Featured image: Stents are marvels of modern medicine that prop open coronary arteries and resume blood flow, ending the blockage that leads to heart attacks. (Courtesy Getty Images)
Today we speak with Dr. Haider Warraich, cardiologist starting at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, on his new book, State of the Heart. As a medical professional and writer, Haider knows firsthand the power of stories to stick in human memory; but he also knows how little the average person understands their hardest-working organ. His book brings the heart, its ailments, and its medical history to life. Though it continually pumps blood through your body, it took humans millennia to understand how the heart works, and medical mysteries still abound. Hear about blood pressure, heart attacks, stress and anxiety, and the future of cardiovascular technology.
Plus, a great intro on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with Dr. Ingrid Ockert of the Science History Institute, including a massive rocket display on the Washington Monument and a review of the glorious archival film, Apollo 11.
The playlist can be found on WPRB.com or below.
These Vibes Are Too Cosmic 