Category: Cardiology 101

posts here focus on a variety of topics all about the heart and how it works

Will asking good questions in med school help doctors ask good questions of patients?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 7 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters 

“When I was in medical school, I was always told to question what was taught – even by the teachers who taught it to me. That was amazing!”   

Amazing, indeed! Questioning everything your teachers tell you may seem risky, but that observation from veteran cardiologist Dr. Milton Packer about his own med school experience feels oddly encouraging even to non-students like me. I’m naturally curious, skeptical, eager to learn, and sometimes a pain in the neck to physicians who may not be as open to questioning as Dr. Packer is!         .    Continue reading “Will asking good questions in med school help doctors ask good questions of patients?” →

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

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 7 Comments

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”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 8 Comments

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”” →

Chest pain and your periods

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters  

It may come as a surprise, but chest pain doesn’t always mean HEART ATTACK. A researcher in Atlanta has a reminder for us of a common symptom that can be mistaken for heart-related pain. It’s called mastalgia.           .      Continue reading “Chest pain and your periods” →