There are many reasons doctors suffer from burnout and compassion fatigue. One of the least-mentioned of these reasons is that much of what we do is so damn unnecessary. In the US, the land of excess everything, caregivers, especially cardiologists, spend most of our time treating human beings that didn’t need to have disease. Let’s […]
CW: That exercise has an upper limit makes perfect sense
As a bike-racing heart doctor who practices in one of America’s least healthy states, it pains me to say anything against exercise. I spend a great deal of my typical office day cajoling Kentuckians to exercise more. Sometimes, I even prescribe daily exercise rather than a medicine! “It’s OK to exercise every day that you […]
Cycling Wednesday: The Three Rs
This Wednesday, I’d like to talk about how rodents, relationships, and riding relate to intelligence and overall wellness. This idea comes from a nicely written NY Times piece entitled, Does Loneliness Reduce the Benefits of Exercise? Here, Ms Gretchen Reynolds reviews a few intriguing studies about how relationships may affect exercise, stress hormone levels and […]
Just because the rigors of endurance athletics may be inflammatory doesn’t mean it isn’t fun…
A patient asks, “Doc, do you ride your bike to prevent heart disease.” I reply, “Heck no, I am hoping to live long enough to get heart disease.” The non-athletic patient looks quizzically at me as if trying to decipher what I mean, or whether I am serious. Too long a story, so we move […]
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