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CVD Prevention and Evaluation of Cardiovascular Imaging Modalities: Coronary Calcium Score by CT Scan Screening to justify or not the Use of Statin

Curator: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

Opinion Leader:  Khurram Nasir, M.D., MPH

One of four Symposium Directors

2014 12th Annual Cardiovascular Disease Prevention International Symposium 

Thursday – Sunday, February 6-9, 2014 Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida

As reported in Time Magazine, March 10, 2014, A Smarter Heart-Health Test Screening for calcium could get millions OFF Statins.

According to Dr. Nasir, 35% of people who have calcium buildup aka plaque in their blood vessels but NO other heart disease risk factors are almost four times as likely to have a heart event in seven years, compared with those who have zero calcium and some risk factors.

Other Heart Health Warning Signs:

• High levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
• Differing Blood Pressure in Arms and Ankles
• Genetically-derived very high LDL

With the new Cholesterol guidelines that have dropped the threshold for starting cholesterol lowering drugs, i.e, Statins – 31 million adults could be prescribed Statin for the remainder life span.

Voices from the Cleveland Clinic: On the New Lipid Guidelines and On the ACC/AHA Risk Calculator

SOLUTION suggested by Dr. Nasir

CVD Prevention and Evaluation of Cardiovascular Imaging Modalities: Coronary Calcium Score by CT Scan Screening to justify or not the Use of Statin

Prognostic Value of Non-Obstructive and Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease Detected by Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography To Identify Cardiovascular Events.

Bittencourt MS¹, Hulten E, Ghoshhajra B, O’Leary D, Christman MP, Montana P, Truong QA, Steigner M, Murthy V, Rybicki FJ, Nasir K, Gowdak LH, Hainer J,Brady TJ, Di Carli MF, Hoffmann U, Abbara S, Blankstein R.

SOURCE

PMID: 24550435

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24550435

Related article 

 

Atherosclerosis. 2014 Mar;233(1):190-5. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2013.12.029. Epub 2014 Jan 8.

Incremental prognostic value of coronary artery calcium score versus CT angiography among symptomatic patients without known coronary artery disease.

Hulten E¹, Bittencourt MS², Ghoshhajra B³, O’Leary D⁴, Christman MP⁴, Blaha MJ⁵, Truong Q⁶, Nelson K⁴, Montana P⁴, Steigner M⁴, Rybicki F⁴, Hainer J⁴,Brady TJ³, Hoffmann U³, Di Carli MF⁴, Nasir K⁷, Abbara S³, Blankstein R⁸.Author information

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the prognostic value and test characteristics of coronary artery calcium (CAC) score for the identification of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in comparison with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) among symptomatic patients.

METHODS:

Retrospective cohort study at two large hospitals, including all symptomatic patients without prior CAD who underwent both CCTA and CAC. Accuracy of CAC for the identification of ≥50% and ≥70% stenosis by CCTA was evaluated. Prognostic value of CAC and CCTA were compared for prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, defined as non-fatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, late coronary revascularization (>90 days), and unstable angina requiring hospitalization).

RESULTS:

Among 1145 included patients, the mean age was 55 ± 12 years and median follow up 2.4 (IQR: 1.5-3.5) years. Overall, 406 (35%) CCTA were normal, 454 (40%) had <50% stenosis, and 285 (25%) had ≥50% stenosis. The prevalence of ≥70% stenosis was 16%. Among 483 (42%) patients with CAC zero, 395 (82%) had normal CCTA, 81 (17%) <50% stenosis, and 7 (1.5%) ≥ 50% stenosis. 2 (0.4%) patients had ≥70% stenosis. For diagnosis of ≥50% stenosis, CAC had a sensitivity of 98% and specificity of 55%. The negative predictive value (NPV) for CAC was 99% for ≥50% stenosis and 99.6% for ≥70% stenosis by CCTA. There were no adverse events among the 7 patients with zero calcium and ≥50% CAD. For prediction of MACE, the c-statistic for clinical risk factors of 0.62 increased to 0.73 (p < 0.001) with CAC versus 0.77 (p = 0.02) with CCTA.

