Dr. Zachary Steinberg, MD, is a board-certified Interventional Cardiologist and Adult Congenital Heart Disease specialist with the UW Medicine's Heart Institute. Dr. Steinberg specializes in the care of adults born with heart defects and performs transcatheter intervention on this complex patient population.  He has a wide array of interventional expertise including complex coronary artery revascularization, transcatheter valve implantation, septal defect closure, and balloon pulmonary angioplasty for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).00:55 - Dr. Specialization13:00 - "A Profession of Lifelong Learning"15:10 - Intervention Cardiology First19:45 - A Day in the Life - Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension28.25 - Learning Chronic Pulmonary Angioplasty36:45 - Approaching Orphan Diseases37:30 - Our Interventional Team39:50 - Repairing Congenital Defectsuwheart@uw.edu

Babak Nazer, MD directs the UW Translational Electrophysiology Laboratory, where his research focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of ventricular arrhythmias (premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) and ventricular tachycardia (VT). In collaboration with acoustic physicists and biomedical engineers, his laboratory develops new diagnostic and therapeutic ablation tools for the treatment of PVCs and VT, particularly those using ultrasound as an energy source.  As Director of the UW Multidisciplinary Ventricular Arrhythmia Program, he collaborates with psychologists to investigate the psychosocial symptoms associated with VT and defibrillator shocks, and therapies to alleviate these symptoms. bnazer@uw.edu

Eric Krieger, MD, FACC, is a board certified Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Cardiologist at UW Medicine's Heart Institute.  He directs the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program and ACHD fellowship training program. He practices at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital.  1:05 - From Philosophy to Medicine4:20 - The Why6:15 - Advanced Fellowships in Boston7:15 - Growing the UW ACHD Program9:00 - The unique nature of the UW ACHD Fellowship12:35 - Collaboration with Seattle Children's Hospital14:35 - Importance of Trust in Congenital Heart Disease17:15 - Patients' Transition of Care (Pediatric to Adult)24:00 - The intangibles of an ACHD Cardiologist26:00 - "No Jerks"29:30 - Supporting WAMI Region (Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho)32:00 - Centrality of Imaging in ACHD35:35 - Role of Specialized Cardiac Sonographers & Other Imagers37:40 - How to define and best care for "Complex Congenital Heart Disease"ekrieger@uw.edu

Robb MacLellan, MD is the Director of the UW Medicine Heart Institute and our Division Head of Cardiology.   Since 2011 he has ensured our faculty and research goals are aligned with the needs and opportunities in the hospital.  In addition to those important responsibilities, he is an active attending physician and Robert A. Bruce Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Research.Robb's research interests include:Understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiac failure and develop therapies to regenerate myocardiumUse genetic mouse models in an attempt to correlate molecular insights with whole organ physiologyDevelop stem cell and tissue engineering strategies to repair the heart1:15 - The Canadian Researcher6:00 - Why Cardiology7:27 - Research Training10:45 - Research Fundamentals13:15 - First Trial to the Lab Today26:40 - Complimentary Teamwork Success30:55 - Advice to the Future Academic35:50 - The Argument for the Physician Scientist41:20 - Struggle for Balance in Training and Future Need46:55 - Looking back as Division Head and Director52:30 - Regional Heart Center to Heart Institute56:30 - A new role in Department of Medicine

Carrie Boom is an advanced registered nurse practitioner since 2001 who has clinical experience throughout the continuum of inpatient and outpatient Cardiology and Cardiac Surgical care.   As the Senior Lead Advanced Practice Provider in the Division of Cardiology, she focuses her leadership efforts on building high-quality multidisciplinary teams who focus on providing high quality, safe patient care to high acuity Cardiology patients.1:15 - From Iowa to UW7:15 - The Draw to Acuity8:15 - The Creation of Boom's Legion15:50 - Structured Multidisciplinary Rounds 20:10 - Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Teams in the ICU25:45 - Future Goals in the ICU28:00 - Pulmonary Artery (PA) Catheter Management34:00 - CCU APP Evolution38:43 - Communicating ICU Culture Forward42:45 - Impact Potential of the Multidisciplinary Team47:15 - Mental Health in the ICU50:20 - Pillar of StrengthEmail: cboom@uw.edu

