Available until February 1, 2026

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death to individuals in the U.S. Many feel that our typical American diet with its high saturated fat content is a major contributor to this. There’s good evidence that shows plant-based diets are cost-effective in lowering the risk factors for cardiovascular disease including obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. They may also lower the number of medications an individual needs to take to manage their chronic diseases. So, are there any disadvantages to a plant-based diet? Are all plant-based diets healthy and what are the nutritional challenges for a patient on a plant-based diet? We’ll discuss these questions in this podcast on “Plant-Based Diets”. Our guest is Lisa Lammert, a registered dietician and nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

The liver is the second most commonly transplanted organ; nearly 10,000 patients received a liver transplant in 2021. The major factor, which has limited the transplants performed, has been the availability of the donated organs and some patients have waited several years before an acceptable organ becomes available. Transplants can be performed for a variety of end-stage liver diseases, usually giving patients years of additional life. Who’s a candidate for a liver transplant and what criteria for selection are required? Our topic for this podcast is “Liver Transplant Selection Criteria” and we’ll discuss this topic with our guest, Michael D. Leise, M.D., from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

Functional dyspepsia, also known as non-ulcer dyspepsia, represents chronic upper GI symptoms of indigestion and not infrequently abdominal discomfort. Diagnosing functional dyspepsia can be challenging since there are no definitive diagnostic tests. This often results in patients seeking multiple medical opinions searching for a specific cause and treatment for their symptoms. What are the common presenting symptoms of functional dyspepsia? What’s an appropriate evaluation and how do we treat our patients who have it? In this podcast, we’ll discuss these questions and more with David J. Cangemi, M.D., a gastroenterologist from the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

Nutrition is so important to our health. What and how much we eat can help keep us healthy or increase our risk of developing a number of health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, malignancy or a variety of degenerative health conditions. Unfortunately, many of our patients obtain their information regarding nutrition from the media which is often very inaccurate. It’s our responsibility as primary care providers to assess our patients’ nutritional status and give them accurate recommendations regarding dietary changes they should make in order to remain healthy. This starts with a nutritional history. Yet very few of us have had any formal education in nutrition. How do we take a nutritional history? What are the important questions to ask? We’ll discuss this and other nutritional issues with our guest for this podcast, Tara Schmidt, M.Ed, RDN, LD, a registered dietician at the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

It’s estimated that between 2% and 3% of the population has some form of valvular heart disease and this increases with age. Most of these patients are initially cared for by primary care providers. Most valvular disease deaths are due to disease of the aortic valve and it’s important to recognize these patients early in order to assess for progression and the need for surgical intervention. What are the presenting symptoms of aortic valve disease? What’s the best way to manage and follow these patients and when should a cardiologist and cardiac surgeon become involved in the care of the patient? In this podcast, we’ll discuss these questions and more with cardiologist Rekha Mankad, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

As primary care providers, evaluating patients with a virus is a common part of our practice. This ranges from colds, a painful shingles outbreak, COVID-19, RSV bronchiolitis, influenza, and many more. Oftentimes, after a detailed physical exam, we tell our patients the cause of their symptoms are due to a virus and that their symptoms should improve in a couple days to weeks. However, we know that sometimes the symptoms of a viral infection can be a harbinger of more severe disease. In today’s talk, we will be discussing a virus. Acute infection with this virus can present with fever, fatigue, myalgias, arthralgias, lymphadenopathy, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, weight loss, and rash. This constellation of symptoms, especially when they persist for a prolonged duration of time can be representative of an acute HIV infection. Tune in to this episode to learn more about the pathophysiology of HIV, how a patient can contract HIV, the tests to perform when an acute HIV infection is suspected, how to prevent an HIV infection, and also to learn a bit more about anal Pap smears.