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CardioNerds (Amit Goyal and Daniel Ambinder) join Dr. Christine Albert (Professor of Medicine, Founding Chair of the Department of Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai, and President of Heart Rhythm Society) and Dr. Rachita Navara (FIT at Washington University, soon to be EP fellow at UCSF) for a Narratives in Cardiology episode. We learn from their experiences as physician scientists and women in cardiology, and specifically in electrophysiology.
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Show notes
1. Over the last several decades, what have we learned about the contribution of lifestyle factors to atrial fibrillation?
- Particularly in women, the development of obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) is associated with a 41% increase in the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF). Even short-term weight gains are associated with a 18% increased risk of developing AF. Fortunately, losing weight could modify or even reverse this elevated risk [1]
- Exercise is beneficial for reducing the risk of AF, but higher frequency of vigorous exercise is actually associated with an increased risk of developing AF in young men and joggers. This risk decreases with age, and is offset by the other benefits of vigorous exercise on AF risk factors [2]
- The link between alcohol consumption and AF was first described in 2008: for healthy middle-aged women, consuming two or more alcoholic drinks is associated with a statistically increased risk of developing AF [3]
- The recent VITAL trial is the largest and longest randomized trial on primary prevention of AF, following over 25,000 men and women over five years. As recently presented at AHA 2020, Dr. Christine Albert and her study team found that neither vitamin D nor fish oil prevents the development of AF [4]
2. What is some practical advice on giving presentations and preparing research grants from Dr. Albert, renowned physician-scientist, and leader in electrophysiology?
- Whenever possible, Dr. Albert recommends memorizing your presentation to avoid referencing notes frequently, and to allow for continued eye contact with the audience. Practice delivering your presentation multiple times prior to the scheduled talk.
- When preparing a grant, start early and seek feedback and edits from those in and out of your field.
- In many cases, a grant review involves individuals who may not be in your exact scientific field, so the priority is to interest the grant readers regardless of their scientific background.
3. Whether in research or clinical care, what are the common features of a well-oiled clinical team?
- In an ideal team, every individual adds value and has a clear role. Team members show mutual respect and provide the autonomy for other team members to demonstrate their expertise.
- Don’t be intimidated by the individuals on your team who are extremely talented or experienced in a given domain – this in turn elevates you by being on the same team!
- Leaders are most successful when they enable others to succeed. The spirit of collaboration and respect comes from the top, so leaders need to demonstrate respect for every team member and give each person a role, eliminating the need for team members to compete with each other.
4. What is some advice for female trainees navigating a male-dominated field (e.g. electrophysiology)? What makes a good mentor and mentee?
- It is very important to seek female or otherwise relatable role models in your field. While representation increases, it can also be valuable to seek female mentors outside your specific field.
- It is just as important for male mentors to continue to support female trainees, especially in fields where females are underrepresented.
- Often, as a mentee you may change your area of interest or seek a new area of specialization that may no longer be fully aligned with your mentor’s expertise. A good mentor will continue to mentor you and connect you with those who can help you explore your new interests.
- A good mentee also recognizes that mentors often have very limited time, so it is best to package all of your questions together and prepare for each meeting so that shared time is most high yield.
The CardioNerds Narratives in Cardiology series features cardiovascular faculty representing diverse backgrounds, subspecialties, career stages, and career paths. Discussing why these faculty chose careers in cardiology and their passion for their work are essential components to inspiring interest in the field.
Each talk will feature a cardiology faculty from an underrepresented group, within at least one of several domains: gender, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, international graduate status, disadvantaged backgrounds, etc.
Featured faculty will also represent a variety of practice settings, academic ranks, subspecialties (e.g. clinical cardiology, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, etc), and career paths (e.g. division chief, journal editor, society leadership, industry consultant, etc).
Faculty will be interviewed by fellows-in-training for a two-part discussion that will focus on:
1) Faculty’s content area of expertise
2) Faculty’s personal and professional narrative
As part of their narrative, faculty will discuss their unique path to cardiology and their current professional role with particular attention to challenges, successes, and advice for junior trainees. Specific topics will be guided by values relevant to trainees, including issues related to mentorship, work-life integration, and family planning.
