Over the last 15 years, my research has focused on autonomic neuromodulation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. We have demonstrated that vagal stimulation, by modulating brain-heart-immune interactions, results in improvement in several cardiovascular conditions, including atrial fibrillation and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Our identification of cellular and physiological features of the neuroimmune axis in cardiac diseases have established new paradigms and have generated novel therapeutic targets that have the potential to improve clinical outcomes.
Academic Section(s):
Cardiovascular Diseases
Education:
2002, MD
University of Athens Medical School
2010, PhD
University of Athens Medical School
2008, Internal Medicine
University of Oklahoma
2011, Cardiology
University of Oklahoma
2012, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
University of Oklahoma
Clinical/Research Interests:
Taking a bench-to-bedside approach, Dr. Stavrakis conducted the first-in-human study which showed suppression of atrial fibrillation and decrease in serum inflammatory cytokines with short-term (one hour) noninvasive autonomic modulation consisting of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS). These results support the use of tVNS as a novel non-pharmacological treatment modality for atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular conditions. He also conducted a first-in-human randomized clinical trial, examining the effect of chronic tVNS in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, which demonstrated a significant decrease in atrial fibrillation burden compared to sham stimulation over 6 months. In another randomized, sham-controlled clinal trial, he demonstrated that tVNS over 3 months resulted in a significant improvement in cardiac function, inflammatory cytokines, and quality of life in patients with HFpEF. Taking a bedside-to-bench approach, he demonstrated that chronic tVNS significantly improved diastolic function and attenuated left ventricular inflammation and fibrosis in an animal model of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) through its anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects on cardiac resident macrophages. His current, NIH-funded work includes optimization of patient selection and stimulation parameters for autonomic modulation techniques based on novel ECG and blood biomarkers.
Funding:
R01HL161008
Select Honors and Accomplishments:
2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
2025 Webster Chair in Electrophysiology, University of Oklahoma Health Campus
2021 Provost’s Research Award, University of Oklahoma Health Campus
Select Publications:
- Venkatesan T, Toumpourleka M, Niewiadomska M, Farhat K, Morris L, Elkholey K, Maryam B, Cordova A, Darby IG, Whyte S, Miller SJ, Yashchenko A, Anguiano AC, Gipson J, Reel JM, Cox MA, Zimmerman KA, Stavrakis S. Vagal Stimulation Rescues HFpEF by Altering Cardiac Resident Macrophage Function. Circ Res 2025;137(5):664-681. Pubmed PMID: 40662221
- Elkholey K, Niewiadomska M, Morris L, Whyte S, Houser J, Humphrey MB, Stavrakis S. Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Ameliorates the Phenotype of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Through Its Anti-Inflammatory Effects. Circ Heart Fail. 2022;15(8):e009288. Pubmed PMID: 35862007.Stavrakis S, Stoner JA, Humphrey MB, Morris L, Filiberti A, Reynolds JC, Elkholey K, Javed I, Twidale N, Riha P, Varahan S, Scherlag BJ, Jackman WM, Dasari TW, Po SS. TREAT AF (Transcutaneous Electrical Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Suppress Atrial Fibrillation): A Randomized Clinical Trial. JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2020;6:282-91. Pubmed PMID: 32192678.
- Zhou L, Filiberti A, Humphrey MB, Fleming CD, Scherlag BJ, Po SS, Stavrakis S. Low-level transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation attenuates cardiac remodeling in a rat model of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Exp Physiol 2019;104:28-38. Pubmed PMID: 30398289
- Stavrakis S, Humphrey MB, Scherlag BJ, Hu Y, Jackman WM, Nakagawa H, Lockwood D, Lazzara R, Po SS. Low-level transcutaneous electrical vagus nerve stimulation suppresses atrial fibrillation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2015;65(9):867-75. PubMed PMID: 25744003;
Link to full publication list: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1F96fn9K5a851/bibliography/public/