Grand Rounds: "Disentangling the Links Between Stress and Cardiovascular Disease," w Ahmed A. Tawakol, MD
Ahmed A. Tawakol, MD a cardiologist with a clinical and research focus on cardiovascular imaging. He obtained his medical degree from Stanford Medical School, then trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and MGH for Nuclear Cardiology. He is Director of Nuclear Cardiology and Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at the MGH. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Tawakol employs multi-modality imaging to study cardiovascular disease mechanisms. His lab focuses on imaging atherosclerotic disease and on evaluating brain-heart interactions. His group developed and validated imaging methods to assess atherosclerotic plaque inflammation. Using that approach, his group is assessing novel treatments directed against atherosclerotic inflammation in humans and is studying disease mechanisms that trigger cardiovascular disease events. Notably, Dr. Tawakol’s research includes a focus on multi-organ mechanisms by which stress and depression cause cardiovascular diseases. His team provided the first-in-human observation linking stress-associated neural activity to subsequent CVD events, thus providing mechanistic insights into how psychosocial stress promotes CVD. His work additionally leverages advanced imaging and cutting-edge biomarkers to assess interventions that reduce stress-associated neural activity and result in enhanced neurobiological resilience and improved cardiovascular health. He’s the principal investigator on multiple studies funded by the NIH, industrial sponsors, and foundations.
At the end of this activity, learners will gain and understanding of:
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Pathological mechanisms linking stress and depression to cardiovascular disease.
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How multi-modality imaging can be used to gain insights into the physiology of heart-brain interactions and the neurobiology of resilience.
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How lifestyle interventions that enhance neurobiological resilience may reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
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Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, the University of California, San Francisco Office of Continuing Medical Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
UCSF designates this live activity for a maximum of 10 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The credit maximum above reflects all Osher Center for Integrative Health Grand Rounds sessions in Fiscal Year 2025. Up to 1 credit may be claimed against any individual session.
CE for Acupuncturists: This live activity is approved by the State of California Acupuncture Board for 1 hour of Category 1 CE course credit.
Financial Disclosure Statement
Planners: Shelley Adler, PhD, Selena Chan, DO; and Patty Moran, PhD, have no financial relationships to disclose.
Speaker: Ahmed A. Tawakol, MD, is a clinical investigator at the Mass General Research Institute’s Cardiovascular Research Center, which received a research grant from Lung Biotechnology in 2022. This financial relationship has been managed to ensure that the content of this CME activity is free of commercial bias.
