Cardiology

Cardiologists, other physicians, and patients writing on KevinMD about heart disease: statins and the cholesterol guidelines argued since 2013, blood pressure thresholds, stroke and the clock, cardiac arrest and what CPR can and cannot do, stents and atrial fibrillation, heart failure drugs that go unprescribed, prevention from salt to calcium scores, and a specialty that became procedural because procedures were paid. One maintained record draws on this archive: Heart disease: what physicians say, in their own words.

When side effects are actually a cry for help with medication costs

Shuchita Gupta, MD

Physician

March 19, 2026

“Doc, I cannot sleep well at night since I started taking the blood thinner (apixaban/Eliquis).”

“Hmm, that is not a typical side effect of the blood thinner. Have you considered any other changes to your routine that could be affecting how you sleep at night?”

“Doc, I also have joint pains and diarrhea since I started the blood thinner. Can I stop it?”

(The patient has had joint pains and diarrhea pre-dating the …

How the microvasculature drives the human aging process

Kenneth Ro, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2026

For years we have searched for the causes of aging inside the cell. Researchers study mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage, and the accumulation of senescent cells. But the real bottleneck in aging may not lie inside the cell at all. It may lie in the system that keeps those cells alive. During my years working in emergency medicine, I often saw patients whose blocked coronary arteries had been successfully opened during …

Why quality of life in health care is often overlooked

Jeffrey Junig, MD, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

March 11, 2026

I switched beta blockers a few days ago. Four or five, maybe. Nothing dramatic. No crisis. No near-miss. But my fingers are warm again, for the first time in months. And I’m sleeping better than I have in a long time. Those aren’t headline outcomes. They’re not the things medicine congratulates itself for. They are just noticeable. Modern medicine is very good at preventing death. It’s less good at noticing …

Pharmaceutical advertising ethics: Why TV drug ads mislead patients

M. Bennet Broner, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

March 10, 2026

Previously, I wrote about the patient’s responsibility to gain knowledge about their condition and treatments, and how this is not always easy to do. This is increasingly important, however, as clinicians have decreased time with patients for reasons often beyond their control.

This need for knowledge applies not only to medical visits, but also to advertisements for nostrums (e.g., Neuriva) and for legitimate drugs. Both create enticing visions on TV and …

The Mamba Mentality of an immigrant physician’s journey

Joshua Salabei, MD, PhD

Physician

March 8, 2026

There is a kind of discipline that develops quietly over time, shaped not by certainty, but by persistence. I often think of it as the Mamba Mentality: a commitment to steady improvement, resilience, and focus on the process rather than the outcome.

For many immigrants, this mindset is not aspirational. It is necessary.

My own journey reflects this reality.

Before coming to the United States in 2007, I spent one year in the …

Why hospitals shouldn’t own physician practices: 6 key reasons

David Wild, MD

Physician

March 8, 2026

Over the past two decades, hospital systems have increasingly acquired physician practices, arguing that integration improves care coordination, lowers costs, and stabilizes struggling practices. In reality, this consolidation has often produced the opposite effect: higher costs, reduced physician autonomy, diminished innovation, and care that is less responsive to patients’ needs. While hospitals and physicians must collaborate closely, ownership is not collaboration, and hospital systems should not be in the business …

Silent heart attack symptoms: my missed diagnosis story

Brian Ferri

Conditions and Diseases

March 6, 2026

Most people expect a heart attack to announce itself with unmistakable force, crushing pain, shortness of breath, a dramatic collapse. Mine arrived quietly, unnoticed, and remained hidden for years. What I discovered in 2026 forced me to revisit events from 2018 and 2019 and confront how easily critical medical information can slip through the cracks when communication fails.

A routine appointment reveals a hidden past

On Jan. 8, 2026, during a routine …

Post-holiday heart health: How to reset your cardiovascular habits

Steven Lamm, MD

Conditions and Diseases

February 26, 2026

The holidays are good for the soul, but often hard on the heart. Weeks of indulgent meals, disrupted sleep, increased alcohol intake, stress, and inconsistent routines can quietly strain cardiovascular health, especially for men. As the calendar turns and routines resume, the post-holiday period presents a valuable opportunity to reset habits, reflect on seasonal excesses, and refocus on heart health before temporary behaviors become lasting risks. Understanding how seasonal habits …

A tribute to an oncologist: the power of mentorship in medicine

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions and Diseases

February 22, 2026

Yesterday morning, I learned that one of my teachers had passed away. He was only 63, a devoted, tireless oncologist who spent his life teaching and training many oncologists across Pakistan. Many of his students went on to work abroad as senior oncologists and professors, carrying his legacy far beyond borders.

He was not my direct teacher, but rather the teacher of my supervisor, a teacher of a teacher. Yet distance …

ATTR-CM screening: the missing link in heart failure diagnosis

Radhesh K. Gupta

Conditions and Diseases

February 17, 2026

Robert felt winded climbing stairs. At 76, he attributed his fatigue to age. He thought his heart medications needed adjusting. His cardiologist agreed, tweaking his blood pressure pills. Six months later, Robert collapsed. In the ER, doctors found his heart walls dangerously thickened, stiff as leather.

