Zahra Iqbal , MD

Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Medicine

Classification:

Faculty

Secretary for ECU Resident Council: Appointee for University-wide resident council attending to intra-departmental affairs with members of council  

Elected to Chiefs Council, Internal Medicine ECU/Brody School of Medicine, 2013-2014  

Dean’s Merit Scholarship Recipient, VCU School of Medicine, 2007-2011- A selective scholarship based on scholastic merit given to the top 5% of the entering class. 

Editor and Writer for Vital Signs, 2005-2006-Editor for “Vital Signs”: the University of Virginia's Premier Pre-Medical Newsletter/Magazine. As a writer, I also contributed many articles to the newsletter.

Shea House Representative on the Financial and Cultural Committees, 2004 to 2006- Elected by my peers as the Urdu-Hindi Floor representative in the Shea House Financial Committee and the Cultural Convergence Committee at the University of Virginia.

Wyndham B. Blanton Scholar, Virginia Historical Society, 2003-One of twenty students chosen from across Virginia winning a historical essay competition on our Founding Fathers to participate in a lecture series/forum with Pulitzer Prize winning author, David McCullough.

Joseph Johnson MD, Zahra J. Iqbal MD, Anil Gehi MD, George Stouffer MD.  “Angiographic Stenosis is not Associated with Fractional Flow Reserve in Calcified Coronary Lesions in Diabetics” Abstract and Publication for The Society Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions

A correlation was found between FFR and angiographic stenosis in non-diabetics and diabetics with no or minimal coronary calcium. In contrast, FFR was not correlated with angiographic stenosis in diabetics with calcified coronary lesions.

Zahra J. Iqbal MD, Joseph Johnson MD, George Stouffer MD. “Angiographic Stenosis is Associated with Fractional Flow Reserve in Unstable Angina” Abstract and Publication for The Society Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions

A statistically significant correlation was found between FFR and angiographic stenosis in patients with unstable angina with coronary calcium. In contrast, FFR was not correlated with angiographic stenosis in patients with stable angina with calcified coronary lesions.

Linda Hu MD, Dan Han MD, Zahra Iqbal MD, Kenneth Ellenbogen MD. “Long-term Follow-Up for Outcomes Following Mini-Maze Procedure” 2012-for Publication in HRS

Analyzing outcomes and complications five years after mini-maze surgical procedure in 80 patients at MCV.

Joseph Thompson MD, Zahra Iqbal MD, Jayanthi Koneru MD, Kenneth Ellenbogen MD “Phrenic Nerve Injury in Patients Receiving Interventional Electrophysiology Procedures” 2014

Analyzing the number of cryoablations provided per vein in patients, the loss of phrenic capture during ablation, the need for RF ablation and complications. This is to show a correlation between compound muscle action potential amplitude and pacing stimulus. Also to define a compound muscle action potential amplitude at which phrenic threshold is reached.

Zahra Iqbal MD, Sundeep Adusumalli MD, T. Jared Bunch MD, Rajasekhar Nekkanti MD. “Transhepatic RFA of a CTI-dependent Atrial Flutter”, National Heart Rhythm Society, San Francisco, California, May 2014, Publication in HRS Journal 2015

In depth look at right atrial flutter ablation of a patient with a caval-tricuspid isthmus dependent flutter.

Zahra Iqbal MD, Sanjay Mehra MD, Jimmy Efird PhD, Ibrahim Osman MD, John Cahill MD. “Heart Failure Differences by Gender” Accepted to American Society of Echocardiography 2015, in process of publication

Analysis of 675 Heart Failure clinic patients by gender and comorbidities. Ultimately finding that males with CHF have a greater association with CAD and premature ventricular contractions, amongst other variables analyzed.

Zahra J. Iqbal, Long Cao MD, Tin Nguyen MD, Farah Khalid BS, Assad Movahed MD. “ Pulmonary Embolism Following Kyphoplasty” National American College of Physicians, Boston, 2015

An interesting case of a patient without another cause for pulmonary embolus, who developed a cement embolism following a spinal surgical procedure.

