On an upcoming HealthBreak, cardiologist J. Kenneth Ford, M.D., will discuss how clinical trials can advance the science of medicine, offering tremendous benefits to patients.

“Patients in the area can get access to new technology that’s not available anywhere else,” said Dr. Ford.

Dr. Ford currently is involved in a vascular closure device trial at Western Baptist. Another study focused on comparing methods to detect abnormal wall motion in the heart.

“This nationwide study compares an echo contrast agent to determine if it’s equal to or better than the more common nuclear stress test,” said Dr. Ford. “The advantage of the ultrasound is there is no radiation involved; whereas with the nuclear test, there is a relatively high radiation dose.”

See this “HealthBreak” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, on NewsChannel 6 and Wednesday morning, July 16, on NewsChannel 6 Today. A different “HealthBreak is added weekly and archived online at westernbaptist.com, paducahsun.com and isurfpaducah.com.