A cardiac surgeon says heart disease is the leading cause of death, yet medicine focuses on treating it rather than preventing it. Even the best surgery can't restore you to the health you'd have without needing it in the first place.
I always say the first piece of longevity is not dying. And the number one thing we die from is heart disease. So there should be a lot of consideration there. And unfortunately, I think our healthcare system has been overly focused on taking care of the people with heart disease and trying to keep them alive longer once they have the heart disease. But we've completely missed the opportunity for preventing the heart disease in the first place. And that's where the real longevity comes from, because as a cardiac surgeon, what I've come to understand is it doesn't matter how good I might be as a heart surgeon, that patient is never as good after they had the surgery as they would have been if they didn't need the surgery in the first place. And that's what's led to the refocusing of my career.
