Making Lifestyle Medicine Palatable: Getting Patients to Say Yes

About this episode

Dr. Ajay Joseph discusses his journey into lifestyle medicine and its importance in cardiovascular care.

Welcome to another episode of Flip Your Script, a vodcast by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, hosted by ACLM President Dr. Padmaja Patel. In each episode, we explore five key takeaways on how lifestyle medicine is helping clinicians and leaders reimagine the future of healthcare. This episode, “Making Lifestyle Medicine Palatable: Getting Patients to Say Yes,” features Dr. Ajay Joseph, an interventional cardiologist at Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He shares his journey to lifestyle medicine—from his own residency-related health struggles to launching Oklahoma’s first comprehensive lifestyle medicine program—and how that transformation reshaped his approach to cardiology. The conversation explores why lifestyle medicine is not an “extra,” but a core intervention in cardiovascular care. Dr. Joseph discusses compelling data on reducing atrial fibrillation recurrence, repeat procedures, and cardiac events through structured lifestyle interventions, and why cardiologists are often more receptive than we assume. You’ll also hear how he challenges the common belief that “patients won’t change.” Practicing in Oklahoma, he explains how giving clear…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Padmaja Patel

Guest: Dr. Ajay Joseph

Topics covered

• lifestyle medicine
• cardiology
• patient behavior change
• healthcare transformation
• structured interventions

Keywords

• lifestyle medicine
• cardiology
• patient engagement
• atrial fibrillation
• healthcare

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Saint Francis Health System

Places: Tulsa, Oklahoma

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