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Athletic heart General Cardiology Health Care Healthy Living inflammation

The George W Bush stent case: An incredible teaching opportunity on the basics of heart disease

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 […]

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Atrial fibrillation Cycling Wed Exercise inflammation

Think twice before getting an injection for low back pain or sciatica

It’s been a while since I did a Cycling Wednesday topic. As I was skimming thorough the Journal of the American Medical Association last night, I came across this review article on spinal injection therapy for low back pain. It was a shocker. Two factors brought my attention to the article: First, almost all the […]

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Atrial fibrillation Cycling Stuff Exercise inflammation

Long-term endurance increases the risk of arrhythmia — New post up on theHeart.org

The idea that long-term endurance exercise increases the risk of arrhythmia should no longer be considered counterintuitive. The list of published studies confirming this association is long, and this week, it got a little longer. In a study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers from Sweden report a cohort study of more than 52 […]

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Atrial fibrillation General Cardiology General Medicine Health Care Healthy Living inflammation

Stress is killing our hearts and bodies…But there is hope.

It’s an appropriate day to talk about stress. If you treat heart rhythm problems, you can’t miss the effects of stress. It matters so much. Both acute and chronic–though mostly chronic–stress wreaks havoc on the heart’s electrical system. And it’s not just the heart rhythm; the chronic inflammation that goes with long-lasting stress negatively impacts […]

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Atrial fibrillation Cycling Stuff Cyclocross Dabigatran/Rivaroxaban/Apixaban Doctoring inflammation Reflection Social Media/Writing/Blogging

Top Ten Posts of 2012

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 […]

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Cycling Stuff Cycling Wed Exercise inflammation

Could NSAIDs actually cause inflammation?

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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Healthy Living inflammation Nutrition

In the Prime post up — On healthy eating and one of Cardiology’s biggest errors

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 […]

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Cycling Wed Exercise inflammation

Cycling Wed: I told you so…

Dear Endurance Athletes, More than a year ago, I suggested that Ironman-distance triathlons were not heart healthy. Little did I know that expressing the notion that chronically inflaming oneself might cause permanent heart damage would be so controversial. This post led to my first experience with ad hominem comments. Obviously, talking about the upper limit […]

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Healthy Living inflammation Nutrition

In the Prime post up over at the Courier-Journal –Nighttime eating and biology.

An admission: In the evening, I like to snack. Perhaps you do too? It’s a common problem. A weakness even. Or is it? I used to think it didn’t matter what time one eats. It’s simple arithmetic: eat fewer calories than you burn off and all would be well. But maybe I was wrong. (Shhh). […]

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Doctoring Healthy Living inflammation

In the Prime Post up: The dangers of pain medicines — Part 1

I’m tiptoeing out on a limb. In my state of Kentucky, few potatoes are hotter. I started this In the Prime post fully intending to discuss the under-appreciated dangers of NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), like ibuprofen, naprosyn, and celecoxib (Celebrex). Three things got me thinking about the thorny issue of treating pain. First: More than one […]

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Cycling Wed inflammation

CW: An inflamed day for cycling

You have watched the videos. Heard the testimonials. Read the books. Floyd’s was a little sketchy, but the frankness and details of Tyler’s connected the dots. You re-watched the videos. How could he ride those guys off his wheel so easily? You still aren’t convinced. You want to believe, which of course is a normal […]