HBOT Conversations:
Dr. Jay Stevens
Optimizing Health & Longevity
Dr. James “Jay” Stevens is the Medical Director of Extivita-RTP. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Doctor of Medicine from East Carolina University School of Medicine. He completed a Family Practice Residency at the Fairfax Family Practice Program at the Medical College of Virginia and the first Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1991. He is Board Certified in both Family Practice and Anti-aging Medicine. He also holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine. In 2003 he founded Carolina Family Practice & Sports Medicine with locations in Cary, Raleigh, and Holly Springs, NC. He has served as the Team Physician for the National Hockey League’s 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes since their arrival in 1997. He also serves as Company Physician for the Carolina Ballet.
Watch the Podcast
Dr. Jay Stevens, Medical Director at Extivta, returns to HBOT News Network to discuss ways to optimize your health & longevity. In addition to being the Medical Director at Extivita, Dr. Stevens is also the Medical Director & Provider for the Cary, NC location of Essential Health. Essential Health has many locations across the country.
We are lucky to have Dr. Stevens here to share the insightful data and information he has come across over the course of his career.
Dr. Stevens starts by explaining that there is in fact a difference between someone’s health span and life span. Health span can be defined or looked at by how long can someone live before they succumb to disease? While, life span is more along the lines of quality of life, and wanting to live as long as possible. With life span, a person wants to keep the body as young, disease-free and as healthy as possible. This is where longevity fits in, because it ultimately is the desire to achieve the longest life span possible. But, he reminds us that functional medicine can never exist without conventional medicine. They both play a part in someone’s longevity and keeping diseases away.
Yet, how exactly does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy play a part in a person’s longevity goals? Dr. Stevens states that he sees HBOT as elegant and simplistic; because to create energy, we require a nutrient and oxygen. It’s as simple as that. But, our environments keep mucking that process up — toxins, poor diet, too much sugar, etc. We must look at Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a mechanism to improve cellular energy production. He further explains that when we focus on optimizing everything about the cell lifestyle and then apply oxygen, we have a recipe to achieve the best outcome in energy production. But, why is energy production so important for longevity?! Because energy production in your immune system predicts how your immune system will function – more energy production and your immune system is boosted to preform better, thus optimizing the chances of keeping disease and illness away.
The topic of the immune system leads us into a discussion on immunosenescence and why it is so important. Dr. Stevens explains that ultimately, the longevity of our lives is predicted by our immune system. Thankfully Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is known to slow down the rate of decline in an aging immune system, and increase our body’s ability to regenerate stem cells.
Dr. Stevens again touches on the power of extended fasting, and why it plays such an important role in optimal health & longevity.
Dr. Stevens starts by explaining that there is in fact a difference between someone’s health span and life span. Health span can be defined or looked at by how long can someone live before they succumb to disease? While, life span is more along the lines of quality of life, and wanting to live as long as possible. With life span, a person wants to keep the body as young, disease-free and as healthy as possible. This is where longevity fits in, because it ultimately is the desire to achieve the longest life span possible. But, he reminds us that functional medicine can never exist without conventional medicine. They both play a part in someone’s longevity and keeping diseases away.
Yet, how exactly does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy play a part in a person’s longevity goals? Dr. Stevens states that he sees HBOT as elegant and simplistic; because to create energy, we require a nutrient and oxygen. It’s as simple as that. But, our environments keep mucking that process up — toxins, poor diet, too much sugar, etc. We must look at Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a mechanism to improve cellular energy production. He further explains that when we focus on optimizing everything about the cell lifestyle and then apply oxygen, we have a recipe to achieve the best outcome in energy production. But, why is energy production so important for longevity?! Because energy production in your immune system predicts how your immune system will function – more energy production and your immune system is boosted to preform better, thus optimizing the chances of keeping disease and illness away.
The topic of the immune system leads us into a discussion on immunosenescence and why it is so important. Dr. Stevens explains that ultimately, the longevity of our lives is predicted by our immune system. Thankfully Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is known to slow down the rate of decline in an aging immune system, and increase our body’s ability to regenerate stem cells.
Dr. Stevens again touches on the power of extended fasting, and why it plays such an important role in optimal health & longevity.
Guest

Dr. Jay Stevens
Dr. James “Jay” Stevens earned a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Doctor of Medicine from East Carolina University School of Medicine. He completed a Family Practice Residency at the Fairfax Family Practice Program at the Medical College of Virginia and the first Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1991. He is Board Certified in both Family Practice and Anti-aging Medicine. He also has a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine. In 2003 he founded Carolina Family Practice & Sports Medicine with locations in Cary, Raleigh, and Holly Springs, NC. He has served as the Team Physician for the National Hockey League’s 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes since their arrival in 1997. He serves as Company Physician for the Carolina Ballet as well.
In 2009, his commitment to helping his patients create healthy lifestyles for long-term wellness, along with his desire to provide the highest quality health care services, motivated Dr. Stevens to establish Essential Health & Wellness (EHW). EHW offers its patients a comprehensive health care service tailored around their busy schedules with the goal of optimizing their performance and longevity.
In 2018, he continued this commitment to long-term wellness of his patients by becoming the Medical Director at Extivita RTP, a hyperbaric oxygen therapy facility with two, twelve seat treatment chambers in the Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC.
Dr. Stevens is also a Fellow in both the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and the American Academy of Family Practice. He is a member of the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine International.
Dr. Stevens lives in Cary, NC with his wife, Dr. Patience Stevens. They have three sons Eric, James, and Timothy. He is passionate about surfing, triathlon and almost any form of exercise.
Subscribe Now, It’s Free!
Recent HBOT News
Clinical Trial – Effect of Intravenous Dexmedetomidine on Patient Discomfort in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Under Spinal Anesthesia.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been routinely performed under general anesthesia
despite the several disadvantages of general anesthesia compared to regional anesthesia.
There are multiple reports that have been published regarding the feasibility of spinal
anesthesia for LC associated with many problems such as referred shoulder pain secondary to
intra-abdominal pneumoperitoneum; patient anxiety, pain, and discomfort; and inadequate
sedation.The aim of our study is to prospectively observe the feasibility of using
intravenous dexmedetomidine to abolish patient discomfort and shoulder pain, thus making the
patient more comfortable without causing excessive sedation and respiratory depression.
Clinical Trial – The Efficacy of Pain Control After Total Hip Replacement Between Ultrasound Guided Supra-inguinal Fascia Iliaca Block and Intrathecal Morphine
Total hip replacement is one of major orthopedic surgery which result in severe postoperative
pain especially at first 24 hours. Ultrasound guided regional anesthesia has become a part of
multimodal analgesia.Ultrasound guided supra-inguinal fascia iliaca block is a new technique
which can consistently cover femoral and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. And with large
volume (40ml), it may cover obturator nerve. This technique already proved to be useful for
acute pain control in hip fracture or postoperative control in dynamic hip screw or nail
insertion operation. However, it has not been compared with intrathecal morphine for total
hip replacement yet.
Fargo VA to offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy for vets as part of pilot program
Other four facilities in the program have a 100% success rate in helping brain wounds for veteransHEALING UNDER PRESSURE: HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY (HBOT) CLINICAL DEMONSTRATION EXPANDS TO TWO MORE SITESVeterans in South-Central Texas and Central Florida diagnosed...

