Karen P. Alexander, MD

Related Content

Services

• General and Consultative Heart Care
• Women's Heart Care

Department / Division:
Medicine / Cardiovascular Medicine

Address:
DUMC 3411
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone:
(919) 681-5816

Office Telephone:
(919) 668-8871

Fax Telephone:
(919) 668-7057

• M.D., Duke University School of Medicine, North Carolina, 1992

• Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts, 1992-1995

• Cardiovascular Disease, Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, 1995-1998

Clinical Interests:
General adult cardiology, secondary prevention, geriatric cardiology, heart disease in women

Research Interests:

My research focus is on cardiovascular disease management and outcomes in special populations, specifically woman and the elderly.  Historically there has been a lack of randomized controlled data regarding treatment efficacy and outcomes in these special populations.  Because of this, certain therapies may have different risk benefit profiles, which may cause physicians to withhold certain therapeutic interventions.  My primary research project is looking at patient preferences and decision-making assessment regarding the rational use of revascularization in the elderly.

In addition, I am looking at ways to optimize diagnostic tests, specifically treadmill testing, for specific patient populations by use of computer based algorithms.

Representative Publications:
3. Alexander KP, Galanos AN, Jollis J, Stafford J, Peterson ED. Post-Myocardial Infarction Risk-Stratification in Elderly Patients. Am Heart J 2001; 142:37-42. (2001)

1. Lee PY, Alexander KP, Hammill BG, Pasquali SK, Peterson ED. The Elderly and Women: Are they adequately represented in randomized Trials of Acute Coronary Syndromes? JAMA 2001;286:708-713. (2001)

2. Alexander KP, Newby LK, Hellkamp AS, Harrington RA, Peterson ED, Kahn S, Kopecky S, O'Gara P., O'Connor CM, Califf RM, and Fuster V. New Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy After Myocardial Infarction is Associated with More Unstable Angina During Follow-up. J Am Coll Cardiol 2001;38:1-7. (2001)

4. Alexander KP, Anstrom KA, Muhlbaier LH, Grosswald RD, Smith PK, Jones RH, Peterson ED. Outcomes of Cardiac Surgery in the Very Elderly: Results from the National Cardiovascular Network. J Am Coll Cardiol, 1999; 35: 731-738. (1999)

5. Alexander KP, Peterson ED, Mahaffey KW, Casas AC, Granger CB, Van de Werf F, Armstrong PW, Mark DB, Topol EJ, Califf RM. Impact of evidence based medicine in acute coronary syndromes: insights from GUSTO IIb. J Am Coll Cardiol, 1998;32:2023-30. (1998)