Good morning! Happy Friday, my friend. One of my favorite questions to ask patients is how they like to stay active. This time of year, one answer comes up again and again: Gardening. And every time I hear it, my heart sings a little. Gardening is one of those rare activities that seems to do […]

Good morning! I’ve been reading Jennifer Wallace’s Mattering on vacation this week, and something in it keeps returning to me. Wallace writes about mattering not as a luxury or an abstraction, but as a fundamental human need. Like, it’s everything – the need to feel seen. To feel that your presence in the world registers with other people. I found […]

Good morning! 17 years ago, Dr. Andrew Freeman, while still in cardiology training, called my cell (I was standing in our front yard at the time). He enthusiastically shared that he believed in what we were doing with Walk with a Doc. That beautiful spring day is memorable to me because it was very important to the organization […]

Good morning! We’ve had a ton of questions about ‘rucking’ – so, let’s go! A quick show of hands, how many of you walk regularly? I knew it. Sweet! Second question… how many of you have ever carried something while walking? A backpack, groceries, or a child who “can’t walk another step”? Of course you […]

Confession time. For years, if you had asked me about exercise, I would have enthusiastically pointed you toward walking (biking, swimming, running, etc.). And for good reason. Walking is simple, accessible, social, and incredibly effective. Of course, it is one of the best things we can do for our health, and Rachael, Bryan, and I […]

As I began my career as a cardiologist in the early 2000s, I was not budging the ‘needle’ in terms of sedentary lifestyles among my patients. I had to ask myself whether I was doing enough to help them. So I tried something different. I simply asked a patient if she’d like to join me […]

Good morning! We received a request after the last newsletter to discuss Coronary Calcium Scores. To be clear, these are my thoughts and do not necessarily represent our other leaders. However, if they agree, that’d be really cool. Coronary Calcium Scores: A Simple Test That Can Save Lives One of the most common questions I […]

Good morning! Hope this letter finds you well. What a great time of year this is. March is less than 42 hours away! This happens almost every time a patient comes in for a stress test. Our patient says, “I’m not sure if I can do this – it’s been a while”. After 10-15 minutes […]

Good morning! How are you feeling this morning? Oh my gosh, I hope you’re ready, because I’m great. You’re going to need it to keep up with me. Last night was one of those magical nights, and I’m still buzzing from it. I drop this next line all the time, but if you were married […]