Sana M. Al-Khatib MD, MHS

Dr. Sana Al-Khatib is a tenured Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC). She received her MD degree from the American University of Beirut and trained in internal medicine, cardiology, and cardiac electrophysiology at DUMC, where she also received her Master’s in Health sciences degree. Dr. Al-Khatib has expertise and experience in the diagnosis and management of heart rhythm disorders including ventricular arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation. She has focused on the study of rhythm management devices including the implantable cardioverter defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy. She has investigated risk factors, prevention, and treatment of sudden cardiac death (SCD), the leading cause of death in the United States.

Dr. Al-Khatib is a board-certified clinical electrophysiologist and an experienced clinical researcher in cardiac arrhythmias. As a graduate of the NIH-funded Clinical Research Training Program, she is one of a few electrophysiologists nation-wide with expertise in quantitative research methods. Her research expertise lies in the design and conduct of clinical trials, outcomes research, and cost-effectiveness analyses. She is a recipient of a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s R-01 grant titled “Implantable Cardioeverter Defibrillator Therapy in Patients with Heart Failure” (2009-2013) and an American Heart Association Career Development Award (2002-2006). She is a Co-Principal Investigator on an Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) sponsored R-01 grant titled: “Duke Cardiovascular Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics” and a Co-Principal Investigator on another AHRQ R-01 grant that involves the use of merged patient level data from 12 randomized clinical trials of ICDs. She is a co-Principal Investigator of a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute T-32 grant for Postdoctoral Training in Cardiovascular Clinical Research.

She has more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Her work has had wide influence on medical research and health policy, the latter being demonstrated by its influence on the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Device Performance Policies and Guidelines. She has served on several professional society committees including the HRS’ Health Policy committee and the American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) Guideline Development Task Force. She was elected into the American Society for Clinical Investigators (ASCI) in 2013. She is currently chairing the ACC/AHA/HRS’ guideline document on the prevention and treatment of sudden cardiac death and ventricular arrhythmias.