First Do No Harm with Dr Christy Huff

JOWMA (Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association) Podcast

Christy Huff, MD, is a cardiologist and director of Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, a nonprofit that educates about the adverse effects of prescribed benzodiazepines. Dr. Huff attended medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern where she graduated Alpha Omega Alpha. She completed an internal medicine residency at Washington University in St. Louis and a cardiology fellowship at U.T. Southwestern, with a focus in advanced cardiovascular imaging and noninvasive cardiology.

Dr. Huff is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and was a private practice cardiologist in Fort Worth,Texas until 2011, when she became a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her daughter. Dr. Huff speaks and writes frequently about her lived experience with benzodiazepines. In 2015, she experienced adverse effects after three weeks of prescribed Xanax for insomnia. Over a three-year period, she slowly tapered off benzodiazepines utilizing Valium, and suffered protracted and disabling symptoms. Her personal experience led her to realize the serious risks of these medications and the potential severity of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, neither of which were emphasized during her medical training. Dr. Huff specifically advocates for better education of physicians regarding the adverse effects of benzodiazepines and how to safely taper patients off these medications. Her research interests include patient-centered benzodiazepine deprescribing and benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND). In addition to her work at BIC, Dr. Huff is a member of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse’s Benzodiazepine Action Work Group.