CONCLUSION:

Among symptomatic patients with CAC zero, a 1-2% prevalence of potentially obstructive CAD occurs, although this finding was not associated with future coronary revascularization or adverse prognosis within 2 years.Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.KEYWORDS:Atherosclerosis, Coronary artery calcium score, Coronary computed tomography angiography, Epidemiology

SOURCE

PMID: 24529143 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24529143

Khurram Nasir, M.D., MPH

Research Director, Center for Prevention and Wellness

Director, High-risk Cardiovascular Disease Clinic

Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, Florida
Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Preventive Cardiology
Baltimore, Maryland

Bio

Dr. Nasir is considered one of the top international experts in epidemiological outcome research, especially related to CVD prevention and evaluation of cardiovascular imaging modalities.
Dr. Nasir is author of over 200 publications. He has mentored multiple fellows over the last five years, many of whom now hold academic positions in major centers across the country. He was awarded the Young Investigator Award by Johns Hopkins University for his efforts in subclinical atherosclerosis risk associated with a sibling history of premature heart disease.
Most recently, Dr. Nasir was presented with the Young Investigator Award by the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) for his contribution to advancing the science. He is an associate editor for the journal Atherosclerosis and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Cardiac CT. Dr. Nasir lectures frequently and has invited presentations at the American College of Cardiology and has chaired sessions at the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the Society of Cardiac CT. He is currently chair of the prevention council for the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging and Prevention. He is reviewer for more than 16 journals, including JAMA, Circulation, Journal of American College of Cardiology, Atherosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, American Heart Journal and American Journal of Cardiology. He serves as a consultant on various NIH, sponsored studies.

 SOURCE

http://cme.baptisthealth.net/cvdprevention/pages/faculty.aspx

257 Publication of Dr. Khurram Nasir on PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Khurram+Nasir

Other Speakers at the 2014 12th Annual Cardiovascular Disease Prevention International Symposium include the following renown Cardiologists:

2014  Faculty

Michael Ozner, M.D., FACC, FAHA
Symposium Director
Medical Director, Center for Prevention and Wellness
Baptist Health South Florida
Voluntary Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Florida
Bio

     Dr. Ozner is one of America’s leading advocates for heart disease prevention. He is a Board-certified cardiologist, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the American Heart Association. Dr. Ozner is a well-known regional and national speaker in the field of preventive cardiology. He has frequently appeared in the print, radio and television media including The New York Times, NPR radio and CBS News. He was the recipient of the 2008 American Heart Association Humanitarian Award and has been elected to Top Cardiologists in America by the Consumer Council of America. Dr. Ozner is also the author of The Miami Mediterranean Diet and The Great American Heart Hoax. His new book, Heart Attack Proof, was released worldwide in April 2012.

Theodore Feldman, M.D., FACC, FACP
Symposium Director 

Medical Director, South Miami Heart Center
Medical Director, Center for Prevention and Wellness
Baptist Health South Florida
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Florida International University Herbert
Wertheim College of Medicine
Miami, Florida
Bio

     Dr. Feldman is Board-certified in internal medicine with a subspecialty in cardiovascular medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed his residency at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was chief medical resident. He also completed a cardiology fellowship at UM/Jackson.
Dr. Feldman serves on numerous boards, including those of the American Heart Association, Miami-Dade County, HealththeHeart.com, and Liposcience, Inc. He sits on the Private Sector Relations Committee of the American College of Cardiology and is a councilor with the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Feldman has given numerous lectures on the topic of wellness and prevention of heart disease both locally and internationally, and has served as the principal investigator in research studies on congestive heart failure, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and more. His research findings have been widely published in the medical literature.

Arthur Agatston, M.D., FACC
Symposium Director 
Medical Director, Center for Prevention and Wellness
Baptist Health South Florida
Professor, Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Florida

Bio

Dr. Arthur Agatston, is a renowned preventive cardiologist. He developed, with Baptist Health’s Warren Janowitz, M.D., a method to quantitate coronary atherosclerosis, named the Agatston Score for coronary calcium, which is used throughout the world and considered one of the best predictors of heart disease. Dr. Agatston is a graduate of New York University School of Medicine. He completed his medical residency at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in New York and a cardiology fellowship at New York University. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and abstracts in medical journals. His books, which in addition to The South Beach Diet, include The South Beach Heart Program: The 4-Step Plan that Can Save Your Life, and The South Beach Wake-Up Call.
After founding the nonprofit Agatston Research Foundation, he implemented the Healthier Options for Public School Children (HOPS) initiative. The published work carried out with more than 50,000 school-age children showed that after a dietary intervention, children’s weight, blood pressure and academic test scores improved compared to children without the HOPS process. Dr. Agatston continues to offer new observations and strategies on how to better pinpoint patients who are at high risk for heart attacks.

