Patient acuity is a critical benchmark for ensuring the patient has a proper care plan – it essentially saves lives. On MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson talks with Amy Simone, PA-C, FACC, director of the Marcus Heart Valve Center at Piedmont Heart Institute, and Vinod Thourani, MD, FACC, professor of Cardiac Surgery and chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Piedmont Healthcare at the Marcus Heart Valve Center. They discuss the challenges of accurately capturing patient acuity in heart failure patients and share innovative solutions to this problem.

Guest Bios
Vinod Thourani, MD, FACC, Professor of Cardiac Surgery, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Piedmont Healthcare at the Marcus Heart Valve Center - Dr. Thourani is board certified in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. He earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Thourani completed a general surgery internship at Emory University, followed by a residency and fellowship at Emory University. He also completed visiting fellowships for minimally invasive and transcatheter valve surgery at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, China, and a fellowship with Prof Fred Mohr in Leipzig, Germany. Dr. Thourani is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, the Heart Valve Society, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, the South Atlantic Cardiovascular Society, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He serves as the President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (2019-2020) and the President-elect for the Heart Valve Society (2019-2020). Dr. Thourani specializes in valve surgery, specifically in minimally invasive and transcatheter aortic and mitral valve surgery. He is passionate about working with a multi-disciplinary team in providing the patient with options for traditional, minimally invasive, and transcatheter surgical options. In his spare time, Dr. Thourani enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, tennis, and going to sporting events and concerts.

Amy Simone, PA-C, FACC, Director of the Marcus Heart Valve Center, Piedmont Heart Institute - Amy Simone is a Physician Assistant who received her training in Boston, MA at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She is entering her seventeenth year of practice as a PA, and has spent over a decade in the Structural Heart arena. She served as the Structural Heart and Valve Coordinator at Emory University Midtown Hospital for over 6 years before transitioning to the Piedmont Heart Institute as the Director of the Marcus Heart Valve Center in 2017. She is a Past President of the Academy of Physician Associates in Cardiology (APAC) and in 2022 was appointed the APAC Structural Heart Disease Committee Chair. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and serves on the ACC Cardiovascular Team Section Leadership Council, the ACC Physician Assistant Committee and the ACC Georgia Chapter Program Committee. In 2019 she co-published a textbook entitled Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Program Development – A Guide for the Heart Team. She is passionate about patient advocacy and experience, program optimization, and addressing disparities in care. She lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Michael and daughter Ivy.