Tag: Dr. Rainer Hambrecht

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?” →

Squishing, burning and implanting your heart troubles away

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 8 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Like the eminently quotable cardiologist Dr. John Mandrola once wrote on one of my favourite heart blogs:

“We urge patients to eat less, exercise more, and not to smoke. But when they don’t do these things, we still squish their blockages, burn their rogue electrical circuits, and implant lifesaving devices in their hearts.”

As a heart attack survivor, one of the Big Lessons for me has been that although my doctors can “squish, burn and implant” all they like, their heroic efforts do not address what originally caused this damage to my coronary arteries in the first place.   Continue reading “Squishing, burning and implanting your heart troubles away” →

Why feel helpless about your coronary artery disease?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 7 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

Angioplasty poster from the Parsemus Foundation.

Here’s more on the growing controversy surrounding unnecessary coronary stent procedures: Continue reading “Why feel helpless about your coronary artery disease?” →

What prevents heart disease “better than any drug”?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 8 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

It doesn’t come in a pill bottle, nor is it supported by multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. It’s affordable, and often even completely free. It has few if any harmful side effects. It’s appropriate for both young and old alike. And just like the fistful of  cardiac medications I now take every day since my own heart attack, I keep careful track of it (as evidenced by the stickers on my exercise calendar). It is exercise.

And it helps to prevent heart disease “better than any drug”, says Mario Mitkov of the University of California at Davis.   Continue reading “What prevents heart disease “better than any drug”?” →