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Archive for the ‘Cardiology quotes’ Category

Who is guiding the guidelines?

Posted in bio ethics, Cardiology quotes, Centre for cardiology unlearninng, Medcal research, Medical education, Medical ethics, medical quotes, Quotes, Science and Religion, Uncategorized, wisdom in cardiology, tagged , , , , , on July 14, 2022|

Who is the guiding the guidelines, which have become omnipresent & omnipotent ?

I don’t know really. Some good people I guess. But, the doubt creeps in when they try to coerce it on us.

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Be happy with the “H” Index of Hippocrates

Posted in Cardiology quotes, cardiology-ethics, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2022|

“Publish or perish “

This sound bite is regularly uttered by all academic leads in any university or medical school. I don’t know, why this bothers me. Looking back, many of our mentors & professors never had any great publications. Still, they were extraordinary teachers and wonderful clinicians with great wisdom. They created generations of high-quality doctors who are present all over the globe now. Is scientific publication that important in a doctor’s life? After pondering for quite some time, got a hazy answer to that query in one of my sleepless early morning academic dreams.

Hippocrates was one of the applicants for the post of professor of medicine at Harvard medical school.His application was rejected for a dismally low H index. The reluctant father of medicine tried to impress the authorities, by telling them that his experience was vast and used to teach medicine 2000 years ago, well before their country USA was discovered. The father of medicine almost begged to reconsider their decision.The miffed Harvard academic office ridiculed the old man and insisted nothing will work, except a minimum H index of  50 or atleast 10 papers as first author in a peer reviewed high Impact  factor journal. A dejected Hippocrates returned to Kos islands and asked his new generation fellows, what is this H index and Impact  factor stuff ? His students were worried about their guru’s ignorance. They some how convinced the greatest ever medical teacher to urgently subscribe for a platinum membership of a premium medical authourship services located in the Boston suburb and fixed a 30 day deadline for his first manuscript.

(What is this H index ?)  Why is it so popular?)    Ref : J. E. Hirsch  An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 2005, 102 (46) 16569-16572; 

Off to Kos Islands 

Now, let us travel back in time,2000 years ago to this picturesque nation, Kos islands in the Aegean sea,. This is where Hippocrates taught lessons under his favorite tree. No teaching apps, No 4k audiovisuals, The humble noise from within his lips became great wisdom thoughts. All that students had were set of ears to hear him. Hippocrates became the celebrated father of medicine for two reasons. He was the first to dispute the then-prevailing thoughts about human health and disease. He first proposed for every illness there is a hidden reason ie the beginning scientific basis. He insisted and negated the idea that diseases are bestowed upon by evil forces and spirits. The second one is more important. He realized knowledge, skill, and power are a deadly mix for the healing industry if they lack responsibility. He foresaw non-academic factors that will try to challenge the integrity of medical professionals and the health care delivery systems. It is astonishing to note how he could predict this 2000 years ago and wrote the behavior code for medical professionals which has become immortal.

How to grade the quality of medical professionals?

Scientific publication is just one of the indices of quality assessment for medical professionals. Grading them based on a few manufactured rating systems is beginning to look like an academic comical. There are many more visible and invisible, quantifiable and non-quantifiable quality assessment parameters that deserve attention.

Research  & Innovations are indeed the pivotal pillars that take us to newer frontiers of medicine. But, It is explicitly clear now, the prime purpose of research is definitely not aimed at the growth of science. It is more of a survival tool, intertwined with commerce, status symbol, pride, peer pressure, self-esteem, rivalry, or just a filler for CV. 

Final message 

Blanket statements like Publish or perish at any cost could be a dangerous doctrine to adopt in medical education which is essentially about healing and caring (& whenever possible, curing). In one sense, medical teaching is little to do with research. Many of the great professors in our country never published a single paper. Unfortunately, research and teaching have been made to look inseparable. Beware, history has repeatedly taught us medical professionals need not be hyper-intelligent. They need to be just wise, men /women of integrity, enriched with sincerity, righteousness. Proper consumption of knowledge is much more important than the creation of it. Let us hope the future will be at least as perfect as the past. 

Postamble

My  H index stands at 15, I must confess I am confused a lot. Should I bother for more, or be just be happy to reach the H index of our mentor and father of medicine, which is numero Zero, and propagate his work. 

Reference 

1  Grzegorz Kreiner The Slavery of the h-index—Measuring the Unmeasurable..Front. Hum. Neurosci., 02 November 2016

2.Academic excellence does not always require publication  Ernest L Boyer argued in his 1990 book, Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities for the professoriate,(BoyerScholarshipReconsidered)

3.Too much academic research is being published https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20180905095203579 

 

 

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Why evidence-based medicine continue to have a turbulent course?

