Live Healthy WV

The West Virginia University Health System, which operates under the brand name WVU Medicine, is the state’s largest health system and largest private employer. We talk about its impact on healthcare and the state and region by taking a look back on 2024 and a look ahead to 2025 with Albert L. Wright, Jr., System president and CEO.  

Pediatric epilepsy is the most common childhood brain disorder in the U.S.  But a growing number of treatment options are creating new hope for more patients to become seizure-free. We talk with Dr. Lawrence Morton, chief of Child Neurology at WVU Medicine Children’s and the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, about new medications, surgical advancements, and neuromodulation therapies for trea...

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. West Virginia has the second highest rate of lung cancer in the country. But a groundbreaking imaging agent for lung cancer detection called CYTALUX is literally lighting up tumors in real time during surgery.  We talk with thoracic surgeon Dr. Nicholas Baker of the WVU Cancer and Heart and Vascular Institutes about how CYTALUX helps surgeons find lung canc...

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. About 38 million Americans have diabetes, and many of them require insulin. Now, doctors are calling the invention of the Bionic Pancreas a game changer in diabetes control. We talk with endocrinologist Dr. Jessica Perini about how the Bionic Pancreas puts managing glucose and administering insulin on auto-pilot.  

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While we usually think of rehabilitation such as physical therapy for joint and muscle injuries, it also plays a large part in recovery from breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. We talk about how breast cancer rehab is helping to increase recovery rates with Dr. Megan Clark, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist at the WV...

Open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans is just around the corner. We talk about Peak Advantage Medicare, the only health plan in the state made by and for West Virginians.  Peak Health Medicare Director Missy Bazzo explains all the benefits, including some improvements and updates to last year’s Peak Advantage plan.

One in four adults over 40 are at risk for developing atrial fibrillation, or “AFib,” a serious condition that causes your heart to beat irregularly.  We talk about how AFib can lead to other serious conditions, such as stroke, and how to get your heart back in rhythm and stay in rhythm with Dr. David Schwartzman, director of Electrophysiology at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute.

September is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and newer blood cancer therapies are providing effective cures and treatments without the strong side effects of chemotherapy. We talk about how monoclonal antibodies and immunotherapy are improving survival rates and giving hope to blood cancer patients with Ashkan Emadi, MD, physician-in-chief of Medical Oncology at the WVU Cancer Institute.

Did you know that falls are the number one cause of concussion? Or that isolating in a cold, dark room is NOT the best way to treat a concussion? We’re busting concussion myths and talking about the changing concussion protocols with national concussion expert Javier Cárdenas, MD, of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute Concussion & Brain Injury Center.

Robots have been taking over our surgeries for more than 20 years, and their use is expanding exponentially. Why is that a good thing? Dr. Kristy Ward, chair of the J.W. Ruby Memorial Robotics Committee, explains the benefits of robotic surgery and why WVU Medicine is expanding its fleet of robots around the region to bring robotic assisted surgery closer to home.

Do you know what back-to-school vaccines your child needs? Why does West Virginia lead the nation in childhood immunization rates but is last in getting teens and pre-teens the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine? Dr. Kathy Moffett, chief of WVU Medicine Children’s Pediatric Infectious Diseases, explains it all and talks about how we can protect our kids and families through vaccination.

Are you struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder or depression and medication just isn’t working? Then transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS therapy, may be for you. We talk with neurologist Dr. Umer Najib of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute about how this noninvasive, in-office treatment for OCD and depression is helping many patients find relief.

Get ready Elkins, Randolph County, and surrounding area. The Elkins Corridor Medical Center is coming soon and bringing WVU Medicine healthcare even closer to home, all under one roof. We talk to United Hospital Center president and CEO Dr. David Hess about building this new hospital without beds that has everything from primary care to urgent care, cardiac care to cancer care, labs, imaging, and...

