c2013 in my home office
(Kellogg, Idaho)
Your good health is my life's mission. I aim to prevent and cure disease whenever possible, to help the sick, and to give comfort at the end of life. I advise everyone to:
- A - stay Active. Exercise. Do daily activities to keep your blood flowing and your muscles strong. Breathe in fresh air and enjoy the powerful feeling of health from the activity! For diabetics, "A" also means to monitor your hemoglobin A1c.
- B - watch your Blood pressure. This means you must measure your blood pressure regularly because blood pressure usually changes slowly over time, and we don't notice. High blood pressure can be effectively treated, making you less likely to suffer from heart disease or stroke.
- C - check your cholesterol regularly. High cholesterol, like high blood pressure, isn't something we can feel. Instead, it needs to be measured. There is a wide range of healthy cholesterol levels; my concern is that too high can have severe consequences. High cholesterol can be genetic, increasing your risk of many diseases, primarily cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke. Excessively high cholesterol levels can be treated and can improve blood flow. The best way to lower your cholesterol is through diet and exercise, but many people will benefit from medications such as Red Yeast Rice or statins to lower their cholesterol when it is too high.
- D - consume a healthy diet, including that you Don't smoke. Eat a healthy diet that keeps you feeling good and your weight at an optimal level. The best diet for most people is low in sugars, refined flour, and calories. The Mediterranean Diet has been extensively studied and is one of the best. Check it out!
- E - Enjoy life! We all have stress, certainly some more than others, but at the same time, everyone alive has some stress in their life. Excessive stress can shorten your lifespan and worsen your health. The best strategy is to take daily measures to lower your stress levels. Have a plan to manage your stress by releasing pent-up stress levels every day. Do what works for you. For me, I like to read and share jokes with people. There's nothing like a good laugh! Meditation also works wonders, as well as exercise, yoga, socializing with friends, playing games, and many other strategies.
As always, I'm Dedicated to Your Good Health!
Tom
Thomas F Heston MD, MS, BS, BA, FAAFP FASNC FACNM
Thomas Francis Heston earned his MD at St. Louis University and completed post-grad training at Duke, Oregon Health Sciences, University of Washington, and Johns Hopkins. He earned his Master of Science in Digital Currency (cum laude) at the University of Nicosia. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, and the American College of Nuclear Medicine.
Tom was born at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington. Growing up in Spokane, his primary interests, in addition to school, were related to music at the time. He attended the Tanglewood Summer program run by the brass section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, played in jazz and concert school bands, and was 1st chair (trumpet) in the Spokane city-wide Youth Orchestra. He graduated from Lewis and Clark High School.
After high school, Heston moved to Seattle to study at the University of Washington, where he majored in music theory and history and got accepted into the music composition program. He initially debated which major he should pursue- music or mathematics. He ultimately decided upon music but stayed true to his interest in mathematics by being in the first class of music students to study programming computer music, which involved programming with Fortran and C#. He joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and worked there as a cook and treasurer. After a brief break to work on a boat in Alaska (the Billikin featured on Deadliest Catch season 1), he graduated from the UW with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theory and History in 1987. Overlapping with his graduate studies in nutrition and medical school, he earned his Bachelor of Sciences degree in Liberal Arts from Regents College, University of the State of New York (now Excelsior University).
After a year of graduate studies in nutrition at the University of Washington, Heston began medical school in St. Louis at St. Louis University School of Medicine. His major influences during medical school were Dr. Lawrence Lewis, the director of the Emergency Department, and Dr. James Littlefied. Both were enthusiastic about medicine and the value of devoting their professional lives to serving people needing medical care. After graduating with his MD with Distinction in Research, Heston applied for a residency in family medicine, planning to return to the Spokane, Washington region to practice medicine.
Duke University accepted Heston into their family medicine residency program at Fayetteville, North Carolina. During his internship, a close family member had a significant decline in health, prompting a return to the Northwest to finish residency training. As a result, Heston finished his training in family medicine at the University of Washington (Vancouver) and completed a nuclear medicine residency at Oregon Health Sciences University. This move back to the Northwest allowed the family to be together for the final months of his life (Van Morrison).
Heston then moved to Kellogg, Idaho, where he worked at the Mountain Health Care medical clinic and Shoshone Medical Center. This small, rural, remote town had a service area of about 15,000 people and only primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. During his initial years in Kellogg, Heston practiced the full range of rural family practice, including obstetrics, emergency medicine, and geriatrics. During this time, he undertook an online Behavioral Sciences and Biostatistics program. The coursework was rigorous and particularly valuable in deepening his understanding of biostatistics. This knowledge was essential given Heston's ongoing work as a reviewer for medical research journals.
After several years of dedicated family medicine practice, Heston started the first nuclear medicine program in Kellogg and satellite clinics in several surrounding communities. He also was the first physician to perform a PET scan in Idaho north of the Boise Metropolitan area, the first (or possibly one of the first) physicians in all of Idaho to be certified in Nuclear Cardiology, and in the first group of physicians in Idaho to be awarded Fellowship status by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. He performed the first F-18 fluoride bone scan in the entire Inland Empire region, including all Spokane metropolitan areas. After this breakthrough, physicians throughout the region began using this advanced, important cancer diagnostic tool.
In 2008, Heston underwent additional fellowship training in PET/CT at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he studied under Drs. Richard Wahl, Frank Bengel, and Harvey Zeissman. During the 2008 to 2009 academic year, Heston lived in Owings Mills and occasionally rode the same metro with Dr. Ben Carson.
At the end of 2009, Heston was asked by Wahl to serve as the Medical Director for the Tawam Molecular Imaging Centre and help get the program up and running. The center was the first PET/CT program in Al Ain, UAE. It was the first PET/CT program on the Tawam Hospital campus, the primary cancer hospital in the United Arab Emirates. Heston served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and as the medical director for the Tawam Molecular Imaging Centre from 2010 to 2011. During this time, he performed the first PET myocardial perfusion scan in the United Arab Emirates, served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor with Johns Hopkins, and performed the first dual isotope single acquisition (FDG/NaF) PET scan in the region.
Upon returning to the US after successfully completing the imaging center in the UAE, Heston resumed his clinical practice and practiced hospital medicine at Shoshone Medical Center in Kellogg, Idaho; Klickitat Valley Health in Goldendale, Washington; St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington; and MultiCare Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane, Washington. In 2019 he transferred to the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane. At the VA, he worked full-time as a hospitalist and primary care physician. He helped restart the research program at the facility, which had been dormant since the 1980s. He was the Chair of the Research Committee and, with Dr. John Jiang, published the first research study to come out of the facility in decades. His interest in blockchain technology in health care prompted him to complete a Master's Degree (cum laude) in Digital Currency from the University of Nicosia in 2019.
In 2023, Heston joined Velocity Clinical Research as a Principal Investigator for their Spokane clinic.
He is a Clinical Associate Professor at Washington State University and a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington.
Last Updated 2023.
He is a Clinical Associate Professor at Washington State University and a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington.
Last Updated 2023.
c2015 - Multicare Deaconess Staff Photo
2023 in Klamath Falls on K Hill