20-Minute Health Talk

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) carries stigma thanks to negative portrayals in movies like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Such portrayals hide ECT's true value — and the truth about the treatment: ECT has a decades-long track record of safety, and it offers a fast-acting solution for difficult-to-treat severe depression. ECT is also effective for patients with suicidal ideation or depression...

Stacey Rosen, MD , joins Sandra Lindsay on this 20-Minute Health Talk to discuss why heart disease disproportionately impacts Black women, what factors contribute to their risk and what health systems like Northwell are doing to change the statistics. Meet the expert Stacey Rosen is the senior vice president of Katz Institute for Women's Health at Northwell Health; partners council professor of wo...

There are many misconceptions around weight — starting with the fact that people burn fat differently depending on their size, says Mitchell Roslin, MD , director of bariatric surgery at Lenox Hill and Northern Westchester hospitals. On this episode, he breaks down the factors that contribute to obesity, from genetics and lifestyle to the way our bodies convert food into energy. Obesity itself has...

People with Covid-19 often get sick because the body’s inflammatory response to the virus overreacts. To tamp down that inflammation, researchers at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, turned their sights toward famotidine, the active ingredient in a common over-the-counter heartburn medication with anti-inflammatory potential. On this bonus episode, we...

While Covid-19 vaccines remain the best protection against the novel virus, if you do catch Covid there are also several treatments to help manage symptoms, like Covid cough, and prevent hospitalization. Onisis Stefas, PharmD , executive director of VIVO Health, breaks down what treatments are available over the counter, by prescription (paxlovid and molnupiravir) and if you do end up in the hospi...

On this episode, we look back on Northwell Health’s most newsworthy moments from 2022. Our experts made headlines with life-saving treatments and innovative approaches that improved care for patients from New York to Ukraine.  Here are Northwell's Top 5 moments of 2022: 00:36 - Extending benefits of telemedicine to War in Ukraine 02:22 - Heart, double lung transplant saves young mother's life 03:3...

As 2022 comes to a close, we look back on five exciting medical advances coming from clinical researchers at Northwell Health and the health system's Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. In the last year alone, investigators published more than 2,500 papers in peer-reviewed journals. In this episode, we spotlight studies that made strides against endometriosis, diabetes, lupus, pancreatic ca...

It's a staggering stat: More than 15 million children and adolescents are in need of a pediatric psychiatrist. But finding treatment is anything but easy with just around 8,300 trained pediatric mental health professionals in the U.S. The consequence: Long wait times, worsening symptoms and even higher costs when they do get help. To increase the pool of providers that can offer effective treatmen...

Heading into the holidays, surging cases of Covid-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pose a unique threat, which many are calling a "tripledemic" or "tridemic." While RSV cases have plateaued, Covid-19 and the flu are on the rise. Hospitalizations for the flu are the highest seen at this time of year in a decade. While unprecedented, experts in infectious disease and emergency medic...

While we associate mental health care with psychologists and psychiatrists, primary care doctors are often the first to see children and families with behavioral health issues. To strengthen and support doctors' ability to deliver that care, a state-wide program called Project TEACH provides free psychiatric consultation support and training. Since its inception in 2010, Project TEACH has enrolled...

More than just a treatment for scuba and deep sea divers experiencing decompression sickness, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has evolved during the last 70 years and become an option for more than a dozen other conditions. In part two of this episode, Owen J. O’Neill, MD, MPH , and John Peters, two experts in undersea and hyperbaric medicine, discuss the research driving this field forward, including a...

Oxygen is crucial to healing — but it has to be able to reach the damaged tissue to help the body recover and fight off infection. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can facilitate that process by dramatically boosting the amount of oxygen your blood cells deliver to an injury. You may have heard about the therapy’s use in treating scuba diving incidents or carbon monoxide poisoning, but it can also speed...

