Your heart beats non-stop even before you’re born to pump blood around your body. But how does age affect the way it functions? On this episode of Healthy Ageing, we’re joined by consultant cardiologist Dr Wong Teck Wee to delve into managing heart issues among older adults and how we can all ensure our heart stays as healthy as it can.

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What would our world look like if we no longer had to worry about infectious childhood diseases? In this series, we’ll look at how we can eliminate the public health challenges that continue to plague us today and how far we are from that goal. Dr Sangeetha Siniah, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Consultant, speaks to us about the common infectious diseases that are still dangerous to children, and how we can do better to protect children.

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We’ve often heard about the use of immunotherapy when it comes to cancer treatment, and while we’ve seen incredible advances, there remains more to be done. Not all cancers can be treated by immunotherapy, and not all patients respond to it as well. As researchers continue to develop and study potential immunotherapies to treat cancers, what if a new test could help them track how effective these therapies are in real-time? Here to tell us more about that is Assistant Professor Dr Anthony Tan, from the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at the Duke-NUS Medical School.

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What happens when your world is violated and you no longer feel safe in your own life? When your places of creativity, your physical environments, and your personal boundaries are infringed over and over again by one person? For photographer Acacia Diana, this relentless stalking continued for eight years before reaching its end in the courts. But the impact on her mental health cannot be measured in years, or in legal judgements. On this episode of Because Feelings Matter, Acacia talks about how she’s painstakingly fought her way from being a victim to becoming a survivor.

If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse and harassment, you can contact these helplines: Telenita-AWAM (016-237 4221 / 016-228 4221), WAO (03-3000 8858 / Whatsapp 018-988 8058), WCC Penang (011-3108 4001 / 016-439 0698), Sarawak Women for Women Society (016-5822660), Sabah Women’s Action-Resource Group (088-280 200 / 011-2790 8020).

‘Because Feelings Matter’ is a series that brings you the stories of people and their mental health issues. These stories aim to normalise conversations about mental health, and to show that it’s okay to struggle emotionally and psychologically, but more importantly, to reach out for help. This series is produced in collaboration with Thrive Well.

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“The insulin pen is my best friend.” For Nazril Hadani, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of four means a lifetime of “being poked and prodded” with daily insulin injections. Listen to Nazril’s story about growing up with Type 1 diabetes, and why consultant paediatric endocrinologist Prof Dr Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin thinks of young people with Type 1 diabetes as being resilient. 

NCD Chronicles is a series about people living with NCDs, going beyond the diagnosis to explore their personal experiences, their challenges, as well as the impact of their health condition on their loved ones. These stories reveal the importance of understanding the unique struggles and needs of the individuals behind the disease, in our response to the NCD epidemic.

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Some babies are born with a gap in their spine, a condition known as spina bifida. But how exactly will it affect them from childhood into adulthood? What kind of treatment and support will these children need to lead a good quality of life? We find out from consultant paediatrician and paediatric neurologist Dr Sofiah Ali and consultant neurosurgeon Dr Azizi Abu Bakar, both from Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

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What would our world look like if no one caught the flu anymore? In this limited series, we’re looking at how we can eliminate the public health challenges that continue to plague us today and how far we are from that goal. We speak to medical microbiologist Prof Dr Jamal I-Ching Sam from Universiti Malaya to find out if influenza could cause the next pandemic and the dangers posed by transmission of the influenza virus from animals to humans.

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 If you’ve watched a medical drama, you would’ve seen scenes of emergency physicians rushing about trying to save people’s lives - but is that what it’s like in real life? On this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to Dr Ahmad Suhailan Mohamed, an emergency physician, about what his job entails, the stress he’s under, as well as the work of emergency physicians in the great outdoors.

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Medical insurance policyholders have received a temporary reprieve from a huge increase to their premiums. But what happens after 2026, when higher premium adjustments will likely be inevitable to reflect the increasing cost of healthcare? Datuk Indrani Thuraisingham, Vice-President of FOMCA, joins Azrul Mohd Khalib to discuss the impact of medical inflation on consumers, what regulatory measures are needed, and why short-term bandaid measures can no longer hold the system together.

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When speaking to individuals with rare disorders or their families, it’s not uncommon to hear about the diagnostic odyssey they’ve been through just to get a name for what they’re going through. But what happens after that? We want to look beyond the diagnosis, to understand what are the challenges they still face. Today, we’ll be exploring what access to medicines looks like for rare disorders and the importance of orphan drugs to these individuals and their families.

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