Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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WebMD
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Despite Progress, Black Americans See Heart Health Disparities
It was week 17 of what should have been a typical Monday Night Football showdown, but Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s tackle of Bengals receiver Tee Higgins may ultimately have been a game changer – not only for football, but for heart disparities in the U.S. as well. Hamlin, 24, who had sudden cardiac arrest after getting hit, was down for roughly 19 minutes while responders did CPR and utilized an AED to restart his heart. The incident – which has focused attention on a rare condition (commotio cordis) and the importance of public action – may also be a turning point for a community that has long been in the spotlight for having poor heart health: Black Americans. “Even though we’ve made tremendous progress in reducing the burden of heart attack and stroke, we need a different approach to get everyone’s attention,” says Clyde Yancy, MD, chief of cardiology and vice dean of diversity and inclusion at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Case in point is the episode with Damar Hamlin; everybody in the country is now aware of the benefit of CPR,” he says. “We haven’t always been able to leverage a moment that gets attention of the community in such a rapid and robust way.
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USA Today
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Can reverse dieting really trick your metabolism? Experts weigh in
Social media is abuzz with videos promoting a new way of eating that seems to turn dieting – and weight maintenence – on its head. TikTok influencers call reverse dieting a way to “train your metabolism” to eat more food and not gain weight. However, there’s no evidence that reverse dieting restores your metabolism. According to Robert Kushner, MD, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, gradually reintroducing food after weight loss is a practical and standard approach used in both research studies and clinical practice. But the reason for doing this has to do with gradually eating more while keeping an eye on the scale to make sure you’re maintaining – not gaining – weight. As for tricking your metabolism? Without any proof, that’s a catchy spin, he says.
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CBS News
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Racism and Sleep: Why researchers say Black Americans are less likely to get a good night’s rest
Growing evidence shows the lasting impacts of racism have put certain groups in a position to have a tougher time getting a full night’s sleep. Experts argue that puts them at higher risk for greater health problems. “National data indicate that Black adults and other non-white adults have poorer sleep,” said Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We want to be able to address disparities in sleep because we know that sleep is associated with some of the leading causes of death, including cardiovascular disease,” said Carnethon.
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Fox 32 Chicago
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New ‘necklace’ could help cigarette smokers
Nabil Alshurafa, PhD, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is studying smoking patterns using a thermal-activated camera that detects heat. This wearable device measures the number of puffs taken, their duration and the time between each drag on the cigarette. The purpose of these necklaces are to assist people in quitting smoking. Mainly, if a person joins a program to quit smoking they may be given this necklace and it will monitor when a person relapses. “Let’s say you have a stressful moment, or say you have a slip, the device will detect it and send you a mindfulness text message or video to guide you through that moment and remind you it’s just a temporary setback and hopefully prevent future slips,” says Alshurafa.
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NPR
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Which type of eye doctor do you need? Optometrists and ophthalmologists face off
The payment incentive study is also hard to parse, in part because it is a generalized comparison — data on specific procedures are not available. Plus, performance metrics could be skewed by low-income patients, who are more likely to see an optometrist than an ophthalmologist, said study co-author Dustin French, PhD, a health economist in the ophthalmology department at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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WebMD
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Including More People of Color in Heart Failure Research
Without good representation in studies, doctors have no way of knowing how well the drugs they prescribe will work in their Black and Hispanic patients or if the medicines might cause unexpected side effects. The study that led to FDA approval of heart failure drug vericiguat (Verquvo) was made up of less than 5% Black people. Experts say there’s a real need to increase enrollment of people of color in heart disease clinical trials to make these study populations better reflect people living with heart disease in the United States today. “Up until now we’ve used an approach of sameness, assuming that all patients represent the same model,” says Clyde Yancy, MD, vice dean of diversity and inclusion and chief of the division of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. In reality, people of different races and ethnicities don’t always respond in the same way to heart failure medicines.
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WebMD
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Heart Failure Risk: Where You Live, What You Look Like, and Where You Come From
Heart failure hits Black and Hispanic communities hardest. It’s clear now that social factors play a huge role – and that they can also be part of the solution. “The things that influence people’s lives outside of the clinic matter just as much as, if not more than, the medications and procedures in the doctor’s office,” says Nilay S. Shah, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Many different social factors help explain the higher risk of HF in Black and Hispanic communities. These include low income, low health literacy, cultural beliefs, the fact that doctors look different from them, long working hours, unhealthy foods and unsafe neighborhoods. All adults could benefit from changes to their own lifestyles, like a better diet and more exercise, Shah says. But broad-sweeping improvements in education, income, access to health care and our neighborhoods are also needed.
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NBC 5 Chicago
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What is Long COVID and What Are the Symptoms? Here’s What to Know
For some who contract COVID, symptoms can last for quite some time as part of a condition known as “long COVID.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID symptoms typically appear anywhere from two to 14 days after someone is exposed to the virus. The CDC says most people with COVID-19 “get better within a few days to a few weeks after infection.” COVID “long-haulers,” are defined as individuals who have had COVID symptoms for six or more weeks, Northwestern Medicine has said. A study from Northwestern Medicine last year showed that many so-called COVID “long-haulers” continue to experience symptoms like brain fog, tingling, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus and fatigue an average of 15 months after the onset of the virus.
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WTTW
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Explaining What Exactly Hospice Care Means After Former President Jimmy Carter’s Announcement
Former President Jimmy Carter has opted for hospice care in his home in Plains, Georgia. WTTW News spoke to Joshua Hauser, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Hauser explained “Hospice care is focused on comfort and quality of life and support for families usually within the last six months or near the end of life. It’s often not focused on more sort of illness modifying or disease modifying therapies. So it’s really a pure focus on comfort, quality of life and support for families.” He further explains when people should start talking about hospice care, “I think the first issue is that there’s a serious disease that someone has – they have an advanced cancer, they’ve advanced heart disease, they have advanced pulmonary disease or lung disease. And the second issue is that things might be getting worse despite the therapies for those diseases. So I think that can be a time people might start talking about a more comfort oriented approach.”
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ABC 7 Chicago
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Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews reveals battle with long COVID will keep him off ice
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has revealed that he is fighting symptoms of long COVID. The Blackhawks announced over the weekend he is going to be out indefinitely while he deals with the effects of long COVID. Researchers say Toews is not unusual. Doctors at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine say there are some 30 million people suffering from long COVID symptoms on some level. It is the third most frequent neurological illness in the U.S. “Some people tend to improve in a seesaw pattern,” said Dr. Igor Koralnik at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Some stay flat and unfortunately some get worse over time.” Toews missed the entire 2021 season due to chronic immune response syndrome. Doctors say they have studied patients with long COVID and most – about eight out of ten – are young, healthy and never had severe symptoms initially. “There are some people who feel they are 10-20% recovered after more than two and a half years,” Dr. Koralnik said.
