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
Amputations Broke My Heart. So I Changed Everything.
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
My first job felt like cleaning up 20 years of bad decisions that looked like normal life.
Metabolic disease doesn't announce itself—it compounds quietly while you're "fine" until your heart gives out or your brain shorts or you lose a limb. I was the last stop, and by then, I was just damage control with a scalpel.
It took me 2 years to realize I was fighting downstream from the actual war. So I pivoted to meet people where prevention still matters.
⚕️ What you'll learn:
The real timeline of metabolic disease (it starts way earlier than diagnosis)
How cardiovascular damage compounds silently for decades
Why "managing" disease isn't the same as preventing it
The moment I realized surgery was the wrong battlefield
What actually moves the needle before you're on my table
If you've been told your numbers are "fine for now" or you're "pre-" anything—this is for you. The window to act is bigger than you think, but it doesn't stay open forever.
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🧬 About Dr. Lily Johnston
Dr. Johnston is a double board-certified vascular and general surgeon in San Diego, specializing in metabolic and cardiovascular prevention. She’s the founder of CorSight Health and a passionate advocate for reimagining how medicine approaches chronic disease.
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