October 13th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: Acceptance, Anticipation, Benefits, Caution, Damage, Danger, Dr. Robert Schoene, Harm, Outdoor Health, Preparation, Responsible, Risk, Risk-taker, Wilderness Medical Society, wilderness medicine
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Dr. Robert “Brownie” Schoene, an enormously talented, accomplished, and insightful physician who resides within the bedrock of wilderness medicine, gave a wonderful presentation about the concept of risk at the 2010 annual summer meeting of the Wilderness Medical Society. Risk is inherent in outdoor activities, whether it is part of exploration, adventure, science, or industry. I am going to summarize his approach to the topic, which is among the most important general concepts in the field, and editorialize with some of my thoughts.
When one thinks of risk related to outdoor health, it is about the possibility of suffering harm, damage, or loss. When a person is aware of the possibility of a specific risk, he or she usually weighs the risk against the possible benefits. When you hike on a slippery, snowy trail in early spring, where the trail winds over patches of ice near ledges from which a fall would cause a severe injury, is the experience worth the risk? When you ride a wave on your surfboard when the waves are intimidating and you are outside your comfort zone, is the improvement in performance worth the possibility of a tumble and possible muscle tear or broken bone? Sometimes the answer is easy. When I travel to a third world country, I always run the risk of acquiring infectious diarrhea. The benefits of the mission supersede the discomfort, and I both anticipate the risk and prepare for treatment by carrying oral rehydration supplies and appropriate antibiotics.
I love the quote from Winston Churchill that Dr. Schoene used to illustrate a risk-taker’s approach: Read more »
This post, Understanding Risk Related To Outdoor Health, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
October 12th, 2011 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: Breast Cancer, Cancer Screening, False Alarms, Flawed, Imperfect, mainstream media, Mammogram, Mammography, Preventing Death, Recommended, USA Today, USPSTF
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A well-written and balanced article on mammography from USA Today may help move the conversation about this screening test away from hype and a bit closer to reality. The title – “Mammogram is ‘terribly imperfect’, though recommended.”
For women in their 40s, mammograms reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer by about 15%… But mammograms miss some cancers and raise false alarms about others, causing women to go through unnecessary follow-up tests… “We’re saying, ‘Mammography is a terribly imperfect test, but we’re recommending women get it,’” Brawley says. “The task force was saying, ‘Mammography is a terribly imperfect test, and Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog That Ate Manhattan*
October 12th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
Tags: All-cause mortality, Cardiovascular Disease, Couch Potato, Diabetes, Exercise, Health, JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, Outdoor Health, Physically Active, Research, Risk, Television, TV, Type 2, Well-Being
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There were no real surprises for me in the article entitled “Television Viewing and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, and All-Cause Mortality” by Anders Grøntved and Frank B. Hu that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2011;305(23):2448-2455). As stated in the abstract: “Prolonged television (TV) viewing is the most prevalent and pervasive sedentary behavior in industrialized countries and has been associated with morbidity and mortality. However, a systematic and quantitative assessment of published studies is not available.”
The authors performed an analysis of eight previously published studies to determine the association between TV viewing and risk of type 2 diabetes, fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality.
The risk of all-cause mortality appeared to increase with TV viewing duration of greater than Read more »
This post, Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes And Cardiovascular Disease: Don’t Be A Couch Potato, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
October 8th, 2011 by HarvardHealth in Health Tips
Tags: Achievable, Changes, Dr. Edward Phillips, Goals, Harvard Medical School, Health, Measurable, Prevention, Realistic, Rewards, SMART, Specific, Success, Time-based, Weight Loss
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Each year, countless people vow to get healthier: Lose five pounds. Exercise every day. Quit smoking. Unfortunately, replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthier ones usually isn’t easy, and many ambitious attempts often fall short. But you’re more likely to succeed if you start by choosing the right goal.
Choosing a goal seems simple enough. If that muffin top is bothering you, you should plan to lose those extra 10 pounds, right? Not necessarily, says Dr. Edward Phillips, Director and Founder of the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and assistant professor of the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. If you tackle the goal you’re most likely to accomplish—rather than the goal you think you should make—you’re better able to achieve it and build up a head of steam to tackle tougher goals.
Listen to Dr. Phillips’ advice on how to make a healthy change that will last: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
October 8th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: ACE-inhibitors, AF, Beta Blockers, Blood Thinners, Cardiology, Dr. Groopman, Dr. Hartzband, Exercise, Fitness, General Medicine, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, Heart Rhythm, High Blood Pressure, Physically Active, Primary Prevention, Secondary Prevention, Statins, Wall Street Journal
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I recently wrote about the incredible sensations that come with vigorous exercise. Perhaps it was the post ride cannabinoid flurry, but it’s possible that I went too far in suggesting that ‘we’ (doctors, patients, the whole of Western Society) default first to pills before healthy living.
Two commentors called me out on this snark. They wrote about valid points.
One comment focused on the fact that her AF medicines were causing side effects that made vigorous exercise difficult. The second objected to my inference that exercise alone could substitute for the many benefits of modern medicine.
To the idea that medicine Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
