-  JULY 2016  -
Institute Sponsors Medical Intern to Support Cardiac Clinic in Honduras

In an effort to create a sustainable cardiac clinic for the underserved people of Honduras, the GW Heart & Vascular Institute is sponsoring a Honduran medical graduate's year-long medical internship at GW's Division of Cardiology. Drs. Cynthia Tracy and Marco Mercader have traveled to Honduras for the past six years providing a free two-week cardiac clinic at Centro Medico Comayagua Colonial Hospital implanting free pacemakers and defibrillators in at-risk patients. Dorys Chavez, a native Honduran who loves classical music and ballet, graduated from National Autonomous University in Honduras with a medical degree last year. She is the youngest of three and the daughter of two civil engineers.  The support of her loving family has led her to pursue this opportunity with GW.



Chavez began working at the Medical Center Hospital in a clinic called Bravo Integral Attention, which is designed for the U.S. Embassy to perform a physical exams to immigrant visa applicants. Chavez learned about the GW Heart & Vascular Institute's mission in Honduras while she was doing medical service at the Regional Hospital of Comyagua.

While interning at GW, Chavez will attend weekly Cardiology conferences and classes with biomedical engineers - learning about pacemakers, ICD, and CRT and how to interrogate pacemakers.  After this year of study, Chavez plans to pursue an internal medicine residency and fellowship in cardiology.  Chavez is dedicated to a life of medical service and plans to return to Honduras to practice as a cardiologist. She plans to work with patients who have received care from the Institute's medical mission and to be able to identify new patients who would benefit from advanced cardiac care.
Institute Welcomes Class of 2019 GW Cardiology Fellows

The GW Cardiology Fellowship program, under the leadership of Allen Solomon, MD, Professor of Medicine, is a three-year fellowship offered to recent graduates of internal medicine residency programs. Drew McCaffrey, MD, and Reda Shams, MD, were selected from a group of more than 200 applicants to train under the cardiology faculty and to have opportunities to lead academic research studies through the Institute's annual research awards.

Dr. McCaffrey received his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at H ahnemann University Hospital.

Dr. Shams received his medical degree from The Royal College of Surgeons and completed his residency at George Washington University. Dr. Shams was chief resident at George Washington University. 
Dr. Katz's Research Team Presents at American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting



Dr. Katz's PCORI research team delivered "Patient Engagement and Utilization of Diabetes Mobile Health Application: Beyond Glucose Monitoring," at the American Diabetes Association's 76th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. Cell phone "apps" that assist patients in the management of diabetes have several features, but is questionable how many patients use the "app" beyond recording blood glucose levels. Dr. Katz's group demonstrated that 30-50% of patients also utilized their diabetes "app" to monitor blood pressure, medication adherence, exercise, and weight loss goals.
Dr. Mercader Presents at International Heart Rhythm Conference

Dr. Mercader was invited to 
present updates on his innovative research in cardiac ablation titled: "Optical Tissue Interrogation that provides real-time monitoring of catheter-tissue contact and RF lesion progression using NADH fluorescence," at the Cardiostim 2016 conference in Nice, France. Cardiostim is the leading international heart rhythm society for electrophysiology professionals. This paper reported results of a new generation heart catheter that visualizes the inside of the heart "in vivo" during an ablation procedure. This system facilitates more accurate targeting of the sites that cause atrial fibrillation, thereby improving the success of eliminating this heart rhythm disorder.