Why aren’t more doctors like Dr. Bernard Lown?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 9 Comments

The late Dr. Bernard Lown was the author of The Lost Art of Healing: Practicing Compassion in Medicine, and was a practicing cardiologist for over 62 years. He’s also the co-founder of the medical organization called International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which was awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. Lown presented this talk at a Cambridge, Massachusetts medical conference called Avoiding Avoidable Care on April 26, 2012. The lofty goal of this unique conference was no less than the transformation of health care culture from one focused on volume and quantity to one centered on value and quality. Here’s the profoundly important message of Dr. Lown to his colleagues:   Continue reading “Why aren’t more doctors like Dr. Bernard Lown?” →

11 fascinating facts about your heart

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

1. Matters of the heart

The hardest-working muscle in your body is your heart, according to the Library of Science. It pumps out two ounces of blood at every heartbeat, adding up to at least 2,500 gallons daily. The heart has the ability to beat over 3 billion times in a person’s life.  See also: How Many Times Has Your Heart Beaten So Far?

2. Too much sitting or driving could be trouble

If you want to stay heart healthy, it might make sense to cut back on sitting down, driving and watching the tube. In one analysis of data from nearly 30,000 people in 52 countries, those who owned both a car and TV had a 27% higher risk of heart attack than those who owned neither. However, the researchers caution that lack of physical activity is the culprit, not just what you’re doing while sitting. See also: Are you reading this sitting down? Don’t! Continue reading “11 fascinating facts about your heart” →

Did you really need that coronary stent?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 9 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

balloon-angioplastyA New York study has revisited the issue of stent-happy cardiologists implanting the tiny metal devices that help prop open – or revascularize – blocked coronary arteries. Essentially, this study(1) suggests that two-thirds of the justifications for this procedure in non-emergency patients were either “uncertain” or “inappropriate“. For any heart patient who has ever been told by those with the letters M.D. after their names that this type of cardiac intervention was recommended, it’s yet more troubling news. And the fact that this issue simply will not go away makes me wonder why cardiologists themselves are keeping suspiciously mum about the controversy.

When cardiologists do speak up, not surprisingly, many hasten to pre-emptively defend their interventional colleagues. An editorial that accompanied this study’s publication in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, for example, explained:

“There are certain to be patients rated as ‘inappropriate’ for which almost all competent cardiologists would recommend intervention.”

In other words, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.  Continue reading “Did you really need that coronary stent?” →

Khan Academy’s crash course on heart disease

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 3 Comments

Khan Academy

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Sal Khan has done it again with this exquisitely simple yet compelling look at how a heart attack happens. This MIT graduate’s Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization, created in 2006 with the stated mission of “providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere”.

This video on heart disease is just one of over 3,000 brilliant (and free!) online micro-lecture tutorials at Khan Academy. So watch it already.

.

Q: Did you learn anything new from watching this video?

.

l