Christopher T. Longenecker, MD is a non-invasive cardiologist and Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology and Department of Global Health at the University of Washington School of Medicine.  He is the inaugural Director of the Global Cardiovascular Health Program, a joint initiative of cardiology and global health. Clinically, he attends on the Harborview cardiology consultative service and is director of a unique HIV-Cardiology clinic within the Madison Clinic at Harborview.1:20 - A Global Citizen3:00 - The Journey to Global Health by way of HIV/AIDS6:40 - Cardiovascular Global Health8:20 - An Interdisciplinary Global Cardiovascular Health Program at UW16:55 - Leveraging HIV Infrastructure  to Treat Rheumatic Heart Disease20:15 - Stakeholders in Global Cardiovascular Health27:30 - Advocacy for Funding31:05 - Misconceptions in Global Health34:10 - Building Relationships by Fostering Trust36:50 - Fostering Trust with Relationships 38:30 - Advice for a future in Global Health41:30 - Reciprocal Mentoring 43:45 - Relationships as a bridge to advancement46:00 - A Global Standard of Care?  Warfarin v. Rivaroxaban Example49:15 - Skills for Success in Global Health51:20 -  Advice for the practicing clinicianEmail: ctlongen@uw.eduTwitter: @hivcardiodocGlobal Cardiovascular Health Program Website

Yonatan Buber, MD earned his M.D. from Ben Gurion University in Israel.   Dr. Buber specializes in all forms of congenital heart disease, pregnancy in women with heart disease, pulmonary hypertension and exercise physiology.0:40 - Dr. Buber's Journey from Israel3:05 - A week that inspired an Adult Congenital Heart Disease career5:00 - Differences in ACHD Care Israel vs. US7:40 - Recruiting persistence of Drs. Krieger and Stout10:05 - Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing, Cardio-Obstetrics, Aortopathy Clinic14:30 - Cardio-Obstetrics22:15 - Global Health Collaborations26:30 - Regional ACHD Care30:20 - Defusing Bombs in Israel 36:30 - Advice for future cardiologistsEmail: bubery@uw.edu

Laurie Soine, PhD, ARNP, is a board-certified nurse practitioner in the UW Medicine Department of Medicine and serves in the role of Chief ARNP for UWMC.  In 2013, she was awarded the UW School of Nursing Distinguished Practitioner Award for demonstrating nursing care excellence. She is also a UW School of Medicine teaching associate and is a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing.    Laurie's research interests include the impact of what patients know and its effect on clinical outcomes, and describing factors associated with creating robust models of advanced practice nursing.0:30 - Who is Laurie Soine2:15 - Move to the Nuclear Lab6:20 - The changes in Nuclear Cardiology9:45 - Patient Interactions12:30 - Clinical Secrets15:25 - Patients understanding the Why21:00 - Move to (CPET) Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing24:00 - Why a CPET26:40 - What is CPET like for a patient27:34 - Testing for Lung vs. Heart32:50 - Dr. Robert Bruce - "Father of exercise cardiology"35:00 - Future of diagnostics and CPET for Covid-1940:15 - Advanced Practice Provider's (APP) Research42:25 - Quantifying Impact of APP's46:00 - Taking the administrative role51:30 - Growth from 2 to 50 APPs53:00 - Primary to Specialty Roles in APP Realm59:20 - Advice to Cardiology FellowsContact Laurie: lsoine@uw.edu

In this episode we have Maziar "Maz" Khorsandi, MD a cardiothoracic surgeon at the UW Medicine Heart Institute.  Dr. Khorsandi is originally from Iran and now an MCS/Transplant surgical specialist.  In addition, he helps run our weekly multidisciplinary coronary conference.0:00 - Iran to the UK3:40 - Why Cardiac Surgery6:30 - Transplants in UK vs. USA9:20 - Evolution in Mechanical Circulatory Support12:27 - "Don't suffer in Silence"14:06 - LVAD Operation (Left Ventricle Assist Device)19:45 - LVAD Patient Care21:40 - End of Suction Events29:15 - DCD - Donation after Circulatory Death33:45 - OCS - Organ Care System 40:00 - Haggis42:00 - Weekly Multidisciplinary Coronary Conference44:20 - FAME3 from Cardiac Surgeon52:10 - Low ejection fraction coronary revascularizationLVAD Operation Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ze7e-u-6rwDCD Press Release: https://newsroom.uw.edu/news/patient-receives-regions-1st-dcd-heart-transplantHaggis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HaggisGrand Rounds:Low ejection fraction coronary revascularization: A surgical perspectivehttps://youtu.be/tz2l8Fe1e1sDr. Maziar Khorsandi Profile - https://www.uwmedicine.org/bios/maziar-khorsandiEmail: mkhors@uw.edu

