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AF ablation Athletic heart Atrial fibrillation Doctoring General Cardiology General Medicine Hospice/Palliative Care ICD/Pacemaker

Notes from ACC — Day 3 (Final Day)

Sorry this took most of the week to get out. (There was a good reason.) Better late than never I suppose. On Day 3 of the 2013 American College of Cardiology meeting, I woke up well rested and inspired to squeeze in as much learning as possible. The first order of business was putting the […]

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Athletic heart Doctoring General Cardiology

Is it safe to start training?

Before beginning to read, please know that what follows is just a long-winded introduction to a post that featured me as an expert. You can can scroll down to the link if you wish. — This is that time of year. It’s a nice time. Longer days, warmer temps and big doses of hope power […]

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Athletic heart Cycling Wed Healthy Living

Cycling Wed: Athletes with large atria and the effect of exercise on BP

Hi all, I know; it’s Thursday morning and this is supposed to be Cycling Wednesday. My excuse is a good one. I bought an Iphone 5 yesterday and then became hypnotized by the inanimate object. Time flies with a new Apple product. Bedtime came and I said, “Crap…it’s Wednesday!.” Anyways, I was scanning the recent […]

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Athletic heart Cycling Stuff Cycling Wed Reflection

Cycling Wed: What if Lance Armstrong doped?

Commentary on the latest nutrition and exercise science will have to wait. I just whacked my head on low-hanging fruit for Cycling Wednesday. Today’s Washington Post report on Lance Armstrong’s newest (and most serious) doping allegations has set Twitter and Facebook abuzz. Though The United States Anti-Doping Agency (or USADA) cannot bring criminal charges, their […]

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Athletic heart General Cardiology General Medicine

New Trials and Fibrillations post is up

It’s entitled: More on ECG screening to prevent sudden death in the young: On risk, the Italian experience and notes from the real world. Here’s the lead in… Earlier this week, I wrote about one of my favorite topics in medicine: the ECG. This 12-pronged view of cardiac vectors catapulted my interest in the human […]

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Athletic heart Doctoring General Medicine

Two more issues on the treatment of Sudden Death in the young person…

There was a flurry of words written today about preventing the rare but tragic occurrence of sudden cardiac death in a young person. At the heart of the debate lies the issue of how best to protect the young from dying. I think it’s worth making two more points on this issue. Treating Sudden Death: […]

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Athletic heart Exercise General Medicine

The NY Times gets it wrong on ECG screening of young athletes

When a news source as powerful as The NY Times publishes an article about sudden cardiac death in young people, one expects accurate information. It’s far too important a topic to write about imprecisely. This piece, entitled Should Young Athletes Be Screened for Heart Risk, included numerous inaccuracies and failed to tell important facts about […]

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Athletic heart Atrial fibrillation Cycling Wed General Cardiology

CW: My Athlete’s Heart Podcast

I recently had the pleasure of doing a podcast with Rob Orman, an ER doctor and fellow cyclocross racer from Oregon. As Dr. Orman says, we discuss the broad intersection of sports and Cardiology. Of course they intersect; there shall be no sport without a good heart. In the 35 minute conversation, we discussed the […]

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Athletic heart Healthy Living Hospice/Palliative Care

Could the Dalai Lama be a heart doctor?

I follow a lot of intriguing people on Twitter. Each of them sends me noogets (a favorite slang word of mine) of information that either inspires, uplifts, informs or even amuses me. But there’s one twitter-er that stands out. He really helps me–along with 2.6 million others. The Dalai Lama tweets most mornings about the […]

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Athletic heart Cycling Wed Exercise

CW: The ECG of an athlete

It may seem a little formal to say this, but I would like to start by stating my goals for today’s post: Introduce the concept of the athletic heart; Touch upon the notion of sudden death of the athlete; Explain what an ECG really is, and how it may help diagnose heart disease; Review a […]

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Athletic heart Atrial fibrillation Cycling Wed

CW: The mysterious athletic heart

A very accomplished colleague of mine once mused—about an athletic patient with a heart problem: “John…the guy is only a cyclist…It’s not like riding a bike is that hard.” I wanted to call him to the EP lab to feel how the heart of an endurance athlete rocks the catheter that you hold in your […]