Medical research: mostly on (white, middle-aged) men. What could go wrong?

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters

Last week, we learned here about a young Florida woman who arrived at her local Emergency Department with nausea, vomiting and “heartburn” – as described by Emergency physician Dr. Sam Ghali in the post called “I’ll Give You a Hint: the Diagnosis is NOT Heartburn or Anxiety” He challenged his professional colleagues on Twitter, asking how they would have diagnosed this patient based on her distinctive ECG test results. Some of their guesses at interpreting the results missed her obvious heart attack, so Dr. Ghali reminded these healthcare professionals:

“Remember this case and never ever write off people with chest pain – especially women who may present differently than men and are notoriously misdiagnosed or diagnosed late with worse outcomes. Please help spread awareness, and I promise you will make a difference in these people’s lives.”

Dr. Lea Merone from Australia was one of the healthcare professionals to weigh in on Dr. Ghali’s Twitter challenge – but with an unusual response.    .   Continue reading “Medical research: mostly on (white, middle-aged) men. What could go wrong?”

“I’ll give you a hint: the diagnosis is NOT heartburn or anxiety”

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters

This recent “What’s the diagnosis?”  ECG challenge on Twitter from Dr. Sam Ghali attracted many online guesses from his healthcare colleagues – including this from a critical care nurse practitioner who astutely wrote:

In today’s healthcare system, she would probably be told ‘it’s all in your head’ or ‘maybe you should lose weight’.”
Continue reading ““I’ll give you a hint: the diagnosis is NOT heartburn or anxiety””

Implementation science: should research actually DO SOMETHING?

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥    @HeartSisters

“Don’t just publish another paper.  Let’s DO something!”  That feisty challenge to her academic colleagues comes from Dr. Cindy Blackstock, expressing her frustration in a University Affairs interview.

The McGill University professor in Montréal is internationally known for her work in child protection rights of Indigenous families. But her frustration can readily apply to medical research, too – where “doing something” seems barely on the radar.           Continue reading “Implementation science: should research actually DO SOMETHING?”

Auricular amputations of confectionery rabbits

by Carolyn Thomas      @HeartSisters

Imagine a bright Easter Sunday, back in the mid-1950s. The sun is shining, church bells are ringing, cherry trees blooming, and my sister Cathy and I are decked out in our brand new pink Easter outfits, including matching coats and bonnets.  We have been invited out to lunch at the home of family  friends after Easter Sunday Mass.

We enjoy a delicious lunch of baked ham, deviled eggs, potato salad and – our favourite! – traditional Easter paska, after which the children are dismissed from the table to play while the parents finish their coffee. And that’s when things suddenly go sideways. . .         .       Continue reading “Auricular amputations of confectionery rabbits”