AHA Honors UR Nursing Faculty for Research, Clinical Excellence in Cardiovascular and Stroke Care

School of Nursing faculty members were recognized for their clinical and scientific contributions to heart attack and stroke care at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions.

Salah Al-Zaiti, PhD, RN, CRNP, ANP-BC, FAHA, endowed professor and chair of cardiovascular nursing, received the AHA Council on Cardiovascular & Stroke Nursing’s (CVSN) 2024 Research Article of the Year Award. In collaboration with a national team of researchers, he is developing a machine learning-based clinical decision-making support tool to better classify chest pain and identify hidden heart attacks among emergency department patients.

The team developed an algorithm, trained by data from more than 7,000 patients from multiple U.S. sites and who had chest pain without the obvious ST elevation of a heart attack, to identify who might have heart attacks and help providers make diagnoses more quickly and accurately. Their research findings are published in Nature Medicine.

Al-Zaiti aims to implement the support tool in a hospital setting, with the goal of partnering with medical device manufacturers to incorporate it into electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors and electronic health records.

“If our work is implemented into systems of care, it can dramatically change how we care for patients with chest pain,” he said.

“I knew the University of Rochester would offer an excellent platform to take my research to the next level and start implementing it at the bedside,” added Al-Zaiti, who joined the School of Nursing faculty in September 2024.

Al-Zaiti is a previous recipient of the CVSN Council’s Martha N. Hill New Investigator Award, and helped develop the AHA’s 2020 guidelines for preventing and mitigating the risk of exercise-related adverse cardiac events.

Ann Leonhardt-Caprio '06N (MS) '20N (DNP), assistant professor of clinical nursing and program coordinator for the UR Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center, won the Excellence in Clinical Practice Award.

“This recognition reflects the impact I’ve been privileged to make on patients and their caregivers, as well as on nursing practice and stroke care at a broader level,” Leonhardt-Caprio said. “Recognition from my peers inspires me to continue striving for excellence, fostering collaboration, and advancing the field of stroke care to benefit patients and the nursing community alike.”

Locally, she has contributed to efforts to reduce readmissions, evaluate nursing care for stroke patients, and establish a collaborative group across the UR Medicine Health System to address system-wide stroke care needs. Nationally, Leonhardt-Caprio has been an active volunteer in the CVSN Council’s Stroke Nursing Committee. She previously received the 2022 Stroke Article of the Year Award, as well as the AHA Eastern States Region's Leadership Legacy Award.

Moving forward, she hopes to further develop the UR Medicine network’s approach to stroke care, serve as a mentor and resource for emerging stroke coordinators and specialty nurses, and play an active role in the continued growth of the Stroke Center while growing her involvement in the CVSN Council.

“I see tremendous opportunities to foster clinical scholarship, cultivate the next generation of nurses, and strengthen interprofessional partnerships — ultimately enhancing the quality of care we provide to patients for years to come,” Leonhardt-Caprio said.

School of Nursing Dean Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, who is the chair-elect of the CVSN Council, presented both awards to Al-Zaiti and Leonhardt-Caprio during the AHA conference in Chicago in November.

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