Connect
← Return to No Rhyme or Reason to A-Fib
Discussion
Comment receiving replies
The fact is that science & medicine (which is rightfully termed "the medical arts") have NOT identified...the cause of atrial fibrillation. And all the blather about atrial fibrillation being a predictive predicate for ischemic stroke...is NOT based on controlled evidence-based study (but that doesn't stop Kardia mobile from hawking its product by striking fear of stroke in the hearts of everyone experiencing atrial fibrillation).
I heartily recommend the work of John Mandrola, M.D. & board-certified cardiac electrophysiologist. He is not only a clinician but also a physician-scientist, actively engaged in research (which makes a very big difference).
He is very critical of what he terms "dogmatic cardiology" & advocates alternatively what he terms "conservative cardiology," which eschews the widespread & indiscriminate practice/use of medication & surgeries, including the standard/dogmatic surgeries for...afib, which are NOT predicated on data from studies with controls or so-called sham comparison groups.
As it stands now, we have no definitive controlled studies documenting the efficacy of cardioversion, ablation or worse... for addressing/resolving atrial fibrillation. Witness: Why so many cardioversion & ablation patients experience atrial fibrillation rebound following the procedures.
But those procedures are the bread & butter of conventional cardiology practices in the United States. One is tempted to question the extent to which medical decisions by clinicians, including & especially cardiologists (well represented in the 1-3% income bracket), are influenced by uncritical/reflexive recourse to medical procedures with a long history of unquestioned third-party (read: health insurers) reimbursement (note: when there is no outcome data supporting their long-term efficacy).
I encourage everyone to spend some time on Dr. Mandrola's Web site: https://www.drjohnm.org/about/.
Dr. Mandrola works at Baptist Health in Louisville, KY & presents widely at scientific conferences & other venues. In addition, he is an editor/chief cardiology correspondent for Medscape.
Btw: He does telemedical consults too.
Replies to "The fact is that science & medicine (which is rightfully termed "the medical arts") have NOT..."
As always you are SO insightful which I greatly appreciate,
Your Shoshin name fits you to a tee (yes I am aware of the Zen Buddhism “beginners mind” term you use for your handle)
As you may recall I am into martial arts which I have touched on in past discussions.
Krav Maga, (my handle), some Tae Kwan Do ,some Brazilian Ju Jitsu and cause where and way I grew up Street Fighting.
I was wondering if you are a practitioner of Budo which in Japanese means the “Martial Way” and comprises many of the long list of Japanese martial arts and is associated with “Shoshin”.
I always appreciate and thank you for your responses and feed back.
We have conversed many a time.
As I once offered you I’d be happy to give you my personal email if you every wanted just a back and forth between us.
And I will check out the link you sent.
All the Best!
Connect
Thank you Shoshin! I agree with your over all assessment of the "medical arts". I call it the "medical-insurance-pharmaceutical complex". My husband died 3 years ago not of cancer but of the effects of cancer treatment (too much radiation), and I felt he, and I, are just on a conveyor line to get patients in and out, schedule and bill for procedures, with standard pat answers and not much thought to recent research or the individuality of each person's biology. In fact, sometimes I get a defensive reaction when I bring up some research I've found as if medical personnel want patients to stay in their own lane, rather than be informed.
With respect to both high blood pressure and AFIB, I asked my cardiologist about dietary recommendations and with the exception of staying away from salt, she just said I should Google it! After much research on diet and general health, I am now about 90% plant based.
I will look at Dr. Mandrola's information. I live about an hour from Louisville. Would be a good appointment to take.