Prescriptions that Promote and Pharmaceuticals that Prevent Ischemic Preconditioning

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Take Away Message: Commonly used prescription medicines like the diabetic drug family of sulfonylureas like glyburide and glibenclamide, the asthma drug aminophylline, and the opioid reversal agent naloxone can worsen the outcome of a heart attack or stroke by interfering with ischemic preconditioning. Review of Ischemic Preconditioning (IPC) What is Ischemic Preconditioning? is an introduction to the subject of IPC….

High-Intensity Interval Training can Activate Ischemic Preconditioning

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Take Away Message High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) but not endurance training can produce ischemic preconditioning. High-intensity interval training is repeated exercise lasting for seconds but intense enough to make the heartbeat go up to 85 to 95% of maximum. The high-intensity exercises are separated by intervals that are shorter than the exercise durations. The rest…

What is Ischemic Preconditioning?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Ischemia is a condition of inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to the cells. Since cells need oxygen for maintenance and function, lack of oxygen can lead to cell death. The heart and the brain consume more oxygen compared to other organs. Because of this, they are very prone to damage if there is a…

I Have Seen the Promised Land of Health Care! It’s in another Galaxy!

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

You see, there’s no money in healthy people, and there’s no money in dead people. The money is in the middle: people who are alive, sort of, but with one or more chronic conditions… – Bill Maher There is no health care system in the U.S., we only have sick care. The focus of the expenditures,…

Why Do Bellies Bloat?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Have you ever wondered why your abdomen bloats after eating? It was a puzzle for me for several years and I could not find a reason for “benign belly-bloating”. There are medical conditions that can make an abdomen large like bowel obstruction and ascites and they have to be ruled out. While at work in…

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10 Unbelievably Easy Ways to Screw Up Intermittent Fasting!

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Many people have tried to lose weight using intermittent fasting. I know many who are successful. But do you know that unbelievable as it may seem, snafus can happen? Presenting… The 10 Unbelievably Easy Ways to Screw Up Intermittent Fasting! Watch cooking and travel shows. Put yourself in the place of the host as he/she…

Management Principles Applied in Medicine

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Health care has plenty of room for improvement. A large ballroom, to be exact.  New ways to provide solutions to the usual problems must be brought about to give a fresh perspective. The following concepts are usually applied in business management and in the military but can also be used in medical care. Health Advice…

Are You Ready for High-Intensity Life Situations?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

JJ, who is a friend of mine, recently talked with me to talk about his heart rate when he was sparring during Filipino martial arts training. He asked whether it is OK that his heart rate went up to 203/ min during that time. He felt fine other than being rightfully tired, but he did…

How Intermittent Fasting Breaks Free From Insulin Dependency

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Why would someone wean insulin from a Type 2 diabetic (adult-onset)? Isn’t insulin medicine for diabetes? Good question. While insulin may lower blood sugar and prevent immediate problems with very high blood sugar, injected insulin has long-term disadvantages. Insulin Effects Insulin stores fat and increases weight. The American Diabetes Association’s recommendation for diabetics is to lose…

Who Should NOT do HIIT?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an efficient way to exercise and has many health benefits. HIIT requires the heart rate to go to 80-95% of the peak heart rate. In certain groups of people, that may bring more harm than good. The following should NOT do HIIT: Those who are having repeated chest pains at…

How to Perform High-Intensity Interval Training

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is defined as a repeated quick burst of high-intensity exercise with seconds of light activities in between. The level of intensity is measured by the heart rate that is 85-95% of the maximum heart rate possible based on age and resting heart rate. This site can calculate your target heart rate. Another…

21 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

A common barrier to exercise is lack of time. A solution to that problem consistent with the 80/20 rule is the High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT allows for the maximum benefits of exercise to be obtained for a short time. What is HIIT? HIIT is defined as a quick burst of high-intensity exercise with seconds of light…

The 80/20 Rule Applied to Diseases

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

The 80/20 rule is also known as the Pareto principle. Vilfredo Pareto (1848 – 1923) is an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist,  and philosopher.  Vilfredo initially called it Pareto distribution. The Pareto distribution evolved into many names: Pareto Law, the Law of the Vital Few, the Principle of Factor Sparsity, Principle of Least Effort, and…

The 80-20 Rule for Health

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

The 80-20 Rule, or the Pareto principle, states that for many events, only 20% of the cause can explain 80% of the results. 20% of the input is responsible for 80% of the output, and 20% of your effort makes up 80% of your outcome. This article shows how diet and exercise can prevent many common…

Asclepiades of Bithynia, the Father of Molecular Medicine

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

How do you pronounce, Asclepiades? Who is Asclepiades of Bithynia? Asclepiades of Bithynia (born in 124 BC in Prousias, Bythinia, [modern Bursa Turkey]) and—died 40 BC, Rome [Italy]) established Hellenic or Greek medicine in Rome. He was educated in medicine at the Medical School of the Museum in Alexandria and in Philosophy at Keepos (garden), which is an Epicurean school….

What Can a Broken Bone Teach about Healing?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

This article explains what physicians do for their patients. Procedures and medicines tilt the balance to the restoration of health. In the end, it is the patient’s own body that heals itself. Fractures and Sprains A fractured bone is treated with immobilization. The ends of the broken pieces should be approximated as close to each…

How Effective are Drugs that Increase HDL?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

HDL is well known as good cholesterol, and that LDL is the bad cholesterol. Therefore, to lessen the chance of a heart attack, the HDL should increase, and the LDL should decrease. The easy way to increase the HDL is to take medicines like nicotinic acid (a.k.a. niacin) and fibrates. Both medications can increase the…

Who Needs to be Checked for the Deadly Triple-A?

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

An aortic aneurysm is a ballooning of the aorta. It starts straight from the heart. The most prominent artery that comes from the heart. It is the main pipeline for the whole body. The aneurysm can form in the chest (thoracic) and/or the abdomen. Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA or Triple-A) are present in 3.9% to 7.2%…

The Five Whys

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

The Five Whys is a series of questions to analyze the cause and effect relationship. The goal is to find a solution to a problem. Sakichi Toyoda initially developed it for the manufacturing methodology of Toyota Motor company. The Five Whys helped Toyota become the automotive powerhouse today in terms of quality in engineering and…