Key Takeaways
- Duke’s Cardiometabolic Prevention Clinic provides multidisciplinary care for patients with multiple risk factors for heart disease.
- Clinical trials at Duke offer patients cutting-edge therapies.
- Duke Heart & Vascular is a leader on a national and local level, with Manesh Patel, MD, chief of cardiology, serving as volunteer president of the American Heart Association. Duke is the lead sponsor of the AHA Triangle Heart Walk, held October 3, 2026.
Duke Cardiometabolic Prevention offers a multidisciplinary program to care for patients at high risk of cardiometabolic disease. With a clinic directed by cardiologist Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, MPH, section chief of Prevention for Duke Cardiology, pioneering research, and leadership on a national and local level, Duke is advancing both clinical care and the science of heart care.
“We’re at the cutting edge,” Pagidipati affirms. “When referring providers have a difficult time managing multiple risk factors or just have questions, we’re here to partner and co-manage these patients.”
Pagidipati also highlights access to clinical trials as a leading reason to refer to Duke programs: “In addition to every FDA-approved therapy, this is probably the single most active area within cardiology for new therapies, and we have many clinical trials that aren’t available anywhere else.”
A focus on prevention
The Duke Cardiometabolic Prevention Clinic has a multidisciplinary team including cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, and hepatologists to evaluate and coordinate care for patients with multiple risk factors. The complex interactions between these comorbid conditions often require multiple specialists to manage effectively.
Physicians should consider referral when a patient presents with more than one of the following risk factors for heart disease:
- High cholesterol with either:
- Statin intolerance or
- A consideration for advanced lipid lowering therapy
- High blood pressure that is difficult to control
- Diabetes that is difficult to control
- Obesity with BMI greater than 35
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)
The clinic strives to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiac events and improve patients’ overall health through advanced diagnostic testing, education, resources, and medications.
Duke Cardiology Prevention section chief Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, MPH, details how physicians can help patients modify cardiovascular risk factors in two videos from the New England Journal of Medicine.
“We cannot overemphasize the importance of managing blood pressure,” Pagidipati says. “It’s the single most manageable risk factor.”
A national and local leader
Duke is a leader in promoting heart health both nationally and locally. Duke Chief of Cardiology Manesh R. Patel, MD, is currently serving as the volunteer president for the American Heart Association, with Duke Vice Chief of Research, Svati H. Shah, MD, MHS, as volunteer president-elect. Duke electrophysiologist Sana M. Al-Khatib, MD, MHS, is also serving as the current president of the Heart Rhythm Society.
Locally, Duke strives to bring heart care to the community through efforts like the annual Triangle Heart Walk, where Duke Heart is the lead sponsor. The 2026 event will take place on Saturday, October 3. “Awareness is the first step of prevention,” Pagidipati says. “This is a huge event that raises awareness of heart disease, stroke, and atherosclerotic heart disease in the community.”