Posted in Cardiology quotes, cardiology-ethics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2021|

Because . . . its current course is not always in the right direction &  not everyone is ready for course correction as well!

Reference

1.Hasnain-Wynia R. Is evidence-based medicine patient-centered and is patient-centered care evidence-based? Health Serv Res. 2006;41(1):1- 

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What ails modern medicine ? When “Nonsense” masquerade as scientific data . . . should “sense” has to leave quietly by back door ?!

Posted in bio ethics, Cardiology quotes, Cardiology research topics, Cardiology Risk assesment, medical quotes, Two line sermons in cardiology, tagged , , on October 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Bedside wisdom

We have been  using unfractioned Heparin for long , and its  is better than any other anticoagulants  in ACS . . . 

Our observation shows that Streptokinase has distinct advanatge over Tenektepelase as it works longer duration  . . .

My experience  says Diuretic and beta blockers  are still good as first line therapy for Hypertension  . . .

Mind you , there are infinite  number of such wisdom in every sub specialty of medical field.

However , the typical response from any  modern scientific intellect would be . . .

Stop it . . . Its old  stuff folk  , What does the current data say ?

medical-data-ethics-futility

Common uttering  in scientific forums,

Is there data backing up your  treatment modality ?

Is there sufficient data ?

Come’on , grow up , don’t talk about experience in a scientific forum . . . come out with data man !

No one seem to care the quality of the data . Every one bothers  about the quality of the Author and Journal instead  .  if its X Y Z its ok If its A B C no its not acceptable data.

Probably , Data is most misused word in medical science.

In scientific world,  “unpublished sense” goes straightway to  dustbin ,while we have so many avenues for the  published nonsense to  be celebrated (Still, bulk of guidelines in cardiology is backed up by Level C evidence which means experience  of experts !)

By the way what do we mean by data ?

Its organised collection of genuine scientific information , that’s post processed ,  follow it up with sound inference and faithful questioning and debate that should ultimately end up as  “clinical  application” in patient domain for consumption.(No prizes for guessing , whats happening in real world !)

OMG, give us back that elusive Common sense . . . which  I  think we  lost some time  at the turn of this millennium  !

Wrong or useless data : Who will recall ?

Once applied to patient , these data is  to be scrutinized and monitored . If we find a study conclusion  and reality does not match , we  need to stall the data from adversely  exploding .Every stake holder should have the power to do it. There have been instances a treatment modality got banished in one country is legally permitted in other country knowing fully well the futility.

Final message 

Modern scientific Data* is not God sent. Its  created , synthesised and disseminated in various mind factories. All you require is , backing up with some pioneering journal publication with huge impact factor.It’s not really blasphemy to question things which doesn’t make sense .Unfortunately , wrong data can be tackled only with further data .(There is no other means I guess !)

When does “good common sense”  become hard data and evidence ?

Its the act of publication , so  please guys whenever you  find some contamination  in so-called scientific data  please post here.  To begin with I am registering a new Journal  “Commonsense journal in cardiology”

*Please note, data is not a bad word as this write-up  seem to suggest.Naturally occurring , epidemiological and  observational data about diseases are the foundations for medical science .The issue become murky when few motivated humans play brutal  games at the sensitive  interface between science and truth.

It should be acknowledged , there is a distinct risk  of  this fight against falsehood end up in blocking  true progress  of science . Still , Homo sapiens  are (believed to be !)  intelligent enough to differentiate good from bad , that’s the reason God gave us the sixth sense !

Link to Lown Institute (Started by Cardiologist and Nobel peace prize  Laurate Dr Lown who strives hard to pursue this goal)

Further reading :  Scientific Reversals in cardiology 

1.Vinay Prasad, Adam Cifu,  John Ioannidis  Reversals of Established Medical PracticesEvidence to Abandon Ship   JAMA. 2012;307(1):37-38. 

2.Vinay Prasad Adam Cifu  Interventions that were tried in vain .  Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2013 Dec; 3(4): 228–235.

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Yes, Its official , medical mistakes consume more human lives . . . and threaten to displace cancer and heart disease for the top honor !

Posted in bio ethics, Cardiology -guidelines, Cardiology -Patient page, cardiology -Preventive, Cardiology quotes, medical quotes, Uncategorized on May 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

We all know to err is human , but most of us probably won’t agree medical mistakes , (bulk of which happen in the name of practicing state of the art of science ! ) could be the dominant theme in modern medical care !

BMJ exposes this  well known secret with the help of most authentic data from an apex scientific body CDC , Atlanta .

