University of South Florida cardiology residents, fellows and faculty had a strong research showing at the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting last month (August 2010) in Orlando.

Kuldeep Maradia, MD, a third-year resident, won second place in the Young Investigators Award competition, for his oral presentation of the research project “Obese with Greater Atrial Fibrillation Burden.” In addition, “Higher Body Mass Index is Linked to Greater Atrial Fibrillation Burden” was also accepted for presentation by Dr. Maradia and Dr. Guglin at American Heart Association – 2010.

Dr. Kuldeep Maradia

USF cardiologists presented five posters and six abstracts at the FACC meeting. The poster presentations were:

• “Melphalan Induced Atrial Arrhythmias: Incidence and Risk Factors” by Victor Feliz (first-year fellow), Saleem Saiyad (third-year fellow), S. Ramara, H. Khan (graduated this year), and Maya Guglin. Also presented at the American Academy of Cardiology 2010 Annual Meeting.

• “Hemoglobin and Hematocrit Inversely Correlate with Systolic Function in Heart Failure,” by Sameer Gupta (second-year fellow) and Maya Guglin. Also accepted to Heart Failure Society of America 2010.

• “Which Test Is the Best?” by Sameer Gupta and Maya Guglin. Also accepted to American Heart Association 2010 as an oral presentation.

• “Dynamic Changes in Right Ventricular Systolic Function in Heart Failure,” by Sameer Verma (second-year resident) and Maya Guglin. Also accepted to HFSA 2010.

• “Right Ventricular Dysfunction Compromises Accuracy of Echocardiographic Diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension in Heart Failure,” by Angela McClanahan (third-year fellow) and Maya Guglin. Also accepted to AHA 2010.

“Only the University of Florida, including the Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses together, equaled USF’s presentations,” said Dr. Guglin, director of the Heart Failure Program and associate professor of medicine at USF Health.