It’s been a rough couple of weeks for medical bloggers. For us heart rhythm folks, in case you had not heard, there is an ongoing DOJ investigation of ICDs. Electrophysiologists put in ICDs. These life-saving devices are complicated to use, require sound clinical judgment, along with a thorough discussion with the patient. That’s all I […]
Category: Doctoring
When I started writing this blog 18 months ago, I did so on a whim. I enjoyed posting race reports on our bike team’s e-group. Writing in race-report vernacular, to an e-group of friends, made me laugh. There was zero pressure. Then, I learned about this thing called blogger. They had a ‘publish’ button, which […]
On the way out of the hospital yesterday, after an incredibly productive week, I tweeted that catheter ablation was a team sport, and that our team was rocking it. They were; they do all the time. This response was tweeted back: …”A team sport? Ahhhh, not sure I would want to hear those words as […]
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Grand Rounds is up…
This week’s edition of medical Grand Rounds is hosted by the famous Dr Val Jones, owner, operator and CEO of Better Health, a website that features a network of health bloggers. Better Health is well known for its curation of  “Smart Health” commentary. At first glance it looks like this week’s contributors have brought their […]
The practice of Medicine has its ups and downs. Little about doctoring could be called steady, or controlled. There are cycles. Sometimes, the negatives congeal together and even the most upbeat doctor tilts a little low. But here’s the best part: patients nearly always cheer you up. It’s why I love the job so much. […]
I was recently asked a seemingly simple question about differences in how women with atrial fibrillation (AF) are treated. The questioner was referring to this large AF-ablation study published a year ago in the Heart Rhythm Journal. Researchers at St David’s Hospital in Austin, TX reported striking differences in the outcomes and complications of more […]
It’s heart-wrenching when young athletes die of sudden cardiac death (SCD). This week, the death of Wes Leonard, a Michigan high school star athlete, was especially poignant since he collapsed right after hitting the game-winning shot. This sort of tragedy occurs about one hundred times each year in America. That’s a lot of sadness. The […]
My friend called to tell me what happened. His voice cracked. Jim thought that it was a normal Sunday morning ride. He was meeting his friends, and they were riding their normal route, on roads called Covered Bridge, Sleepy Hollow and Wolf Pen Branch. It was one of those Sunday mornings in Kentucky that makes […]
I recently read a story about pediatricians that refuse to see children when their parents’ decline vaccines. It was the doctoring aspect of this story that caught my attention. Specifically, I was struck by the definitive and novel way that this group of doctors are dealing with the problem of patients that make unwise personal […]
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Doctors as Sponges?
I am a doctor. Go ahead, call me what you may, group me in a neatly prejudged category. …”All you doctors.” Just don’t label me a sponge. That’s right, today in the WSJ, Mr Andy Kessler, a famous author, and former hedge fund manager smart enough to turn 100$ million into 1 billion, grouped doctors […]
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What would you say?
What if you were about to have dinner with the most powerful Republican in the United States of America? How would you answer if, knowing you were a doctor, he asked… “Hey Doc, how is it out there, really?” You stammer for a minute, perhaps because you are uncomfortable wearing that newly purchased suit. The […]