Cooper Heart Institute Adds Nuclear Expert and Imaging Advancements

Continuing their program development, the Cooper Heart Institute has recently expanded their nuclear cardiology armamentarium with the appointment of a new director and addition of advanced imaging capabilities.

Augustine Agocha, M.D., Ph.D., was recently appointed to direct the growing nuclear cardiology services at Cooper. His appointments include Director of the Cooper Nuclear Cardiology and Exercise Laboratories, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine.

A medical school graduate of the State University of New York in Buffalo, Dr. Agocha also received his medical degree and a doctorate in cardiovascular pathology at SUNY. He completed his medicine residency and clinical cardiology fellowship at Yale University Hospital in New Haven, where he was awarded the prestigious American Heart Association Research Career Development Award. Dr. Agocha also completed an advanced cardiovascular imaging fellowship at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, where he became the Co-Director of the Section of Clinical Cardiology.

“Dr. Agocha brings tremendous nuclear scanning and exercise testing expertise to the Cooper Heart Institute,” says Joseph Parrillo, M.D., director of the Cooper Heart Institute. “We feel strongly that his leadership will enable us to position the Cooper Nuclear Cardiology and Exercise Laboratories as the premiere diagnostic center in South Jersey,” adds Dr. Parrillo.

Cooper Adds State-of-the-Art Technology

To support the developmental goals of the Cooper Heart Institute in nuclear cardiology, state-of-the art technology upgrades have been added to enhance and expand the diagnostic modalities. “The basis of excellence in myocardial perfusion and dynamic studies is accuracy, clarity, consistency, and reproducibility of images,” says Dr. Agocha. “A recent acquisition of the Cooper Heart Institute, the e-cam will aid us in the pursuit of excellence in our nuclear cardiology studies.”

The e-cam is a state-of-the-art gamma camera now being used in the outpatient setting in Camden.

“As with most new technology, the e-cam provides faster, sharper images,” says Dr. Agocha. “However, the e-cam attenuation correction around the heart enhances the SPECT (Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography) perfusion accuracy, and clearly establishes this tool as the gold standard in the pharmacologic testing arena.”

First-Pass as a Differentiation Tool in Dyspnea

In addition, First-Pass testing is now available in the outpatient setting. “First-Pass offers a snapshot of cardiac function,” reports Dr. Agocha. “ The study is less stressful for some patients since it can be completed in 5 minutes and the patient remains standing. It provides cardiac output, ejection fraction, and left and right heart measurements,” adds Dr. Agocha.

“First-Pass is unequivocally the best non-invasive modality available today to evaluate the right heart,” says Dr. Agocha. Unlike the geometric and mathematic calculations that can be made of the left heart through a variety of modalities, no other technology is able to reliably make an accurate assessment of the right heart.”

The right heart evaluation capabilities of First-Pass studies make it an obvious diagnostic tool for pulmonary hypertension, as well as the ubiquitous complaint of dyspnea. “Perfusion defects noted with First-Pass can quickly illuminate a pulmonary problem, or establish a cardiovascular origin of the problem,” adds Dr. Agocha.

First Pass Radionuclide Angiogram of the left ventricle. Note the end systolic (ES) and end diastolic (ED) borders with regional wall motion abnormalities and overall left ventricular ejection fraction, (second figure) of 40%. 

MUGA Useful in Other Scenarios

“Multi-gated equilibrium (MUGA) studies remain the diagnostic tool of choice when reproducibility is an absolute necessity,” reports Dr. Agocha. “In oncology patients participating in chemotherapy protocols, we are seeking to follow possible deterioration in their ejection fraction,” adds Dr. Agocha. “MUGA is an excellent tool for this evaluation.”

In addition to his nuclear cardiology focus, Dr. Agocha has a special interest in clinical and research activities related to heart failure evaluation and management. Dr. Agocha has participated in many medical therapy and device research studies including: the Companion (Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure) Study, the Rhythm ICD Heart Failure Study, and Vector (Ventricular Resynchronization Trial). At present Dr. Agocha is a member of the steering committee for ADVANCENT (the Advanced LV Dysfunction) Registry.

“ADVANCENT is the first registry of its kind to evaluate heart failure therapy across the United States,” says Dr. Agocha. “The goal is to gather data on patients nationwide with Cooper as a planned site in the near future.”

For more information about Dr. Agocha, Cooper nuclear cardiology, or to refer a patient, please call:(856) 342-2034.