A (1:53)

Oh, it was so great. We talked to Dr. Farmer about emergency preparedness, and she gave us some really practical, actionable tips. Like, I live in a small New York City apartment, and she told me I don't have to stock up on supplies for the next month, that just things for the next few days or week are fine.

B (2:09)

Should we play a little snippet from that conversation?

A (2:11)

Yes, let's do it. So what are some basic skills that it would be useful for someone in every household to have?

C (2:17)

I absolutely think everybody should have CPR training. I think about it as a parent, like, I want my babysitter or my nanny or whoever's going to watch my son when I go out for A run. Like I want them to have that CPR training. Training, knowing how to call 91 1, knowing how to activate your emergency response within your household.

B (2:40)

I love this message because what Dr. Farmer suggests is at its core very simple. It's very straightforward. Everyone should have some sort of CPR training, first aid training, emergency preparedness in some degree. I'm not currently CPR certified, but now it is absolutely at the top of my to do list.

A (2:59)

Well, that's exactly what I was going to say. Cause I did learn CPR maybe 10, 15 years ago at an old job and I realized I'm really do like I know it's like staying alive. I know there's like the beat to the music, but I do need a refresher.

B (3:11)

That was a really helpful tip also that Dr. Farmer shared where you know, this is something that is easily accessible. Like you can do this on a weekend. Just find a time, find a day community center and you have that. And I'm a big hiker and whenever I go to the mountains, I make sure that I carry a first aid kit in my pack. But that first aid kit really is only helpful if you know how to use it. And so that is something also that I took away from this episode.

A (3:38)

Now, another doctor that joined both Advances in Care and Health Matters this year is Dr. David Majur. He previously covered GLP1s with us, and I really loved how he explored the role of GLP1s in managing heart disease for Advances in Care, where you go a little further into the research.

B (3:54)

That's right. You know, that episode of Advances in Care, it was truly perspective shifting for me. You know, this class of drugs has been around for a number of years, but it seems like we are only now at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to identifying some of their broader impacts beyond weight loss.

A (4:11)

Let's hear a little of that episode.

B (4:13)

I'm curious to get your take on how you see this class of drugs transforming medicine or transforming the way that you treat your heart failure patients.

C (4:23)

They're transformative, there's no doubt about it. The transformation in particular in the patients that I take care of, who invariably have high cardiovascular risk, who have heart failure syndromes, who often have diabetes. The greater societal questions are almost philosophical in nature, certainly political and definitely cultural. It touches on how should we be viewing health in our society. We have to take care of the people that are in front of us with the problems as they are. But it behooves us to create a society that prevents these conditions to Begin with. And we have a long way to go to get there, but we have to do it.

A (5:11)

I love how he says these drugs are transformative. There's no denying it, but there's a little nuance to it. It's a little complex. And he just, you know, he really balances that so well.

B (5:18)

I completely agree and I appreciated his message about looking beyond these individual conditions or medications. You know, that that part, treatment immediately is so important. But we also need to be approaching healthcare from a population or preventative standpoint. I mean, that, that's why I love public health so much. So I'm really glad that he really communicated that message.

A (5:41)

I remember he says, society, we need to do a better job. Look at the drugstore, you can go in and get what you need and then you're on checkout line and there's like candy bars, processed foods, chips. Our society doesn't do a good job of supporting people always to make these healthy choices.

B (5:55)

And it's really incredible to get that insight from a physician who is on the front lines developing these or investigating these different medications and seeing like, hey, wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to use as many as we are using? Like, wouldn't it be great if we could prevent these problems in the first place?

A (6:14)

Absolutely. And then moving to our health matters episode, Dr. Majeure talks about another timely topic, cooking with seed oils. Let's hear a clip of that one too.

