Parallax’s guest this week is Dr Eric David Adler, Medical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health. In this in-depth episode, Ankur and Eric reflect on the decisions that had to be made in the early stages of their career. Eric shares the lessons he took a

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 de

Dr Heval Kelli will never forget when during his third year as a medical student, a man kept coming to the clinic complaining about being hungry. The team was checking for underlying health issues, when one of Dr Kelli’s attendings took his history and realised that this patient was not able to get access to food. Dr Kelli came away from this episode with a lesson that still shapes him as a doctor: “If you treat everyone as you want your family to be treated, you will do well.” Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Heval Mohammed Kelli, cardiologist at Northside Hospital Cardiovascular Institute, and a member of the ACC Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. In this inspirational and emotional interview, Dr Kelli talks about his journey, facing and overcoming obstacles, and the power of compassion. 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. Toda

Dr Sodhi remembers the first time she stepped into a Cath lab and found her passion. Years later she was preparing to do a complex TAVR procedure with her colleagues when suddenly they all recognised the significance of four women coming together in the lab. The photo of the four of them was shared widely on social media. For Dr Sodhi it became a symbol of what great mentorship can achieve, and for many others it is a beacon of hope. Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Nishtha Sodhi structural and interventional cardiologist at UVA Health, one of only 2% of women in her field in the US. In this in-depth interview Nishtha talks about her progression from the beginning of her career to professional fulfillment with highlights such as performing live cases for TCT as a junior faculty. She shares practical advice on networking and recalls her positive experiences with mentors like Joe Bavaria, Samir Kapadia, Alan Zajarias and many others. Ankur asks Nishtha about the role of technology in patient care and for her pred

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. Ankur’s guest is Dr Hafiza Khan, Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Baylor Scott & White Arrhythmia Management in Dallas. One of only 9 women in her field in Texas, she started to think about her legacy and the ways she can increase her impact and give back to her colleagues and patients as well as future medical students. 18 months ago, she started a microblog with the aim of drawing more women to her specialty and procedure-based medicine. Today she has more than 50.000 followers, many of them aspiring clinicians themselves. Her expertise and personal touch not only make her feed a great educational tool, but also a binge-worthy source at a time when building bridges between the scientific community and the public is key. In this episode, Ankur asks Hafiza to talk about Instagram and reaching millennial and g

Mallory was not prepared when she underwent her first heart surgery in seventh grade: She was hoping to regain her stamina, instead she experienced what she describes as a loss of self. Mallory was born with a rare heart disease called a Ebstein’s anomaly. In this powerful episode, Mallory Abbott recounts how she learnt to draw strength from her condition: She talks candidly about the realities of going into heart failure at age 25 and the moment when she decided to embrace herself. Ankur asks Mallory about her treatment path and her everyday experiences. They discuss the importance of having a routine and putting self-care first. Mallory shares her thoughts on social media as an asset for patient empowerment. What does a day look like in Mallory Abbott’s life? How did she reframe her approach to her condition? What is the importance of routine? What is Mallory’s message for anyone living with a health condition? Questions and comments can be sent to “podcast@radciffe-group.com” and may be answered by Anku

Dr Mehra does not frame his experiences as failures or successes; he looks at all events with one question in mind: What can I learn from this? 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. Dr Mehra’s professional journey started in the Sevagaram Ashram in India where medicine and the Gandhian way of life were both instilled in him. His career in the US was prompted by a question posed by a neuroscientist, Sister Elizabeth Burns: “Have you ever thought about the scalability of your impact?” In this reflective and personal conversation Mandeep talks about the choices he made during his career and the people who shaped him. Ankur asks Mandeep about his editorship at the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation and Mandeep shares his thoughts on selecting priorities, and the importance of living in the present moment. How does Dr Mehra think about building opportunities? What were his forma

In the first Parallax episode of 2021, Ankur welcomed back Sukh Nijjer from Imperial College London to review the most impactful events and advances in cardiology from 2020. In the first part of the episode, Ankur and Sukh focus on the mechanism of the coronavirus and its effects on the heart including clotting abnormality and troponin elevation. They discuss their clinical experiences and observations within the UK and US settings in light of the latest data. Sukh offers practical tips on how to approach patient management during this pandemic. Following this, Ankur and Sukh analyse the controversial STRENGHT study in light of the results from REDUCE-IT. They discuss the different attitudes toward early cryoablation therapy in the context of STOP AF and EARLY-AF studies. Sukh reviews the findings of the RHAPSODY Phase 3 trial and the revolution of SGLT2 inhibitors in the treatment of heart failure. Which COVID19 patients require risk stratification with a stress test? What are the take-home messages for

In the late 1980s, shortly after he left the NIH, Dr Martin B Leon founded the non-profit organisation, Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). At the beginning, CRF had almost no funding or people, but it had a concept of bringing together an academic community to follow the device development cycle from inception to inclusion. Today, CFR is a global entity, and its events are attended by hundreds of physicians/researchers worldwide. In the Season 2 finale, Ankur Kalra is joined by the legendary Martin B Leon, Professor at Columbia University, director of the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics and chairman emeritus of the CRF. In this in-depth discussion Dr Leon talks about what he believes is behind the success of CRF and the lessons he learnt from disappointments and mistakes along the way. Dr Leon stresses the importance of collaborations on a global scale. He talks about his plans for the future and the issues that were highlighted by the events of 2020. Ankur asks Dr Leon about his role as

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. Years later, after her agents asked her to hide her heart condition when on film sets, she felt compelled to create a platform where she can share her experience and support others living with HCM. In this episode Ankur asks Lindsay about her treatment path. Lindsay recalls her own journey to taking control of her condition and the important role of information in patient adherence. Lindsay, former Miss Ohio, talks how she used the pageant to create awareness. Lindsay talks about work in state legislation and her plans for 2021. What is Lindsay Davis’ advice to other people living with a health condition? What is Lindsay’s message to physicians? How did Lindsay use her experiences to create positive changes in the l

In 2020, women still only represent 16% of editorial boards1. 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. In this latest episode of Parallax, Ankur Kalra invites newly nominated US Cardiology Review board members, Associate Professor Erin D Michos and Dr Danielle Belardo to talk about how we can turn talk into action. Erin, Ankur and Danielle discuss gender disparity in the leadership of academic journalism. They talk about social media as a tool to connect with issues and people outside of their echo chambers. Danielle asks Ankur and Erin what would be th

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 toil of the profession? What is Mike’s advice to early career cardiologists? Tune in to be part of this in-depth and fascinating conversation on art, medicine and fatherhood with one of the leading figures of interventional cardiology

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