Full Podcast Transcript at treesmendus.com
Books written by podcast host Verla Fortier:
Optimize Your Heart Rate: Balance Your Mind and Body With Green Space
Take Back Your Outside Mindset: Live Longer, Stress  Less, and Control Your Chronic Illness


Dr. Patrycja Matusik is a physician-radiologist at University Hospital, Kraków, Poland. She completed her medicine degree and PhD at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In her work she focuses primarily on cardiovascular imaging, lung diseases and neuroimaging.

In her scientific work, one of the main directions is heart rate variability (HRV). She went to the Cardiovascular Division at the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on two occasions. There she completed internships in the field of advanced methods of ECG analysis under the mentorship of Prof. Phyllis K. Stein in the Heart Rate Variability Laboratory.

She is the co-author of several scientific papers published in peer-reviewed international journals, including the European Heart Journal. 

1.    Please tell us a little more about your personal - why you are interested in lupus erythematosus. 

First, I want to say thank you for inviting me to your podcast.

As you said I’m a physician radiologist from Poland. Privately, I’m a mother of 3-year-old Julia. My husband, Paweł Matusik, is also a doctor – a cardiologist, and together we combine our passion for scientific research. 

I was inspired by lupus for the first time on my internship at the Heart Rate Variability Laboratory led by Prof. Phyllis K. Stein at Washington University in St. Louis. During the course of lupus, involvement of multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system, occurs. Therefore, we decided to bring together and summarize current knowledge about the scientific findings and potential clinical utility of heart rate variability measures in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. 

2.     Please tell us what lupus erythematosus is and what can happen during the disease process as it relates to your publication “ Heart Rate Variability in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and methodological considerations.” 

Systemic lupus eryt

For peer reviewed research on how your time spent in green space can change your mindset, balance your nervous system and your heart rate please go to verlafortier.substack.com and check out my books Take Back Your Outside Mindset: Live Longer, Stress Less, and Control Your Chronic Illness and Optimize Your Heart Rate: Balance Your Mind and Body With Green Space