Heart of Medicine

Episode 23 - Has the Era of Weight Loss Drugs Changed Medicine Forever?

Obesity is a disease that patients “wear” on the outside of their bodies, making it unlike most other medical conditions. And…Physicians could never have imagined a time when patients came into the office asking them for medications. Shockingly... the era of weight loss medications (GLP1s, semaglutide, tirzepatide) has ushered in one of the biggest philosophical shifts in medicine, with both patients and physicians, completely changing their approach to weight management.   In this culturally-relevant episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli and Jazaeri discuss how this class of medications called GLP-1RAs has revolutionized medicine, creating an identity shift in how we think about prevention and medical care. In addition, they also discuss the impacts of GLP1s on the patient-doctor relationship, the impacts of these medications (which over 40% of the country qualifies for) on the healthcare system, their impact on cardiovascular outcomes and even on the culture and perception of obesity. This is definitely an episode of HeART of Medicine that almost all of us can relate to as we have all been front-row witnesses to the rise of the era of weight-loss medications, a shift that has changed medicine forever and will go down in the history books.

Episode 22 - The Impact of The Big Beautiful Bill on Doctors and Patients

We go to medical school and learn the science of illnesses. We learn how to diagnose and treat diseases, how to take a clinical history and do a physical examination on our patients. But no one teaches doctors and healthcare providers about how the environment in which we practice medicine is so heavily influenced by health policy and politicians, and how it could change overnight!   The Big Beautiful Bill is clearly going to have many ripple effects on healthcare and it’s definitely here to stay!  So, it behooves us, providers and patients alike, all to learn about its impact on the practice and utilization of medicine. In the episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli and Jazaeri discuss all the nuts and bolts about the new bill, what it means for the practice of medicine and how we can all prepare ourselves for the changes it might bring. They even discuss why it’s so “beautiful”! This is definitely a health policy episode of HeART of Medicine you will not want to miss!

Episode 21 - Stroke: Testing The Limits of Medicine?

As doctors, we feel we are omnipotent. We bring people back from cardiac arrests, car accidents, we stop their heart for open heart surgery and then start it again. We play God. And yet, there is one disease that always humbles us… stroke. It’s an outcome that some fear worse than death. Yet, it’s something that is rising in prevalence yet the science is not keeping up as fast as it should. In this episode of HeART of Medicine, Dr. Payal Kohli and  Dr. Omid Jazaeri discuss their own emotions about when they treated their very first stroke patient during medical school. They talk about the emotions physicians face everyday when dealing with stroke patients - sadness, empathy, frustration and guilt. Because a stroke changes the very core of everything that defines us - our autonomy, independence, our personality, our very being, it’s unlike any other disease. But hope is not lost! Drs. Kohli and Jazaeri review the systematic increases in educational efforts, awareness, resources and preventive efforts and how that could change the landscape of stroke medicine. This episode, in honor of May which is Stroke Awareness Month, leaves you uplifted and empowered to tackle and push the limits of medicine with a disease that can affect any of us or our loved ones!

Episode 20 - When Doctors Become Patients

In this episode of HeART of Medicine, hear Dr. Kohli and Dr. Jazaeri both discuss their own struggles with being patients recently and even joke about how doctors are hypocrites when it comes to following doctor’s orders. This heartfelt episode explores how the “role reversal” of doctors becoming patients impacts both physicians and their patients.  Does it make them better doctors? Should being a patient be taught in medical school? Does it make the system realize that doctors are human and not superhuman?   The physicians talk honestly all aspects of being a patient… from their own loss of control to the “knowing too much” problem to their anxiety and humility and how it has shifted their perspective as physicians. They even cover the challenges of navigating the health system and important lessons learned about medicine that were never taught in medical school. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who has heard the expression “doctors are the worst patients” and for any doctor who has been a patient or any patient who has wondered whether his/her doctor knows what he/she is experiencing.

Episode 19 - How Thinking outside the Box Can Change Your Life While Also Changing The World

What if a single infusion could result in lifelong lowering of your cholesterol and reduction of heart disease? What if this infusion could “turn off” a single cholesterol gene through gene editing that didn’t affect any other functions? Sounds like a good sci-fi movie, doesn’t it? Well… it’s the future of medicine and we are a LOT closer than you think. In this incredibly inspiring episode of HeART of Medicine, Cardiologist, TV personality and host of the show Dr. Payal Kohli is joined by Vascular Surgeon Dr. Omid Jazaeri. They both sit down for a “heart to heart” with Dr. Sek Kathiresan, who is the co-founder and CEO of Verve Therapeutics, which is pioneering gene editing technology in Cardiology. Dr. Kathiresan shares the details about the inception of the idea, how he left the “ivory tower” of academic medicine at Harvard Medical School and his challenges and struggles along the way. This episode will change your thinking in so many ways and show you how thinking outside the box can change your life while also changing the world!