Knife Down
"Knife Down" is what a surgeon says in the OR when she puts her scalpel down so no one gets hurt — and it’s the mission here: put the knife down, long before anyone needs to use it.
Knife Down is a podcast about how to actually invest in your health so you can live longer, stronger, and with less time in doctors’ offices. The core focus is the world’s leading cause of death—cardiovascular disease—and what to do about it before it shows up as a catastrophe.
Hosted by a vascular surgeon on a mission to put herself out of business, the show translates cutting-edge science on prevention, metabolic health, and longevity into real-world strategies you can use in clinic or at your kitchen table. Expect evidence, nuance, and zero wellness hype—plus the occasional dark joke about the state of modern medicine.
Knife Down
Latest Episodes
My Arteries Got Older?! A Vascular Surgeon Explains CIMT Results
My CIMT results came back—and one number moved in the wrong direction. In this video, I walk through my own carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) scan, explain arterial age, plaque burden, IMT progression, and measurement variability, and talk ...
What Really Causes Heart Disease: LDL or Inflammation?
In this video, Dr. Lily Johnston addresses viewer questions about lipid panels, heart disease risk, and diagnostic testing. Key topics include:Coronary Calcium Scans vs. CCTA/CIMT: Why calcium scores may not be sufficient for younger pa...
This Changes How I Think About Creatine
Can a simple 5g scoop of creatine do more than just build muscle? In today’s video, I’m reacting to Thomas DeLauer’s insights on how creatine might “spare” your body’s methylation cycle—and then diving deep into the actual clinical data to see ...
High LDL. Normal ApoB. Now What??
What do you do when your "bad cholesterol" (LDL) flags high, but your other metabolic markers look great? In this video, I’m sharing my personal lab results to explain why standard lipid panels only tell part of the story.We’ll dive dee...
The 10 Blood Tests I Run to Catch Heart Disease DECADES Early
After I walked through my own labs last week, you had sharp follow-ups — Vascepa versus a mixed omega-3, why my lab screenshots had no reference ranges, which lab company I actually use — so the first half is me answering them. Then I count dow...