To help guide this important initiative, the CardioNerds Narratives Council was founded to provide mentorship and guidance in producing the Narratives series with regards to guests and content. The CardioNerds Narratives Council members include: Dr. Pamela Douglas, Dr. Nosheen Reza, Dr. Martha Gulati, Dr. Quinn Capers, IV, Dr. Ann Marie Navar, Dr. Ki Park, Dr. Bob Harrington, Dr. Sharonne Hayes, and Dr. Michelle Albert.
The Narratives Council includes three FIT advisors who will lead the CardioNerds’ diversity and inclusion efforts, including the current project: Dr. Zarina Sharalaya, Dr. Norrisa Haynes, and Dr. Pablo Sanchez.
Guest Profiles – Physician Scientists Women Electrophysiology
Dr. Christine Albert is currently President of Heart Rhythm Society. She recently transitioned from Professor of Medicine at Harvard and Director of the Center of Arrhythmia Prevention at the Brigham to now Founding Chair of the Department of Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai. She is an Epidemiologist and R01-grant funded physician scientist with over 200 peer-reviewed publications – with landmark contributions demonstrating the role of lifestyle and genetics on heart rhythm disorders. She has served as PI for numerous large-scale award-winning clinical trials, her latest studying primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer in 25,000 patients across the country. She has served as the associate editor for Circulation, and continues to serve on the editorial board of numerous journals in not only cardiology but also epidemiology, clinical nutrition, and endocrinology and metabolism.
Dr. Rachita Navara is a bioengineer and senior cardiology fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. She is excited to enter her dream specialty of electrophysiology at UCSF, the birthplace of catheter ablation for arrhythmias. Her interest in EP emerged during bioengineering training at the innovative Olin College of Engineering. She went on to medical school at UT Southwestern, where she was the lead singer of her med school band “The Pacemakers.” Dr. Navara completed her internal medicine training at Stanford University, where she was accepted into the inaugural Biodesign Pathway of Distinction and researched complex atrial fibrillation mechanisms under the mentorship of Dr. Sanjiv Narayan. She joined cardiology fellowship at Wash U, where she researched novel noninvasive cardiac radioablation under the mentorship of Dr. Phillip Cuculich. Dr. Navara’s startup company “SafeBeat Rx LLC” was competitively selected into BioGenerator’s Grants-to-business program, and she recently submitted her first NIH STTR grant. She was appointed as the youngest member of the National ACC EP Leadership Council, and she is currently an HRS representative to the AMA. Dr. Navara aims to lead a research lab conducting trials on EP devices and mapping/ablating technologies she has designed herself. In her free time, she enjoys painting, singing and tandem biking with her husband, and competitive scrabble tournaments (nerd level: ultimate).
References – Physician Scientists Women Electrophysiology
- Tedrow, Usha B., David Conen, Paul M. Ridker, Nancy R. Cook, Bruce A. Koplan, JoAnn E. Manson, Julie E. Buring, and Christine M. Albert. “The long-and short-term impact of elevated body mass index on the risk of new atrial fibrillation: the WHS (Women’s Health Study).” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 55, no. 21 (2010): 2319-2327.
- Aizer, Anthony, J. Michael Gaziano, Nancy R. Cook, Joann E. Manson, Julie E. Buring, and Christine M. Albert. “Relation of vigorous exercise to risk of atrial fibrillation.” The American journal of cardiology 103, no. 11 (2009): 1572-1577.
- Conen, David, Usha B. Tedrow, Nancy R. Cook, M. V. Moorthy, Julie E. Buring, and Christine M. Albert. “Alcohol consumption and risk of incident atrial fibrillation in women.” Jama 300, no. 21 (2008): 2489-2496.
- VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) results presented at AHA 2020 ahead of publication: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/study-vitamin-d-fish-oil-dont-lower-atrial-fibrillation-risk/
Amit Goyal, MD 
Daniel Ambinder, MD