Khurram Nasir, M.D., MPH
Symposium Director 
Research Director, Center for Prevention and Wellness
Director, High-risk Cardiovascular Disease Clinic
Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, Florida
Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Preventive Cardiology
Baltimore, Maryland
Bio

Dr. Nasir is considered one of the top international experts in epidemiological outcome research, especially related to CVD prevention and evaluation of cardiovascular imaging modalities.
Dr. Nasir is author of over 200 publications. He has mentored multiple fellows over the last five years, many of whom now hold academic positions in major centers across the country. He was awarded the Young Investigator Award by Johns Hopkins University for his efforts in subclinical atherosclerosis risk associated with a sibling history of premature heart disease.
Most recently, Dr. Nasir was presented with the Young Investigator Award by the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) for his contribution to advancing the science. He is an associate editor for the journal Atherosclerosis and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Cardiac CT. Dr. Nasir lectures frequently and has invited presentations at the American College of Cardiology and has chaired sessions at the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the Society of Cardiac CT. He is currently chair of the prevention council for the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging and Prevention. He is reviewer for more than 16 journals, including JAMA, Circulation, Journal of American College of Cardiology, Atherosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, American Heart Journal and American Journal of Cardiology. He serves as a consultant on various NIH, sponsored studies.

Roger Blumenthal, M.D. 
Kenneth Jay Pollin, Professor of Medicine
Director, Ciccarone Preventive Cardiology Center
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland
Bio

An experienced writer, Dr. Blumenthal is on the editorial board of Cardiology Today, the American Heart Journal, The Journal of Cardiovascular CT, and Clinical Cardiology. He regularly reviews manuscripts for many of the major cardiology and internal medicine journals. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention Council.  He was editor-in-chief of the 2011 textbook Preventive Cardiology – A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease. For many years he has been the medical editor of the annual Johns Hopkins White Paper on Prevention of Heart Attacks.

An expert in noninvasive detection of vascular disease, Dr. Blumenthal was also on the AHA’s official writing group about the utility of cardiac CT and CT angiography. He also was a member of the ACC task force dealing with selection of patients for atherosclerosis imaging techniques such as ultrafast CT scanning and carotid ultrasound. He is now vice-president of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology. In 2010 he was presented with the David Levine Award for Excellence in Mentoring of postdoctoral fellows, residents, and junior faculty in the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine.

Matthew J. Budoff, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FSCCT
Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California Los Angeles
Director of Cardiac CTA
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Torrance, California
Bio
      Dr. Budoff has devoted much of his time over the past 20 years to advancing procedures that can help doctors identify cardiac patients early, and place them on a therapeutic path to prevent a heart attack. Besides his work on early detection of heart disease, Dr. Budoff is pursuing funded research to better understand the second highest cause of death in the U.S., lung disease, and its potential cardiologic correlations. He also participates in research examining the link between diabetes in young adults and heart disease. He recently completed a study looking at the incidence of heart disease among firefighters.

Dr. Budoff works on at least 50 active medical research trials at any given time, and is a frequent lecturer on topics of cardiology at symposia, congresses and annual conferences on every continent. He has authored or co-authored over 400 research papers, six books, and 36 book chapters

Natalie Castro-Romero, M.S., R.D., LDN
Chief, Wellness Advantage Dietitian
Baptist Health South Florida
Miami, Florida
Bio

Ms. Castro-Romero is certified in adult weight management and works passionately on improving the health of both adults and children. Her clinical experience includes working with patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders and critically ill patients in intensive care, specializing in nutritional support.  In addition, she has conducted research evaluating eating behaviors of overweight and normal-weight children. Her research conducted at the Behavioral Medicine Department at the University at Buffalo has been published in several peer-reviewed medical journals.

Tim Church, M.D., MPH, Ph.D.
Professor of Preventive Medicine
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Louisiana State University
New Orleans, Louisiana
Bio
Dr. Church has authored over 100 research articles, received numerous awards for preventive health research and co-authored “Move Yourself, The Cooper Clinic Medical Director’s Guide to All Healing Benefits of Exercise.” Frequently used as an expert source for health stories with national media outlets, Dr. Church interviews with NBC, USA Today, Reuters, Wall Street Journal and CNN. He earned his medical degree at Tulane University School of Medicine and is the former vice president of Medical Research at The Cooper Institute.

