Phobic anxiety and increased risk of mortality in coronary heart disease.

• Examination of the relationship between affective disorders and autonomic cardiovascular control.
  
  * Examination of the mechanisms underlying the increased cardiac mortality associated with anxiety disorders.
  
  * Examination of the role of behavioral factors (diet, exercise) as modulators of glycemic control and in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy.

Psychosocial factors and coronary heart disease, including such factors as social support, Type A behavior and hostility, and depression, exercise training and depression in the elderly; behavioral approaches to the treatment of hypertension (e.g., weight loss and exercise); cardiac rehabilitation; neuropsychological outcomes following cardiac surgery; psychosocial aspects of heart and lung transplantation; exercise training and osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia; compliance.

Since coming to Duke as an intern in 1994 I have collaborated as a biostatistician and co-investigator at Duke on numerous observational and experimental studies involving behavior, psychosocial factors, health, and disease. The substantive topics have ranged across questions concerning exercise and depression, hypertension, weight loss, the genetics of stress and heart disease, sickle cell disease, to name a few. I am particularly interested in the issue of improving reproducibility and transparency in data analysis.

Currently, my research focuses upon the theoretical aspects of homeopathy and its clinical utilization, as well as the broader field of alternative (complementary) medicine. this is a field which has traditionally been overlooked as a legitimate scientific discipline. Other areas of activity are as in the past, i.e., clinical treatment, epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis of posttraumatic stress, social phobia, other anxiety status, and depression. These are illustrated by recent publications on treatment, epidemiology, health service utilization and quality of life in social phobia and PTSD, drug treatment of panic disorder. Magnetic resonance studies of social phobia have been completed and further studies are planned.

Dr. O’Connor’s research interests include: acute heart failure; co-morbidities in heart failure; clinical trials; biomarkers; and novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches for the treatment of heart failure.

My current research interests are focused in the area of diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization. In the arena of diagnostic cardiac catheterization, I am currently evaluating the role of Prostaglandin E1 in the prevention of contrast induced renal dysfunction. In the arena of interventional cardiac catheterization, I have been actively involved in both the development and subsequent determination of potential niches for new interventional technologies in the management of coronary artery disease. These interventional technologies include balloon angioplasty, the perfusion balloon catheter, transluminal extraction catheter, and several intracoronary stents.