1: For many years, the long-entrenched standard practice for postmenopausal women was hormone replacement therapy or HRT. 

Then, in 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative Study (WHI) published the results of a large clinical trial. The research involved thousands of older women and analyzed the health outcomes of women taking HRT versus those who did not. 

“The study reported a 24 percent relative increase in the risk of breast cancer among … continue reading

1: Dr. Peter Attia can still remember the magazine cover he read in the waiting room while his friend and colleague Michael underwent surgery.

Michael was in his early forties. He had been diagnosed with a very large colon tumor that required immediate surgery. 

“Michael is the kindest soul I think I’ve ever known,” Peter writes in his terrific book Outlive, “and his brilliance and with could make the … continue reading

1: Together, heart disease and cancer account for almost half of all American deaths. 

There is a difference, however, between these two killers. 

“We understand,” Peter Attia writes in his terrific book Outlive, “the genesis and progression of heart disease fairly well, and we have some effective tools with which to prevent and treat it.

“As a result, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease have dropped by … continue reading

1: “Steve Rosenberg was still a young resident when he encountered the patient who would determine the course of his career—and, possibly, of cancer treatment in general,” Peter Attia writes in his powerful book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. 

The year was 1968. Steve was working on a rotation at a VA hospital in Massachusetts. A man in his sixties showed up at the hospital needing … continue reading

1: 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.

This week, we’ve been exploring the ideas in Peter Attia‘s powerful book Outlive. Peter writes about The Four Horsemen: heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and type … continue reading

1: “Do we tell people it’s okay to smoke until they are 65 and then have them stop?” Peter Attia asks in his terrific book Outlive.

“Should we tell someone to stop smoking only after their ten-year risk of lung cancer reaches a certain threshold?” he asks. 

Of course not. Much better to do everything we can to stop people from starting smoking.

“The sooner we cut the head … continue reading

1: Heart disease is a sly, slow-moving, stealth-like killer.

It “unfolds very slowly—not over two or three or even five years, but over many decades,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in his powerful book Outlive.

Yesterday, we explored how teenagers who passed away from other causes were found to have lesions and plaques in their arteries.

“There is a considerable period of time when the disease is not harmful,” Peter … continue reading

1: “What proportion of heart attacks occur in people younger than age sixty-five?” 

That was the question Dr. Allan Sniderman asked Dr. Peter Attia at Dulles Airport in 2014.  

“I guessed high,” Peter writes in his terrific book Outlive. 

“One in four,” he responded.

He was low. Way low. 

“Fully half of all major adverse cardiovascular events in men (and a third of those in women), such as heart … continue reading

1: Dr. Peter Attia met Anahad O’Connor in 2012. Both had traveled to France to receive an award from the French-American Foundation.

“We immediately bonded,” Peter writes in his book Outlive. “I think it was because we were the only two guys on the trip who skipped the pain au chocolat and spent our spare time in the gym. 

“Also, he wrote about health and science for the New … continue reading

1: “Scientists have been exploring the medical mysteries of the human heart for almost as long as poets have been probing its metaphorical depths,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in his brilliant book Outlive.

“It is a wondrous organ, a tireless muscle that pumps blood around the body every moment of our lives. . . 

“And when it stops, we stop.”

Heart disease remains our deadliest killer. 

We can think … continue reading