Cardiovascular Medicine

Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was interviewed by the Buffalo News regarding COVID protocol in surgery centers. Iyer said protocols in health offices, surgery centers and hospitals may be inconvenient but are necessary during a waning pandemic in which a sizable number of adults remain unvaccinated or have health conditions that limit vaccine effectiveness.

Michael E. Cain, MD, will step down in August 2021 after 15 years as dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Additionally, Cain will give up his position as vice president for health sciences. “When I came here, I was presented with the vision of building a medical symphony. I’m a strong believer in academic health centers and the added value they bring for the multiple missions they have,” says Cain. He also discusses the biggest challenge for his successor. “The financial basis for supporting an academic health center relies heavily on (National Institutes of Health) and heavily on revenue generated from clinical care. The biggest thing that faces any dean in a school of medicine is the desirability of having the business of health be much simpler and not as complicated as it is today,” says Cain.

“If we all wear masks then the virus has no where to go,” says Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. He joined Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, to urge the public to remain vigilant in observing health guidelines intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. They say this is especially important as the weather cools, the hours of daylight shorten, and people naturally begin spending more time indoors, which they referred to as a venue for increased spread.

Anne B. Curtis, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and the Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of medicine, received the Heart Rhythm Society’s 2020 President’s Award for her substantial contribution to the society. She has held leadership roles in the organization for more than 25 years. Awardees accepted their honors on Heart Rhythm TV, the new flagship YouTube channel of the Heart Rhythm Society.

An article in the Buffalo News on how patients with heart symptoms have postponed seeing doctors because of the coronavirus quotes Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. “Too many people withstood symptoms, fearful of contracting the virus if they went to an emergency room or doctor’s office. Those who waited included people with chest pains already aware they had uncontrolled blood pressure, clogged arteries, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure,” Iyer says. “The message we’ve been trying to send for at least the last two weeks is that if you have a medical condition that needs attention, or you’re not sure you should get attention, don’t wait because you have a perception that hospitals are unsafe. Hospitals have gone over and above to make sure that patients who have the coronavirus are not a risk to either health care professionals or to non-coronavirus patients."

Health care providers are encouraging patients to schedule appointments for well visits and to update treatment plans for chronic health conditions. “People right now should not be ignoring their symptoms and should be seeking health care the way they normally would,” says Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Surgeons during the last two months have had to perform more complicated procedures for burst appendixes, agonizing tendonitis and heart problems that could have been addressed more easily if patients sought help sooner, Iyer says.

A story about the cautionary tale of two Western New York sisters with heart disease interviews Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of cardiovascular medicine, who said “Nobody should get to the age of 25 without knowing their blood pressure and their cholesterol numbers.”

Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of cardiovascular medicine, is interviewed for a story on the increased risk of heart attacks around the holiday season. “The reasons for this are not particularly clear, but it appears that it’s multifactorial,” Iyer says. The American Heart Association lists a variety of potential contributing factors, including ranging from financial stresses to changes in diet and exercise and increased alcohol consumption.

The Gates Vascular Institute (GVI) has completed its 200th procedure using the Watchman device, a permanent implant that prevents blood clots from escaping a small pouch along the heart and causing a stroke. “This is a real big advancement in terms of the ability to reduce the risk of stroke in people who are at high risk of bleeding... We have not had a single patient need to go back on a blood thinner. Every one of them has done well,” said Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. He is also director of structural heart interventions at GVI.

Stories about new research that found that the risks outweigh the benefits for people who are taking low-dose aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke interviews John M. Canty Jr., SUNY Distinguished Professor and Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. “No one under the age of 40 should be on aspirin unless there are very unique circumstances,” Canty said.

Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was interviewed for a story about the life-changing impact that transcatheter aortic valve replacement can have for patients with heart disease. “As people get older, valve diseases are pretty common, and we have an aging population,” he said, adding that before 2011, half of those with severe aortic stenosis — or narrowing — weren’t getting treated because the condition is typically a disease of the elderly and many had other serious health conditions that made open chest surgery too risky”

A story about $2.4 million in funding for studies at Buffalo’s VA Medical Center reports Jennifer K. Lang, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, will receive $1.4 million to study heart failure and myocardial infarction; and Bruce R. Troen, MD, professor of medicine and chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine, will receive $200,000 to study the impact of high-intensity interval training on older adults.

An article about three studies that showed that implantable cardiac devices are underused interviews Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair and SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine. “Device usage across both gender and race was strikingly low, despite medical records documenting patient eligibility for the therapy. The breadth of practice type, from academic medical centers to community hospitals, along with the sheer number of patients highlight the seriousness of the challenge,” she said.

A team of UB biomedical engineers, cardiovascular specialists and neurosurgeons are working together to create and use custom-made models of the human vascular system. “We can take the same anatomy that we find in a patient, 3D print it and then perform these procedures whether to test a new device, test a new strategy or devise a treatment strategy for a particular patient,” said Adnan Siddiqui, MD, PhD, professor of neurosurgery. Vijay S. Iyer, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was also interviewed.

Anne B. Curtis, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine, discussed new technologies embedded in watches and other wearables shown at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. “I’ve made diagnoses on patients by looking at these [recordings] a few days later,” she said. “All you have to do is have the symptoms last long enough for a patient to turn on an app and make a 30-second recording.”