Tag: BMJ Open Heart Editorial

#PatientsIncluded “Lite”: sort of, maybe, but not really

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 8 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

It’s fashionable these days for medical conference organizers, journal editors and researchers to boast about how “patient-focused” they are whenever they seek perspectives shared by patients with lived experience. But does boasting make it so?

Some of this patient focus has seemed a bit tepid to me. It’s as if they’re saying they want the patient voice – sort of, maybe, but not really. Here’s what I mean by that:  Continue reading “#PatientsIncluded “Lite”: sort of, maybe, but not really” →

What I learned from writing my most-read ‘Heart Sisters’ articles in 2023

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 17 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters  

Five months after my heart attack, I attended the 2008 WomenHeart Science & Leadership patient advocacy training at Mayo Clinic – the first Canadian heart patient ever accepted. I learned so much from my 44 American heart sisters – ages 31 to 71 – who also attended that year, and of course from our rock-star faculty of female cardiologists from Mayo and beyond, brilliantly led by the one and only founder of the Mayo Women’s Heart Clinic, Dr. Sharonne Hayes.♥  When I returned home and started writing and speaking about what I’d just learned at Mayo, my public relations friends teased me: “This is what happens when a PR person survives a heart attack: you just keep writing, speaking and looking stuff up – because that’s all you know how to do!”  And they were so right! Here’s my annual overview of what I’ve been learning while writing some of the most-read posts this past year:         .     Continue reading “What I learned from writing my most-read ‘Heart Sisters’ articles in 2023” →

“Heart Failure: it’s time to finally change the F-word”: my Editorial in BMJ Open Heart

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 23 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

I’m pleased to share with my Heart Sisters readers some terrific news:  the British Medical Journal (known everywhere as the BMJ) invited me early in 2023 to write an Editorial for BMJ Open Heart about an important cardiology issue that I’ve been lobbying, writing and speaking about over many years – and that Editorial has now been published.

I’m thrilled of course with this level of international interest.  (Note to my American readers: you’ll notice British spellings throughout e.g. organise, minimise, etc. Do not be alarmed. They’re not mistakes). Here’s the text content, FYI:   Continue reading ““Heart Failure: it’s time to finally change the F-word”: my Editorial in BMJ Open Heart” →