Zahra Iqbal MD, Long Cao MD, Rajasekhar Nekkanti MD. “An Atypical Approach to a Typical Problem”, National ACP, Orlando, Fla., April 2014

East Carolina University, Internal Medicine, August 2013 to February 2014-An interesting patient case describing the first hepatic vein access to allow access for ablation in a patient with no other available access points due to ESRD related vasculopathy.

Zahra Iqbal MD, Long Cao MD, Harry DeAntonio MD. “Hypercoagulable Etiology of an Advanced Cardiomyopathy”, North Carolina American College of Physicians, Greensboro, NC, Feb 2014

Discuss a rare yet important etiology of an advanced cardiomyopathy due to elevated Factor VIII thrombophilia syndrome in a young patient and consider important treatment options. 

Zahra Iqbal MD, Punit Sarna MD, Harry DeAntonio MD. “Further Etiologies of Advanced Cardiomyopathy”, North Carolina Medical Society, Raleigh, NC, Oct 2013

Discuss patients with deficiencies in Antithrombin III, Protein C and S and elevations in von Willebrand factor and the implications on cardiomyopathies and their treatments.

W. Asher Wolf, MD MPH; Raquel Durbin, RD; Zahra J. Iqbal, MD; Benjamin S. Robey, BS; Farah J. Khalid, BS; Evan S. Dellon, MD MPH. “How Expensive are Elimination Diets for Eosinophilic Esophagitis?  Impact of Dietary Therapy on Real-World Grocery Shopping Costs and Complexity” Submitted to DDW 2015, published 2016

For a patient shopping at a standard grocery store, the cost of an SFED is higher than the cost of an unrestricted diet (~$570/year), and an SFED requires visits to multiple grocery stores to complete a shopping trip. These differences disappear at a specialty grocery store, but the weekly grocery bill at a specialty store was significantly higher. The cost and logistical burden of maintaining an SFED can be communicated to patients when deciding between swallowed steroids and dietary therapy.

Sherif S. Elbehiry  MD, Hany Elwakeel  MD, Mohamed Mohy MD, Eslam Ali MD,Zahra Iqbal MD, Movahed Hussin MD, Laura Matarese PhD, Hosam Kandil MD. “Impact of Induced 3% Weight Loss in Overweight Patients Enrolled in Weight Management Program Prior to Hepatitis C Treatment on Early Virological Response” For submission to Journal of Viral Hepatitis 2016

Evaluation of obesity as a risk factor for decreased response to chronic Hepatitis C therapy. It has been shown that spontaneous weight loss associated with with PEG-Interferon and ribavirin therapy has been associated with improved early virological response. The effects of a weight loss program for 6 weeks prior to Starting Hepatitis C therapy on EVR were studied. Overweight patients who had >3% induced body weight loss at 12 weeks of CHC therapy had higher EVR compared to those without 3% weight loss.

Zahra Iqbal MD, Sabeen Abid MD, E. Ali MD. “Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome” Presented at ACG National Meeting 2014, Philadelphia, Pa., publication in ACG Case Reports Journal

Evaluating an interesting case of Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome and associated sequelae.

Iqbal, Zahra. “Visual Recognition and Learning by Cichlid Fish”. University of Virginia Department of Biology Spring Research Symposium, Charlottesville, Virginia, April 2007

University of Virginia, Biology Department, August 2006 to April 2007-A year-long project under the mentorship of Professor Masashi Kawasaki, Ph.D. of the UVa. Biology Department. I investigated the visual system of Cichlid fishes and found that they had the capacity to visually learn different patterns displayed to them over time and respond to those patterns by changing their behavior. I did a poster presentation of this to the entire faculty of the UVA Biology Department in the Spring of 2007.

Medical Specialties

• Hospitalist

Special Training

• Residency, Internal Medicine
  Fairfield Medical Center