Outcomes 2016 - Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital FY 2016 | Page 68

PACKER JOINS BAYLOR AS DISTINGUISHED
SCHOLAR IN CARDIOVASCULAR SCIENCE
One of the leading national investigators in heart failure,
Milton Packer, MD, joined Baylor University Medical Center
at Dallas in December 2015 as the new Distinguished Scholar
in Cardiovascular Science. Dr. Packer came to Baylor from
UT Southwestern Medical Center where he was the Chair for
the Clinical Sciences Department. For a good part of his 40-
year career, Dr. Packer conducted research for the National
Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration
in heart failure and cardiovascular disease which led to
the development of new therapeutic drugs. His research
established the cornerstone of the current modern treatments
for heart failure, for which he was the recipient of the Lewis
Katz lifetime achievement award in cardiovascular research.
He is also widely recognized for his outstanding leadership
abilities, having led the Division of Circulatory Physiology
at Columbia University for 12 years, which he built into the
nation’s most outstanding research group devoted to heart
failure. He has been the principal investigator for more than
15 large international multicenter trials.
When we tell patients that their
cardiovascular mortality is reduced
by 20 percent as a result of using
Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin
inhibitor (ARNi) category of drugs,
that’s a very hard thing for them to
understand. We wanted to do a more
meaningful analysis. We wanted
to do an analysis where someone could ask his or
her physician: ‘If I take this new drug, compared with
standard of care, how much longer will I live?’
Milton Packer, MD
Distinguished Scholar in Cardiovascular Science
Dr. Packer served as principal investigator for a recently
completed trial of ARNi drugs. The study results show these
drugs prolonged life for heart failure patients to a meaningful
degree, he said. “In general, we celebrate cancer drugs when
they prolong life by weeks or a couple of months,” Dr. Packer
said. “That’s what made this so exciting. On average, their life
was prolonged by 1.5 to 2 years. That’s an extraordinary finding.
That’s a result we haven’t seen in previous years.” Dr. Packer
works with Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital
patients through the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute.
Soltero Cardiovascular
Research Center
Cara East, MD, FACP, medical director
for Soltero Cardiovascular Research Center
(SCRC) at Baylor University Medical
Center at Dallas, continues to realize the
growing demand for cardiovascular research
partners. Together with her team, located
in the Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular
Hospital building, Dr. East has worked over
29 years facilitating cardiovascular studies that have helped
launch new treatment options for heart and vascular patients.
Leading research studies* conducted in fiscal year 2016 of
particular note include:
1. SPYRAL Studies:
– SPYRAL OFF MED – Global Clinical Study of Renal
Denervation with the Symplicity Spyral multi-electrode
renal denervation system in patients with uncontrolled
hypertension in the absence of antihypertensive
medications. Primary Investigator: James Choi, MD
– SPYRAL ON MED – Global Clinical Study of Renal
Denervation with the Symplicity Spyral multi-electrode
renal denervation system in patients with uncontrolled
hypertension on standard medical therapy. Primary
Investigator: James Choi, MD
For both of these studies, Soltero Cardiovascular Research
Center ranked #1 in enrollment in the nation.
2. DREAM – HF 1: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-
Procedure-Controlled, Parallel-Group Efficacy and
Safety Study of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Precursor Cells
(rexlemestrocel-L) in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure
Due to Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction of Either
Ischemic or Nonischemic Etiology. Primary Investigator:
Cara East, MD; Unblinded lead coordinator:
Poupak Moshayedi, CCRC; Blinded lead coordinator:
Pamela Coker, RN, CCRC
3. HUMANITY – An Assessment of Humacyte’s Human
Acellular Vessel in Patients Needing Renal Replacement
Therapy: A Comparison with ePTFE Grafts as Conduits for
Hemodialysis. Primary Investigator:
Stephen Hohmann, MD, FACS
4. QUARK – A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled,
Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of QPI-1002
for the prevention of acute kidney injury in subjects at high
risk for AKI following cardiac surgery. Primary Investigator:
Robert F. Hebeler, Jr., MD
*Complete list included starting page 70
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