Food, Med, Hearts

I had Phoebe over for lunch today - we whipped up a Chinese-Malaysian classic called "Lor Mai Gai". Phoebe who is Japanese-Caucasian will be marrying Chris this December (his parents are/were Malaysian) so the recipe will probably come in handy somewhere down the line! I was quite amused by how excited she was when she saw me eating it at hospital on Monday and when I said I was going to be cooking it over the weekend she nearly went hysterical with excitement and invited herself over. LoL. It was fun. I also whipped up a batch of white chocolate & cranberry butter cupcakes for my cousin.

Also had Cecile over for a study session in the evening, which was a good confidence boost because in general I seem to remember all the things I've studied and the session went much better than this morning's sesh with Shing. Shing asked me what I'd do if a patient of mine was unconscious in the recovery bay after a colectomy. All I did was stammer and mumble, and my presentation was atrocious.. which was rather embarassing. I think I get really nervous when a senior doctor asks me things, and when I'm all flustered I get mind blanks. Blarh. I need to work something out with regards to this problem because it certainly won't be helpful during the exams.

Today I've been reading about cardiac disease in women, which is not a topic that is often raised even in the medical fraternity. In fact, I think I've only heard of it once before, perhaps when I was in New York. Anyway, my readings tell me that heart disease in women presents differently from that in men, which is presently considered the 'classic' presentation of heart disease. Often times women present with symptoms that sound more like indigestion or GORD and as such, their disease often goes undetected. Apparently more women die from cardiovascular disease too, as compared to men. A doctor at Cedar Sinai described the different underlying pathology for this condition - the involvement of microvasculature as opposed to larger vessels. I think I will read up a little more about it to see if I am interested in this subdivision of cardiology. Barbra Streisand has recently arranged for a significant donation to be made to Cedar Sinai which allows for a heart center focussing on women's health to be established. It has been named after her and is listed in the section called 'Community' on the right. (Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center)