Management of Atrial Fibrillation in Older Patients by Morbidity Burden: Insights From Get With The Guidelines-Atrial Fibrillation.

My research focus is on cardiovascular disease management and outcomes in special populations, specifically older adults. Historically there has been a lack of randomized controlled data regarding treatment efficacy and outcomes in this growing population. Because of this, certain therapies may have different risk benefit profiles, which may cause physicians to alter their therapeutic interventions. My research explores evidence based treatment for older adults, including preferences and decision-making as well as frailty and aging assessments in clinical trials and registries. Diagnosis and management of stable ischemic heart disease is also an area of focus.

John H. Alexander, MD, MHS is a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine, as well as the Vice Chief, Clinical Research in the Division of Cardiology. He is the Director of Cardiovascular Research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute where he oversees a large group of clinical research faculty and a broad portfolio of cardiovascular clinical trials and observational clinical research programs. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation.

Dr. Alexander’s clinical interests are in acute and general cardiovascular disease, valvular heart disease, and echocardiology. His research is focused on the translation of novel therapeutic concepts into clinical data through clinical trials, specifically on the therapeutics of acute coronary syndromes, chronic coronary artery disease, and cardiac surgery and on novel methodological approaches to clinical trials. He was on the Executive Committee of the ARISTOTLE trial of apixaban in patients with atrial fibrillation and was the Principal Investigator of the APPRAISE-2 trial of apixaban in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Dr. Alexander has published extensively and has served as the principal investigator of numerous multicenter clinical trials. He currently serves as the co-chair of the Clinical Trial Transformation Initiative (CTTI).

Atrial Fibrillation
Antithrombotic Therapy in patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes
Elderly patients with Heart Disease
Biomarkers in Acute Coronary Syndromes and Atrial Fibrillation
Thrombosis and Anticoagulation and novel antithrombotic agents
Metabolomics in Cardiovascular Medicine

Research:
My primary research interest is in conduct and methodology of large randomized clinical trials in heart disease. I have led a number of large international clinical studies in heart attacks, unstable angina, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. I have lead clinical studies of blood thinners and coronary intervention for heart attacks, stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, and prevention of heart attack for patients with coronary artery disease. I have been co-director of the Reperfusion of Acute MI in Carolina Emergency Departments (RACE) project that is a North Carolina state-wide program to improve reperfusion care for acute myocardial infarction. I serve as the Chairman of the American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline program to improve heart attack care nationally as well as the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline committee for heart attack care. I have also studied the effects of genetic variation on heart disease. I work with the National Institute of Health and the Federal Drug Administration on evaluation of heart disease and of new drugs. I have developed tools to predict which patients are at risk for death, heart attack, and need for hospitalization.

Jonathan P. Piccini, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FHRS is a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist and Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Clinical Research Institute. He is the Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology section at the Duke Heart Center. His focus is on the care of patients with atrial fibrillation and complex arrhythmias, with particular emphasis on catheter ablation and lead extraction. His research interests include the development and evaluation of innovative cardiovascular interventions for the treatment heart rhythm disorders. He has served as the chairman for several national and international clinical trials and registries, including the American Heart Association-Get with the Guidelines Atrial Fibrillation program. He is an Associate Editor at JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Piccini has more than 550 publications in the field of heart rhythm medicine and has been the recipient of several teaching and mentorship awards.

Dr. Sana M. Al-Khatib is a tenured Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, a board-certified clinical electrophysiologist and an experienced clinical researcher in cardiac arrhythmias.  She is currently the Director of the Fellowship Program at the Duke Clinical Research Institute.  As a graduate of the NIH-funded Clinical Research Training Program, she is one of a few electrophysiologists nationwide with expertise in quantitative research methods. Her clinical expertise is in sudden cardiac death prevention, atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias, and implantable cardiac devices. Her research expertise lies in the design and conduct of clinical trials, outcomes research, and cost-effectiveness analyses. She is a recipient of a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s R-01 grant titled “Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Therapy in Patients with Heart Failure” (2009-2013) and of an American Heart Association Career Development Award (2002-2006). She is a Co-Principal Investigator on an NHLBI-funded T-32 Postdoctoral Training in Cardiovascular Clinical Research and is a co-investigator on several NIH-funded projects. She has more than 350 publications in peer-reviewed journals. She has established several collaborative research efforts both within and outside her institution. The goals of these collaborations are to synergize efforts aimed at improving the survival and quality of life of patients at risk for sudden cardiac death and those with atrial and ventricular arrhythmias through clinical trials and outcomes-based research and to evaluate study design and data analysis in order to improve the quality of research done in these arenas. Dr. Al-Khatib is a Senior Associate Editor for Circulation and is on the Editorial Board for Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, Heart Rhythm, Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, JACC:EP, the Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal, and the American Heart Journal. Dr. Al-Khatib has served on multiple national committees including the Heart Rhythm Society Board of Trustees (current), the Heart Rhythm Society Finance Committee (current), the Heart Rhythm Society Audit Committee (current), the Heart Rhythm Society Health Policy committee (past), the Heart Rhythm Society Legislative subcommittee (past), and the Heart Rhythm Society Program Planning committee (past). She chaired the 2017 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death.