Categories
Healthy Living

Is your occupation good for the heart?

What would you be if life gave you a do-over–and stipulated you couldn’t be what you are now? It is true, I am a dreamer.  I cried during Stand an Deliver.  A believer in the power of passionate leadership am I. Finally, this Saturday morning, I was able to drink coffee, eat bagels and read […]

Categories
Atrial fibrillation

Does God care that warfarin can have adverse effects?

Is there a flawless medical therapy: a “wonder-drug” devoid of adverse effects, or a procedure without complications? Of course not. It’s why we have clinical trials.  An intervention for a disease is determined beneficial or not by a clinical trial–the new treatment versus no treatment, or the current treatment.  It really is that simple.   […]

Categories
Cycling Stuff Cycling Wed Reflection

Cycling Wednesdays: #8 Aging…and bike racing…

The good news is you are a “masters cyclist.”  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  Being known as a master sounds like a winner. Only in athletics, masters is not equal to a master. In athletics, “masters” means you are both an amateur, and old.  How old?  It varies, but masters are definitely not young. Lance would be […]

Categories
Doctoring Reflection

Inspiration from a nine year-old…

It is the day after a long weekend.  Invariably, there are procedures to add to an already busy schedule, colleagues are on summer vacation and of course, there are many “action tags,” or “tasks,” or other likewise unreimbursed chores to check off the to-do list before clicking in the pedals for a pre-dinner ride.  And so it […]

Categories
Doctoring Knowledge Reflection

Still asking the question…

It is a holiday weekend, the decibels of medicine and bike racing are tuned down low, so I ask myself, “why do I have this blog?” Then, as if on cue, Dr Ves’ tweet about personality traits of bloggers appears.  The study said that only openness to new experiences was predictive of being a male […]

Categories
Cycling Stuff

A new arrival…

Because life is short… “Get busy living.” JMM

Could this be the most interesting Tour yet…

He is a liar.  A really profound one at that.  He took donated money for his legal defense, which was a lie.  Then he wrote a book filled with lies. How do we know this for sure? Because now he says he lied, and this time it’s the truth. As reported in an opportunistically timed […]

Categories
Health Care Health Care Reform

Is my Doctor worth extra money…my money?

“Hey David put that stone down. Don’t risk enraging the giant.”   So it is in Louisville, where a small band of academic doctors have dared to challenge the multi-billion dollar local beast, Humana. The story, as reported on the front page of the Courier-Journel, describes how a small group of doctors are testing the waters […]

Categories
Cycling Stuff Cycling Wed Reflection

Cycling Wednesdays: #7: How many pegs do you hang your self-esteem on?

“Older” athletes often ask me what else they can do to prevent heart disease.  As, by virtue of their athletic lifestyle, most have none of the usual cardiac risk factors.  High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and obesity are infrequent concerns for the competitive athlete. A more vexing, and highly intangible problem for those who compete […]

Categories
Health Care ICD/Pacemaker

A new ICD, without a wire in the heart…Less can be better…

“Hey John, I hear there is a new ICD out…without any wires,” came the question in the doctor’s lounge. That’s cool, they are reading the NEJM, I thought. It is true that a very preliminary report on a subcutaneous-only ICD was published in the print version of the NEJM this week.  The print version of anything […]

Categories
Healthy Living inflammation

Inflammation and business travel: Lessons from the journey…

“What do you do for a living?” I ask this of nearly all patients, as inflammation doesn’t just come in processed food wrappers, plastic bottles of carbonated beverages or cartons of tobacco products.  Artery irritating, arrhythmia triggering inflammation can also emanate from one’s occupation. Keep your eyes, ears and mind open, and it is striking […]