MINNEAPOLIS, MN – March 29, 2014 – Minneapolis Heart Institute Chief Cardiology Fellow Ankur Kalra, MD has been named as a finalist for the 2014 ACCF Young Investigators Awards. Kalra's research, funded by the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF), supports the ongoing quest to better identify, with noninvasive tools, which heart attack survivors are at greatest risk for sudden cardiac death, and therefore may benefit from ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) therapy. Kalra will present his research at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting in Washington, DC on March 31, 2014.
When a person suffers a heart attack, a scar is left on the heart tissue, and the risk for sudden death due to a dangerously fast heart beat (ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation) increases. Kalra's research focused on studying that scar with specialized imaging technology (contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, or CMR), and determining if the size of the scar could be used to predict future outcomes, including stroke, another heart attack, or death.
The MHIF researchers reviewed 332 patients who were admitted to the hospital with acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and underwent CMR prior to discharge. They compared outcomes among three patient groups: 1) those who were implanted with an ICD within 40 days of the heart attack, 2) those who were implanted with an ICD > 40 days after the heart attack, and 3) those who did not receive an ICD. There was no significant difference in the size of the scar left by the heart attack, and in clinical outcomes at 30 days and 1 year between groups 1 and 2. "Our findings are limited by a small sample size," states Kalra, "But the research serves as a first step in assessing whether and how CMR, a noninvasive test, may be used to assess risk for post-MI patients."
Kalra is one of five finalists selected for the ACCF Young Investigators Awards in the Clinical Investigations, Congenital Heart Disease and Cardiac Surgery category. The competition encourages and recognizes young scientific investigators of promise, upon whom progress in the field of cardiology is dependent. A first place, second place, and three honorable mention awardees will be recognized during the American College of Cardiology's Annual Convocation on March 31, 2014.