Episode Details

This episode is brought to you by One Skin and Momentous.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. But today, we no longer have to wait for symptoms to understand our risk. Advances in technology now make it possible to get a clear snapshot of individual risk, not only for heart disease, but also for cancer and neurodegenerative conditions, empowering us to take proactive steps to lower risk and support long-term health. Our guest today breaks down what’s truly worth investing in and what we can skip.

Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Topol shares insights on the importance of preventive health, with a focus on cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative conditions. He explains the role of polygenic risk scores in assessing individual risk, explores the strengths and limitations of various testing methods, and highlights how lifestyle choices shape disease prevention. Dhru and Dr. Topol also discuss emerging technologies in health monitoring, the influence of environmental factors like air pollution, and what the future may hold for aging and health management.

Dr. Eric Topol is Executive Vice President and Professor of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. A practicing cardiologist and one of the ten most-cited researchers in medicine, he is renowned for his wor in AI, genomics, and digital clinical trials. Named to the Time 100 Health list in 2024, he also writes the Ground Truths newsletter and is the author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine, The Patient Will See You Now, Deep Medicine, and Super Agers.

In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Topol dive into: 

• Cardiovascular disease causes, risks, and prevention (1:07)

• Polygenic risk genetic links to disease and understanding your risk (7:56)

• Heart health with Dr. Topol’s key recommendations (13:21)

• Cancer testing types of tests and how to approach results (27:47)

• Medical guidance mistrust, confusion, incidental findings, and the importance of evidence-based practitioners (34:20)

• Alzheimer’s detection, blood work, testing, and the role of AI (43:13)

• Environmental risks, air pollution, and sleep irregularity, and why these factors must be addressed (53:20)

• Parkinson’s disease: the fastest-growing neurodegenerative condition (57:01)

• Prevention and lowering your risk of developing major diseases (59:52)

• Gut health and the gut-hormone connection (1:02:05)

• Aging and immunity: links between age-related diseases and the immune system (1:06:19)

• Measuring biological age (1:08:14)

• Final thoughts and takeaways (1:16:27)

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

• Polygenic Risk Scores: Ready for Prime Time?

• What a Polygenic Risk Score Can and Can’t Tell You

• Allelica Polygenic Risk Test

• Dhru’s APOE Chat GPT Results 

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