Recent essays, explainers, clinical frameworks, and build notes from Mendel Jacobs, MD.
This is the full article archive for MendelMD: practical preventive cardiology explainers, resident-facing clinical guides, analysis of AI in medicine, and notes from building small tools in public. The goal is to make complicated medical ideas easier to read, question, and use.
Start with the Vital8 work if you are thinking about long-term cardiovascular health, The White Coat if you are a medical student or resident, and AI in Medicine if you want a grounded look at clinical AI, safety, workflow, and evaluation.
Can blood pressure treatment help you live longer? What studies show about hypertension, years of healthy life, and why sustained control matters.
Nov 1, 2026 · 13 min read
Use the blood pressure chart to understand normal, elevated, stage 1, and stage 2 readings—and why either number can put you in a higher category.
Nov 1, 2026 · 6 min read
Get a reliable home blood pressure average: choose a validated cuff, sit correctly, take repeated readings, and bring a useful seven-day log to your visit.
Nov 1, 2026 · 6 min read
A plain-language summary of AHA guidance on very high blood pressure: when to call 911, when to contact your clinician, and the pregnancy exception.
Nov 1, 2026 · 6 min read
Learn what a Swan-Ganz pulmonary artery catheter measures, its ports and placement, normal values, pressure waveforms, and bedside hemodynamic interpretation.
Oct 25, 2026 · 27 min read
A free, resident-built listening curriculum informed by the ABIM blueprint, with curated podcasts, original practice questions, and topic Anki decks.
Oct 19, 2026 · 1 min read
OpenEvidence vs ChatGPT for doctors: a physician compares clinical accuracy, medical citations, safety evidence, and the best use for each AI tool.
Oct 18, 2026 · 15 min read
The evidence and scientific rationale behind Vital8, an educational cardiovascular health score built on the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) framework — covering preventive cardiology, ApoB/non-HDL cholesterol, and VO2 max.
Oct 15, 2026 · 18 min read
A practical hypertension guide: why blood pressure matters, how to lower it, when medication helps, and where to start protecting your heart.
Oct 11, 2026 · 17 min read
How much exercise adults need, why cardiorespiratory fitness matters, and how activity affects heart health, blood sugar, cancer risk, brain health, and longevity.
Oct 11, 2026 · 27 min read
How sleep affects heart health, blood pressure, metabolism, and longevity—with practical targets, Life’s Essential 8 scoring, insomnia and sleep apnea guidance.
Oct 11, 2026 · 26 min read
Understand BMI, waist circumference, visceral fat, and realistic weight-loss goals—and how to put those numbers in context for your heart health.
Sep 29, 2026 · 15 min read
A readable explanation of the LDL calculator’s equations, statin dose estimates, combination therapy assumptions, study sources, and limitations.
Sep 16, 2026 · 12 min read
Medical AI benchmarks contradict each other because they measure different things. A five-layer framework for evaluating clinical LLMs — from board-exam accuracy to patient outcomes — and why the evaluation layer usually decides the winner.
Sep 12, 2026 · 13 min read
From PubMedQA in 2019 to pragmatic patient-outcome trials in 2026 — how medical AI evaluation evolved, what each generation of benchmarks exposed that the last one couldn't see, and what exam scores can and cannot tell us.
Sep 12, 2026 · 12 min read
A physician's review of six AI in medicine stories: ChatGPT in Epic, FDA outcomes evidence, SkinVision, AI ultrasound, autonomous mammography triage, and oncology RAG summaries.
Sep 9, 2026 · 12 min read
How to use Conaanaa's SketchyPath SALT deck with Sketchy Pathology, Anki, UWorld, and pathology review without drowning in cards.
Sep 9, 2026 · 7 min read
A preventive cardiology guide to LDL cholesterol, ApoB, Lp(a), and hs-CRP: what each blood test measures, when it helps, and how to use the results.
Sep 9, 2026 · 11 min read
Learn what an ApoB blood test measures, when it adds information beyond LDL cholesterol, and how to interpret and lower ApoB.
Sep 7, 2026 · 12 min read
A simple LE8 calculator for estimating cardiovascular health across diet, activity, nicotine, sleep, BMI, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
Aug 30, 2026 · 1 min read
Compare VO2 max by age and sex, see what counts as a good VO2 max, and estimate your score with Cooper, Rockport, 1.5-mile, or shuttle tests.
Aug 27, 2026 · 6 min read
A practical guide to using Sketchy Medical with Anki, including what Sketchy means, how to use Sketchy Micro and Sketchy Pharm, and when to use the Pepper decks.
Aug 26, 2026 · 6 min read
A bedside framework for approaching acute hypoxemic respiratory failure when the diagnosis is not yet clear.
Aug 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Understand A1c and blood sugar ranges, when high or low glucose needs urgent care, misleading results, and practical steps to discuss with your clinician.
Aug 21, 2026 · 27 min read
Google's AMIE can now conduct medical conversations, assist cardiologists, and interpret video visits. Here is what the evidence shows, and what it does not.
Aug 20, 2026 · 10 min read
A plain-English guide to Lp(a): what it is, why it matters, who should get tested, why lifestyle barely changes it, and what new treatments may mean.
Aug 16, 2026 · 15 min read
A Vital8 guide to cigarettes, vaping, nicotine pouches, harm reduction, and the evidence-based tools that help people quit nicotine for good.
Aug 16, 2026 · 15 min read
A simple pre-rounding checklist for medical students and interns. VELCRO: Vitals, Exam, Labs, Consultants, Radiology, Other, plus how it connects to the RIME framework.
Aug 14, 2026 · 8 min read
Understand LDL cholesterol, when LDL of 190 or high triglycerides need medical review, inherited risk, personal goals, and ways to lower cholesterol.
Aug 14, 2026 · 27 min read
A calm, evidence-aware guide to eating better for cardiovascular health: energy balance, food quality, Mediterranean and DASH patterns, and why macronutrient perfection is usually the wrong target.
Aug 10, 2026 · 15 min read
How to study for Step 2 CK with a focused plan for Divine Intervention podcasts, UWorld, NBME practice tests, Anki, rotations, and exam-day question load.
Aug 10, 2026 · 11 min read
The concise technical scoring appendix for Vital8, including Life's Essential 8 (LE8) domain thresholds, treatment adjustments, and the exploratory Lp(a), hsCRP, and CRF multiplier model.
Aug 6, 2026 · 8 min read
A copy-and-paste Codex prompt for building a fast, SEO-ready personal website while learning how the code, content system, GitHub repository, and Vercel deployment work.
Aug 5, 2026 · 12 min read
A taxonomy for understanding the healthcare AI market by user, workflow, risk, and distribution.
Aug 4, 2026 · 11 min read
A PGY-3's guide to feeling less overwhelmed before stepping into the ICU.
Aug 4, 2026 · 3 min read
I built a personal website — my brand, blog, and hub — in half a day for $11.95. Here's how a busy physician did it, and why understanding the pieces matters more than the AI.
Aug 4, 2026 · 10 min read
A brutally honest, time-saving guide for busy residents preparing for Step 3.
Aug 4, 2026 · 4 min read
A practical CCS cases framework with stabilization, diagnostic, lab, and preventive care mnemonics for Step 3.
Aug 4, 2026 · 5 min read