Nice to meet you!
Welcome to Sage Cardiology, I'm Dr. Elizabeth Sage Epstein, a doc who loves hearts.
In pursuit of wisdom… Musings from a cardiology fellow.
Along the path of medical training, I have gained an unimaginable amount of technical medical knowledge (I take test after test to prove it). That was something I expected when I set upon this path. But what I didn’t entirely expect were the mental challenges I encounter every day, the fortitude it takes to carry on, and the hard-earned life lessons I carry with me. “Can’t I just have a single day that’s normal and easy?!” I exclaimed recently. That’s just not reality for this young woman in cardiology.
Along the way, I find that I have a lot of thoughts ripe to share and discuss. I want to write about my my life’s passion—integrative and preventative cardiology—and popularize the latest and greatest knowledge to empower patients, primary care physicians, and general cardiologists. There is still room for improvement in the area of prevention, still an opportunity to save lives and prevent suffering, and I want to help move the needle.
At the same time, I want to drop the curtain a bit and share some of the challenges I face as a physician and some of the solutions I’ve found. In doing so, I hope to show up as my most genuine self and break down the barrier between physicians and patients, strengthening the doctor-patient relationship, highlighting our common humanity. While I may sometimes write about my own personal journey, it’s not selfish: the stronger and healthier a physician is both mentally and physically, the stronger and healthier her patients are, the more good she can do in the world.
In this Substack community, I intend to learn from my readers who have a different perspective to share. In return, I will empower my readers by teaching them something about cardiology and prevention. At the same time, I will be honest about what it’s like to be a doctor, and perhaps this will be helpful or, in the very least, interesting to some.
As a curious prescriber, you can expect one article per week, alternating between two categories: “prevention pearls” and “modern medical musings.” While I hope you will find great value in subscribing, just as I will find great value in writing, it is free to subscribe.
I have been with the same cardiologist and cardiac surgeon for 22 years. Open Heart Surgery, double by pass & replace a bicuspid aortic valve with a porcine valve, Later on, I had a MI and stents, then more stents later on (twice). The first porcine valve failed at year 15 and was taver procedure replaced with another porcine. They told me I have room to fit one more taver procedure valve inside the present valve. The past seven years have been event free and we hope to keep it up. Perspective; Listen to what the doctors say and try to live a healthier life. Don't succumb to fear, but embrace life to its fullest. Be kind and try and help others. Have fun. I look forward to hearing your future perspectives. Thanks for sharing.
My actual cardiologist!
https://inmysecondlife.substack.com/p/food-is-binary