The man on the other line sits in a cubicle in a far-away city. He is a physician, another “provider,” as we are called on their website. The accent is British (how ironic), and his voice suggests to a trained observer, he is older. All I wanted to do was a simple stress test with […]
Category: inflammation
“What do you do for a living?” I ask this of nearly all patients, as inflammation doesn’t just come in processed food wrappers, plastic bottles of carbonated beverages or cartons of tobacco products. Artery irritating, arrhythmia triggering inflammation can also emanate from one’s occupation. Keep your eyes, ears and mind open, and it is striking […]
Statin drugs are in the news. The real truth is coming out. The truth that statin drugs (Zocor, Lipitor, Crestor are a few of the more recognizable names) are much more than simple cholesterol lowering agents. This very informative WSJ piece presents the thesis–first published by renowned experts in the Annals of Internal Medicine this […]
Categories
Attitude…
Life sometimes gets in the way of daily posting. Specifically, the treadmill of life sometimes roars too fast. But, as I strolled through the hospital this morning there was this plain piece of white paper taped to the wall around the nurses station. Although, I am not overly religious, and even highly conflicted about which […]
Really sound information is out there in the internet universe. DrRich has put out an incredibly timely and pertinent piece of advice concerning the common practice of stenting blockages in the coronary arteries. He succinctly summarizes a small retrospective study that showed an increased risk of cardiac events after non-cardiac surgery in patients who have […]
Categories
Do I exercise too much?
They have the look. Their faces are chiseled; the cheekbones are easily visible because the body is devoid of fat. Their eyes speak fatigue. They are not refugees. Have they been stricken with a calorie-eating tapeworm? No. They are middle-aged physicians conversing in the doctors lounge. I see them pulling up their scrub bottoms to […]
A patient asks, “Doc, do you ride your bike to prevent heart disease.” I reply, “Heck no, I am hoping to live long enough to get heart disease.” The non-athletic patient looks quizzically at me as if trying to decipher what I mean, or whether I am serious. Â Too long a story, so we move […]
Exercise is good for you. It forms one of the triads of health: good nutrition, good movement, and good sleep. However, like in life, too much of anything is counterproductive, even destructive. I have long struggled to explain the steady stream of hyper-fit, uber-athletic endurance athletes who see me for arrhythmias. A membership in […]
Categories
Heart health in KY?
In athletics and in life, those in last place are usually there for a valid reason. Heart health in Kentucky is atrocious. We are battling with Mississippi, WV and Alabama for dead last in most measures of public wellness. Yet, this week, Louisville’s director of Metro Department of Health and Wellness, Dr Adelawe Troutman, actually […]
My grandfather had many grin-inducing phrases; one of the more commonly heard was, “nice guys finish last.” Maybe in a cross race, but not so much with heart disease. More interesting news from November’s AHA meeting. Here, a study showing that patients who exhibit positive attitudes in the face of stress are much less likely […]