Few sporting events cause more inflammation than the Tour de France. It’s long, fast, tiring, and stressful. These facts are not news, and neither are crashes. By now, many of you have seen or heard that crashes have marred the first week of this year’s Tour. Even before the first day in the mountains, potential […]
When I learn something that might be useful to you, I like to write about it. To date, the topics that I feel most comfortable writing about relate to doctoring, heart disease, healthy living and cycling. But an area that I am growing more and more intrigued with is health news reporting. As a believer […]
What should I have told the doctor who recently asked me about dronedarone (Multaq)? “Supposedly, it’s [Multaq] just like Amiodarone, but without the side effects?†he asked. Gosh…Should I, or shouldn’t I? I took a big cleansing breath, reminding myself to stay civil, as at least Sanofi-Aventis, the makers of Multaq, sponsor a cycling team. […]
Reports documenting the dangers of Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) continue to generate headlines. It’s a steady stream of bad news for patients who take these widely-available pain relievers. Sorry about the repetition folks, but it’s hard to ignore my daily email updates from the American College of Cardiology when they so directly pertain to endurance athletes. […]
The unrelenting epidemic of inactivity and excessive eating wreaks havoc on more than just the heart and blood vessels. Lugging around extra weight also breaks down the joints and back. For evidence, look no further than the waiting room of any orthopedist; the people waiting for joint replacements look the same as those waiting to […]
Medical people know that July is a pivotal month. Things change, big time. In the academic world, July 1st is the day when graduated medical students wake up as doctors. Well, at least officially an intern is a doctor. I seem to remember internship feeling like a demotion. In my world of private practice, July […]
The staff was concerned that she came to the office without her interpreter. How would we communicate? How would I assess her symptoms? “Should we get a translator from the hospital?” they asked. I knew this patient well. I had done battle with rogue circuits in her left atrium more than once. I could even […]
The Biology of Omega-3 fatty acids: (Just a little science:) When fish, flax-seeds or Brussels sprouts pass through the intestine, pancreatic enzymes transform the fat to free fatty acids. These acids are quickly taken up by the cells. Once in the cell, these fatty acids enter the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and cytosol–places that you might […]
Time-out! (After three days of some heavy non-fiction concerning atrial fibrillation, may I lighten up a bit, and have some fun free-lancing about health, exercise and genes?) Here goes… Good health flows from our genes. Our brains focus, eyes peer, adrenals secret, nodes depolarize, ventricles squeeze, valves open, and then close, muscles flex, and relax, bones […]
I have said that the best tool for treating atrial fibrillation (AF) is education. I still strongly believe this, perhaps more then ever. AF presents itself to people in so many different ways–from no symptoms to incapacitation. Likewise, the treatments for AF range from simple reassurance and lifestyle changes, to taking a medicine, and on […]
Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation continues to ascend into the mainstream. The treasure of eliminating AF [symptoms] without taking pills stokes the demand for a fix. People like fixes. Technological advances in catheters and mapping systems along with the formation of neural pathways (skills) in ablationists have fueled the growth of AF ablation. The epidemic […]