Tara Dall, M.D.   
Medical Director, Advanced Lipidology Early Detection Center for Heart Disease & Diabetes
President-elect, Midwest Lipid Association
Delafield, Wisconsin
Bio

Dr. Dall has over 10 years’ experience utilizing lipid testing to detect genetic heart disease risk. Dr. Dall graduated in the first class of Diplomates of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology in November 2005, and is one of a handful of U.S. physicians treating pediatric dyslipidemia.
With the support of ProHealth Care’s Women’s Center she helped create the Cholesterol & Lifestyle Center in 2006 with the goal of identifying and reducing a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease using the latest in medical technologies and aggressive risk factor management The medical practice had a primary focus on preventive cardiology in women and high-risk children, though men made up 50% of her practice, so the clinic was transitioned out of women’s health and into Preventive Cardiology in order to serve men, women and children of all ages.
The National Lipid Association recognizes her clinic as the first fully certified lipid clinic in the United States. In 2007 she was the recipient of Mayo Clinic’s award for “Innovations in preventive cardiology.” In June 2008 she transitioned to private practice and created Advanced Lipidology, Early Detection Center for Heart Disease and Diabetes.
Dr. Dall has a special research interest in advanced lipid testing and B Mode ultrasound technology (CIMT), women’s heart disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome and pediatric obesity.  She is involved in CIMT research in collaboration with UW-Madison. She believes strongly in being an educator and serves as clinical preceptor for Medical College of WI medicine residents.

Valentin Fuster, M.D.
Director, Mount Sinai Heart, Center for Cardiovascular Health
Foundation Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, New York
Bio
     Dr. Fuster is the recipient of two major ongoing NIH grants. He has published more than 800 Pubmed articles on the subjects of coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis and thrombosis, and he has become the lead editor of two major textbooks on cardiology,The Heart (previously edited by Dr. J. Willis Hurst) and Atherothrombosis and Coronary Artery Disease (with Dr. Eric Topol and Dr. Elizabeth Nabel). Dr. Fuster has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Nature journal that focuses on cardiovascular medicine (Nature Reviews, Cardiology, April 2009) and he is the editor of the new AHA Guidelines and Scientific Statements Handbook, which compiles all the latest information.
Dr. Fuster is the only cardiologist to receive the two highest gold medal awards and all four major research awards from the four major cardiovascular organizations: The Distinguished Researcher Award (Interamerican Society of Cardiology, 2005 and 2009), Andreas Gruntzig Scientific Award and Gold Medal Award (European Society of Cardiology, 1992 and 2007 respectively), Gold Medal Award and Distinguished Scientist (American Heart Association, 2001 and 2003 respectively), and the Distinguished Scientist Award (American College of Cardiology, 1993).

Anthony Gonzalez, M.D.
Chief of Surgery and Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery, Baptist Hospital
Medical Director, South Miami Hospital’s Weight-loss Surgery Program

General Surgeon, Baptist and South Miami Hospitals
Miami, Florida
Bio

     Dr. Gonzalez, is a member of Baptist Health Medical Group, a network of more than 100 physicians in multiple specialties closely aligned with Baptist Health South Florida. Dr. Gonzalez is a general surgeon with a specialty in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery. He has presented at national and international medical conferences on bariatric surgery, abdominal surgery, colon surgery and robotic surgery. Dr. Gonzalez

is Founding Program Director of Baptist Health MIS/Bariatric Surgery Fellowship.

     He has published in medical journals, including The Official Journal of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, and Journal of Obesity Surgery. Dr. Gonzalez is a senior member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and Fellow of American College of Surgeons. Dr. Gonzalez is a graduate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed his residency at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is Associate Professor of Surgery at Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University and Voluntary Assistant Professor of Surgery at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Medicine.                                                                          

Joshua Hare, M.D., FACC, FAHA
Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine
Chief Sciences Officer
Senior Associate Dean for Experimental & Cellular Therapeutics
Director, Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Florida
Bio
     Dr. Hare is an expert in cardiovascular medicine and specializes in heart failure, myocardial infarction, inflammatory diseases of the heart, and heart transplantation. He is an internationally acknowledged pioneer in the field of stem cell therapeutics for human heart disease, currently seeing and evaluating patients from all over the world for this new experimental therapy.
Dr. Hare led the first randomized allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) clinical trial for patients with myocardial infarction and is principal investigator of multiple other trials for heart failure and cardiovascular disease. Under his leadership, ISCI now has active programs in cancer biology, cardiology, neonatology, skin diseases, bone diseases, neurologic diseases, ophthalmology, and a program devoted to the ethics of stem cell therapy.
Dr. Hare has published more than 245 original research articles, editorials, and review articles.  He holds five FDA Investigational New Drug applications for cell-based therapy in patients with heart disease, including the first in the United States for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.  He is the recipient of four active NIH RO1’s and is the PI of the UM National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Cardiac Cell Therapy Trial Network (CCTRN) center.
Dr. Hare recently completed a term as chair of the Cardiac Contractility and Heart Failure study section of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), chairs the Stem Cell Working Group of the American Heart Association (AHA), and is vice chair of the AHA Basic Cardiovascular Science Council. The NHLBI CCTRN has selected Dr. Hare’s AIRMID trial to be its first new trial addressing heart failure.
Dr. Hare is inventor of eight (two issued) U.S. patents, and his research discoveries have led to the founding of two biotechnology companies, both of which have received initial funding.
He recently released findings on the first human clinical trial testing a stem-cell-based treatment for heart attack patients, which showed the stem-cell-treated patients had lower rates of cardiac arrhythmias, and had significant improvements in heart, lung and symptom status. Dr. Hare is the principal investigator on an NIH Specialized Center for Cell-Therapy (SCCT) funded stem cell study for patients with congestive heart failure.