One in 100 babies born in West Virginia are born with some form of congenital heart disease. How do you treat tiny hearts with big problems? From the Harmony Valve to Preemie PDA Closure, we talk about some truly amazing treatments for these heart conditions with pediatric cardiologist Dr. Alex Verhoeven of the WVU Medicine Children’s Heart Center. Most of these pioneering procedures are minimally...

An estimated 35 million Americans see a chiropractor each year, but how much do you know or think you know about chiropractic medicine? We unravel some of the mystery behind chiropractic care and do a little chiropractic myth busting with Dr. Nicholas Marchesani, a chiropractor at the WVU Medicine Center for Integrative Pain Management. Spoiler alert – chiropractors do much more than just crack yo...

Do you suffer from acid reflux or a hiatal hernia? Are you at risk for esophageal or lung cancer? We talk about how thoracic surgery can treat thoracic conditions from reflux to cancer and hernias to lung nodules.  Thoracic surgeon Dr. Jason Lamb of the WVU Heart & Vascular Institute talks about the latest treatments – most of them minimally invasive – for the most common thoracic diseases.

Endoscopy is used for so much more than colonoscopies, and it just keeps getting better. Advanced endoscopy is an alternative to surgery used for diagnoses, removal of blockages and precancerous cells, and much more – all minimally invasively. And now with AI, we’ve reached a whole new level of early detection and better outcomes. We talk with Dr. Shyam Thakkar, director of Advanced Therapeutic En...

Called “the most contagious virus known to man” by some, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 but seems to be making an unwelcome comeback in 2024.  And now the first case of measles has been reported in West Virginia in 15 years. We talk with WVU Health System Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Stevens about how to protect yourself and your family from getting this serious disease.

An estimated six-to-nine million people in the U.S. have scoliosis, a backbone deformity where the spine has a side-to-side curve.  But early diagnosis and newer treatment options are leading to better outcomes in breaking the curve of scoliosis. We talk with Dr. John Lubicky, chief of pediatric orthopaedic surgery at WVU Medicine Children’s, about how to tell if your child has scoliosis and the c...

You take your child to see a pediatrician, so if you’re 65 or older, why wouldn’t you see a geriatrician for your healthcare needs? If you’re an older adult or looking after a parent or loved one in this age group, you’re probably concerned about the increased risk for falls, memory problems, and multiple health issues. These are all conditions a geriatrician can diagnose and treat.  We talk with...

Kidney disease is among the leading causes of death for West Virginians. It’s known as the silent disease because there are usually no symptoms early on, so most don’t even know they have kidney disease. We talk with transplant surgeon Dr. Rajeev Sharma about how to prevent kidney disease and how the WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance is making kidney transplants more accessible, helping more patien...

A recent global study indicates cancer rates have surged 80 percent in three decades among adults under 50. What’s causing this alarming increase in middle-aged cancer diagnoses, and what can be done to reverse this trend? We answer those questions and talk about real things you can do right now to prevent cancer with Dr. Nour Daboul, a hematologist and oncologist at the WVU Cancer Institute.

Ozempic, Wegovy, Monjouro, Zepbound – chances are you probably know someone who’s using one of these injectable weight-loss drugs. A recent large-scale study sponsored by the makers of Wegovy found the drug not only helped with weight loss, but also cut the risk of heart attack, cardiac-related death, and stroke. During this American Heart Month, we’re asking, “Are these drugs good for your heart?...

Does your child struggle with bedwetting? How do you know if your baby has a urinary tract infection? They’re talking all things pediatric urology on the latest Live Healthy West Virginia podcast, brought to you by WVU Medicine. Dr. Ahmed Ali, of the nationally ranked pediatric urology program at WVU Medicine Children’s, talks about the latest treatments for the most common urology conditions faci...

You’ve heard of knee and hip replacement surgery, but did you know total ankle replacement surgery is an option? Find out more on the Live Healthy West Virginia podcast brought to you by WVU Medicine. Dr. Naji Madi, WVU Medicine foot and ankle surgeon, explains how this surgery helps people with end-stage arthritis in the ankle find relief.