Reference

http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139#

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Where there is a will . . . there will be a way !

Posted in Cardiology quotes, cardiology-ethics, tagged , , on October 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Caring shall be an inbuilt character in the  Noble profession ,need not be a value added service or a separate medical specialty !

image

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Knowledge minus “ego” equals wisdom !

Posted in bio ethics, cardiology innovation, Cardiology quotes, cardiology-ethics, Venkat quotes, Wintage cardiology, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »

As we practice this Noble  (&  Delicate )  profession ,we often tend to Ignore the  warnings  even from our learnt colleagues , Why ?

Wisdom ego quotes brainy best dr s venkatesan top inspirational

 

 

 

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Over-Indulgence in private health care is a backward thinking !

Posted in bio ethics, cardiology -Therapeutics, Cardiology classics, Cardiology quotes, medical quotes, Morality in medicine, Two line sermons in cardiology, tagged , , , on June 15, 2014|

Shall I begin with a provocative quote (My own !)

Inability to think beyond  self , family, private life  reflects a backward and immature  state of human mind

How to eradicate this backwardness  we all suffer from !

I stumbled upon a book which made me wonder , whether  eradication of  backwardness is little to  do with education ! It lies much, much deeper in our cortical thinking influenced by  inheritance , evolution , culture and economy .

The stunning truth was exemplified  by  American political  scientist  Edward C. Banfield  .A must read for every one who have mind for society , community and the humanity !

In this book he introduced a new term to describe this self centered thinking as “Amoral familism”

“Banfield concluded that  human  plight was rooted in the distrust, envy and suspicion displayed by  them in  relations with each other. Fellow citizens would refuse to help one another, except where one’s own personal material gain was at stake. Many attempted to hinder their neighbors from attaining success, believing that others’ good fortune would inevitably harm their own interests”

Banfield theroy  and  “Moral Bankruptcy in Modern medical care”

I am afraid  there is a  compelling link between Banfield’s observation in a remote Italian village  to the current  medical  community   mind set who care only for their patients who pay them and keep them happy !

If you  think  education will eradicate social backwardness ,Why ?  one of the most highly educated community that form the noble profession remain backward in their thinking !

How do you explain  innumerable instances of hospitals ,  doctors shutting doors for  lesser humans  even in dire emergencies ! ?

Why do many of them  join hands with powers that can be detrimental to the overall health of the society ?

The stunning irony is , they do it  unashamed (with pleasure  at times!)  in  violation of the oath they take when they join the Noble profession. Shall we call it  as ” Moral Bankruptcy in medical care ?

Read further

Moral Basis of a Backward Society 
 
Moral basis of a backward society banfield

Highlights of this book  (Text from Wikipedia)

The Moral Basis of a Backward Society is a book by Edward C. Banfield, a political scientist who visited Montegrano, Italy . He observed a self-interested, family centric society which sacrificed the public good for the sake of nepotism and the immediate family. Banfield as an American was witnessing what was to become infamous as the “mafia” or families that cared only for its own “members” at the expense of their fellow citizens. Banfield postulated that the backwardness of such a society could be explained ‘largely but not entirely’ by ‘the inability of the villagers to act together for their common good or, indeed, for any end transcending the immediate, material interest of the nuclear family’.

 

Link to this book in PDF

 

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Why 90 % of cardiologists suffer from coronary blindness ?

Posted in cardaic physiology, cardiac physiology, Cardiology -Coronary collateral circulation, Cardiology quotes, tagged , , , on February 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Note :This is a copy of  my earlier blog on coronary micro-circulation  published few years ago.Recently this got numerous hits .Hence I have just reposted it with slight modification.

Human coronary circulation stands unique among  others as it is a  life-sustaining circulation.It is indeed a great medical achievement  to visualise  the right and left coronary artery  system by coronary angiogram.  Actually,  what we see is  only a fraction  of  the surface area of coronary circulation .The surface area of  epicardial coronary arteries   constitutes  less than 5 % of entire coronary vascular tree .

And  . . .

An in vitro heart with special catheters showing the true extent of coronary circulation: Courtesy http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/3/278.full.pdf+html

This  is the reason  normal coronary angiogram can never mean normal  coronary circulation !

This huge gap in our perception is the single important factor  that  explains the vagaries  of modern coronary care .

This also make any clinical coronary  scenario  a  reality .

“A patient with normal coronary angiogram getting a myocardial infarction , the next day and a severe triple vessel disease living comfortably  for  decades with medical management”

So , it is essentially a  false  sense of  scientific accomplishment  by the cardiac scientists  at  least in the  of coronary circulatory physiology.

What determines the extent of these invisible coronary micro circulation ?

