Dr. Patel has carried out pioneering work identifying the low diagnostic yield of cardiac catheterization in community practice. From these studies, it became clear that our traditional stress imaging strategies for CAD evaluation was not ideal. This wake-up call became the rationale for the NIH-funded PROMISE trial (randomizing CT-angiography to routine function testing) lead by Dr. Pamela Douglas and Dr. Patel. Dr. Patel also teamed up with Dr. Douglas to run the PLATFORM Trial (a trial of CT fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) imaging). Dr. Patel is now translating these findings into practice as the PI for ADVANCE (an international CT-FFR registry). Dr. Patel has also worked with an international consortium to evaluate newer interventional technologies for ischemia detection - the recently presented DEFINE FLAIR trial demonstrating invasive iFR evaluation. Combined these studies are working to clarify the emerging roles of new imaging technologies in coronary artery disease.
Dr. Patel has also played key roles in the development of anti-thrombotic therapies for patients with AF and PAD. As a junior faculty, Dr. Patel served as Co-PI of the first phase III trial of a novel factor Xa inhibitor (rivaroxaban) in AF. This study, ROCKET AF, has become one of the most cited recent studies in medicine with many substudies to help understand how to care for patients with AF. Recognized as a national leader in PAD, Dr. Patel also performed the largest evidenced based summary of PAD for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Most recently, Dr. Patel has led the EULID trial, a 14,000-patient study comparing two anti-platelet strategies in PAD. This work will lead to many new insights into the care of patients with PAD. Finally, Dr. Patel has also lead a large international group of cardiovascular researchers on understanding data sharing.
Finally, in addition to his research, Dr. Patel was recently selected as the Chief of the Division of Cardiology and Co-Director of the Duke Heart Center. In this role, he leads the 120 Cardiovascular Physicians and 48 fellows across 3 hospitals and clinics.
