As a passionate cyclist, I really like it when someone asks for bike advice. Cycling is something I know a lot about–though probably not as much as Sal Khan. Recently, a spin class enthusiast who was considering making the gigantic leap to outdoor cycling asked me whether it’s worth spending extra dollars on a super-light […]
Category: Healthy Living
Good morning all. Cycling Wednesday fell prey to the Springtime weather in Kentucky. Right before post time last evening, our power (which means internet) went down when a large thunderstorm rolled through. Here’s what I have for you this week: It is hardly news to say that we need better means to predict who will […]
I have been in Hamburg, Germany for the past five days. I enjoyed an amazing opportunity to visit one of the world’s most respected heart rhythm labs. Among other things, the main purpose was to learn a new way to ablate atrial fibrillation. It was an incredible learning experience, one for which I owe an […]
Those interested in the treatment of heart disease reveled in some very important news this week. News which further strengthens the position that heart disease may be assailable without implanting titanium into our bodies. A group of researchers from the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) reported–without much fanfare–that patients enrolled in an old-fashioned cardiac rehab program […]
Your knee hurts. Your back aches. Your muscles are soooo sore the day after trying that new exercise. I get this; I race bikes. Yet I urge you to avoid seeking relief in the form of the pain-relievers called Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, or NSAIDs. You have heard the names before: ibuprofen (Advil), naprosyn (Aleve), diclofenac (Voltaren), […]
How about those twenty-year-olds from the new fitness, health and happiness network, the Greatist? Just because twenty-somethings gave us Facebook and Apple, do these youngers really think they can affect heart disease more than us fancy doctors? We are the experts. How could they? They don’t wear white coats or scrubs. They didn’t go to […]
Oops. I screwed up. This week’s Cycling Wednesday entry didn’t get posted last night. As we used to say in fellowship training, it was a “rookie mistake.” An example of an electrophysiologist getting too fancy with WordPress–a failure to use the KISS method. Sorry. Here’s the entry: After spending an entire vacation reading stories, I […]
For competitive cyclists, Sunday morning usually signifies a time for combining spirituality with calorie-burning. Whether we are immersed in the total focus of a hotly-contested bike race or meditating our way through a seemingly endless training ride, it’s a given that most cyclists use Sundays to churn out the kilo-joules. This kind of Sunday-behavior differs […]
My neighbor Ed was a thin man all his life. He maintained an ideal body weight by combining regular physical activity with a modest intake of calories. He was a “young” seventy year-old who looked the picture of heart health. Ed regularly read the newspaper while walking on his treadmill, he hit a golf ball […]
In Washington, even exercise gets political. This morning, the WSJ reported that a small group of Congressmen, primarily Republicans, have embraced the adrenaline-infused exercise regimen that is P90X. They jump, stretch and flex to the tune of Tony Horton, a man who clearly checked the right box on career day. The 90-day results-intensive program celebrates […]
About a year ago I wrote about the inflammation of business travel. My first-hand experience helped me understand why so many middle-aged jet-setters turn up with heart rhythm problems. Basically, I found out that life on the road serves up stress. Yesterday, I met business travel’s first cousin: taking your child to an over-scheduled all-day […]