Episode 473: Top Cardiology Topics of 2025 — A Great Year

·26 min·2 clips

A new human study proves a five-day fasting diet can trigger autophagy, the Nobel Prize-winning cellular 'self-eating' process.

Dr. Joel Kahn opens episode 473 of Heart Doc VIP by expressing gratitude to his team and promoting his clinic and a nattokinase supplement from Toku Health. He highlights a recent study in Geroscience where a fasting mimicking diet was shown to stimulate autophagy in human subjects, a process for cellular cleanup that won the Nobel Prize in 2016. The main topic is a review of top cardiology achievements in 2025, drawing from various expert lists. Dr. Kahn first discusses Dr. Kim Williams' top three preventive cardiology items: front-of-package food labeling proposals, new 2025 blood pressure guidelines emphasizing home monitoring and combination pills, and the cardiac benefits of GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and terzepatide. He notes a New England Journal of Medicine study confirming terzepatide's heart-protective effects. Dr. Kahn then covers Dr. Noelle Mers' top five papers, including research on nutritional support for GLP-1 therapy, statin use in pregnancy, and the clopidogrel vs. aspirin study in The Lancet. The American Heart Association's top 2025 research is summarized, focusing on blood pressure control's link to dementia risk, the drug baxdrostat for resistant hypertension, and Cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Syndrome (CKM). CKM affects nearly 90% of Americans and increases cardiovascular death risk by 10% over 15 years. Other AHA highlights include advances in congestive heart failure treatment with four-drug regimens, childhood tobacco use, aortic stenosis management, and sleep's impact on heart health. Dr. Kahn mentions the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's year-end report on home sleep apnea testing and emerging therapies like Zepbound. He concludes with actionable advice: check home blood pressure, update labs, focus on lifestyle using the American Heart Association's Life's Essential Eight, and consider plant-based diets, referencing Dr. Neil Barnard's recent paper. He also recommends fermented foods, citing Tim Spector's book, and promotes Gut Nuts. The episode ends with clinic updates and holiday wishes.

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