"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
The headline in the NYTimes today about the failing pediatric cardiac surgery program at University of North Carolina reminded me of back in training when, as a lark, we would call the operator of the hospital and ask them to page the wards for “Dr. HODAD”…… It would be early evening…and over the pager system …
The value of genetic testing more broadly is controversial, but I think everyone has an interest in knowing if they are at increased risk for cancer. If you satisfy criteria for testing (positive family history that is considered ‘significant’ by insurance standards) then you can get genetic testing at our office through Myriad labs and …
All areas of study and action have their virtuoso. That person who is ‘first among equals’; George Washington was most famously, known by this phrase. So too in medicine, there are great specialists and then there are others who are acknowledged as being just a slight cut above those of highest caliber. Here in The …
Despite this, there is a grass-roots effort to discredit these medications based on the concerns that they cause a multiplicity of side effects including dementia most importantly. These has been very little signal among users that these issues are developing, and to add to the scientific understanding, the American Heart Association undertook an extensive review …
I have an amateur interest in aviation so I am following the MAX 8 concerns with great interest. Among the issues raised with the MAX 8 is the interaction of automated technology and imperfect data input. Simply put: An excellent but completely automated system can be undone by imperfect data input, resulting in automatic ‘corrections’ …
The international measles outbreak has rightly stirred concerns among the general public in the US, questioning their own protection and immunity against measles. Do I need to worry? Here is the answer: If you were born before 1957, then you did not get vaccinated…but you did get the measles with near certainty as there was …
The internet has plentiful resources for an array of topics in psychiatry, but like most of you, I often find a Google search less than helpful due to adds and other methods that game the searcher and prevent them from finding, fact-based resources of information. As I’ve indicated in the past, among the ways to …
We are often asked by patients to assist in locating facilities for their family member who needs memory care; either assistance in placement for the longer-term or for short term respite. Fortunately, one of our patient’s daughters provided us with an excellent summary and review and I wanted to share that with you. Please look …
Although my patients know that Cathy Kurth, AD is the audiologist we recommend the most, many patients still are not inclined to use a hearing aid for a whole host of reasons. With the FDA approval of the BOSE HEARING AID, one of those impediments to getting a hearing aid has been eliminated, in that …
A recent report from The Washington Post about researcher Piero Anversa’s falsified heart research at Harvard Medical School is a tragedy. Not only has this researcher duped the general scientific community, his 31 scientific papers suggested a new area of research for young cardiologists, and those who are following this path and chasing a red …
The internet is full of untruths, especially when it comes to comments and concerns about statin therapy. There is a grass-roots effort by the non-medical community to impugn the CHOLESTEROL HYPOTHESIS, a foundational concept in cardiovascular medicine that hold that higher level of cholesterol (LDL/bad fraction) increases the risk of heart disease and lowering this …
Read More “THE CHOLESTEROL HYPOTHESIS STILL HOLDS…NEW MEDICATION SHOWS BENEFIT”
Ellen and I had a bet. She had heard about the measles outbreaks and was worried she could be susceptible to an infection since she did not have measles as a child. Since Ellen was born prior to 1957 she did not get the measles vaccine as it was not available…but that is also why …
I’ve written before about human organ transplantation that is about to become a reality as genetic engineering of pigs allows us to eliminate the barriers to trans-species transplantation (xenografting). We already use pigs for valve transplantation and in the previous generations, for producing insulin and heparin. Using the latest techniques of genetic engineering made possible …
I’m intrigued by the new Apple 4 watch that has an FDA approved EKG monitor. This is a much more accurate way to measure heart rhythm and is really the first readily available health monitor that provides accurate information that can be shared with the doctor. I’m excited for this ‘new future’ and the Apple …
I recently had a patient tell me about their friend who had a heart attack shortly after having a flu shot, and this was their reason for not getting a flu shot: That the flu shot can cause heart attacks and strokes. This is a great question. If I heard this story, I too might …
Read More “DOES THE FLU SHOT CAUSE HEART ATTACKS…THE ANSWER: NOPE”