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Howard G. Smith, M.D. is a former radio medical editor and talk show host in the Boston Metro area. His "Medical Minute" of health and wellness news and commentary was a regular weekday feature on WBZ-AM, WRKO-AM, and WMRE-AM. His popular two-way talk show, Dr. Howard Smith OnCall, was regularly heard Sunday morning and middays on WBZ.

Dr. Smith has adopted audio and video podcasting as conduits for HEALTH NEWS YOU SHOULD USE. Based on the latest medical, health, and wellness literature these reports provide practical information you can use to keep yourself and your family healthy. Many reports have video versions, and Dr. Smith’s YouTube Channel may be found at: http://bit.ly/2rNw6XQ

Trained at Harvard Medical School and a long-time faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital, he practiced Pediatric Otolaryngology for 40 years in Boston, Southern California, and in central Connecticut.  He is now based in New York City.

If you have questions or suggestions about this content, please email the doctor at drhowardsmith.reports@gmail.com or leave him a message at 516-778-8864.  His website is: www.drhowardsmith.com.

Please note that the news, views, commentary, and opinions that Dr. Smith provides are for informational purposes only. Any changes that you or members of your family contemplate making to lifestyle, diet, medications, or medical therapy should always be discussed beforehand with personal physicians who have been supervising your care.

Mar 23, 2019

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/6-EdsjAk52c

Here’s some very good news.  A new study from Yale cardiology shows that the incidence of heart attacks and the rates of death from them are at 20 year lows.

Following more than 4 million Medicare patients from 1995 to 2014, the investigators report a 38% decline in heart attack hospitalizations over 2 decades.  Even more impressive is the all time low 12% 30 day mortality rate after any given heart attack.

This is no accident.  We as a society have been assaulting cardiovascular disease by exercising more, eating less or at least less unhealthy food, and monitoring as well as lowering our cholesterol levels.

The Yalies caution us about resting on our laurels.  We should be literally heartened by our success to date but also press forward until we have eliminated all cardiac disease.

Harlan M. Krumholz, Sharon-Lise T. Normand, Yun Wang. Twenty-Year Trends in Outcomes for Older Adults With Acute Myocardial Infarction in the United States. JAMA Network Open, 2019; 2 (3): e191938 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.1938

#heartattack #diet #cholesterol