“When I first became a GP in England well over 30 years ago, the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction (heart attack) was a matter of slight importance, since there was no intervention which made any difference to survival.
“You tried to reach patients in their homes quickly to relieve their pain with heroin, but only sent them to hospital if their pain was not controlled, or they were going into shock. Studies at the time indicated that patients with heart attacks survived better at home, where they were less likely to be killed with injections of lidocaine.”
Quite a difference, according to Dr. Richard Lehman, writing this in the British Medical Journal last month, compared to modern cardiac care options like clot-busting thrombolytic drugs or invasive coronary angioplasty procedures that are now routinely available to patients presenting with heart attack symptoms these days. (Unless, of course, you happen to be a woman under the age of 55 presenting to the E.R in mid-heart attack, in which case, as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, you are seven times more likely to be misdiagnosed and sent home compared to your male counterparts with the same symptoms). But I digress . . . (more…)
Here’s something to keep in mind as you ponder your Christmas party planner this season. Some people are apparently so extremely sensitive to alcohol that even moderate amounts – sometimes just a single drink – can trigger episodes of the heart arrhythmia known as 
If you sometimes feel like you don’t get enough respect from your physician, you may not be alone. In fact, two new global studies from 23 countries show that two-thirds of patients around the world feel disrespected by their physicians – no matter which country they call home. For example, about one-quarter of patients surveyed complained that their physicians don’t answer questions, don’t involve them in treatment decisions, and use medical jargon with no explanation.
Before surviving a heart attack, I knew virtually nothing about 
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