A recent trial suggesting that men who drink sugary beverages increase their heart attack risk by 20% was covered extensively in the mainstream media. There’s a lot of liquid sugar consumed around here. I have two rules about drinking this stuff… My criteria for indulging: greater than three hours on the bike, or after any […]
Category: Healthy Living
I am hoping for some input with this case because I really don’t know the right answer. The case: A 52 year-old male endurance athlete seeks my opinion about whether to continue taking statins. His primary care doctor says yes. He is not so sure. Neither am I. He exercises regularly, maintains both a high […]
It feels like cheating. Taking care of heart patients teaches you tons about wellness. Figuring out stuff in Medicine means observing its many patterns. And one such highly repetitive theme is how healthy older patients defy the ravages of aging. Take the 90 year-old man I saw recently. He was about perfect: big blue eyes […]
I can’t help myself. The draw is so strong. It’s simply not possible to stay silent on the recent news about statins. Yesterday, the FDA announced important changes in the safety language that comes in the package insert of statin drugs. (I’m late to the show here, as twenty-four hours is an eternity in medical […]
Tonight, I am going to stick up for my interventional cardiology friends. These are the good folks who respond immediately (and I mean immediately) when you have a heart attack. They open clogged arteries. Like Jack Nicholson said, “you want these guys on the wall.†Why do I feel the need to take up for […]
I can’t possible write two posts tonight. Therefore, please consider this Cycling Wed post a mosaic. (I like that word, don’t you? Give me a break smarties.) Seriously… Today, my friend and fellow heart rhythm doctor Jay Schloss (Cincinnati) published this meticulous and well-balanced essay concerning the recent recall of St Jude Medical’s Riata defibrillator […]
“I felt amazing…It was one of those days on a bike you dream of.†There’s one thing about cyclists; we like to recall memorable performances. It’s as if retelling—and I say re-telling because any good performance has no doubt been told at least once—jolts our feel-good centers. I bet it’s the same chemicals that get […]
To those who submitted posts, I say thanks. I appreciate that you did. Medical Grand Rounds keeps going because of you, the medical blogger. Your voice, your impressions, your passions and your human stories make our field such a great canvas. Let’s get it started: A Hand of Hearts: I was delighted that one of […]
Tonight, I’d like to try to clear something up. I write a lot about inflammation. I use the term loosely and by so doing, I risk being imprecise. Sorry about that. (I’m far more precise with an ablation catheter than words on a blog.) My reason to focus on inflammation stems from my belief that […]
I always think it a bad idea. It should not be the reason. I exercise so I can eat—a lot. Ouch. As a cyclist, doctor and worshiper of common sense, this idea pains me. Notwithstanding the beauty of cycling and running well, such a plan has to be unhealthy. Though I admit to not having […]
Categories
GoRed Friday!!!
What should a heart doctor talk about on the this wear-red-for-women’s-heart-disease day? (It’s sunny out this Friday afternoon, so I am keeping it brief.) Promoting women’s heart health is important. Even though pink made the bigger news this week, heart disease kills far more women than breast cancer. Wait, that’s a terrible line of reasoning; […]