You may find this hard to believe but I really don’t look at my site’s stats much. In fact, just today I discovered that WordPress has a feature that ranks posts by views. I’m not going to give you my Top Ten just by ranking. Rather, I’ll mix in some of my favorites and those […]
Month: December 2012
Yesterday afternoon, the FDA finally approved apixaban (Eliquis) for the prevention of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. I use the words ‘finally approved’ because the markedly positive ARISTOTLE trial was published 15 months ago in the New England Journal of Medicine. The long delay was mysterious. On paper, apixaban looks to be the […]
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A Christmas Wish…
Dear Friends, May you receive the most precious and heart-healthy gift this holiday season: Peace in your heart. Peace. It’s something to cherish. To hold. To feel. To know. And one more thing: Thank you readers. Thanks a lot. JMM
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A little holiday break…
Hi all, Walking out to my car after finishing office yesterday, I noticed a distantly familiar sensation. I’m not sure of the neurochemicals, but they were similar to those that were released after finishing final exams. Remember those sensations? December has been so hard. Busy. Stressful. A roller coaster. Now there’s a holiday break. I’m […]
On Wednesdays, I try to write on a topic of exercise and health. If you exercise but still have high cholesterol or other risks for heart disease, you may be interested in a new study from my old medical school proving ground–Hartford Hospital. The deftly named STOMP trial looked carefully at the effects of statin […]
It’s not normal for me to study the literature on pediatric cardiology. There’s more than enough medical science on adults to keep me busy. But this one on the quality of life in kids with cardiac devices caught my eye. Researchers found that kids with either pacemakers or ICDs (defibrillators) and their families reported significantly […]
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Will writing help with the sadness?
I grew up in Connecticut. It was in a town just like Newtown. It was safe and it was quiet. I am a father and a grandfather. My life is surrounded with children. This weekend has been tough. You try to read or write something, but the mind wanders. Then you feel sadness. The more […]
Let’s talk about the new anticoagulants. Two recent studies involving dabigatran (Pradaxa) have shed new light on an important topic for patients with atrial fibrillation: the risk of bleeding versus the risk of stroke. Dabigatran and rivaroxaban (and soon, apixaban) have been approved for the prevention of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). […]
This one is for you exercisers out there. You know me; I love to write about dogma-busters. I’ve got a good one for you tonight. For endurance exercisers, runners and cyclists alike, few myths have been more persistent. Imagine: We actually think taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) before exercise improves performance and relieves post-effort soreness. […]
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Good coaching is good doctoring…
Every once in a while a topic comes up that takes me back to the origins of this blog. At its core, DrJohnM aims to merge the worlds of athletics, health and medicine. The glue, the secret sauce, is mastery of the obvious. As an athlete and doctor, I get to see how both plans […]
Hi all, I have a new post up over at the Courier-Journal’s In the Prime/Voices section. It’s about a new study released this week on heart-healthy eating. I went to the well again on the metaphorical “elephant in the room.” The study was important because it sheds light on one of the biggest mistakes made […]