Sharonne N. Hayes, M.D., FACC, FAHA 
Professor of Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases
Founder, Women’s Heart Clinic
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Bio
     Dr. Hayes is a nationally recognized educator and speaker on women’s health and cardiovascular issues and has been involved in developing numerous medical educational programs on women’s health topics for both medical professionals and the public.  She co-directed the long-running and award-winning continuing medical education program “Controversies in Women’s Health” and co-produced and hosted “Perspectives in Women’s Health,” Mayo Clinic’s continuing medical education live video-teleconference series from 1998 through 2006. In 2004, Dr. Hayes co-produced the Emmy-nominated PBS show, “Call to Action: Women and Heart Disease.” In 2011 she co-hosted and moderated “In the Prime of Her Life — A Mayo Clinic Media Briefing on Women and Heart Disease” held in February at the Paley Center for Media in New York City.  She has been a guest on the Today Show, Good Morning America, the Charlie Rose Show, CNN Morning Show, Talk of the Nation, and the Dr. Oz Show among others, and has also done live medical reporting for a local ABC affiliate. She serves on the advisory board for Woman’s Day, Diabetic Living, and Women’s Health magazines, and previously wrote a regular column for Better Homes and Gardens’ Heart Healthy Living.

Irwin Klein 

Professor of Medicine

Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology

New York School of Medicine

New York City, New York

Bio

Dr. Irwin Klein is professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine. He was an NYU Medical School graduate after which he did house staff training at the University of Pennsylvania. He did further work at the NIH and has held positions at the University of Miami, the University of Pittsburgh and North Shore University Hospital before return to NYU. He is on the Editorial Boards of major endocrinology journals including Endocrinology and the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. He has held numerous important positions in the American Thyroid Association and the American Heart Association. His research has spanned basic to clinical investigations in a variety of areas, but mainly on the topic, “Thyroid Disease and the Heart”.

Gervasio Lamas, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FESC
Chairman of Medicine and Chief
Columbia University Division of Cardiology
Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center
Mount Sinai Medical Center
Miami Beach, Florida
Bio
    Dr. Lamas’ interests include the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. During the last decade, he has enrolled thousands of patients in more than a dozen U.S. and international trials in order to improve cardiac care and prevent death and disability from heart disease. He served as chairman of the Mode Selection Trial in Sinus Node Dysfunction (MOST), a trial that revolutionized cardiac pacemakers. He currently serves as co-chairman for the Occluded Artery Trial (OAT), and study chair for the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT), a $30 million trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. He has authored over 300 scientific publications, and maintains an active clinical practice in Miami Beach and Key Biscayne.

Robert H. Lustig, M.D.
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology
Director, UCSF Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) Program
University of California
San Francisco, California
Bio
     Dr. Lustig is a nationally recognized authority in the field of neuroendocrinology, with a specific emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. He is currently investigating the contribution of biochemical, neural, hormonal, and genetic influences in the expression of the obesity epidemic both in children and adults. He has defined a syndrome of vagally mediated beta-cell hyperactivity, which leads to insulin hypersecretion and obesity, and which is treatable by insulin suppression. This phenomenon may occur in up to 20% of the obese population. Dr. Lustig is interested in the hypothalamic signal transduction of insulin and leptin, and how these two systems interact. He is studying the cardiovascular morbidity associated with hyperinsulinemia, and developing methods to evaluate and prevent this phenomenon in children. He is also analyzing the contribution of the autonomic nervous system to insulin secretion and insulin resistance in obese children, and the utility of assessing insulin dynamics in targeting obesity therapy. Dr. Lustig has authored over 70 research articles and 35 chapters.

Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., DrPH, FACC
Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
Boston, Massachusetts
Bio
     Dr. Mozaffarian’s research focuses on effects of lifestyle, particularly diet, on cardiovascular health and disease in the U.S. and globally. He has authored or co-authored nearly 200 scientific publications on lifestyle and cardiovascular health, including on global dietary burdens of disease, fish and omega-3 fats, trans fats, diets and weight gain, and healthy diet patterns. He has served on numerous committees and advisory boards, including for the World Health Organization, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and American Heart Association.

Christopher O’Donnell, M.D.
Associate Director and Scientific Director of the SHARE Project
Framingham Heart Study, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Bio
     Dr. O’Donnell joined the Framingham Heart Study as a Medical Officer of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In 2002, he was appointed associate director of the Framingham Heart Study and co-chair of its Genetic Steering Committee. In 2006, he was named senior advisor to the director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for Genome Research. In this role, he helps steer the direction of the genetic and genomic research portfolio of NHLBI. In 2006, he was named the scientific director of the Framingham SHARE (SNP Health Association Resource) Study, a whole-genome association study now underway in over 9,000 Framingham Heart Study participants. In 2007, he became a tenured investigator of the Division of Intramural Research of NHLBI. His major research focus is on the epidemiology and genetic epidemiology of clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease, and he directs numerous large-scale imaging studies using cardiac CT scanning, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and other subclinical atherosclerosis modalities. He has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the American Journal of Medical Genetics, Circulation, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Michael F. Richman M.D., FACS, FCCP
Cardiothoracic/Vascular Surgeon
The Center for Cholesterol Management
Los Angeles, California
Bio
      Dr. Richman has performed more than 1,000 cardiac bypass procedures throughout his career. He has always maintained a strong interest in the preventive aspect of cardiac care, namely cholesterol (lipid) management. Dr. Richman was the cholesterol expert on WebMD from 2005 to 2012 and is currently on WebMD’s Medical Review Board. He is also the national heart health examiner for The Examiner.com and the medical expert to the nationally syndicated Dennis Prager Show. Dr. Richmond is a published author in the field of lipidology and is on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed being included among Journal of Clinical Lipidology, which is the official journal of the National Lipid Association. He was voted by his peers as a “Southern California Super Doctor” for the Top Thoracic Surgeons in 2012 and Top Thoracic Surgeons and Top Vascular Surgeons in 2013.

Alan Rozanski, M.D.   
Interim Chief, Division of Cardiology
Saint Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital
Professor of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York

Bio
     Dr. Rozanski is director of nuclear cardiology and the Cardiology Fellowship Training at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, New York, and professor of medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. His interests focus on both the use of cardiac imaging for patient risk stratification and the role of preventive cardiology in patient risk management.
Dr. Rozanski is a former recipient of a two-year sabbatical fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation to study the determinants of health-promoting and health-damaging behaviors. Subsequently, he helped develop the Cardiac Preventive and Rehabilitative Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and initiated his novel research to study the effects of psychosocial stress and other behavioral factors on atherosclerosis and myocardial ischemia. His ongoing work in this arena has established Dr. Rozanski as an internationally recognized authority in the field of Behavioral Cardiology.

Raul Santos, M.D.
Associate Professor of Cardiology University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Director Lipid Clinic Heart Institute (InCor) University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Scientific Advisor Preventive Medicine Center Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Bio
Dr. Santos, research interests include lipid metabolism, severe forms of genetic dyslipidemia, especially familial hypercholesterolemia and HDL deficiency, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and imaging in atherosclerosis especially detection of vascular calcification. Dr Santos collaborated in research studies with the Ciccarone Preventive Cardiology Center of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory of the Tufts University in Boston, USA and the HJELT Institute, Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki in Finland. He
has published more than 130 papers in peer-review journals like the Lancet, Atherosclerosis, ATVB, Circulation, Cardiovascular Research, The European Heart Journal, JACC, Journal of Lipid Research and Current Opinion of Lipidology among others. Dr. Santos has coordinated and participated in many Brazilian and International guidelines on dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis prevention, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Neil Schneiderman, Ph.D.
James L. Knight Professor of Psychology
Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering
Director, Behavioral Medicine Research Center
Director of the Division of Health Psychology in the Department of Psychology
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Florida
Bio
     Dr. Schneiderman is principal investigator of the Miami Field Center and member of the steering committee and chair of the Ancillary Studies Committee of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), which is the largest study of Hispanic health ever funded by the NIH.  The HCHS/SOL was launched in 2007 and is funded until 2019.  Professor Schneiderman has published extensively and been the PI on basic science, multi-center epidemiological studies and multi-center clinical trials sponsored by the NIH.  His major area of research interest is in the biobehavioral bases of CVD risk and management.

