Category: Conditions

MKSAP: 60-year-old man with exertional chest discomfort

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 60-year-old man is evaluated for a 5-month history of exertional chest discomfort that improves with rest. His symptoms have progressively …

The erroneous belief that the elderly have the healing power of younger individuals

A wise professor of medicine always told me as a young physician, “Eighty-year olds are to be revered and not messed with.”   This is especially true for those 90 or older.  Here in South Florida, there is always some senior citizen telling us today’s …

Chronic illness? Have faith in medicine.

I am healthy, a mom of two boys, a wife, and an emergency medicine PA for the past 12 years. I don’t just say I’m healthy to say it, but I really am. I’ve never taken medications, until now. It’s New Year’s Eve, and I&#821…

The progressive increase in adult obesity is more complicated than we think

All of us are aware of what has been termed our “obesity epidemic.” The current prevalence of obesity among adults in the U.S. is around 40 percent, a dramatic increase over the past 50 years; it was about 15 percent in 1970. Rates are also increasing …

Stop FGM: female genital massacre

The Somalian government should be ashamed of condoning the widespread occurrence of female genital mutilation. According to UNICEF, 98 percent of women from the ages 15 to 49 have undergone FGM in Somalia from 2005 to 2014. As defined by the World Heal…

Do evolving blood pressure guidelines apply to the geriatric population?

One of the advantages of practicing clinical medicine, and seeing patients daily for many years, is you develop your own long-term study regarding certain medical health issues. In the area of hypertension, I have been taught by the best since my inter…

Navigating the holidays when you’re a caregiver for a loved one living with dementia

The holidays bring friends and family together for celebrations and the chance to reconnect with people we may not see regularly during the rest of the year. But for people who are the caregivers for a parent, spouse, partner, or other family member wh…

The indignity of a cancer that takes away bowel functions

I first became John Dolan’s social worker following his colon surgery, surgery for removal of a very large cancerous tumor, the largest the experienced surgeon said he had ever seen.  John was told he had about three months to live. So much for predict…

Is it more dangerous for your baby to be born at home?

The debate over the safety of giving birth at home, both for the mother and for the infant, has continued for years. I’ve written about the issue myself. From time immemorial until about 75 years ago or so, most babies were born at home. Now it’s aroun…

MKSAP: 79-year-old man with progressive malaise and weakness

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 79-year-old man is evaluated for a 2-month history of progressive malaise and weakness, aching bilateral shoulders and hips, and stiffness …