Iron Direct Primary Care Podcast

Prevalence of Silent Atherosclerosis across Adult Life. NEJM, August 2026. REACT imaged 16,808 apparently ASCVD-free adults aged 18–70 with carotid/femoral 3D ultrasound and coronary CTA. Silent atherosclerosis was already present in 57.1% overall and was detectable even at age 18–29. Plaque burden then rose dramatically with age.

What does primary care look like when you combine traditional medicine, functional medicine, hormone optimization, cardiovascular prevention, and longevity medicine under one roof?In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. Manuel Salvadori, Biologo Nutrizionista, for a fascinating Italian-American discussion about what we do at Iron Direct Primary Care in Melbourne, Florida—and why our model looks so different from conventional healthcare in both the United States and Italy.We start with the basics: What is a Physician Associate (PA-C)? What is Direct Primary Care? And how can a primary care practice spend 60–90 minutes with a new patient instead of trying to solve complex problems in a seven-minute visit?From there, the conversation goes much deeper.We discuss:• How Iron DPC combines primary care + functional medicine + anti-aging/longevity medicine• Why prevention should be built into primary care rather than treated as a separate specialty• Hormone replacement therapy and the differences between replacement, optimization, and abuse• Estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, menopause, muscle loss and healthy aging• Why simple interventions—diet, exercise, sleep, appropriate medications and hormone management—often matter more than exotic biohacks• My evolving view of biohacking and why constant optimization can become counterproductive• Peptides, NAD, mitochondrial medicine and when we actually use them• Cold plunge, sauna, red-light therapy, exercise and recovery at Iron DPC• Why I increasingly favor a little “Euromaxxing”: coffee, conversation, slower living and enjoying life• The economics of Direct Primary Care and why patients pay a predictable monthly membership rather than paying us every time they need care• Major differences between the American and Italian healthcare systems• And our somewhat ambitious proposal: could Italy eventually develop its own version of the Physician Associate model with Functional Medicine combined?One of the central ideas behind Iron Direct Primary Care is simple:Primary care should not just manage disease after it appears. It should actively work to preserve health, function, muscle, metabolic health and cardiovascular health for decades.That means treating the knee injury that walks in today—but also thinking about the patient's cholesterol, hormones, exercise, sleep, nutrition and long-term risk.Medicine does not have to exist in silos. This was one of my favorite international conversations because Manuel approaches these subjects from an Italian nutrition and functional-medicine perspective, while I approach them from everyday clinical practice in the United States.🇺🇸 Conversation recorded in Italian🇮🇹 with English subtitles availableLearn more about Iron Direct Primary Care on Instagram and YouTube or at ironDPC.com For healthcare professionals interested in my complete course on hormone and anti-aging medicine: HRTPCP.comStefan Hartmann, PA-CCEO, Iron Direct Primary Care Melbourne, FloridaThis discussion is for educational purposes only and is not individualized medical advice.#DirectPrimaryCare #FunctionalMedicine #LongevityMedicine #HormoneReplacementTherapy #HRT #PrimaryCare #AntiAgingMedicine #MensHealth #WomensHealth #Biohacking #Peptides #PreventiveMedicine #IronDirectPrimaryCare

Gillian Godon Perue MD on Acute Ischemic Stroke Guidelines at the FAPA conference in Daytona Beach June 26, 2026.As always, if interested in our HRT course please pre register via the linkhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GoX_B7V9PxZGAPch8_MeRED5WLIVKghqSMwFhqNJo1E/edit

In this talk at The Mermaid House in Indian Harbour Beach, Ashley Curtis, MSN, APRN, FNP-C of Iron Direct Primary Care (Iron DPC) shares insights on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women. Ashley is a Family Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years of nursing experience. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Western Governors University and brings a strong background in functional medicine and integrative nutrition to her practice. Passionate about relationship-based, preventive care, she prioritizes listening to patients and partnering with them to support long-term health, optimize quality of life, and address root causes rather than simply managing symptoms. Her clinical interests include hormone optimization, women’s health, performance medicine, metabolic health, and lifestyle-based care. Outside the clinic, Ashley is a dedicated weightlifter who lives an active lifestyle focused on performance, longevity, and sustainable health alongside her family. Learn more about Ashley and the Iron DPC team: https://www.irondpc.com/about-usVisit Iron DPC: https://www.irondpc.com #WomensHealth #HormoneOptimization #Menopause #IronDPC #FunctionalMedicine #BioidenticalHormones

Kratom and suboxone treatment by Neil Nipper MD at the FAPA conference in Daytona Beach June 26, 2026.As always, if interested in our HRT course please pre register via the linkhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GoX_B7V9PxZGAPch8_MeRED5WLIVKghqSMwFhqNJo1E/edit