December 18th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Research
4 Comments »
Dear Endurance Athletes,
Accept an apology in advance. You have endured so much from me.
Sorry.
Let’s at least start by agreeing that I can’t control the data.
Yes, you guessed it. There is unfortunately more bad news pertaining to the deleterious effects of endurance exercise on the human heart.
Again, I am sorry. Maybe re-phrasing the previous sentence will soften the blow. How about this: “Yet another study on endurance athletes suggests that exercise, like everything else in life, has an upper limit.”
Here goes, buckle up. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
November 19th, 2011 by DrWes in Research
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Before reaching for tests like EKGs to screen teen athletes, we should first ask ourselves if we’ve taken a careful history:
The new study consisted of Madsen and his fellow researchers sending out surveys to every pediatrician and family practice doctor in Washington State. They received a good response–surveys were returned by 72 percent of pediatricians and 56 percent of family practitioners.
The results were disheartening:
- 28 percent of doctors surveyed failed to always ask if a teen experienced chest pain during exercise.
- 22 percent of doctors surveyed failed to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
September 20th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Opinion
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Did you know September is AFib awareness month?
As a believer in education as the first, and best treatment of AF, I think it’s great to enhance the public knowledge of this highly-misunderstood disease.
By all means…
Tell people about AF’s risks: stroke and heart failure.
Tell them that their fatigue, poor exercise tolerance and breathlessness might not be old age; it might be AF.
Tell them about the importance of early intervention.
Tell them that obesity, inactivity, sleep disturbances, alcohol, and incessantly worrying about everything makes AF more likely to occur, and to stay.
Tell them that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
June 20th, 2011 by DrWes in True Stories
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Easy case.
Seen it a hundred times.
Old guy (or gal).
Comes into ER.
Found “down.”
“Hey doc, looks like his hearts goin’ slow. I think he (or she) needs a pacer.”
“On any meds that might do this?”
“Nah.”
“How’s his (her) potassium?”
“4.3, normal.”
And like lots of times, you head in. Glad you can help. Call-team’s on their way, thanks to you. Called the device rep to make sure they can be there just in case, too. Cool as a cucumber. Nothin’ to it. Been here, done this.
You arrive to a guy (or gal) that looks pretty good. Maybe has one or two medical problems. Heart rate’s better thanks to the atropine and the fluids they gave him (her) on arrival. The intraosseus line in the tibia is impressive, too. (“At least he (she) wasn’t awake when that happened,” you think.)
So you review, examine, plan your approach. EKG on presentation? Ouch, heart rate agonal. Wide complex rhythm of right bundle branch rhythm. Look at the monitor: “lots more right bundle branch rhythm there, thank goodness, P waves, too.” you secretely notice.
Seems he (or she) is willing (how many times does he (or she) want to pass out at home?), understands what lies ahead, that the crew’s on their way. “We’ll be taking you over in just a few minutes. Any other questions?” There are none.
Perfect.
And after a while the crew arrives, assembles the poor guy (or gal) on the table and ships him (or her) over to the cath lab area. Chest is prepped, equipment assembled, antibiotics given, monitors connected…
… damn we’re good. Smooth operators.
So the local anesthetic is injected and the incisions made. Dissection to the pre-pectoralis fascia just above the breast muscle accomplished, even the wires passed easily into the vein using ultrasound guidance. Even having a nice chat with the guy (or gal).
Poetry in motion.
Sheaths placed in the vein over the guidewire, pacing leads placed through the sheath. Until, from the control room… Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
October 3rd, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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Could understanding the tacit rules which govern play on a neighborhood playground help us explain why some aspects of implementing healthcare reform are unlikely to succeed? Recent news involving McDonald’s Corporation suggests so.
On the playground, there are some simple precepts — like the fact that older and stronger kids get to make up the game, and the rules. That’s understood and mostly okay. As if these leaders are considered modestly benevolent and the rules are workable, the game is good and all benefit. And all players on the playground know this basic tenet of fairness: That the rules of the game shouldn’t change in the midst of the competition, and, taking it one step further, if the rules have to be changed they weren’t very good in the first place. Soon, if those in power become too controlling, too conflicted, or too self-serving, kids stop showing up, and the games cease.
In enacting this, our government gave us a very complicated game, with oodles of rules. (For the record, the PPACA of 2010 is 475 pages and 393,000 words.) But then, on further consideration of the rules, important players (McDonald’s) decided that they could not play. They were pulling out of the game, and they had many friends (Home Depot, CVS, Staples, etc.) who may not have spoke outwardly, but surely felt the same way. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