In this episode we sit down with Kate Kearney, MD an interventional cardiologist with a specialization in high risk coronary artery treatments.  This specialization is a fellowship training pathway at UW Medicine Heart Institute called a CHIP fellowship, in which Dr. Kearney thrived in 2018 and now teaches.  She is also focused on SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) as well as the diagnosis and treatment of women's coronary artery disease. 1:34 - Background3:15 - Choosing Intervention4:40 - Unique Make-up of Fellowship6:00 - Specialization within Interventional Cardiology9:10 - The draw to Chronic Total Occlusions10:45 - Impact of Work13:00 - Benefits of academic team culture - shout out Cath Lab team14:00 - Better every year16:10 - CHIP * Complex High-Risk Indicated PCI.17:35 - Collaboration between surgeons and interventionalists19:25 - Hybrid Coronary Interventions24:35 - Devices in Circulatory Support + Stenting30:10 - Coronary and other device evolution32:40 - STAR (Subintimal tracking and reentry)37:10 - The MONGO Story - To be discussed in a future episode37:30 - A growth mindset40:15 - SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) 45:32 - Women + Chest Pain52:28 - Teaching the Mindset54:50 - Past-Fellow Shout Out 58:50 - Work-Life Balance (Boundaries)Contact Dr. Kearney - kek35@uw.eduFellowship Program22:50 - Dr. Kirkpatrick Grand Rounds - Cardioethics of Heart Procurement after Cardiac Death

In this epidsode April S. Stempien-Otero, MD, FACC sits down to discuss her path the UW Medicine Heart Institute the disparities between women and men in cardiovascular care and the goals in developing a fully integrated Women's Heart Health Program. 0:30 - East Coast to West Coast2:32 - Disparities in care between men and women4:40 - Diabetes and Women5:50 - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) and Women7:42 - Diagnosis disparity reasons9:52 - Public vs Clinical Education11:00 - Treatment disparities13:10 - Take care of yourself15:17 - Impact and current development of studies specific to women18:05 - History of Estrogen in Cardiovascular Disease22:40 - Approximately 20% of new investigators are Women26:05 - Need for Women's Heart Health Program28:55 - Program's impact on research30:55 - A personal passion for the PNW32:48 - Integration of Advanced Practice Providers - Tracy FowlerYou can learn more about the program and contact Dr. Stempien-Otero here:UW Medicine@Heart_Dr_AprilApril@uw.edu

In this episode we sit down with Jordan M. Prutkin, MD, MHS, FACC, FHRS who directs our ambulatory clinic for the UW Medicine Heart Institute.  He is also an Electrophysiologist with a passion for sports cardiology and at the forefront of understanding how wearables and other patient data centered technologies might support cardiovascular care.2:00 - The Journey4:14 - What is the best part of Electrophysiology - Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) 6:20 - Implantable Challenges9:22 - Collaboration and camaraderie11:05 - Director of Ambulatory Clinic during Covid15:28 - Wearables and data in patient care19:30 - Managing remote monitoring 23:24 - Data Ownership24:00 - Sports Cardiology27:12 - Sports and Sudden Death31:04 - Navigating risk of sudden deathKayla Burt's Story 36:15 - Leading the Covid-19 Return-to-Play * Follow the data41:40 - Mental healthYou can reach Dr. Prutkin here:@jordanprutkinjprutkin@uw.edu

