Dr. Christy Huff
Bio: 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. Dr. Huff experienced benzodiazepine adverse effects and injury firsthand after three weeks of prescribed Xanax use for insomnia in 2015. Over a three-year period, she slowly tapered off benzodiazepines utilizing Valium, and suffered disabling withdrawal symptoms for the entirety of her taper. Her personal experience led her to realize the serious risks of these medications and the severity of the 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.