A simple nuclear scan revealed the truth: transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, or ATTR-CM, a progressive disease where misfolded proteins infiltrate the heart. Had anyone suspected it …

Why Medicare must cover atrial fibrillation screening to prevent strokes

Radhesh K. Gupta

Conditions and Diseases

February 11, 2026

Evelyn felt fine that morning. At 68, she was active, healthy, and just returned from her daily walk when her heart began to flutter. It wasn’t painful, just an odd sensation, like a fish flopping in her chest. It lasted around 10 minutes and then stopped. Although she thought it was strange, she soon dismissed it. A week later, she woke up unable to move her right side. A stroke …

Scientific literacy in nutrition: How to read food labels

M. Bennet Broner, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

January 29, 2026

Dr. Andrea Love wrote about the lack of basic scientific knowledge among the public, noting that only about 28 percent of people possess it. She highlighted the consequences of this, emphasizing how it can negatively affect people’s decisions and lives.

Many of the articles I have written have dealt with scientific knowledge in one form or another. My comments on the FDA and drug approvals, Alzheimer’s and cancer screening blood tests, …

How flight surgeon training mirrors medical residency stress

Avishek Kumar, MD

Conditions and Diseases

January 13, 2026

The room went quiet the way rooms do before something consequential, when conversation thins and all you can hear is the pulse in your ears.

“Captain Kumar,” the instructor said, “you have an in-flight engine failure. What do you do?”

I stood at attention, spine locked, as my classmates turned toward me with the focused expectation of a clinical team evaluating a tenuous presentation. A bead of sweat slid down my temple. …

How honoring patient autonomy prevents medical trauma

Sheryl J. Nicholson, MPH, MDiv

Conditions and Diseases

January 11, 2026

Holding my mother in my arms as she took her last breath changed the way I understand care. That moment, Easter Monday in Canada, was heartbreaking and transformative. Her unwavering faith and peaceful passing contrasted sharply with the confusion that followed when CPR began despite her do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. I felt helpless.

The experience became the catalyst for my commitment to advocacy and ethical clarity. It taught me that even well-intentioned …

Why remote patient monitoring needs a preventive shift

Chris Darland

Health Technology

January 10, 2026

We’ve been thinking about remote patient monitoring (RPM) the wrong way.

Picture this. A patient comes home from the hospital after a cardiac scare. They’ve got a smart scale on their chest, maybe a blood pressure cuff on the counter, and a nurse scheduled to stop by later in the week. The care team, the patient, and the tech are all working together in the hopes that things don’t get worse.

The …

Are mild hypertension guidelines driven by pharma ties?

David K. Cundiff, MD

Conditions and Diseases

January 5, 2026

In the early 2000s, I included “drugs for mild hypertension” in my book, Money-Driven Medicine: Tests and Treatments That Don’t Work. By 2007, I proposed a Cochrane systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to settle the debate. Cochrane is widely considered the “gold standard” of evidence-based medicine; its reviews can shift global clinical practice and multibillion-dollar drug markets.

In 2012, Cochrane published the systematic review of Pharmacotherapy for …

The physical exam in the AI era

Jason Ryan, MD

Physician

January 2, 2026

For decades, many have documented the decline of the physical exam. As imaging grew more powerful, labs more precise, and algorithms more accurate, the stethoscope and reflex hammer faded in importance. Some even speculated that technology would eventually make hands-on diagnostic skills obsolete.

But the next era of medicine may flip that prediction on its head.

Picture a future where artificial intelligence participates in nearly all patient management decisions. This seems inevitable …

Read more…

The physical exam in the AI era

Peripheral artery disease prevention: Saving limbs and lives

Wei Zhang, MBBS, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

January 1, 2026

With the holiday season upon us, joy, warmth, and delicious food fill our homes. While we enjoy those festival meals, our own “life-highway” vessels quietly shoulder the burden of all the fats and sugars we consume. Alongside the happiness of the season comes an overlooked strain on our arteries. What strikes me even more, as a vascular specialist, is a recent study from the University Hospital at Downstate in …

Why insurance must cover home blood pressure monitors

Soneesh Kothagundla

Conditions and Diseases

December 28, 2025

Three weeks after giving birth, you are hit with a blinding headache and fading vision. The next available appointment with your doctor is two weeks away. You finally go to your doctor, and your blood pressure has already reached a dangerous level without you even realizing.

The solution is straightforward. A home blood pressure monitor costs between $69 and $169. Yet most insurers will not cover it because many states do …

What to do if your lab results are borderline

Monzur Morshed, MD and Kaysan Morshed

Conditions and Diseases

December 21, 2025

Every week in clinic, I meet patients who carry lab results like heavy burdens. Their cholesterol is “slightly high,” their thyroid level is “borderline,” or their blood sugar is “just above normal.” They arrive anxious, wanting certainty: Do I need treatment? Am I sick?

The truth is, much of medicine exists in the gray zone (values that are not clearly normal, but not clearly dangerous either).

What the research tells us

Borderline numbers …