In this episode we sit down with Jeanne E. Poole, MD, FACC.  She led our Cardiac Electrophysiology section from 2000-2021 and currently Editor-in-Chief of HeartRhythm O2 Journal. http://heartrhythmopen.com.We get into all where implantable defibrillation has come and where it's headed.  In addition we talk about what characteristics make an exceptional electrophysiologist and how journals can better include allied professionals.0:38 - A child of Boeing 1:57 - Impact of Dr. Leon Green4:15 - Development of Implantable Cardiac Monitoring8:11 - Collaboration with Harborview11:40 - Patients and Uncertainty12:35 - How implantable defibrillators work14:25 - Discussion with patients and use of defibrillators18:35 - End stage terminal disease and implantable conversations20:50 - Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT)25:30 - Non-response reasons29:00 - Avoiding long leads33:18 - Indications for advanced technologies36:45 - Building and leading the Electrophysiology team43:00 - Identifying a good candidate for Electrophysiology career track46:00 - Founder and Editor in Chief of Heart Rhythm Society O2 Journal 50:00 - Allied Professionals access to journal - APP Publishing ResourcesYou can reach Dr. Poole here:@jepoolemdJPoole@uw.edu

In this episode we sit down with Karen K. Stout, MD, FACC the founder of our Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) program at the UW Medicine Heart Institute and currently our associate chief of cardiology.  She has helped formalize the ACHD sub-specialty and now is leading our team creating a culture in a rapidly changing work environment.  Her thoughts on all that and much more.1:12 - History of formalizing Adult Congenital Heart Disease4:11 - Adult vs. Pediatric Care 7:07 - Seattle Children's and UW Medicine Relationship9:55 - Transitions in Care12:55 - Day in the life of an ACHD Cardiologist16:16 - General Cardiology's role in congenital disease care19:15 - Partnerships with Multidisciplinary teams22:44 - Outreach Clinics in PNW Region25:14 - Living in a van down by the river29:00 - Arizona33:15 - Leadership and CultureAdult Congenital Heart Disease at UW Medicinestoutk@uw.edu

In this week's episode we sit down with Nazem Akoum, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA, FHRS.Dr. Akoum is now the UW Medicine Heart Institute's Electrophysiology Section Chief.   Before he made it to this incredible accomplishment, he was a child that grew up through the Lebanese Civil War and experienced loss of his brother with an aortic dissection from Marfan syndrome.  As the director of our Atrial Fibrillation clinic, he will be helping lead the way into its future as our section chief.1:28 - How the journey began8:08 - Passion for EP11:45 - Math and EP13:30 - Adjunct Professor in Bio-Engineering22:10 - Multidisciplinary Research23:49 - Atrial Fibrillation26:13 - AFib Treatment Decision Making30:28 - What imaging tells us33:10 - Scarring and Ablation36:12 - Lone Afib 38:38 - Embolic Stoke of Undetermined Source41:21 - Stroke Prevention hitting close to home43:05 - EP Leadership 45:35 - Future of UW EPYou can contact Dr. Akoum at nakoum@uw.edu

In this week's episode we sit down with Christine Chung, MD.  Dr. Chung's early interest in teaching evolved into an academic medicine career that is now helping to teach the next generation of interventional cardiologists.   She is excited to have a procedural focus with so much opportunity for innovation.  As a part of our structural heart team, she will be helping lead the way into its future.0:40 - From the beginning3:18 - Ms. Chung the Teacher?4:04 - Drawn to Procedural Cardiology5:15 - Why Structural Heart7:30 - The path to Structural Heart9:20 - Mentorship10:48 - Role as a Mentor13:10 - "Not just mentorship, but also sponsorship"14:50 - The other career and mental health19:25 - Anticoagulation and TAVR23:20 - Valve-in-Valve 25:41 - Anatomic Considerations29:12 - Aortic Regurgitation32:35 - Shout out to Robert Lederman and Adam Greenbaum33:35 - Risk of mortality vs. benefits of intervention39:25 - Unpacking deal-breakers42:01 - Left Atrial Appendage Closure/Occlusion (LAAC/LAAO)45:00 - Good Candidates for LAAO50:20 - Industry Education (Commercial Referenced)Dr. Chung can be reached at her email:cjchung1@uw.edu

