There were many good questions raised on my last post. Thanks. One particularly relevant theme concerned the relationship of atrial fibrillation (AF) and coronary artery disease (CAD). There’s a great deal of misunderstanding out there on how these two common disease relate to each other. I thought a few paragraphs might be useful. On the […]
The wrist artery hardly had time to seal. (Surely it was a radial.) The controversy came that fast. The drumbeat of naysayers seemed to start only minutes after a prideful press release announced that George W Bush had undergone successful cardiac stent placement. The ever-quotable cardiologist from Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Steven Nissen, said, “This is […]
Some facts: No caregiver wants his or her patient to die needlessly. Sudden cardiac death remains the number one killer of humans. The arrhythmia that causes sudden death occurs unpredictably. One minute you are fine and the next you are–in the absence of a shock–dead. When cardiac arrest occurs outside a hospital, or say, a […]
I get a lot of questions about atrial flutter. Atrial flutter is a common arrhythmia that shares many similarities to its next of kin, AFib; but there are important differences. Let’s go over 15 basic facts and important points about atrial flutter. (In plain English.) 1. Atrial flutter is defined as a rapid but organized […]
Thanks for all the support on my last post. It’s striking how sometimes pointing out the obvious gets a lot of attention. I have a quick follow-up post. The purpose is to show you a real-life and current example of how medical hubris might have killed thousands of patients. My friend and colleague, Dr. Wes […]
This may be the most important post I have ever published. I’m going to tell you about a study that should change the entire way doctors approach patients, and how patients should think of prescribed treatments. These findings should begin a culture change in American medicine. Background: I used to think Medicine would get easier […]
It’s been tough getting much done the past three weeks. I must admit an affliction. I’m hooked on TDF coverage. High definition TV and DVRs have only made it worse. For the record, my affliction began before Lance–and it remains now, undiminished. Here are ten random thoughts on #TDF2013: 1. Chris Froome seems like a […]
There was great commentary on my last post. Thank you all. I learned a lot from your words. This is how it’s supposed to work here. One comment in particular has stuck with me. It concerned the formation of a how-to be-healthy booklet. An information manual, if you will. I’ve thought about this many times […]
It’s going to be hard to anesthetize this one with compassion. I’m sorry, but the report card on US health is not good. We aren’t heading in the right direction, and everyone involved knows that it’s because of a failure to accept the truth. You have probably already heard the news concerning the state of […]
There’s a problem in the world of cardiology. We used to be leaders in the medical world. Now, I am not so sure. We may be at an inflection point. What would you think if cardiac procedures, like diagnostic catheterization and PCI (stents usually), varied widely depending on a patient’s geography or payment system? Your […]
I’m writing this from home. The travel back was uneventful and I actually got a little caught up in the office Friday. It was a fun trip but getting back to doctoring felt good. Atrial Fibrillation ablation: The Gap-AF trial was released as the lead late-breaker at EuroPace 2013. There were many remarkable (‘they-really-did-that’ sort […]