An update on cycling and writing and video (gulp)

Hi all,

Things have changed for me. I have taken on a larger role at theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology. This means I have less time for hefty original posts here. (This site is not closing–just changing.)

I write and read a lot more, though. Almost every day. Writing has morphed into what cycling was: a source of contentment. It used to be that if I had a good workout, I felt good during that day. Now I get those same sensations from writing.

I still exercise but its place in my self-esteem bucket is smaller. Except last Tuesday night during the local “ride,” I was dropped out of a break because of an asthma attack. That sucked. But I redeemed myself last night. On the trainer, I made the break with Terpstra and Kristoff in the Tour of Flanders. Grin. Seriously, this is a great way to get a workout: You put on a YouTube video of a race, plug in good music and get yourself in the break. A couple of weeks ago, I was climbing with Contador.

Here are the essays:

Atrial Fibrillation:

My approach to patients with atrial fibrillation has completely and fundamentally changed. We are at a before and after moment in the care of the millions of patients with AF. This has major implications for the cardiology and healthcare community. Read more: Atrial Fibrillation Care: Put the Catheter (and Rx Pad) Down.

Much of the research on lifestyle and atrial fibrillation comes from Adelaide Australia. This team may also have shown us a model as to how to help patients turn towards health: Is This Treatment a Game-Changer for AFib?

Hepatitis C:

The FDA recently released an alert about sudden bradycardia in patients taking the new Hepatitis drug sofosbuvir who were also on amiodarone. Six of these nine cases occurred within 24 hours of taking SOF.  Read more: Could the HCV Drug Sofosbuvir Be Cardiotoxic?

Interviews:

I was honored to sit down with Cutting for Stone author and Stanford professor, Dr. Abraham Verghese immediately after his opening plenary session at ACC2015. Here is the transcript: Abraham Verghese: Hope for Hands-on Medicine in the EMR Era

Palliative Care/ Staci update:

As I noted in my last update, Staci gave an inspiring talk at the ACC meeting. My summary post of it, 15 Things All Cardiologists Should Know About Palliative Care, remained on the most popular list for two weeks. Now Staci has written her own essay on the ACC meeting. She asks the provocative question: Should We Call Death a Bad Outcome?

Video:

Finally, as part of my new role at theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology, I am learning video. This is scary. Here is the first installment of This Week in Cardiology in which I discuss, statins and muscle pain, statins and coronary calcium, the value of exercise in patients with ICDs, the use of meds in patients who have had CRT and the ABIM controversy.

Micro-blogging:

I have embraced the use of Twitter. You can follow me @drjohnm. I usually post a few times each day. Don’t dismiss Twitter. It can be an incredible learning tool.

JMM