There is a big story out today in the small world of electrophysiology. I’ll try to give it a non-technical wide-angle view. My friend and fellow real world doctor, Dr. Jay Schloss from Cincinnati is at it again. Jay conitunes on his quest to give doctors and patients the most useable information possible on the […]
Year: 2012
You may have heard that the new blood thinner, rivaroxaban (Xarelto) made news at the recent ACC meeting in Chicago. The Einstein PE trial showed rivaroxaban equivalent to standard therapy (enoxaparin followed by warfarin) in the treatment of pulmonary embolism (blood-clot in lungs). When the researchers looked at net clinical benefit, a measure that gives […]
Hey (Masters-aged) Athletes, I’m with you. Birthdays are tough. You feel old. Your body creaks. I know. I feel your pain. I, too, ride with youngers who sprint, climb and otherwise float past effortlessly. I’m thinking to myself as they shoot off the front, easily cutting through a crosswind or stomping up a hill…”Hey, where […]
In the Choosing Wisely initiative, nine medical groups have contributed their list of five misused and overused tests and treatments. Some of the highest cost-of-care groups are on board–cardiologists, oncologists, radiologists, nephrologists (kidney) and gastroenterologists. Front line doctors, like internists and family doctors, have also weighed in. Coming soon are lists of five from the […]
I like to tell my patients that good health, at its root, comes from just three things: good movement, good food, and good sleep. At least these are the three they can control. Good luck and good genes are beyond our control. On our Easter: The world looks and feels like a different place after […]
Categories
A very nice Friday
Cyclists say lots of funny things. One of my good buddies likes this one… If you don’t like today, you don’t like perfect. It’s true; In the worlds of health, fitness and education, Kentucky gets kicked around quite a bit. But when the sun shines in the Spring, this state looks pretty darn good. Enjoy […]
Last night I gave a twenty-minute presentation on ICDs to a group of hospice and palliative care professionals. It was a real honor to speak to such an enlightened and dedicated group of caregivers. These are people who really get it. I wasn’t restricted in what to say about ICDs. They kindly gave me plenty […]
Cycling Wednesday has to be postponed this week. There is indeed a more pressing and relevant health matter that has come to light today. I am talking huge news; a story ripe with optimism and hope. Let me tell you about a possible paradigm-changing idea in the seemingly hopeless matter of controlling runaway healthcare costs—a […]
…patients might die. My newest post is up on Trials and Fibrillations over at theHeart.org. A heart rhythm doctor makes a living using and installing medical devices. These man-made, man-engineered and man-maneuvered devices can sometimes epitomize beautiful therapies. (Ask the former vice-president if he likes medical devices.) When used skillfully, complex medical devices may save […]
It’s well known that the new blood thinner, dabigatran (Pradaxa) can cause stomach pain and reflux symptoms. It occurs in slightly more than one in ten patients who start the drug. Yesterday, I learned of another potential gastrointestinal adverse effect of the new drug. A GI colleague called me about a patient taking dabigatran (Pradaxa) […]
It’s 2012 already. Time flies; doesn’t it? It seems like just yesterday when… I started this business more than two decades ago. A time when cell phones hadn’t even graced James Bond movies; we got up to change the channel on TV and the world health concern of the moment was a Hunger Games-like scenario […]