In this week's episode we sit down with David T. Linker MD, FACC, FESC, FASE.  Dr. Linker's career has uniquely tied his engineering background with cardiology to help design the future of cardiac diagnostic technologies.  His commitment is to ensure these critical tools are accessible to everyone who needs it.   From speaking 6 languages to building new technologies, the common thread is his aspiration of mastery.   This aspiration is now focused on his mastery of teaching complex topics like transesophageal echocardiography with his recently published book High-Quality Transesophageal Echocardiography.Timestamps:0:40 - Cardiology & Engineering 4:08 - Development of Ultrasound Imaging7:45 - European and American Models8:30 - Icelandic, English, Spanish, French, Norwegian, & Dutch9:44 - World-wide Collaboration14:10 - Aspiring for Mastery * High-Quality Transesophageal Echocardiography 18:30 - The why rather than just the how19:45 - Learning how to teach better "Cognitive Load"21:20 - Detection of Atrial Fibrillation26:35 - Democratization of Diagnosis27:25 - Contributions to the Seattle Heart Failure Model32:10 - Commercialization without preventing access34:14 - David Linker's television travelogue series available on Smithsonian Digital Catalog39:00 - Impact of Legacy42:15 - Mental Health through  the outdoorsPlease feel free to reach out to Dr. David T. Linker directly here:dtlinker@uw.eduOthers Mentioned:Bjorn AngelsenDr. Wayne Levy

Dr. Jill Steiner, an Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) cardiologist at UW Medicine, sits down this week to talk about what palliative care really means, understanding and supporting resilience for a unique patient population, and how she has created resiliency for herself.Timestamps:0:30 - Career at a glance2:40 - All things ACHD 3:54 - Palliative Care and ACHD4:36 - "I just think it's cool."6:00 - Impact of palliative care in ACHD patients8:49 - Palliative care research11:00 - What is Resilience 16:00 - Multi-morbidity and Frailty20:32 - Transitions from pediatrics to adult25:10 - An ACHD's cardiologist special sauce34:47 - ACC Cardiology Palliative Care Working Group and CMEs38:47 - Tools for tough conversations40:50 - Supporting yourself after45:43 - "Life is not worth surviving, it's worth living" You may find resources mentioned in the episode below:Palliative Care Work Group: https://www.acc.org/Membership/Sections-and-Councils/Geriatric-Cardiology-Section/Get-Involved/Pallitive-Care-Work-GroupDr. Steiner's Bio: https://www.uwmedicine.org/bios/jill-steinerDr. Steiner's Twitter: https://twitter.com/steiner_mdDr. Steiner's email: jills8@uw.edu

This week the creator of the Seattle Heart Failure Model and Seattle Proportional Risk Model, Dr. Wayne Levy, joins us to discuss how the models were built, the continued evolution of the models, and future of these tools to support clinical decision making with guideline directed therapy.1:20 - Seattle Heart Failure Model from the beginning7:30 - Working with Statisticians8:37 - Making Life Expectancy easier to understand10:40 - Clinical Applications of the Model11:35 - Feedback from Clinicians16:00 - Challenges and successes in building a global model19:10 - Upkeep and Evolution22:22 - Barriers to new clinical datesets23:50 - Future vision of the Model25:11 - Why not the Levy Model27:50 - Clinical Insights for risk prediction33:40 - Defibrillator Paradox36:15 - Seattle Proportional Risk Model42:06 - Guideline directed therapy46:50 - Play with the model48:44 - Where is the model's future53:40 - Use across the globe57:45 - Access the tool and information - See belowSeattle Heart Failure ModelSeattle Proportional Risk ModelDr, Levy can be reached at levywc@uw.edu

Dr. Kenta Nakamura joins us on this week's episode to discuss the history of stem cell research and how he plans to help lead it into the future.   His educational foundation in stem cell biology has intersected with an interventional clinical focus at UW Medicine to now lead a new clinical trial with human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to induce therapeutic angiogenesis (revascularization).  Episode topics:0:38 - Stem Cell Biology and Interventional Cardiology Career3:55 - Rocky Road of Stem Cell Therapies 9:25 - Thoughtful process of new clinical trials10:20 - Techniques and delivery of stem cells17:50 - Diagnostically measuring success21:43 - EXACT Clinical Trial - Refractory Angina 26:20 - Patient Criteria32:20 - Potential for Young Patients 37:29 - Motivation for Medicine39:47 - Advice for Translational Basic Science Careers43:28 - Outside of work45:50 - Referrals for Trialhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04125732@KentaMDnakamur@uw.edu