Episodes

EP 38: Does Stress Cause Heart Attacks?

Today I'd like to speak with you with something that comes up in my consultations on a regular basis and that is the patients ask me: Does stress cause heart attacks? It's a pretty reasonable question. The broad answer is they probably do. Read more

EP37: Chest Pain: When Is It Your Heart?

oday I'd like to share with you some thoughts around chest pain. It's often the case that I get asked by patients what sort of chest pain should I worry about. This is actually a little bit of a difficult question. And it is worth talking about and thinking about. There are some really obvious things that are worth considering. Read more

EP36: How Do We Keep You In Normal Rhythm?

Today I'd like to speak a little bit about how we keep you in normal rhythm if you've had atrial fibrillation. Normally we have to make that decision to try and keep a normal rhythm based on a couple of things. Read more

EP35: Cardiovascular Risk Potpuri

Today I'd like to cover a few cardiovascular risk facts that you may find interesting. Fact #1 is related to alcohol. Everyone's ears prick up when you mention alcohol and cardiovascular risk. Well the question is, does abstinence improve your risk of avoiding a heart attack? Read more

EP34: Blood Pressure Quiz

Today I'd like to share a couple of blood pressure points with you. A few little hints and tips. So, a couple of questions and let's see how it goes. Read more

EP33: Lipid Guidelines Update

Today I'd like to give you a little bit of an update on the Lipid Guidelines from 2013 American Cardiology and the American Heart Association. I guess the thing that I want to try and convey is from those guidelines, who do we really think benefits from cholesterol lowering? Read more

EP32: Children In Consultation

Today I'd like to talk about a topic that's a little bit sensitive at times. Today I'd look like to talk about bringing children to your consultation. So, talking about parents with their children can be a bit tricky, as you might imagine. And they can be a subject that needs to be dealt with with care and understanding. Read more

EP31: Death And Dying

Today, I'd like to share with you a personal experience, which is in regard to a patient I've looked after now for many years. Today, unfortunately, Tom passed away. Read more

EP30: How Rapid Heartbeat (Arrythmia) Can Damage The Heart

Today, I'd like to speak with you a little bit about a concept that we call tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. That's a mouthful, so let me break it down for you. "Tachy" means fast. "Tachycardia", "cardia" relates to heart, so fast heart. Induced means the same whether it's referring to the medical term or common vernacular. "Cardia", referring to the heart, and myopathy referring to a problem with the muscle. So, fast heart-induced muscle problem, or Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Read more

EP29: Do I Need A Pacemaker For Atrial Fibrillation?

Today, I'd like to share with you one of the questions that I get asked regularly on my patients who have atrial fibrillation. And the question is: "Do I need a pacemaker?" It's a common question, and the general answer is no. And the reason is this: A Pacemaker is a device to provide an electrical stimulation for the heart when the heart is not producing enough electrical stimulation of its own. So we look at pacemakers as a solution to the heart beating to slow. Read more