News Release

Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation researcher to present at Young Investigators' Forum

Grant and Award Announcement

Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

Ankur Kalra

image: Dr. Ankur Kalra received his MBBS from Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla, India in 2006. He did residencies in Internal Medicine at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, India and University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden, NJ. He received his board certifications in Internal Medicine in 2012, from the American Board of Internal Medicine, and in Adult Echocardiography in 2014, from the National Board of Echocardiography. His research interests include cardiovascular hemodynamics, cardiomyopathies and sudden cardiac death. He has also worked at collaborating US and Indian physicians in critical care medicine through a working group he has co-founded with his colleagues in critical care medicine, the Critical Care Working Group. Director of the Barry J. Maron Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center in New Delhi, India, he is currently working with Dr. Barry J. Maron, an international expert in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, to improve quality of care for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients in India. Dr. Kalra has presented over 25 abstracts at national and international scientific sessions, and published over 25 manuscripts in various peer-reviewed journals. An aspiring interventional cardiologist, Dr. Kalra will begin his interventional cardiology training in 2015 at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. His long-term career goals are to establish a robust ST-elevation myocardial infarction care network in his home city, New Delhi, India. Currently the chief cardiology fellow, Dr. Kalra joined the cardiovascular disease fellowship program at Hennepin County Medical Center and Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in 2012. view more 

Credit: Dr. Kalra Ankur

Minneapolis, MN – November 7, 2014 – Dr. Ankur Kalra, MD, the chief cardiovascular fellow at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, will present today at the Tenth Annual Cardiovascular Young Investigators' Forum behind held in Chicago, Illinois on November 6-9, 2014. Dr. Kalra's presentation, titled "Doppler Tissue Imaging Predicts Progressive Heart Failure Prognosis in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy," is the product of a study conducted using the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation's extensive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) database, which was compiled in large part by MHIF Research Cardiologist Dr. Barry Maron.

Until Dr. Kalra began his study, limited research had been conducted on the causes of heart failure progression in HCM patients. Researchers had investigated the risk factors of sudden cardiac death due to HCM, but the risk factors in HCM patients that are associated with heart failure progression remained unstudied and unknown. Previously, family history was the only risk factor associated with heart failure progression in HCM, a conclusion derived from a study conducted by MHIF Research Cardiologist Dr. Kevin M. Harris. Now, Dr. Kalra has made significant headway in identifying a risk marker in HCM patients that is associated with heart failure progression.

In the study, Dr. Kalra examined echocardiograms of 404 patients, looking at Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) to determine whether it has an association with heart failure progression in HCM. He found that the existence of abnormalities in DTI on initial echocardiogram is an independent risk marker for progression to HCM-related heart failure death, cardiac transplantation or progression of heart failure symptoms. Being able to identify a high risk of heart failure progression then allows for aggressive management and closer monitoring of high-risk patients.

Forty presentations in two categories – clinical and basic science – will be heard at the Young Investigators' Forum. Dr. Kalra's presentation will be made in the clinical category. One person in each category will receive $10,000 to conduct further research. The Forum is an independent medical education activity accredited by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Office of Continuing Medical Education.

###

About the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is dedicated to creating a world without heart disease through groundbreaking clinical and population health research and community outreach. MHIF's mission is to improve people's lives through the highest quality cardiovascular research and education.

Scientific Innovation and Research – Publishing more than 120 peer-reviewed studies each year, MHIF is a recognized research leader in the broadest range of cardiovascular medicine. Each year, cardiologists and hospitals around the world adopt MHIF protocols to save lives and improve patient care.

Education and Outreach – Research shows that modifying specific health behaviors can significantly reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. As part of its mission, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation has been involved in cutting-edge, transformative population health research to connect, engage, inform and empower individuals and communities to improve their health.

About the Minneapolis Heart Institute®

The Minneapolis Heart Institute® is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading providers of heart and vascular care. This state-of-the-art facility combines the finest in personalized patient care with sophisticated technology in a unique, family-oriented environment. The Institute's programs, a number of which are conducted in conjunction with Abbott Northwestern Hospital, address the full range of heart and vascular health needs: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.