Health Matters

February is American Heart Month. When's the last time you measured your blood pressure? Do you know what "good" blood pressure even is? Or what about "good" cholesterol?

Brush up on the fundamentals – and get some clear guidelines for keeping tabs on your heart health - from Dr. Marc Eisenberg, a cardiologist from NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia.

Click here for the episode transcript. 

Are those chest pains signs of a heart attack…or a broken heart? Can a broken heart send you to the hospital? Broken Heart Syndrome is a real cardiac event brought on by an intense emotional reaction to life events. In honor of Valentine’s Day, our host Faith speaks with Dr. Joy Gelbman, cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, about how the heart is a physical and emotional center of our body.

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Have you kept up with your new year's resolutions? Dr. Jennifer Cruz, a clinical psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia discusses how to manage and maintain realistic goals. Dr. Cruz shares her perspective on setting goals, how to make them more achievable, and why you deserve credit — even when you feel like you’ve fallen short.

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Many people started off the new year committing to a dry January. But what happens once the month is over?  How should we approach alcohol in February and beyond? Whether you're having a dry January or a damp January, Dr. Robert Brown, the chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, explains why being mindful of our alcohol consumption has many health benefits, and how we can sustain it.

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It’s that time of year again - cold season. While sniffles and congestion are a hallmark of winter, there are a few respiratory viruses that can be far more serious. In this episode, Dr. Harjot Singh, an epidemiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian  and Weill Cornell Medicine, explains why we’re more likely to get sick during the colder months and how to protect ourselves from the three major illnesses - COVID-19, the flu and RSV – that pose the biggest threat this time of year.

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For National Blood Donor Month, Courtney Allison speaks with Dr. Elizabeth Stone, assistant director of transfusion medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia. Unprecedented blood shortages mean that the need for donated blood is as critical as ever. Dr. Stone demystifies the process of giving blood, explains blood types, and shares how both the recipient and the donor can benefit from a single donation.

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Faith Salie talks with clinical dietitian Gabrielle Gambino, who offers advice on connecting our bodies and minds to our food choices. She explains why a rigid diet plan doesn’t work for most people, and how a mindful approach can help us be more compassionate to ourselves when it comes to what we eat.

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To kick off the new year, Courtney Allison speaks with sports cardiologist Dr. Sonia Tolani about how we can set ourselves up for success with our resolutions around fitness. She describes which forms of exercise are recommended for improving our long term health, why focusing on exercise is more important than focusing on weight loss, and how much it can help to bring along others on our fitness journey.

Click here for the episode transcript.

We’re taking a break for the holidays. New episodes of Health Matters will return in January. For the holiday break, we are republishing one of this year’s most impactful episodes: 

Faith Salie talks with Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, a gastroenterologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia. He’s also the Director of Clinical Research at Columbia’s Celiac Disease Center, and an expert on the connections between gastrointestinal health and the other systems in our body that rely on good digestion for their function. He describes how GI diseases like Celiac have implications for mental health, and what anyone can do to support their digestive health.

Click here for the episode transcript.

This week our host, Faith Salie, talks to NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine endocrinologist Dr. Rekha Kumar, about the effects of sugar and artificial sweeteners on our health, recommendations to moderate sugar intake, and how to navigate the holiday season’s plethora of sweets and treats.

Click here for the episode transcript.