My colleague, Dr Wes penned a provocative piece this weekend about the role of physician-extenders in the future of health care reform. It was a great piece about a timely topic–a definite glimpse into the future. My introduction to physician-extenders started more than a decade ago when my second child had an ear infection. He […]
I asked my age-matched colleague the other day, “Do you think we will know when it happens to us?” He responded, “I know…I worry about that too.. a lot. I’m getting out before it happens to me.” We were talking about our fears of being labeled as an “old” doctor. Not just old in years, […]
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 […]
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He proved his point
“Your health account is your wealth account…Long live living long” –Jack Lalanne Though many triathletes try, few succeed in registering higher on the goofiness scale than the satin-skin-suit-clad fitness guru, Jack Lalanne. I just couldn’t help grinning while I watched tonight’s evening-news recaps of his life; his grin and energy were infectious. Just looking at […]
He was an athletic healthy-looking young man. His symptoms were transient and had occurred a while back. He was sent in for a “heart check-up.” We met, and something old-fashioned happened. A history was taken, an exam performed, an inexpensive ECG reviewed and then I said this: “You know what…I think you are OK…I don’t […]
For some patients it’s a terrible sensation; they are left scared and persistently anxious. For others it’s just a thump in the chest. But for nearly all patients shocked by their ICD (internal cardiac defibrillator), it means they are still alive. Today was a sad day for electrophysiology–a branch of cardiology that has the prevention […]
Every morning I rest my coat on a chair in a shared office that has this picture on the wall. My son and I were glued to the TV that day. We cheered loudly and hugged each other after Lance rose up from the pavement and stomped away from his rivals. (Rivals that have subsequently […]
Over the past 16 years, the Boston AF Symposium has earned a reputation for excellence. Dr Jeremy Ruskin, the meeting’s senior director and founder, squeezes more learning into three days than would seem possible. It’s a mystery how he gets that many of Earth’s greatest AF-doctors to Boston in January. Though this year’s edition coincided […]
As posted yesterday by my colleague, Dr Wes, the folks at the incredibly useful site, Medgadget are hosting the best of 2010 medical blogs. As in bike racing, there are many categories in which to nominate a blog: Best Medical Weblog Best New Medical Weblog (established in 2010) Best Literary Medical Weblog Best Clinical Sciences […]
I am in Boston for the annual Boston AF symposium. It’s a serious meeting– on the other side of the spectrum from old-school boondoggles like Echo-Hawaii or Nuclear-Vail. The sessions start at 7 and go into the night. I am sneaking a few observations in during a coffee break. For starters, if snow removal is […]
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 […]