The plan I had for this week’s blog went out the window on Thursday night this week, for what turned out to be a night I shall never forget. Each year, my colleague and I take our amazing Dorset heart failure team out for a Christmas meal, and this year’s event was on Thursday at […]

Quick answer: It depends on the person and the context. A slow heart rate is often completely normal in young, fit people, but is more likely to need investigating if it’s new, low in an older person, or causing symptoms like dizziness, blackouts or fatigue. Whether it needs treatment depends on the underlying cause — […]

Quick answer: Exercise is a poor strategy for burning off excess calories — a hard 30-minute workout might only burn 500kcal, easily undone by a couple of festive treats. Limiting intake matters more than exercising it away, though people who lose weight through nutrition are more likely to keep it off long-term if they also […]

What causes sudden cardiac death in young, apparently healthy people? Most cases are due to an inherited electrical fault in the heart — sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) — where the heart’s rhythm is disrupted despite the heart looking structurally normal. It’s rare, but responsible for around a quarter of cardiac deaths in young people, […]

Quick answer: No — it’s not too late, and the evidence is strong the other way. Studies of people in their 90s show measurable gains in strength, balance and coordination after just 12 weeks of training, and it matters more with age, not less: falls are a major risk after 60 (roughly 1 in 3 […]

Quick answer: Because women’s bodies tend to change more abruptly with age than men’s — particularly from the 40s and 50s onwards, as falling oestrogen makes it easier to gain fat, lose muscle and pick up soft-tissue injuries. Strength training helps prepare for and counter these changes in a way cardio alone doesn’t, and it’s […]

How should women fuel around strength training? Protein and carbohydrate timing matters more for women than is often realised — around 15g of protein pre-workout, 35-60g post-workout depending on age, plus modest carbs around cardio sessions, all help protect lean muscle mass, which becomes especially important from the peri-menopause years onward. A very common question […]

Quick answer: Much exercise and fasting research has historically under-represented women, and doesn’t always translate to them. Fasting raises cortisol and can disrupt oestrogen, thyroid and other hormone levels — especially peri- and post-menopause — and many women benefit from eating something before exercising rather than training fasted. I believe a key quality of a […]

I often get asked by patients what time of day is best to take their medication, particularly with respect to blood pressure. There have been a few clinical trials looking at this with slightly surprising results. Two new trials have really put the topic to bed though, and in this week’s research video you can […]

It certainly seems like summer is over now! I’ve packed away the garden furniture, turned our leftover home grown tomatoes into chutney (which is absolutely delicious by the way – tomato, red onion, chilli, paprika, cardamom) and mown the lawn for possibly the last time this year.  It’s been a tough weekend actually. My parent’s […]

Quick answer: Fewer than you’d expect. In one study of over 600,000 patients with heart disease, half weren’t taking a statin at all, and nearly three-quarters of people who’d already had a heart attack still weren’t hitting their cholesterol target after treatment. Around 8% of people genuinely can’t tolerate statins, but there are now several […]

Today I want to update you about something incredibly common, and will likely have touched many of our lives one way or other: coronary artery disease. There’s so much to say it’s hard to know where to start, as there were so many related sessions presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting. Let’s start […]

Quick answer: A major trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s 2024 meeting (Helios-B) tested a new RNA-based drug for cardiac amyloidosis — a condition once thought rare but now known to affect up to 1 in 5 patients with certain types of thickened heart. Unlike existing treatments, which only stabilise the faulty protein, […]

It’s been a working weekend for me, as I have been lucky enough to attend the European Society of Cardiology meeting in London. It’s possibly the largest cardiology meeting in the world, rotating through a number of major European cities each year. There are 10s of thousands of delegates, hundreds of stands and presentation. It […]

Back to work with a bump on Friday morning having got home shortly before midnight. Do you sometimes feel like you need a holiday to get over a holiday? I’m sure I do! Luckily there’s a bank holiday to look forward to. I opened my inbox of 365 unread emails and sighed.  I would like […]

Week 2 in Sri Lanka, and it’s been a fabulous holiday. The people, food and weather have all been amazing. The only downside was some inadvertent gluten for my daughter who has coeliac disease and the poor thing wasn’t well for a day, but overall finding gluten-free options has been fine. I’m writing this blog […]

Greetings from Sri Lanka! I’m away for 2 weeks, but of course that won’t stop me writing my blog, and indeed filming. Do check out this week’s video on polyphenols – what they are, why they are important, and how you can get more of them. I’m a little hamstrung by the hotel wifi – […]

I’m changing tack a little this week for my blog, on account of a couple of different patients I’ve seen which have highlighted what I think is a really common problem, and indeed misconception in my view. Let me explain. The first is a lady in her 80s who has had atrial fibrillation (AF)  in […]

What a beautiful weekend! Shame I’ve been on-call all week and it’s been very busy. At the end of on-call weeks I often like to write my blog on an interesting case I’ve seen, and try to tease out any learning points that are of value to the public. Today is no exception, but there […]

Quick answer: Yes — menopause raises cardiovascular risk, mainly because falling oestrogen levels remove a natural protective effect on the arteries and can push up cholesterol and blood pressure. Early menopause (before 40) carries a higher risk still. The encouraging part: HRT started within 10 years of menopause has been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk […]

There is a definite gender gap when it comes to heart health, and it is evident in many areas. Please check out my accompanying video too. Women have I do not think the disparity is any one person or organisation’s fault, but is probably a reflection of wider unconscious bias. By raising awareness hopefully we […]

I have been thinking of writing and videoing about women and the heart for a little while, and a patient I saw this week has prompted me to do so today. She had symptoms that were not necessarily typical for a heart problem and had struggled to get a diagnosis, but when we ran some […]

Quick answer: Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a genetically inherited marker of cardiovascular risk that isn’t part of a standard cholesterol test. Raised levels substantially increase heart attack and stroke risk — especially in people with no other diagnosed heart disease — and because it’s inherited rather than lifestyle-driven, it’s a test you typically only need […]