Heart Attacks are Preventable!

Welcome to my podcast, I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist, a private practice of over 10,000 patients.

Australia, like the rest of the western world, has a heart problem.

Over 9 million people around the world die from heart disease every year.

Every 10 minutes, someone in Australia suffers a heart attack. And 21 lives are lost daily because of it.

The devastating fact in all this is… 

Almost every one of those cases could have been prevented. 

This podcast is for anyone who wants to improve their health literacy and gain information to help them make the best decisions about their risk of heart attack, their cholesterol, blood pressure, risk of diabetes, weight loss and general health. Join me on my personal mission journey to prevent Heart Attack on a global scale. If you like this podcast I would be honoured with a 5-star review and let your friends and family know, you may even save the life of someone you love!

Episodes

EP310: Common Cardiac Drugs and Common Interactions

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. The episode discusses common cardiac drugs and some potential drug interactions. It covers aspirin, warfarin, clopidogrel, proton pump inhibitors, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, digoxin, nitrates, and amiodarone. Notably, grapefruit can increase serum levels of beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and some statins, potentially leading to toxicity. Warfarin's effects can be altered by foods high in vitamin K like leafy greens. Clopidogrel's effectiveness may be reduced when taken with proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole. Combining nitrates with phosphodiesterase inhibitors like sildenafil can cause profound blood pressure drops. The host recommends being aware of possible drug interactions and maintaining regular communication with doctors. Read more

EP308: Myocardial Bridging—a Bridge Too Far

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Doctor Warrick Bishop discusses heart disease risks and prevention on his podcast. He talks about an interesting presentation he saw on myocardial bridging, where the coronary artery runs through the heart muscle in 20% of people. This was thought to not impact blood flow, but can in rare cases limit flow and cause angina symptoms. This is a cause of MINOCA syndrome, where ischemia occurs despite clear arteries. Doctor Bishop describes diagnostic tests like CT scans and intravascular ultrasound to identify bridging arteries. Surgery called deroofing can be done to free up a compressed artery. Medications may also help symptoms but stents are unlikely to. The podcast highlights this potential new cause of angina symptoms from a rare arterial variation. Read more

EP307: Long QT, Blood Pressure and Pregnancy

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Doctor Warrick Bishop discusses various topics from a cardiology conference, including long QT syndrome and how stress testing can help evaluate it. He highlights that only 32% of patients with high blood pressure have it adequately controlled. Doctor Bishop also notes the complexities of managing pregnant patients with mechanical heart valves, as anticoagulation treatment needs careful monitoring. The podcast provides insights from medical experts on important cardiovascular issues like blood pressure management and risks during pregnancy, helping listeners understand heart health. Read more

EP306: Inflammation, White Cells, Stroke and Salt

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Doctor Warrick Bishop discusses various topics related to heart health and inflammation in this podcast. He talks about a study that found intensive periodontal treatment reduced blood pressure by 5-10 mmHg by reducing inflammation. Another interesting finding was that rats who experienced a stroke showed changes in their gut microbiome and increased gut permeability, leading to systemic infection. Doctor Bishop also discusses how a high-salt diet can directly damage the gut microbiome and allow inflammatory proteins to enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation in blood vessels even before high blood pressure occurs. He recommends keeping salt intake low, staying hydrated, and consuming fiber to help protect the gut from these salt-related harms. Read more

EP305: Syncope CSANZ 2023

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. The episode discusses different causes of non-traumatic loss of consciousness or syncope, including cardiac, epileptic, and psychogenic reasons. Cardiac causes could be things like structural heart issues, arrhythmia, or orthostatic hypotension from standing up. Doctor Warrick highlights how an epileptic seizure may involve jerking at the onset of loss of consciousness unlike cardiac syncope. Taking a thorough history from witnesses is important to determine the likely cause. One interesting point was how tongue biting on the sides suggests epilepsy while biting the tip suggests falling during cardiac syncope. Distinguishing the etiology helps guide appropriate workup and management. Read more

EP303: Take Homes From ESC August 2023

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. The episode discusses several studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, including one finding that completely opening blocked arteries in older heart attack patients led to better outcomes. Another study surprisingly showed iron infusion did not help heart failure patients as expected. The episode also mentions that ablation seems to be more effective for atrial fibrillation in advanced heart failure cases. Managing weight through drugs like Ozempic was found to benefit those with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction as well. Throughout, Doctor Warrick emphasizes the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to genetic heart conditions. Read more

EP298: Blue Light Glasses and Smells to Remember

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Doctor Warrick Bishop discusses the risks of heart disease and introduces his podcast aimed at helping listeners understand factors like blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol. He reads an article questioning the effectiveness of blue light glasses, noting that screens expose us to only a tiny fraction of blue light compared to daylight and glasses filter only 10-25% of that. The episode also covers a study finding that inhaling pleasant scents during sleep was linked to dramatically improved memory and brain activity, with those exposed to essential oils experiencing a 226% boost in memory performance. This preliminary research suggests the olfactory system may directly impact memory centers in the brain. Read more

EP297: Treating Kids Cholesterol and Testosterone Therapy

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Dr. Warrick Bishop discusses two important health stories in the podcast. First, he disagrees with a US task force recommendation against screening children for high cholesterol, citing evidence that early treatment can help those with a genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolemia. Second, he outlines findings from a large trial showing that testosterone therapy for men aged 45-80 does not increase risks of heart issues or prostate cancer. However, it may slightly raise risks of atrial fibrillation, kidney injury, and pulmonary embolism. Interestingly, it also seemed to increase fracture risk, possibly because the men felt better and became more physically active. Read more

EP296: Ingredients to Happiness & Screening Cancers

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Dr. Warrick Bishop hosts a podcast about health and wellness. He discusses findings from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which found that close relationships and good health were the two major factors for happiness. Strong relationships were actually a better predictor of good health outcomes than other factors like career success. The study also showed that happiness fluctuates and loneliness can be problematic if one does not have close relationships. Dr. Bishop then talks about research on detecting cancers like colorectal cancer through blood tests by finding abnormal DNA and RNA fragments in the bloodstream. He highlights that non-invasive blood tests for cancer may soon replace colonoscopies. In closing, Dr. Bishop encourages living well and building relationships for a happy life. Read more

EP295: Bitter Sweets

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Dr. Bishop discusses heart health and the importance of controlling blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol. He then reports on two recent studies. The first found that some dark chocolate bars contained potentially harmful levels of heavy metals like lead and cadmium. The second study surprisingly discovered that the artificial sweetener aspartame may increase anxiety-like behaviors in mice and possibly even affect their descendants. This indicates aspartame's effects may not be as harmless as previously thought and more research is needed. Read more