Heart Matters

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Dan Roden, MD Long QT syndrome can be a silent threat. Although not all patients with congenital long QT syndrome develop symptoms, there is potential for dangerous arrhythmia that can cause sudden cardiac death. Can and should genetic testing guide clinicians in diagnosing and treating this condition? Dr. Dan Roden, professor of medicine and pharmacology and assistan...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Joseph Cleveland, MD Cardiac surgery can improve quality of life, but it also poses risks for patients over the age of 65. Can a screening test as simple as walking speed predict the outcomes of cardiac surgery for our older patients? Dr. Janet Wright hosts this discussion.

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Joseph Cleveland, MD Cardiac surgery can improve quality of life, but it also poses risks for patients over the age of 65. Can a screening test as simple as walking speed predict the outcomes of cardiac surgery for our older patients? Dr. Janet Wright hosts this discussion.

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Thad Waites, MD Obesity is a nationwide epidemic, but this is nowhere more apparent than in Mississippi, which was ranked as the state with the highest obesity rate in 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control. How does the obesity issue in Mississippi mirror that of the rest of the nation, and what efforts are underway to address this public health problem? Dr. Thad Wa...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Thad Waites, MD Obesity is a nationwide epidemic, but this is nowhere more apparent than in Mississippi, which was ranked as the state with the highest obesity rate in 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control. How does the obesity issue in Mississippi mirror that of the rest of the nation, and what efforts are underway to address this public health problem? Dr. Thad Wa...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD Some evidence suggests it is possible to prevent and reverse heart disease by adhering to a plant-based diet, but lifestyle changes are often the most challenging for physicians to prescribe and for patients to adopt. What strategies can physicians use to encourage a plant-based diet for patients who have or are at risk for having heart dis...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD Some evidence suggests it is possible to prevent and reverse heart disease by adhering to a plant-based diet, but lifestyle changes are often the most challenging for physicians to prescribe and for patients to adopt. What strategies can physicians use to encourage a plant-based diet for patients who have or are at risk for having heart dis...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: David Kaplan, PhD Although most bypass grafts are sourced from other parts of a patient's body, bioengineers are examining new materials that might be used for bypass grafts to reduce the risk of second-site complications. Silk has been a standard material in sutures for decades, and is now showing promise as a biomaterial in bypass grafts. Might silkworms help repair...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: David Kaplan, PhD Although most bypass grafts are sourced from other parts of a patient's body, bioengineers are examining new materials that might be used for bypass grafts to reduce the risk of second-site complications. Silk has been a standard material in sutures for decades, and is now showing promise as a biomaterial in bypass grafts. Might silkworms help repair...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Robert Harrington, MD Recent studies have raised doubts about the efficacy of some common treatments for cardiovascular disease, including: the use of PFO closures (based on the CLOSURE trial); some methods of cardiac resynchronization therapy (or CRT, based on the SMART-AV trial); telemonitoring for patients with congestive heart failure (based on the Tele-HF trial);...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Robert Harrington, MD Recent studies have raised doubts about the efficacy of some common treatments for cardiovascular disease, including: the use of PFO closures (based on the CLOSURE trial); some methods of cardiac resynchronization therapy (or CRT, based on the SMART-AV trial); telemonitoring for patients with congestive heart failure (based on the Tele-HF trial);...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Rashi Fein, PhD What can we learn from the past century of healthcare policy that can better inform how we develop such policies today? How has the landscape of medicine and economics surrounding health policy changed, and how have these changes influenced health policy? Join host Dr. Jack Lewin as he welcomes guest Dr. Rashi Fein, professor of the economics of medicine...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Rashi Fein, PhD What can we learn from the past century of healthcare policy that can better inform how we develop such policies today? How has the landscape of medicine and economics surrounding health policy changed, and how have these changes influenced health policy? Join host Dr. Jack Lewin as he welcomes guest Dr. Rashi Fein, professor of the economics of medicine...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Harry Greenspun, MD Will healthcare reform do enough to alleviate the current problems in our system, or is the entire delivery model in need of a substantial re-design? Dr. Harry Greenspun, chief medical officer of Dell Services and co-author of the book Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery , says that while health care r...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Harry Greenspun, MD Will healthcare reform do enough to alleviate the current problems in our system, or is the entire delivery model in need of a substantial re-design? Dr. Harry Greenspun, chief medical officer of Dell Services and co-author of the book Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery , says that while health care r...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Michael Steinman, MD One of the characteristics of our older patients with heart failure is that they often have other conditions and therefore take multiple medications. How can we reduce the risk of adverse drug events among patients with heart failure and other comorbidities? Dr. Michael Steinman, associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Michael Steinman, MD One of the characteristics of our older patients with heart failure is that they often have other conditions and therefore take multiple medications. How can we reduce the risk of adverse drug events among patients with heart failure and other comorbidities? Dr. Michael Steinman, associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Richard Lange, MD, MBA First generation drug-eluting stents offer many advantages over bare metal stents, the most significant of which is their efficacy in reducing the rate of restenosis. Now second generation drug-eluting stents are proving to be even more beneficial. How are these second generation drug-eluting stents further reducing the risk of late stent thromb...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Richard Lange, MD, MBA First generation drug-eluting stents offer many advantages over bare metal stents, the most significant of which is their efficacy in reducing the rate of restenosis. Now second generation drug-eluting stents are proving to be even more beneficial. How are these second generation drug-eluting stents further reducing the risk of late stent thromb...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD Beta blockers, anticoagulants, stenting procedures and bypass surgeries: these are all crucial cornerstones of cardiology that have saved and improved the quality of lives for our patients, yet the underlying causes of coronary artery disease aren't addressed by interventions and medications. Can we prevent and maybe even reverse heart dise...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD Beta blockers, anticoagulants, stenting procedures and bypass surgeries: these are all crucial cornerstones of cardiology that have saved and improved the quality of lives for our patients, yet the underlying causes of coronary artery disease aren't addressed by interventions and medications. Can we prevent and maybe even reverse heart dise...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: James Scheulen, PA-C Guest: Jeffrey Trost, MD Door-to-balloon time for a patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (or STEMI) should be less than 90 minutes. Wireless electrocardiography (or EKG) programs around the country are helping to reduce door-to-balloon time by transmitting EKG data to hospitals via broadband internet, where a specialist at the h...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: James Scheulen, PA-C Guest: Jeffrey Trost, MD Door-to-balloon time for a patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (or STEMI) should be less than 90 minutes. Wireless electrocardiography (or EKG) programs around the country are helping to reduce door-to-balloon time by transmitting EKG data to hospitals via broadband internet, where a specialist at the h...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Deepak Bhatt, MD One of the biggest risks of antiplatelet therapy is gastrointestinal bleeding. Because of this risk, patients on the antiplatelet clopidogrel are often prescribed proten pump inhibitors, or PPIs. However, there are also concerns about PPIs decreasing the efficacy of clopidogrel. What approach should physicians take for patients at moderate to high ris...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Deepak Bhatt, MD One of the biggest risks of antiplatelet therapy is gastrointestinal bleeding. Because of this risk, patients on the antiplatelet clopidogrel are often prescribed proten pump inhibitors, or PPIs. However, there are also concerns about PPIs decreasing the efficacy of clopidogrel. What approach should physicians take for patients at moderate to high ris...