Knife Down

Dr. Lily Johnston is back to discuss why women are often underdiagnosed and undertreated for heart disease, highlighting often-overlooked risks in standard assessments. She addresses common menopause myths surrounding menopausal hormone therapy (HRT) and its impact on cardiovascular health. This discussion seeks to inform and reassure viewers about the latest research and recommendations for women...

Cholesterol isn’t the villain you were taught to fear — it’s the fuel. And in this video, I’m breaking down why fuel isn’t the same thing as fire, and why most people are fighting the wrong battle when it comes to heart disease. If you’ve ever stared at your LDL number and wondered, “Is this actually going to kill me?” — this one’s for you. Most people obsess over cutting down a few trees… while i...

What Is It Really Like Being On Call as a Surgeon? | Life, Death, Burnout & Decisions at 2AM What does being on call as a surgeon actually mean—beyond the pager, the scrubs, and the stereotypes? In this video, a board-certified vascular surgeon pulls back the curtain on life on call: the anxiety, the ethical decisions made at 2 a.m., the mistakes you never forget, and the rules that keep patie...

Is it possible to fix a blocked artery without major open surgery? In this video, I explain the Detour procedure (Percutaneous Transmural Arterial Bypass)—a new, minimally invasive technique that routes blood flow around blockages to restore circulation. For patients with advanced peripheral artery disease (PAD), this innovation offers a powerful alternative to traditional leg bypass surgery. DETO...

Lp(a) Explained: The Genetic Cholesterol Most Doctors Don’t Check (And Why It Matters) You can be fit, lift heavy, eat “clean,” and still have a hidden cardiovascular risk most standard cholesterol tests miss. In this video, I break down lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a) — a genetically determined cholesterol particle that quietly raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and calc...

In this video, I react to a recent post from Dr  @LeonidKimMD   a physician who shares evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine content here on YouTube. His channel focuses on strategies for health, and this video discusses a meal pattern proposed to support cardiovascular health. In this reaction, I walk through: • What claims like “unclogging arteries” usually mean in physiologic terms •...

High Lp(a) cholesterol is common—and frustrating—because there’s no single drug that fixes it (yet). In this video, I walk through how I manage elevated lipoprotein(a) today, using the tools we actually have: metabolic health optimization, LDL/ApoB lowering, statins, PCSK9 inhibitors, aspirin (in select patients), and menopausal hormone therapy where appropriate. If you’ve been told your Lp(a) is...

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLKTyKy-14&list=WL&index=31 We’ve been obsessed with this cholesterol number for decades — but what if we’ve been chasing the wrong thing this whole time? In this video, I’m reacting to Physionic’s powerful “We Were Wrong” episode on cholesterol, where he argues that one widely celebrated marker has never actually been shown to be a therapeu...

In this video, we explore the exciting pipeline of drugs targeting lipoprotein a and its implications for cardiovascular disease prevention. We'll examine how these cholesterol drugs are designed to work, including those utilizing sirna technology, and discuss the reasons for both enthusiasm and caution regarding this medical breakthrough. This discussion aims to clarify the current landscape...

A subscriber asked about statins—so I made ChatGPT answer first… and then I fact-checked it as a vascular surgeon. We’re talking cholesterol, LDL, ApoB, plaque growth and plaque rupture, and what “prevention” actually means when the goal is avoiding the first heart attack (or the next one). We’ll cover when statins make sense, when they’re oversold, and why “my numbers are fine” doesn’t always mea...

Sign up for more information on my own practice here: https://corsighthealth.com/ Wondering what a CIMT (carotid intima-media thickness) exam is actually like? In this quick “what to expect” walkthrough, I show you how the test works, what it feels like, how long it takes, and what the images can tell us about early plaque and cardiovascular risk. Other tools for optimal health (note these are aff...

In this research report deep dive, I walk through a randomized trial that asked a very specific, very modern question: can high-intensity interval training (HIIT) measurably change coronary atherosclerotic plaque—not just your VO₂ max? We go line-by-line through the paper: who they enrolled, what the HIIT protocol actually was, how they measured plaque (and plaque type), what outcomes moved, what...

Hypertension isn’t a mystery. It’s physics. And it’s quietly remodeling your arteries while you’re out here arguing with your salt shaker. In this reaction to @DrAlexWibberly, I’m mostly nodding along—because he nails the big idea: blood pressure is a mechanical force + a hormonal system problem, not just “too much sodium.” We talk through the three levers that create blood pressure (cardiac outpu...

Which blood tests should you get? Most people get “standard labs” every year—but those basic tests often miss the early signs of heart disease, insulin resistance, kidney damage, and metabolic dysfunction. In this video, vascular surgeon and metabolic health specialist Dr. Lily Johnston breaks down the essential lab tests every patient should know—PLUS the advanced labs she orders in her preventio...

My first job felt like cleaning up 20 years of bad decisions that looked like normal life.  Metabolic disease doesn't announce itself—it compounds quietly while you're "fine" until your heart gives out or your brain shorts or you lose a limb. I was the last stop, and by then, I was just damage control with a scalpel. It took me 2 years to realize I was fighting downstream from...

What does a vascular surgeon really do? Most people think it’s all about legs. It’s not. Your vascular system reaches every organ — your heart, brain, kidneys, gut...and even lower 🍆... — and when blood flow goes wrong, everything goes wrong with it. In this video, I break down: ✅ What vascular surgeons actually treat (PAD, aneurysms, carotid disease, clots, strokes, ulcers, amputations) ✅ Why...

Most standard lab panels miss the early warning signs of heart disease, metabolic dysfunction, thyroid trouble, and chronic inflammation. In Part 2 of this series, I break down 5 more essential tests every patient should understand before symptoms show up. In this video, we cover: ✅ Ferritin — why low or high iron can signal hidden disease ✅ ApoB — the most important cholesterol number (and why...

In this video, I break down CAC (coronary artery calcium score), CIMT (carotid intima–media thickness), and CCTA (coronary CT angiography) — the three imaging tests that reveal your real cardiovascular risk. If you’ve ever been told your cholesterol is “fine” or “high” and you still don’t know what that means for you, this is the missing link. Most people think cholesterol numbers (LDL, HDL, trigl...

Most women have been taught to fear menopausal hormone therapy. Blood clots. Heart attacks. Strokes. A generation of headlines convinced millions that estrogen was dangerous—even when the science didn’t actually say that. As a vascular surgeon and metabolic health specialist, I spend my days treating the consequences of cardiovascular disease. And I can tell you this: women deserve far better info...