Wayne M. Sotile, Ph.D., FAACVPR
Special Consultant in Behavioral Health
Carolinas Health System, Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute
Charlotte, North Carolina
Clinical Assistant Professor, Tulane University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
New Orleans, Louisiana
Bio
     Dr. Sotile is recognized as a pioneer in the fields of cardiac and health psychology. He is the author of nine books, including Thriving with Heart Disease (and, with his wife, Mary, The Resilient Physician (2002), and Letting Go of What’s Holding You Back (2007). He lectures internationally on the keys to resilience and burnout prevention for busy health professionals, and he provides leadership and team-building consultation to medical organizations that are committed to making their workplace a positive interpersonal environment.
A former faculty member of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Dr. Sotile served as director of psychological services for the Wake Forest University Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for 25 years. He serves as a special consultant in behavioral health for the Carolinas Health System Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute’s cardiac rehabilitation program, and as a clinical assistant professor at the Tulane University School of Medicine. A Fellow in the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Dr. Sotile received lifetime career achievement awards from the North Carolina Cardiopulmonary Association and the American Academy of Medical Administrators, and he was the 2004 recipient of AACVPR’s L. Kent Smith Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice.

Neil J. Stone, M.D., MACP, FAHA, FACC
Bonow Professor of Medicine
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
Suzanne and Milton Davidson Distinguished Physician and Medical Director
Vascular Center of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Chicago, Illinois

Bio
     Dr. Stone is a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a special interest in lipid disorders. He is the medical director of the Center for Vascular Disease of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. A seasoned and award-winning lipidologist with more than 30 years of experience in the Chicago area, Dr. Stone opened Northwestern Memorial’s Lipid Clinic in 1974. A pioneer in the field, he has served on numerous expert panels and lectured widely in cardiology and lipidology. A clinical professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Stone’s research initiatives focus on cardiovascular nutrition, risk factor control and genetic lipid disorders. He has participated in numerous clinical trials, including the first angiographic trial studying the effects of lipid-lowering therapy on angiographic progression and regression. Dr. Stone has co-authored three books on cardiovascular nutrition and lipid disorders and has written more than 100 publications in the field. He was named Northwestern Memorial’s first Jacques Smith Distinguished Physician in Medicine in 1993. Consistently elected to the Best Doctors in America by his peers, Dr. Stone was also awarded the New Jersey Healthcare Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award in 2002 and named Outstanding Volunteer Clinical Teacher in 2001 by the American College of Physicians. Dr. Stone is active in a number of professional societies, serving on boards and expert panels of the American Heart Association, the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, and National Lipid Association. He is the current president of the Midwest Lipid Association and an at-large member of the new Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism. He was a member of the first and third National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panels. Dr. Stone completed medical school at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he graduated in 1968 summa cum laude. He completed his internship and residency at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and returned to Northwestern University for his cardiovascular fellowship. He studied lipids and cardiology at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and was the chief medical resident at Northwestern Memorial in 1973-1974. Dr. Stone is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease.

Robert Superko, M.D.   
Executive Director
Center for Genomics and Human Health,
Translational Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital
Atlanta, Georgia

Bio

Dr. Superko sits on the editorial boards of several prestigious journals, including the Journal of Cardiovascular Risk and Preventive Cardiology. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in the area of lipid metabolism, exercise physiology and cardiac rehabilitation, and he has written a number of books, including, Before the Heart Attacks published in 2003. Dr. Superko currently sits on committees at the American Heart Association, the Transcatheter Therapeutics Scientific Advisory Committee, American Heart Association Atherosclerotic Peripheral Vascular Disease Committee, and the Atlanta American Heart Association Board. He has appeared on many broadcast programs as an expert in the cardiovascular arena, most recently on a CNN health segment on cardiovascular disease.

