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Dr Mike MacDonald

Preventive Cardiology · Longevity

About

A cardiologist who’d rather you didn’t need one.

Most cardiology happens after something has gone wrong. The work I care about happens earlier — finding the risk before it becomes a diagnosis, and giving people the knowledge and tools to do something about it.

Dr Mike MacDonald, consultant cardiologist
Specialty Preventive cardiology & longevity medicine Heart failure · obesity · cardiometabolic risk
Based Singapore Practising since 2015
Training United Kingdom Full clinical cardiology training
Public work Articles, courses, calculators, YouTube Read in 60+ countries

The story

Why prevention, why Singapore, why a website at all.

The short version: medicine is much better at treating disease than preventing it. The aim of this practice — and this site — is to nudge that balance the other way.

I’m a consultant cardiologist working at the Harley Street Heart & Vascular Centre in Singapore. I trained in the UK and moved here in 2015. Most of my clinical week is spent on the same things any cardiologist sees — chest pain, palpitations, breathlessness, abnormal scans, the consequences of untreated risk factors. But the part of the work that gets me out of bed is the part that comes earlier: spotting the people who are heading for trouble before they get there, and helping them change course.

The bias I want to push against

Most healthcare systems, including the very good one I work in, are built around treating disease that has already arrived. Prevention is talked about constantly and funded sparingly. Patients usually meet a cardiologist for the first time after something has gone wrong, when the conversation is about damage limitation rather than risk reduction. That feels like the wrong way round to me. The interesting medicine is the medicine that stops the next twenty years of disease before it starts.

What I write about

The articles, calculators and courses on this site exist because the same questions come up in clinic over and over again. What does my cholesterol panel actually mean? Should I worry about a low HDL? Is my blood pressure reading reliable? What’s ApoB and why does it matter more than LDL? Most patients want a clear, calm explanation that respects their intelligence — and most don’t have easy access to one. So I try to write the explanation I’d want my own family to read.

How I think about longevity

“Longevity” gets used loosely these days. I don’t have much time for the version that involves expensive supplements and hopeful biomarkers. The version that interests me is mundane and well-evidenced: keep ApoB low, keep blood pressure controlled, stay metabolically healthy, train hard enough to be strong at 70, sleep properly, and don’t smoke. Most of what I write circles back to that short list.

What this site is — and isn’t

This site is a place to think out loud, share evidence-based explanations, and offer some practical tools. It is not a substitute for a relationship with your own doctor. If something here is useful, take it to your GP or specialist and have a proper conversation. If something here doesn’t sit right with you, push back — I read everything that comes through the contact form.

Clinical focus

What I see most of, in clinic and online

Cardiovascular risk & lipids

ApoB, LDL, Lp(a), cholesterol panels — what they mean, what’s actually treatable, and what to do about it.

Hypertension

Accurate measurement, modern targets, and the practical side of getting blood pressure controlled and keeping it there.

Heart failure

Earlier diagnosis, better drugs than ever before, and a long-term plan that respects how the patient actually wants to live.

Obesity & cardiometabolic health

The hardest single lever for cardiovascular risk in 2026 — and the one that benefits most from a structured plan rather than another diet.

Healthspan & longevity

The boring, evidence-based version: training, sleep, nutrition, biomarker tracking, and not falling for marketing.

Heart screening

What to actually test, when, and how often — including for people with a strong family history or a flagged test elsewhere.

Important

Disclaimer

The content on this site is for general health information. It is not medical advice and isn’t intended to replace the relationship you have with your own doctor. Always speak to a qualified clinician before acting on anything you read here.

If I take a particular supplement, follow a particular eating pattern, or train in a particular way, that doesn’t mean any of it is right for you. We’re all working with different bodies, different histories and different goals.

Get started

Take charge of your cardiovascular health.

Read the articles, take the Heart Tests course, or send a question — I read everything personally.