If only it was like the old days reading ECG’s in the bland room with Dr Fisch. A cardiologist sues a hospital in Ohio and stands to gain millions. Reminds one of the angry kid on the playground who does not like the game and takes his bat and ball home, but in this case […]
Category: General Cardiology
The new MacBook was scrolling fast but this headline grabbed the eyes… “Self-discipline, perseverance needed for successful cardiac rehabilitation, cardiologist says.” The story of cardiac rehab acts as a metaphor for the entire cardiac health quagmire. Cardiac rehab following a stent, coronary bypass, or heart attack is indeed scientifically proven to improve outcomes. Problematically though, […]
Being married to a palliative care doctor is enlightening in so many ways. As has been noted previously, CMS (government) decided that commonly ordered stress scans and ultrasounds of the heart are much less valuable. Undoubtedly, there are many reasons for this, but at least one is likely the notion that there are too many […]
Another huge day for cardiologists today. CMS, or medicare or the government or whoever has decided that cardiologists who read images are making too much money. Nuclear scans and echocardiograms (ultrasound) are being arbitrarily cut by up to 40 percent. These scans form the backbone of a cardiology office. Although they require a substantial initial […]
What can an interesting case of a simple infection which nearly led to sudden cardiac death teach us about health care, health care reform and our ways of knowing? Dr Wes’ blog recently described a post from a geriatrics (specialist in the care of the elderly) doctor that highlighted the challenges of caring for the […]
High intensity exercise was in the news today. Let’s do science: Don’t worry, I will make it easy. Background: It is known that exercise is good for the heart, even after stents or bypass. Historically, high intensity exercise was too scary to recommend for heart patients. Recently though, reports have suggested that high intensity exercise […]