David T. Nash, MD

December 21, 2012

This is the true story of how the Battle of Britain was won, how penicillin was discovered, how the largest pharmaceutical company in the world got its start-and how democracy was saved.

November 03, 2012

What is a safe, effective, and inexpensive way to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and dementia? What we eat is a key part of the answer. For one thing, doctors can suggest an appropriate diet to motivated patients, or to those who prefer a non-drug approach.

August 27, 2012

You might ask-as I did when I heard this story-“how can you feel better [after surgery] when you have no symptoms or exercise intolerance in the first place?”

March 02, 2008

Tea is the second most widely consumed drink in the world. There have been numerous studies of the relationship between tea consumption and vascular disease. Although most such studies have found a negative correlation between these two,1-4 some have shown no association,5 and 1 study has even suggested that increasing tea consumption is associated with greater risk of coronary artery disease.

November 01, 2007

The development of more sophisticated testing modalities now permits the identification of coronary artery narrowing in asymptomatic adults. The images obtained in these studies provide potential targets for intervention-based therapy.

March 01, 2007

The prevention of symptomaticcoronary heart diseaseand other vascular disordersrepresents a significanthealth care priority, especiallyin a population that is growingolder and more obese. However,a recent survey has shownthat many laypersons-and evensome physicians-do not know allthe target lipid levels that are associatedwith optimal reduction ofcardiovascular risk.

January 01, 2007

When the QT interval is prolonged, amultifocal ventricular tachycardiasyndrome (torsades de pointes) mayoccur and produce sudden cardiacdeath. QT prolongation can resultfrom congenital abnormalities, suchas the long QT interval syndrome, orfrom certain drugs. Other factors thatincrease the risk of a prolonged QTinterval and torsades de pointes includehypokalemia, hypomagnesemia,older age, female sex, low ventricularejection fraction, ischemia,and low heart rate.

December 31, 2006

Heart failure statistics are daunting:550,000 new cases each year, a 1-yearmortality rate of nearly 20%, and annualdirect and indirect costs that total $24.3billion.1 The diverse etiology of heartfailure and the complex, progressivecourse of the disease can make treatmentdecisions daunting as well.

December 31, 2006

A major controversyin cardiologytoday iswhether loweringthe level oflow-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) to substantiallybelow 100mg/dL-the current NationalCholesterol EducationProgram goal for patientswith existing coronaryheart disease1-willfurther reduce the incidenceof cardiovascularmorbidity and mortality.

June 24, 2006

The sale of simvastatin over-the-counter has been approved in the United Kingdom. Is this a first step in permitting other medications for asymptomatic diseases (such as hypertension) to be available over-the-counter? Dr Nash calls for a national debate on the availability of drugs to consumers.