Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) remain a common and vexing problem in cardiology. PVCs deserve attention because they often induce fear in both patient and doctor. In US healthcare, fear is bad. Fear sets the stage for over-treatment. The approach to the funny-looking beats has not changed much in the last two decades. That may be […]
Category: Doctoring
Heart disease remains the leading killer of humans. People want to be protected. The fast-thinking notion is early detection is good, the more knowledge, the better. I wish it were that easy. What follows is my most recent post on WebMD on the basics of cardiac stress testing: **** A middle-aged surgeon recently asked me […]
If there was a hashtag for sub-specialty healthcare and ICU medicine in the United States it would be: #WeCanButShouldWe A recent study led by Dr. Harlan Krumholz (Yale University) showed that we have become more efficient at keeping elders alive. This is not surprising. And it’s good news in the sense that technology–if used wisely–can […]
This week, an FDA advisory committee recommended approval for the potent cholesterol-lowering drugs, evolocumab and alirocumab. The funny-sounding medications are called PCSK-9 inhibitor drugs. (Keep reading; I’ll tell you more.) Advisory committee members felt the benefits of the drugs outweighed the potential risks, especially in high-risk patients, such as those with Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH). The […]
On Baltimore: Human beings rioting in the streets of an American city forced cancellation of an important cardiology meeting. This is a vivid example that doctors do not practice in a vacuum. We are connected to this world. Here in Louisville, just a few miles north, an HIV crisis runs amok because of IV drug […]
I do not get it. Day in and day out, I ask patients why they take a medicine. Many do not know. “My doctor put me on it,” goes the common response. Take statin drugs, for example. I often ask a person why they are taking the drug? With rare exception, the person says it […]
Hi All, Here is a short update of the past week. The first thing to say is the Atrial Fibrillation Care: Put the Catheter (and Rx Pad) Down post has gotten a lot of attention. It stayed on the most popular list all week. It has over a 130 comments, and I have received many […]
Last night, during the intro show for the PBS documentary, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, a Ken Burns film based on the book by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Katie Couric interviews both Ken Burns and Dr. Mukherjee. The moment occurred about 10 minutes into the video. There is a poignant scene in which two young parents […]
Hi all, I have been busy in the last few weeks. Here is an update of my happenings and posts. From March 8-11, I attended and presented at the third annual Lown Institute Conference in San Diego. I have never felt more at home in a conference than I did at the Lown conference. Take […]
I am in San Diego to participate in the Lown Institute Road to Right Care: Engage, Organize, Transform conference. It is an honor to be included in a conference that has “right care” in its title. Tomorrow, Dr. David Martin (Lahey Clinic) and I will co-present a case-based session on the overuse and misuse of […]
Here is an update on my recent writing. Athletes and AF: I was honored to be invited back to the Western AF symposium in Park City, Utah. Last year, I presented on social media. This year, Dr. Nassir Marrouche (University of Utah) asked me to tackle the topic of atrial fibrillation in athletes. This is […]