C (6:24)

The general thing is to say that there is no strong evidence that seed oils are harmful and there is ample evidence to suggest that the commonly consumed seed oils, once again, canola and soy, are potentially beneficial for us. Now, there has been a lot of talk about the impact of frying the seed oils and in particular leaving the seed oils in these deep fryers for a long period of time, reutilizing them, and that possibly by heating them over and over again, you might create more pro inflammatory molecules. That has been difficult to prove in the lab. But honestly, what I would say to you is maybe you shouldn't be eating a lot of fried foods to begin with.

A (7:09)

Dr. Majeure, always giving it to us straight, just cut through some of the misinformation out there. And a lot of this is common sense. When you think about it, frying food probably isn't so good for you, but you can get so lost in the misinformation and what you're hearing on social media. But a lot of it is some common sense stuff that he backs up with science and studies.

B (7:25)

Gotta love Evidence based medicine, right? Evidence based information. Yeah. Like, we don't need to worry about this oil or that oil. How much are we using, though? And how much of them are we using? What are the contexts in which we're using these oils? The. Those are really the questions to ask ourselves and to consider about, you know, when it comes to the safety of oils in general.

A (7:45)

It's true. And Dr. Majeure is always so insightful. I find his lens really helpful, and I love talking with him. Switching gears a bit. Something I really loved this year was our storytelling episodes on health matters. We visited doctors outside the hospital to see their hobbies and their passions. We visited Dr. Peter Liu at his home, where he played piano for us, which was amazing. And we also traveled to a sheep farm to watch Dr. David Slatwiner, who herd sheep with his dogs.

B (8:10)

Sheep herding dogs was absolutely not a topic that I would have expected to come across on a medical podcast, but once Dr. Slotwiner explained it, it made complete sense.

A (8:21)

I didn't know visiting a sheep herding farm would be in my podcast, and yet it was. And it was such a highlight of my year.

B (8:27)

How much fun was that? I'm so jealous.

A (8:30)

So much fun. There are pictures of me with our producers with baby lambs. We had the best time.

B (8:35)

I love that.

A (8:36)

Let's go back to the farm and hear from Dr. Slatwiner. Can you talk about what you maybe have learned through this experience and how it's changed you?

D (8:43)

Yes, yes, sure. Well, dogs really like a calm, confident leader, and being around sheep definitely takes some getting used to for me. So it's taught me how important what I do is on how Cosmo acts, and not just for Cosmo. And I think that tends to be true for every walk of life. The dog is really a mirror of your behavior and your confidence and skill. And so it's helped me focus on being those and acting and believing and being confident in my actions.

B (9:18)

Loved hearing those chickens. Just fantastic atmosphere. Transportive.

A (9:23)

It was. I love talking with Dr. Slatwiner. I can't help but think of my own dog. I have a very reactive dog, and so occasionally I am a little anxious walking him because I'm afraid he's going to lunch at someone. And we talked to a trainer and he was like, courtney, you have to breathe like the dog is sensing your anxiety and you're gonna make it worse. And I like, how do. Dr. Slotwiner also applies that to life and skills as a leader. I think when you stay calm, people around you stay calm. So I think just the way he thinks about things and connects those dots. I really appreciated.

B (9:50)

What can we learn from our dog? I mean, I love my dog, but, like, I've never thought about what he has taught me, and maybe he hasn't, but he can't herd sheep, as far as I know. But, yeah, I think to the farm. But getting that perspective on where we pick up skills in our life and keeping an open mind to who can teach us things, it was really neat.

A (10:12)

And I think Dr. Slotwiner said that in his conversation that for him as a leader, he kind of tends to want to be, like, a little nicer. And sometimes the dogs teach him, like, sometimes you just have to be firm and direct. A dog won't understand, you know, if you're not being firm and direct. Yeah. So lots of good lessons from Dr. Slotwiner and the dogs at the sheep farm. That was really one of my favorite episodes of the year. And when we asked you to share your favorites from the year, you suggested the episode featuring Dr. Andrew Goldstone. What a moving story.