There are innumerable channels of micro vessels traversing across the heart, sharing , bridging , branching, penetrating  and  perfusing the muscle mass.They can be anatomically patent , physiologically non patent .They can be recruited by hemodynamic stress .These are never visualized by current imaging modalities..It is also influenzed by  favorable growth milieu and hormonal and neural stimuli.

Ignorance based cardiology

What is the mechanism  of primary VF following acute STEMI ?

The quantum of  coronary micro circulation is like the vast  cerebral neuronal net work .We have every reasons to believe they are have unique genetic imprint.How else you can explain a man with full blown STEMI come 24 hours later comfortably to the OPD while another loses his life with a stormy primary VF before even boarding the ambulance !

Why many cardiologists   do not give due credit  the   coronary collateral  circulation  ?

Right from the days  of  Levine in 1970s( Who made a seminal contribution  about coronary collateral)  the  utility value of  coronary  collateral  circulation  was never able to convince the cardiology professionals .

It has been our traditional  teaching ( without much evidence of course  !) coronary collateral circulation  is not effective to support blood flow during exercise . This fact has been  disproved  many times . Coronary collateral circulation was indeed useful in limiting damage in ACS and  relieve symptoms in stable angina.It helps  in reverse remodeling and provided electrical stabilty as well in post MI population.

Still , the concept  was  alienated  and   made   totally irrelevant  in the interventional  era  . Many   cardiologists  found well-developed collateral’s as an interference to their expertise and ego since it has a potential to alter the indication of PCI.They  continue to have  strong  scientific conviction (Pseudo ?)   that man made collaterals must always been superior to God made collaterals !

Whenever  some credible  reports emerge about  collateral circulation   being   equivalent to  revascularisation procedure , these concepts were  prematurely buried for some reason.

In the last decade there was a concern  about  performing  PCI in patients with well-developed collaterals  .The argument was , they tend to develop early stent occlusion and restenosis . It  was a genuine  query  raised by few thought leaders in the field as  collateralised vessels  suffer from  low flow   after PCI ,   if the pre -existing collateral continue to function.

But  then , few  studies countered this , and PCI was shown to be safe and  in fact may  fare well   in  patients  with  extensive collaterals .

In these  studies  interventionist’s  argument looked  amusing !  as they  seem to  define a  successful  PCI  as  not only to open the occluded vessel  but also  make sure to close  all functioning  collaterals  .(What a  a pity for our natural biological  angiogenic forces which had  worked  and  grown meticulously for months!)

Cardiac science in the current format,  makes   the future look  bleak for coronary a collateral circulation .With  early PCI  becoming a norm we will never ever allow the natural collaterals to  grow  ,  and even the  established collaterals  will have to face a stiff   fight  for survival  with  sophisticated coronary interventions .

Competing interest in the filed of  coronary collateral   research

While the basic scientists want  to  grow collaterals with angiogenesis ,  stem cells etc  interventionists   continue to  indulge in rampant angioplasties which  will suppress  collateral growth.

This implies we will struggle to  establish  the true  importance of  coronary collateral circulation .

Final message

Can it be an  effective form of revascularisation  ? 

My personal  inference  is   coronary collateral  circulation  “would and should”  have  a definite role  in at- least  some of the subsets  with chronic coronary  syndromes. If we think otherwise . . .    it’s against the principle of  natural biological science .

A good  collateral   system with optimal medical management  can save not only our  patient’s  lives but also  their hard earned currencies !

Reference

Here is a rare article in European heart   journal that discuses coronary collateral circulation  . Let us welcome such wonderful  reviews which keep the interest alive on the filed.

http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/3/278.full.pdf+html

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Happy new year to all . . .

Posted in bio ethics, Cardiology classics, Cardiology quotes, My favorite quote, tagged , , , , on January 1, 2014| 3 Comments »

Dear friends,

It all started in 2008. This is  6th year of my attempt to share knowledge in cardiology.The followers of my blog is the only  strength that sustain my writing .

Wishing you all a Happy , wonderful  and  a prosperous , New year 2014

But . . . please be reminded we don’t require a New year to bring a bout of happiness , it is sitting right in our minds every day  !

On this day let me quote my most revered quote of Hemmingway.

Ernest hemmingway quotes

Ernest Hemmingway the Nobel laureate  who was born in USA, Lived in Paris , fought in world war 2 , lived in the deep forests of Africa with wild animals during the fag end of his life .He had a Intimate relationship with Cuba,  made a passionate appeal to end the man made disaster called wars in this planet , before his life ended in 1961.

To connect with  this noble (Nobel ) soul  reach through Wikipedia Link

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