Researcher Profile: Dr. Ratika Parkash

Dr. Ratika Parkash

What is your current research project? 
Currently I am working in 2 main streams: atrial fibrillation and cardiac devices. We just published a study about the effect aggressive blood pressure control has on the recurrence of atrial fibrillation after a procedure called ‘catheter ablation’;  we were looking to figure out if this could improve outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation.

We are also looking at the best way to follow up with patients who have cardiac devices, this population is growing and we need to improve our efficiency of follow up.

How did you become interested in your research topic?
When I was a medical student, I was fascinated with the heart mechanics and then also became interested in the electrical function of the heart. When therapies for atrial fibrillation became more advanced, it became more interesting and I wondered how we could improve outcomes for patients which steered me to research.

What has been unexpected about your findings so far?
Mainly that our hypothesis about blood pressure control didn’t work. It had shown up in animals and prior studies but it didn’t work for us. We learned a lot from this, our study was short term and we learned that better outcomes likely require more time to work. If you started off with good blood pressure you were ok, but we learned that we need to treat people for longer periods of time to have a bigger effect.

What’s innovative about your research? 
Our project is one of the first clinical trials specifically for atrial fibrillation and catheter ablation. We are also looking at a web based platform to give better access to our patients, especially those at a distance so they don’t have to travel as much.

One word that best describes how you work: Persistent

What technology can’t you live without?  Blackberry, Mac, SAS

How do you envision your research benefiting the “public at large”?
I hope my research improves the quality and quantity of life for patients with atrial fibrillation but I also want to reduce adverse events for those with cardiac devices and perform follow up with patients with these devices as efficiently as possible.

Note: This profile appeared in the May 2017 print edition of Research in Progress