It’s 9:15 a.m. on a cool and sunny Wednesday morning. Walking outside my hospital in the Bronx is never boring. Loud music blares from a storefront. Some guy yells out to a friend while smoking a cigarette and trying to beat the yellow light. People loiter, rush to work, cars honk in the distance; a faint smell of urine lingers as I pass a building’s side entrance. An older neighbor asks a young man, “How’s your daughter?”—he seems to have set up a living room inside his minivan.

I know this place! Even though I can’t explain the feeling – I relate to it and can trust my senses here. Unlike most doctors in this hospital, I grew up in similar circumstances. My entire medical career has also been spent caring for people living in socially vulnerable communities. They trust what I say, respect my input, and try to follow my advice—not just because it’s good advice, but because they also trust me. Through a shared respect for the “daily grind”, we relate to one another.

This kind of connection can’t be captured on a website, expressed by an AI agent, explained by ChatGPT, or fully described in a blog like this- but we have all experienced the familiar.  The trust I’m referring to is intimate, and it takes time and experience to grow. And yet, it’s becoming harder to find in the age of digital health. Marketing agencies are paid to earn your “trust”. Doctors endorse protein bars. The trust currency that medicine was built on has shifted. It’s now about winning your business or becoming a “thought leader” on social media. Direct-to-consumer healthcare goods have flooded the market under the banner of “personal wellness”. And worst of all, some of us doctors are now swearing by the snake oil we push.

So the question becomes: Who do you trust? The digital health company promising longevity with million-dollar branding? Or the digital blood pressure company telling you something we’ve all known for a century – that silent high blood pressure is the number one killer in the world?

Instead – I’ll let my experience speak for my mission. I founded SMARTS Health with a single purpose: to prevent premature death and disability from the one thing I’ve treated thousands of times—stroke. From children with stroke to 100+ year-old women, I’ve cared for countless people with devastating events: brain bleeds, ischemic strokes, carotid dissections, massive heart attacks, heart failure, aortic dissections and everything in between. When it comes to cardiovascular disease, I’ve been there, interacting with the person; and having the unforgettable discussions with their husband or wife or child or parent.  The memories that don’t leave me are of the people who have looked in my eyes and asked – “am I going to die?” Crap – I hate that question.  I would much rather answer the question “Doc, what can I do to prevent a stroke?” 

Beyond relating to people when they are most vulnerable by knowing their neighborhoods, their culture, their families, their lives—my credentials also help some. I graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Microbiology. I completed seven years of training in neurology and vascular neurology at one of the top institutions in the country. I led the busiest stroke center in New York City as a young doctor for over 5 years and have published more than 50 research articles, book chapters and abstracts on treating and preventing heart and brain disease.

So I ask again: Who do you trust?

I can’t convince you that our mission is rooted in a deep desire to bring health to people’s lives and spare them from the despair I’ve so often seen. But maybe you can relate to my story—and decide for yourself.