Health & Living

More and more young people are being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF). With the increased risk of stroke and sudden death associated with AF, what kind of treatment can improve quality of life for young adults? In the second part of our World Heart Day special, Datuk Dr Razali Omar, Consultant Electrophysiologist & Cardiologist from Cardiac Vascular Sentral KL, joins us to discuss the p...

How did we arrive at our modern understanding of the human body – the structures and organs in our body, how they are connected to each other, and the functions they serve? Our knowledge of anatomy and physiology can be traced back to different cultures and civilisations in ancient history. We take a brief look at the history of anatomical documentation, and explore what anatomy literature f...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. When it comes to treating and managing COVID-19, anaesthetists are at the frontline, due to the nature of their work in managing patients in acute and critical care. What is their risk of being infected with COVID-19? And is their mental and emotional state being given due consideration?...

We are back with our monthly open clinic segment. This month, joining us is consultant ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon Dr Kenneth Fong, to address any concerns regarding your eyes and vision. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every patient is different in terms of their genes, lifestyle, and diet. Each would react differently to the same therapy or carry different risks for the same disease. Making use of these individual variations allows for faster and more effective healthcare. That is the premise of precision medicine, or personalised medicine. Some countries in Southeast Asia have joined the global precision medic...

What does an irregular heartbeat have to do with stroke, where blood flow to the brain is blocked? As it turns out, atrial fibrillation can increase the risk of getting a stroke, and this risk increases as you get older. On the first part of our World Heart Day special, Consultant Electrophysiologist & Cardiologist, Datuk Dr Razali Omar, from Cardiac Vascular Sentral KL, shares how to prevent...

One of the things that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us is how we can all come together to help each other when the going gets tough. But that’s at the community level. At the global level, we have seen some countries lending others a helping hand by providing resources such as the expertise of doctors or even supplies of PPEs. But is this enough to ensure global health security to tackle...

Whether it’s to tackle the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases or curbing the spread of COVID-19, it’s important that we equip ourselves with the knowledge to make decisions about our health. But how many of us are able to do that? On today’s show, consultant urologist Dr George Lee is joined by Komathi Perialathan, a health education officer from the Institute for Heal...

If you’re a parent, you will be familiar with the struggle of getting your children to understand the value of money, or teaching them about managing finances. This COVID-19 pandemic, being a health as well as a financial crisis, has resurfaced the challenges of talking to kids about money and even unemployment. Consultant Developmental Paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan shares how she wor...

Most elite athletes begin training at a young age, and over the years, there have been no shortage of athletes that have made a mark in their careers even before they reach adulthood. Think of athletes like Nur Dhabitah Sabri, Aaliyah Yoong, Lee Chong Wei and many more from Malaysia as well as overseas. But what are the pressures that come with training as an elite athlete from a young age? And ho...

‘Mammogram’ is a word that conjures up many responses and emotions among women. For some, a mammogram is a routine screening procedure, while for others, there may be a lot of fear and anxiety over it. Dr Evelyn Ho, Consultant Clinical Radiologist from ParkCity Medical Centre, walks us through the use of mammograms in screening and diagnosis of breast cancer. Image Source: Shutterstock...

When it comes to sexual health issues, who hasn’t heard of Tongkat Ali or other herbal remedies being touted to solve bedroom problems? But what do we really know about the efficacy and safety of such traditional therapies? Today, we’re speaking to Dr Lim Ren Jye, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Consultant, and Chan Si Yan, Pharmacist, to look at whether traditional and compleme...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. This year's World Patient Safety Day focuses on 'Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety'. The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the huge challenges and risks health workers are facing globally including health care associated infections, violence, stigma, psychological and emoti...

As parents, it can be devastating and overwhelming to hear that your child has cancer. However, early diagnosis and effective treatment can improve outcomes of childhood cancer. Here to help us find out more about the treatment, support and care that children and their families need, is consultant paediatric haematologist-oncologist, Dr Eni Juraida Abdul Rahman from Sunway Medical. Image Source: S...

In a world where gratification is almost instant, patience is truly becoming a virtue. But could we trick our brain to learn to be more patient? On the Brain Waves series, neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar is here to help us go behind the neuroscience of patience and find out if we can trick our brain to be more patient.  Image Source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

You've probably heard of the brain drain from the healthcare sector, where we lose talented medical graduates to other countries. But there are also medical graduates who practised abroad and have chosen to return home to serve Malaysia. They bring with them a wealth of insights and experiences from other healthcare systems that could benefit our own, especially when we're dealing with a pandemic....

If you have any type of eczema, you’ll know how frustrating and distressing it is to live with itchy, dry skin. Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common forms of eczema, and it can have a significant physical and psychological impact on patients. We speak to consultant dermatologist Dr Peter Ch’ng and Iris, living with atopic dermatitis, to find out whether atopic dermatitis is adeq...

We all know that exercise is good for our heart. But what explains cardiovascular incidents among those who are fit and athletic? Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Jeswant Dillon, Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, joins us to explore cardiovascular risks among young and older athletes.  Image Source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The current pandemic has made us all aware of the importance of conducting clinical research on vaccines and drugs in order to find safe and effective therapies to prevent and treat diseases. Malaysia is involved in some key global trials, including the Solidarity trial by the World Health Organization for COVID-19 treatments. Another notable global study led by Malaysia was the genetic study by C...

Cancer care has come a long way. Combined with greater awareness about the importance of early detection, we now have better screening technology, advanced imaging techniques and innovative new therapies for cancer. Dr Vaishnavi Jeyasingam, Consultant Clinical Oncologist from Subang Jaya Medical Centre, joins us to look at how these have improved outcomes for people living with cancer, and what&rs...

People with kidney disease are at higher risk of more severe illness, and those on dialysis can have weaker immune systems, making it harder to fight infections. With the current risk of COVID-19 infection, and no clear end in sight to the pandemic, consultant nephrologist Dr Sunita Bavanandan explores the advantages of peritoneal dialysis (PD), while end-stage kidney disease patient Peter Tan sha...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. In conjunction with World Sexual Health Day which falls on 4th September every year, we take a look at how we’re doing in managing sexually transmitted infections. STIs remain a taboo subject in our society and the surrounding stigma can prevent early detection and treatment of thes...

The cells that make up our body have a life cycle of growth and death, but this cycle changes when the cells become cancerous. Here to help us understand more about the biology of cancers is Dr Filippo Prischi, lecturer in biochemistry from the University of Essex.  Image Source: Wikimedia Commons See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suicide has made the news again in recent weeks, with several media reports about sucide attempts being punished with a jail term or fine under the Penal Code. With World Suicide Prevention Day falling on 10 September, consultant clinical psychologist  Evelyn Soong joins us to talk about whether we are doing enough to prevent suicides. Image Source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

It’s all about evolution in this episode with consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh. First, we look at a new hypothesis by researchers from the University of Utah that the ribs evolved for movement first, before being co-opted for breathing. Also in this episode, your back pain may be due to the fact that you evolved to walk on two legs . Image Source: Wallpaper Flare See omnystudio...