CW: Did you hear any real world messages from the Biggest Loser science?
There are a few things that endurance sports enthusiasts understand well: the importance of hard work, dedication and the need to push through discomfort. In fact, I would submit that these...
View ArticleCW: It’s settled–Long-term extreme endurance exercise is not heart healthy
My inbox lit up this week with links to mainstream media reports that extreme exercise causes heart damage. Sure enough, a group of US researchers published an exhaustively complete review article on...
View ArticleCycling Wed: It’s Cyclocross Time–Thanks Body!
(Sorry folks, I published this post last night but with the wrong date. As we say in the EP lab: “rookie mistake.”) For many bike racers, the end of summer marks the beginning of cyclocross season. So...
View ArticleIn the Prime posts for this week — Health Insurance and Obesity
Hi all, I wrote two posts this week for the Courier-Journal’s online health portal, In the Prime. The first was titled, Can an insurance company improve our health? In this post I use the tragic story...
View ArticleCycling Wed: I told you so…
Dear Endurance Athletes, More than a year ago, I suggested that Ironman-distance triathlons were not heart healthy. Little did I know that expressing the notion that chronically inflaming oneself might...
View ArticleExercise and the heart — keep it simple
Exercise is a white-hot topic. We must talk more. This comment on my Facebook page only strengthened my resolve to clarify things. Not to be flip, snarky (or for that matter even just plain dense) but...
View ArticleCould NSAIDs actually cause inflammation?
This one is for you exercisers out there. You know me; I love to write about dogma-busters. I’ve got a good one for you tonight. For endurance exercisers, runners and cyclists alike, few myths have...
View ArticleDo statins impair muscle performance?
On Wednesdays, I try to write on a topic of exercise and health. If you exercise but still have high cholesterol or other risks for heart disease, you may be interested in a new study from my old...
View ArticleIn the Prime post: Toward a happier and healthier community
Hi all, It’s a dreary winter day here. It seems a good time to ponder warmer sunny images and hopeful notions. I found a great article on a town in southern Spain. They did something remarkable there....
View ArticleDo doctors know how to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol?
Blood pressure and cholesterol problems affect millions. These are the bread, butter and sugary drinks of Internal Medicine and general Cardiology practice. It stands to reason then, that the treatment...
View ArticleLong-term endurance increases the risk of arrhythmia — New post up on...
The idea that long-term endurance exercise increases the risk of arrhythmia should no longer be considered counterintuitive. The list of published studies confirming this association is long, and this...
View ArticleThink twice before getting an injection for low back pain or sciatica
It’s been a while since I did a Cycling Wednesday topic. As I was skimming thorough the Journal of the American Medical Association last night, I came across this review article on spinal injection...
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Day 2 EuroPace 2013 — Two new posts up over at theHeart.org
It must be the time change. Sound sleep is eluding me. The good news about waking at 0330 is you can get serious work done. The bad news is doing the (involuntary) nod during a nice lecture on...
View ArticleThe state of US health: The truth stings
It’s going to be hard to anesthetize this one with compassion. I’m sorry, but the report card on US health is not good. We aren’t heading in the right direction, and everyone involved knows that it’s...
View ArticleThe most important verb in our health crisis
There was great commentary on my last post. Thank you all. I learned a lot from your words. This is how it’s supposed to work here. One comment in particular has stuck with me. It concerned the...
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Day 2 ESC — AF ablation and more bike commuting
Okay, I’m getting the hang of this. The Monday morning and evening commute in Amsterdam is something special. You talk about focus. It requires laser-like focus. You’ve got bikes, narrow lanes, buses,...
View ArticleLet’s make our day harder — physically
This short video (4:02) comes from one on my favorite YouTube channels. I write on a whiteboard every office day. But I’m no Dr. Mike Evans. (@docmikeevans) in this clip, the Canadian doctor explains a...
View ArticleProlonged exercise leads to heart damage — pro/con debate
Dr. Larry Creswell, of the Athlete’s heart blog, just posted an interesting debate from the Journal of Physiology. The question of whether longterm endurance exercise leads to heart damage is a hotly...
View Article2013: Year-end summary of top cardiology stories
When the editors of Medscape asked me to write a Top Ten article on the best Cardiology stories in 2013, I jumped at the chance. I spent a lot of time thinking about Cardiology this year. I was...
View ArticleNew post up on Medscape/Cardiology: Ablation versus medicine as an intitial...
Earlier this month I promised to put together teaching points from the Rich Peverley story. His was an interesting case of sudden collapse that likely occurred as a result of atrial fibrillation...
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