1: Lifespan is a straightforward concept. It’s how long we will live.
“Lifespan deals with death, which is binary: we’re alive, and then we’re dead. It’s final,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.
But before we die, sometimes many years before, “most people suffer through a period of decline,” Peter writes, that “is like dying in slow motion.”
Which is where … continue reading
When Dr. Peter Attia introduces his patients to his approach to medicine, he talks about icebergs.
“Specifically, the ones that ended the first and final voyage of the Titanic,” he writes in his terrific book Outlive.
At 9:30 p.m. on that fatal night, the immense ocean liner received an urgent message from another ship that it was sailing into an ice field.
The message was ignored.
“More than an … continue reading
1: Preventing or delaying disease is a fundamentally better approach than treating disease.
What’s in the way?
Only our entire healthcare system.
Disease prevention “doesn’t really fit into the business model of our current healthcare system,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.
“Health insurance companies won’t pay a doctor very much to tell a patient to change the way he eats,” he observes, … continue reading
1: That’s one of the questions Dr. Scott Conard and Vince Vince Poscente pose in their book Which Door?
The answer: Typically, we’d feel fine.
“As a young doctor, in practice for 7 years, I got a phone call one evening while eating dinner at home,” Scott recalls. “A shaking voice on the other end of the phone said, ‘Doctor, I just found John on the floor and he was … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Death comes at two speeds, fast and slow, Peter Attia writes in his book Outlive.
Peter chose Johns Hopkins for his medical residency because of its top-notch reputation … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
We are living longer. That’s a fact.
Lifespans have nearly doubled since the late 1800s, Dr. Peter Attia writes in his compelling book Outlive.
But when we look at the … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Ignaz Semmelweis was a physician living in the Austrian empire in the early 1800s.
He was concerned because so many mothers were dying following childbirth at his hospital in … continue reading
1: “Many pundits have been predicting a glorious new era of ‘personalized’ or ‘precision’ medicine, where our care will be tailored to our exact needs, down to our very genes,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.
Which is a clearly a worthy goal.
The only problem with this approach?
Peter likens it to building a self-driving car in the 1950’s.
Our … continue reading
1: “First, do no harm.”
This statement is attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates.
“It succinctly states the physician’s primary responsibility, which is to not kill our patients or do anything that might make their condition worse instead of better,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.
There are only three problems with this statement, Peter tells us:
First, “Hippocrates never … continue reading
1: The mythical Greek Tithonus asked the gods for eternal life.
The gods granted his wish.
At first, Tithonus was joyous. There was only one problem. He forgot to ask for eternal youth as well, and his body continued to decay.
Oops.
When patients visit with Dr. Peter Attia, they instinctively understand the message of the Tithonus story: “They generally insist that they don’t want to live longer, if … continue reading