Ira Tabas, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice-chairman of Research, Department of Medicine, Columbia University
Professor of Medicine and Anatomy & Cell Biology (in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics)
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Attending Physician of Medicine
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, New York
Bio
     Dr. Tabas’ research focuses on the molecular-cellular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, with an emphasis on macrophage cell biology, endoplasmic reticulum-induced cell death (apoptosis), mechanisms involved in the generation of clinically dangerous atherosclerotic plaques, translational work in mouse models of atherosclerosis, and mechanistic-based correlative studies on human disease tissue.  His recent activities have expanded into mechanisms of atherosclerosis in diabetes and obesity, including new studies on liver and adipose tissue. He has lectured worldwide and published approximately 175 original research articles and reviews. These papers have been published in Cell, Nature, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Reviews Immunology, Cell Metabolism, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, Journal of Cell Biology, and Journal of Biological Chemistry. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, was deputy editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2002-2007, and is currently on the board of reviewing editors for Science.
Dr. Tabas’ honors include the American Heart Association Established Investigator Award, the Columbia University Doctor Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award, the American Heart Association/ATVB Council Special Recognition Award, the Richard J. Stock Professorship in the Department of Medicine of Columbia University, and the 2011 Alumni Achievement Award from Washington University School of Medicine.  He was elected to both the Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.

Terry Thomas, R.N., MSN
Board Member, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
Madison, Wisconsin
Bio
     Terry Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience as a clinician in cardiovascular nursing and preventive cardiology. She is a leader in developing lipid clinics and heart disease prevention programs and developed one of the first women’s heart disease prevention programs in the country at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Thomas is active educating and training all levels of healthcare providers in the cardiac prevention field. She is a founding member of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and the initial nurse leader on the board of the Southeast Lipid Association.

Peter P. Toth, MD, PhD, FCCP, FAHA, FACC
Director of Preventative Cardiology, CGH Medical Center
Sterling, Illinois
Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois School of Medicine
Peoria, Illinois
Professor of Clinical Medicine, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
East Lansing, Michigan
Bio
     Dr. Toth is current president of the National Lipid Association. He has authored and co-authored over 220 publications in medical and scientific journals and textbooks. He is editor-in-chief of the Year in Lipid Disorders (Atlas Publishing, Oxford, UK) and an associate editor for the Yearbook of Endocrinology (Elsevier, New York). He is coeditor with Antonio Gotto of the textbookComprehensive Management of High Risk Cardiovascular Patients (Taylor and Francis, New York) with Michael Davidson of Therapeutic Lipidology (Humana, Philadelphia), with Dominic Sica of Current Controversies in Dyslipidemia Management (Atlas Publishing, Oxford), with Kevin Maki of Practical Lipid Management (Wiley-Blackstone, London), with Christopher Cannon of Comprehensive Cardiovascular Care in the Primary Care Setting (Springer Humana, Philadelphia), Domenic Sica of Clinical Challenges in Hypertension vols I and II (Clinical Publishing, Oxford, UK), Cardiac Lipoglucotoxicity with Vasu Raghavan, and Lipoproteins in Diabetes Mellitus with Alicia Jenkins and Timothy Lyons. He has lectured on many topics in cardiovascular medicine throughout the world.

Robert A. Vogel, M.D., FACC
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of Colorado Denver
Denver, Colorado
Bio
     Dr. Vogel has investigated heart disease for more than 35 years, pioneering tomographic myocardial perfusion imaging and analysis, and discovering the acute vascular effects of food, physical activity, and media.  He is the author of more than 250 publications.  He was director of cardiology at the University of Maryland for 14 years and served as the president of the Association of University Cardiologists.  Dr. Vogel lectures frequently to practicing physicians on lifestyle and heart disease prevention and has received Good Housekeeping Magazine’s “Best Doctors in America” designation and a Federal Scientist of the Year Award.  Dr. Vogel serves as a consultant to the Pritikin Longevity Institute and co-chair of the National Football League Subcommittee on Cardiovascular Disease.

Michael A. Weber, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine
Brooklyn, New York
Bio
      Dr. Weber is a professor of medicine and associate dean for research at Downstate. His career has focused primarily on hypertension and preventive cardiology. He has published numerous research articles in the medical literature and has authored and/or edited 10 books. Dr. Weber was one of the founders of The American Society of Hypertension and has served as its president. He is currently chair of the Society’s Hypertension Specialists Program. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the ACC and the AHA. Dr. Weber has particular expertise and extensive experience in the design and conduct of clinical trials. He has helped design and participated in a large number of national and international clinical outcomes trials. His primary research interests include the role of the renin-angiotensin system in the genesis of hypertension and as a major factor in cardiovascular prognosis. He will contribute to the didactic courses on research design and conduct of clinical trials as well as to the mock study section.

 SOURCE

http://cme.baptisthealth.net/cvdprevention/pages/faculty.aspx

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