B (10:39)

So in this episode, I talked with Dr. Goldstone about a technique called the split root domino partial heart transplant, which involves multiple patients, kids, in this case, receiving different heart valves. It's a really intense operation or series of operations, and in a complicated procedure like this, the surgeons are dealing with a bunch of moving parts. They're juggling a lot of different patients. The timeline has to be really tight, and everything has to be coordinated down to the very last detail. And listening to Dr. Goldstone tell the story of this groundbreaking procedure, it was so powerful because you could hear in his voice, in his telling, how meaningful this was for him.

A (11:18)

It was riveting to listen to. Let's hear a little of that one.

D (11:22)

We had a situation where we had patients that needed separate valves. One needed just an aortic valve and one needed just a pulmonary valve. And so we had a donor who was the right size and had the right size valves for each of these patients. And we said, well, we could potentially set off cascade where we help three kids with one heart transplant.

A (11:48)

This episode is so, so moving. And I think they said lots of other institutions now reach out to New York Presbyterian to learn to understand the skills for this kind of procedure.

B (11:57)

Right. And it takes something like this to really, you know, this is a keystone moment to then drive the field forward. Once you establish this can be done, here's how we did it. And then other instit maybe have that confidence, have that. Okay, we can point to this and say, let's move this field forward even more.

A (12:15)

And I love that about your show. Just how it covers all these pioneering things our doctors are doing and all these advances.

B (12:20)

It's really inspiring. And it brings this much needed sense of humanity to these achievements. Because science is human.

A (12:27)

Right.

B (12:27)

And so it's really helpful to kind of make that personal connection.

A (12:30)

And that's.

B (12:31)

Yeah, it is what I really love about working on advances in care.

A (12:34)

Yes. And if we're talking about 2025 highlights, we also have to talk about the episode you did on psychedelics with Dr. Richard Friedman and Dr. David Hellerstein. This one I really loved. As someone who, admittedly, my brain can ruminate or get a little stuck on something, and hearing how the psychedelics and different treatments can kind of break your brain from that rut was fascinating.

B (12:55)

It really was. I mean, I cut through all of the noise surrounding, like, oh, psychedelics. And you know, and be like, but what do they actually do? What do we think is actually happening? And how does this compare to standard treatments?

A (13:07)

Yeah. And how these new therapies might help people who aren't responding to conventional options. Let's listen to a clip from Dr. Hellerstein on what they're seeing in the research on psychedelics.

E (13:17)

Clearly, there's a neuroscience component because they're having this rapid, profound, and somehow mysteriously lasting effect on brain networks and connectivity and nerve cell growth. But they can be used for many different disorders. Depression, anxiety disorders, ocd, addiction. And then the psychoanalytic piece is really interesting because when people use these drugs, they re experience these major, very profoundly affecting life experiences. So their traumas, their losses, their deaths, their people, they miss their fantasies. They re experience it in a very powerful way. So it sort of connects to the feeling of you must uncover things and reveal things and work things through, which was from the days of psychoanalysis.

A (14:07)

I don't know where to start. Mind blown.

B (14:11)

I mean, enough said. Yeah.

A (14:13)

I think just hearing in this episode about neuroplasticity, about nerve regrowth, all the science behind what's going on in our mind, and then what he's saying about re experiencing these major moments in our lives and how that can be therapeutic. What blew your mind about this episode?

B (14:25)

Oh, gosh. I mean, everything. Dr. Hellerstein and Dr. Friedman shared their perspectives on how these compounds might work to treat mental health disorders. And at the same time, I really appreciated how they emphasized that if these psychedelics are used, they represent just one component of mental health care. And this was really helpful just to kind of put the psychedelics in context with our standard modes of treatment.

A (14:54)

I really just appreciated listening, just learning about the brain, because I think all I know is thoughts are thoughts. But the way they framed it, it was like there are two different ways the brain works. And in one way, it's focusing on what's happening outside the world, and the other one is really focusing inward. And that's where the rumination, everything starts. And that there's a way to kind of like suppress the one that's focusing too inward.

B (15:14)

Yes. I think you're right that internal versus external focus was a really good way to frame this. And one episode of Health Matters took this head on. When you went to Citi Field to. With David Wright and Dr. Anthony Pugliafico.

