What if everybody just started telling the truth about medical ghostwriting?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

ghostwriter cartoon

Once upon a time, the drug giant Wyeth Pharmaceuticals wanted to get some medical journal articles published that would emphasize the positives and de-emphasize the negatives about their hormone replacement drugs, Premarin and Prempro. For the sake of clarity, let’s call this “lying”.

What’s a poor drug giant to do? How about getting well-known medical school professors and researchers to submit HRT-flattering articles to medical journals, pretending that they are the sole authors instead of the hired medical ghostwriters who actually wrote them? And thus a brilliant marketing scam is hatched.   Continue reading “What if everybody just started telling the truth about medical ghostwriting?” →

Biology or bias? Women twice as likely to die after heart attack

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ Leave a comment

woman heart tattoo Image.0.0.1

The CBC (our Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) did a report this week about women and heart disease that included an interview with Dr. Beth Abramson, a Toronto cardiologist and spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  She was responding to results of a new study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that suggests women are almost twice as likely to die within 30 days of a heart attack compared with men. Dr. Abramson said:

“It’s sometimes hard to sort out if there is a difference in biology between men and women, or if there is a gender bias.“

The study’s lead author, Dr. Jeffrey Berger of New York University Medical Center, votes for biology.   Continue reading “Biology or bias? Women twice as likely to die after heart attack” →

Why you should have your heart attack in Canada

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

As much as I’ve tried so far to keep my nose out of the health care reform circus that’s happening with our dear neighbours to the south, I can’t resist sharing a wee dose of reality from Canada (also known to some Americans as “Commie Pinko Land of Socialized Medicine”).

A piece in the Washington Post reminded me this week that, in other democracies of the developed world, patients are somehow receiving medical care that is not only universal, it’s actually considered better and cheaper than care in America.

In fact, the World Health Organization now ranks the U.S. 37th in the world in terms of quality health care access. American infant mortality rates (an oft-quoted criterion for how well countries are caring for their citizens) are double those of most Western countries. Almost all advanced countries have better national health statistics than the United States does.

The U.S. health care system forces over 700,000 Americans to declare bankruptcy every year.  In France, the number of medical bankruptcies is zero. Britain: zero. Japan: zero. Germany: zero. Canada: zero. Yet I’ve actually read warnings from U.S. health reform opponents that reform will somehow mean a slippery slope towards the ‘horrors of Canadian medicine”. Seriously. Continue reading “Why you should have your heart attack in Canada” →

Terrified of tofu? Here are seven heart-smart meat alternatives you’ll love

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ Leave a comment

food lisa the_vegetarian

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

I still remember the summer day I spent lying on Kitsilano Beach back in 1973 reading the landmark book called Diet For A Small Planet, when I discovered for the first time that the DFaSP healthy version of potato latkes could actually contain as much protein as a greasy lamb chop. Revolutionary! According to DFaSP, cutting back – waaaaay back! – on red meat consumption is a smart thing to do to protect your coronary arteries, and the planet as well.

In case you think eating less red meat means an endless round of bland blocks of boring tofu, think again. Here are seven options from Eco Salon that – like my potato latke recipe –  just might make it onto your new list of favourites:   Continue reading “Terrified of tofu? Here are seven heart-smart meat alternatives you’ll love” →