Edward Pullen, MD

Dr. Pullen discusses the clinical characteristics of PSVT, the tests used to diagnose this condition, and new treatment methods.

Dr. Pullen discusses the diagnosis of various forms of hypertension, the most common chronic health problem seen by many family physicians.

Chicago Cubs pitcher underwent radiofrequency ablation to treat paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.

TriCare, the government-provided health plan for eligible military dependents now offers secure online and telephone counseling services.

Family physicians are being worn out by the prescription drug epidemic, and patients in pain and needing opiates are bearing the brunt of our reluctance to prescribe these medications for fear of being audited or worse. It's time for real solutions to the problems of misuse, abuse, and diversion of prescription pain medications.

Dr. Pullen recounts one memorable cross-country flight when he was called on to assist not one, but two patients: a woman who was having an episode of angina and another who was having difficulty breathing due to emphysema.

Dr. Pullen examines the use of human growth hormone's ability to improve performance in the same week that Floyd Landis admits to doping and accuses Lance Armstrong of doing the same.

Dr. Pullen examines the natural - and unnatural - things that patients do to keep themselves healthy.

Major league pitcher Tommy John served as the catalyst for the development of ulnar collateral ligament repair surgery after he ruptured the ligament in 1974.

A recent review posted in PubMed suggests that one dose of aspirin provides comparable pain relief to Imitrex.

As concussions have become a more frequent health concern that young athletes are faced with, the knowledge and medical protocol for treating these injuries has evolved.

It looks like NHIN Direct will provide a move toward a secure, Internet-based program to allow exchange of data in a more secure and useful way. Now the question is, "How fast and well can it be executed?" Being available yesterday would not be too soon.

Dr. Pullen examines the drop in annual cases of meningitis in recent years, due primarily to vaccines.

Dr. Pullen outlines a number of suggestions physicians can use for maintaining personal interaction with patients while using an EMR in the room.

Dr. Pullen's latest blog entry discusses the functions of the knee and the importance of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.

Dr. Pullen's newest blog entry reviews the improvements in the pharmacologic management of psychiatric diseases in the past 30 years.

A recent 60 Minutes episode addressed the use of stimulants like Ritalin and Adderal by college students to get better grades. Dr. Pullen discusses the episode and the issue.

A good argument can be made that we could save more lives and prevent more morbidity by aggressively diagnosing, treating and controlling hypertension than with any other condition given the knowledge and tools at our disposal at this time, but, according to Dr. Pullen, we are doing "a miserably poor job of controlling hypertension in America."

Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA played tonight in game 4 of the Blazers playoff series with the Phoenix Suns. To those of you who are not sports fans, you may say, "So what?" The amazing thing is that Roy had arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus eight days ago.

Dr. Pullen discusses the worldwide efforts to eradicate polio, predicting that "polio is a disease of the past before the end of this decade."

Much has happened and incredible progress has been made management of some health conditions, and disappointing progress in others. Today I'm going to discuss peptic ulcer disease.

Hay fever, also called allergic rhinitis, is one of the quiet but costly medical problems in the US. It is estimated that the economic burden of allergic rhinitis is estimated to be in the billions of dollars, both in medical costs and in lost time from work.

Dr. Edward Pullen examines the ways in which Earth Day and going green can relate to medicine.

A nice surprise buried somewhere in the healthcare reform bill is that, starting next year, Medicare patients will be able to get annual preventative care exams that are paid for by their health insurance.

The second in my series of trips down memory lane over the last 30 years is on the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF).

Electronic medical records (EMRs) have a bad reputation among many physicians for generating progress notes that are so verbose and filled with standard phrases that they are nearly useless to other physicians, and even to the physician who produced the note in the first place.

Exercise alone does not seem to be effective in preventing weight gain once a woman is already heavy. The latest issue of JAMA reports on a huge study trying to see if different levels of exercise prevent weight gain in women.

I have stayed away from saying much about the health care reform debate so far, but based on the healthcare reform plan passed yesterday, I'd have to say, "Gosh, that doesn't look too bad."

I frequently have patients ask me about using medical marijuana. Unfortunately, they are not the patients I think would benefit most from its use.