A (15:28)

Yes. I loved our episode with David Wright, the former Mets third baseman, and Dr. Anthony Pugliafico. I loved how Dr. Pugliafico talked about the importance of resilience. Let's hear a little of that from Dr. Pugliafico.

F (15:40)

Resilience is so relevant for all of us, whether we're talking about sports, whether we're talking about schoolwork, careers, life. Resilience is really just kind of seeing ourselves through adversity and how we see ourselves through adversity. I think having that growth mindset, being willing to take on challenges and push ourselves, really helps us with resilience. Another big piece of resilience is being flexible. So being able to take on challenges, shift and pivot when we face challenges or when we struggle and sticking with goals and looking at the challenge instead of saying, why me? Why didn't I make this sports team? Or why did I get fired? Why is this relationship not working? Instead of getting stuck there, seeing the opportunity for learning and for growth, that's how I think about resilience.

A (16:33)

I love this episode. And something else David Wright said that I thought was amazing. Like, he said, even if you're an amazing baseball player, you're still failing 7 out of 10 times. Like, that puts you in the hall of Fame, which just puts things in perspective.

B (16:45)

Absolutely. Failure is integral. Like, I think that there tends to be this negative perspective or negative connotation of failure. And we don't remember, we don't consider how important failure is in growth. It's moving beyond that failure and learning from that failure. That really is what makes advancements possible.

A (17:05)

I just think it was really inspiring to see David Wright speaking openly about overcoming failure, beating anxiety. Like, for someone like him to be having this conversation, I think can really help people.

B (17:16)

Yeah. Using your platform to be open and to destigmatize these things. It's really incredible to hear someone do that.

A (17:24)

Yeah. I think at one point in the conversation, Dr. Pliabko even said he's like, look, even David Wright struggles with things. Kids, you know, that's really great. And David Wright said that like professional baseball players, artists, everyone you see up there, they're all struggling or they're all trying to overcome something or let go of failure. And so you're not alone.

B (17:40)

What an important message.

A (17:42)

Well, we've only touched on a few of the highlights from this year. I feel like I could keep talking forever.

B (17:46)

Yes.

A (17:48)

If you sum it all up, do you have one or two major takeaways for your own health from the work of telling these stories? Whether it's something we've already discussed or something new?

B (17:56)

Oh my gosh, Courtney. I mean, there are so many like we have covered. Both you and I have covered so many fascinating topics this year. But I have to say for me, besides just like resilience and flexibility and incorporating that into my day to day life was Dr. Farmer's advice that we should all have some sort of training in emergency preparedness. I mean, such a small change, but one with real impact. How about you, Courtney? What's been the most impactful thing for your own health after these 2025 episodes?

A (18:25)

Well, I think the thing I always tell people about my work here at New York Presbyterian is every doctor I talk to, no matter what kind of medicine they practice, the tenets always seem to be sleep, exercise and eating right. Green, leafy vegetables, colorful fruits and vegetables. I just try to think of those basics and do what I can because it's the one thing. It's always the answer. And eating more fiber. They also say to eat more fiber.

B (18:48)

Oh my gosh, Fiber. Yeah, fiber's a good one. Yep.

A (18:53)

Erin, thank you so much for taking some time to talk about the high points of the year.

B (18:57)

This was really fun and a huge

A (18:59)

thanks to all the experts who spoke with us for both Advances in Care and health matters through 2025. It's really such a privilege to bring their stories and their wisdom to our listeners.

B (19:08)

Health Matters and Advances in Care are productions of New York Presbyterian.

A (19:12)

The views shared on this podcast solely reflect the expertise and experience of our guests.

B (19:17)

To learn more about our doctors, work with patients, check out the show Notes Notes.

A (19:21)

New York Presbyterian is here to help you stay amazing at every stage of your life.

B (19:25)

To get the latest episodes of Health Matters and Advances in Care, be sure to follow and subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.