In the better-late-than-never category comes my shout out for World Kidney Day, which was yesterday. I love their slogan: “Protect your Kidneys, Save your Heart.” As an organ, the kidneys are a lot like offensive lineman in football; they do all the hard work but remain mostly anonymous. They sit motionless in the back of […]
Category: General Medicine
This week’s edition of Grand Rounds was hosted by Dr Ed Pullen, a family medicine doctor from Washington state who maintains a highly informational medical blog at www.drpullen.com. As is the usual case for Grand Rounds, there are many great posts that I look forward to reading in more detail this week. I am honored that yours truly […]
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 […]
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Welcome to MDNews.com…
I would like to introduce you to a new medical website. It’s called MDNews.com. It’s a site about, from, and for doctors. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a doctor to enjoy and learn from it. MDNews looks pleasing to the eye, is easy to navigate, and filled with useful medical and health […]
It’s hard to believe that turbulence could be a good thing for the heart. Consider how the word turbulent is defined: “characterized by conflict, disorder, or confusion; not controlled or calm.” Those traits don’t sound very heart-healthy. But when it comes to the heart rhythm, it turns out that a turbulent response—to a premature beat—is […]
There was important news concerning the short shelf-life of the novel new blood-thinner, dabigatran (Pradaxa) reported today. Once dispensed, most medicines expire after a year. Dabigatran, however, is far from the usual pill. It’s packaged in pellet form within a capsule. These pellets are highly susceptible to water and humidity. So when dispensed in a […]
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Seriously?
There used to be only single society guidelines: AHA Guidelines. Or, ADA Guidelines. Then we progressed to two organizations:Â AHA/ACC Guidelines. Soon the heart rhythm boys wanted in:Â AHA/ACC/HRS Guidelines. But last night, I saw the this: ASA/ACCF/AHA/AANN/AANS/ACR/ASNR/CNS/SAIP/SCAI/SIR/SNIS/SVM/SVS Guidelines. (For the treatment of blood vessels in the neck.) Geez. JMM
Hey Cyclists, I know. You ride a lot. You eat well. You stay thin. So you rightfully call yourself athletic. Congratulations. Now, take the time in the off-season to go get your blood pressure checked. Doing so is free in most grocery stores and pharmacies. Plus, you get to grin at that funny voice that […]
For those who choose athletic training as an avocation there was important medical news released this week. It has to do with which medicines we use to relieve our aches and pains. Sadly there are few good options. The report was a huge (116,000 patient) meta-analysis (a statistical review of previously published trials) published in […]
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ECG Quiz…
This one fell in the bucket: “John, you had better go check this out.” The septuagenerian presented to the emergency department because of repeated bouts of syncope. (Syncope is medical speak for temporary loss of consciousness.) Â As Indiana electrophysiology fellows, we had two categories of passing out: “he passed out…cold,” or “he passed out…stone cold.” […]
For me, November 14th will always be a special day. Today is the 16th anniversary of my grandmother’s death. ‘Non’ was in her late 80s when she died. I was in Indiana learning to be a cardiologist, she was at home in Windsor Locks, Ct. I have written about her love previously—as an infant blogger. […]