Typically, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) sends thousands of children to the hospital over fall and winter, peaking in January and February. But for the second year in a row cases have spiked early and continue to grow. This has led to unprecedented cases of the common respiratory virus across the U.S. On this episode, Cohen Children's Medical Center leaders Joshua Rocker, MD , and Margaret Duf...

On this bonus episode Sandra Lindsay, DHSc, MA, MBA, RN , speaks with Tara Liberman, DO , executive director for Northwell Health’s Hospice Care Network, about the role that culture plays in end-of-life care. They discuss racial disparities in the use of hospice, how cultural beliefs can actually influence people’s perception of pain, and what providers need to know to deliver care in a culturally...

From pain and symptom management to emotional and spiritual support, hospice care can improve and even extend life for some patients with advanced illness, as well as offer respite for their families. Yet, this vital resource is severely underutilized, particularly in New York, which ranks 50th among all states in the utilization of hospice. On this episode, two palliative care experts discuss bar...

While most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years of age or over, about 1 in 10 diagnosed with breast cancer are under 45, and often their cancer is in a later stage when it’s discovered. On this episode, Nina Vincoff, MD , clears up the confusion around mammogram guidelines. She says every woman should go through a risk assessment at a younger age to determine their risk — something m...

Despite the best efforts of heart health experts, only 56% of women recognize that heart disease is their No. 1 killer; among African American women that number drops to just 25%.  Jean Cacciabaudo, MD , medical director at Huntington Hospital, renowned cardiologist and member of Northwell Health's Katz Institute for Women's Health, sits down with Sandra Lindsay, RN to discuss the differences betw...

Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer of both women and men in the United States. Most of us will need to see a cardiologist or cardiac surgeon at some point in our lives. But, how do you find the best doctor who is right for you? On this episode, three experts representing different subspecialties within cardiovascular health offer advice to patients facing the question: How do I p...

"Police officers see everyone on their worst day," says  Katelyn Jetelina, PhD , a guest on this week's 20-Minute Health Talk. This constant exposure to high-stress situations takes a considerable toll on an officer's emotional well-being, yet few seek help despite suffering higher rates of depression, substance use, burnout, PTSD and anxiety than the general public. Tragically, more police office...

While the Covid vaccines were developed and deployed in less than a year, the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that powered them took more than five decades to develop. On this episode, we speak with two researchers who played a key role in advancing the science: Katalin Kariko, PhD, adjunct professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania and a senior vice president at BioNTech; and Dre...

For the 5 million veterans who served overseas in the last couple of decades, burn pit exposure continues to pose a threat to their well-being. Toxic fumes have triggered breathing troubles and other serious health conditions in more than 12,500 veterans between 2007 and 2020. Our guest, Anthony Szema, MD , has worked not only to diagnose and treat these burn pit-related issues, but better underst...

Recovering from surgery can be difficult —  and opioids actually make it tougher. In addition to side effects such as nausea, lethargy and potential breathing problems, this potent painkiller also carries the risk of addiction for about 3 to 4 percent of surgical patients. That number climbs to about 8 percent for bariatric surgery patients because they may also be battling joint pain stemming fro...

It sounds like science fiction, but researchers today are unlocking the body's natural healing ability as part of an emerging field of science called regenerative medicine . Although the field is relatively young, some regenerative treatments are already approved to help repair joints and relieve pain, allowing some patients to avoid surgery altogether. Two leaders in the field detail their resear...

Medical research often depends upon the generosity of donors: In this episode we talk to philanthropy experts about the role of donations in driving medical breakthroughs and achieving health equity across all zip codes. The panel includes: Brian Lally , senior vice president and chief development officer for Northwell Health and head of Northwell's Foundation. Mark Butler, PhD , assistant profess...

  An estimated 38,000 Americans are diagnosed with HIV annually. An important tool in the effort to end the ongoing epidemic is an injectable form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the first option to prevent HIV that does not involve taking a daily pill. The injectable form of the drug received FDA approval in late 2021 and has begun to hit the market. This is Part 2 of our conversation (Record...