I’ve spent the last three weeks debating about whether to talk about broken hearts, and wondering how personal this blog should get. I’ve decided that in the end, keeping people healthy is more important than opening old wounds.
This isn’t a story of failed romance. It’s the story of women, heart disease, the importance of taking [...]
Clarifying Complex Ideas
Tag Archive: heart
Broken Hearts
Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day
Today is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Day, a cause that is near and dear to me.
Nearly three years ago, a friend gave birth to a little girl with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). TOF is comprised by four findings, including: a large hole between the two pumping chambers of the heart (ventricular septal defect, [...]
War: What is it Good For?
I was speaking with a cardiothoracic surgeon recently, and he brought up the topic of war. “It’s a terrible thing,” he said, “but it does wonders for advancing medicine.”
It was a perspective that I hadn’t previously considered. Estimates suggest that greater than 90% survival rate for soldiers injured in recent combat. Compare [...]
Avoid the Weekend Heart Attack
As I told my mother when she had her heart attack on a Friday afternoon, there’s just no good that can come from cardiac care over the weekend. It looks like I was right. The study measured heart attacks that occurred in patients who were already in the hospital, but I’m sure that [...]
Another Reason to Take a Day Off
The BBC is reporting that stressful jobs negatively affect the body. The study, from the European Heart Journal, was met with a collective “duh” from anyone who has ever had a stressful job.
“Stress appeared to upset the part of the nervous system which controls the heart, telling it how to work and [...]
