EP252: Take Your Medication & Future Therapy

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. Episode Summary EP252: Take Your Medication & Future Therapy Dr. Warwick Bishop is a cardiologist, author, and CEO of the Healthy Heart Network dedicated to preventing heart attacks and improving global health literacy. In this episode, he discusses two critical topics: medication adherence and an emerging cardiac technology called electroporation that may revolutionize future heart disease treatment. Key Takeaways: Carrying a written list of your medications and doses in your wallet or phone is one of the most significant steps you can take to ensure proper healthcare, especially in emergency situations. Medication adherence—consistently taking prescribed tablets as directed—is essential because medications only work if you actually take them; many patients discontinue medications for various reasons without consulting their doctors. Poor adherence can compromise clinical trial results and lead to misleading conclusions about treatment effectiveness, as demonstrated in the MASTER DAPT trial where 25% of patients assigned to one-month therapy continued for six months. The ISCHEMIA trial showed that early interventional procedures cannot compensate for poor medication adherence; patients must take their prescribed tablets regardless of whether they undergo early intervention. Open communication with your doctor about medication concerns, side effects, or fears is vital, as doctors can adjust doses or explore alternative strategies to improve adherence and treatment outcomes. Electroporation is an emerging cardiac technology that uses electricity to disrupt cell membranes and may offer a safer alternative to current thermal techniques (freezing or heat) for treating atrial fibrillation. Electroporation can be carefully controlled to either temporarily disable cells (allowing therapeutic drugs to enter) or permanently destroy cells, with minimal damage to surrounding tissue compared to traditional ablation methods. Many heart attacks could be prevented if patients understood and followed proper medication regimens and health strategies tailored to their individual situations.