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P age B7
T he P ortland O bserver • M arch 31, 1993
1993 Fifth Annual Workout For Hope
High Blood Pressure: A
Controllable Enemy
BY DONALD E. WESSON, M.D.
the body is sever many hy pertensive
“ feel okay” and so do not take proper
steps to control the disease, leading to
slow, irreversible damage to body tis­
sues H igh blood pressure, ev en when
m ild , causes strokes and heart attacks,
and is associated w ith kidney failure.
Proper control o f h igh blood pressure
reduces the incidence o f all three It is
im portant for a ll persons, particularly
A frica n
Americans, to have th e ir blood
pressure checked to take action , i f
necessary.
M ost A fric a n Am ericans know
someone w ith h igh blood pressure or
hypertension, its medical name Most
dc not know that this comm on disease
is a m ajor cause o f death and d e b ilita ­
tion in the A frican-am erican com m u­
nity. Blacks are tw ice as like ly to hav e
the disease compared to other A m e ri­
cans and are more lik e ly to suffer the
medical complications associated w ith
high blood pressure. Many people w ith
high blood pressure who have not
suffered these com plications remain
at risk.
C ity OfHope Researchers Eduoard
M.
C a n tin ,
Jo h n
J.
R ossi
and John A . Z aia (seated, le ft to
rig h t, fro n t row ) received a standing
ovation from the enthusiastic fitness
professionals w ho are leading the
1993 F ifth A n n u a l W o rk o u t fo r
H ope—A e ro b ics A g a in s t A D ID S ,
being held nationwide in more than 90
cities this spring. Some 100 volunteer
coordinators from across the country
fle w in to vis it C ity o fH o p e National
M edical Center in Duarte, C alifornia,
where they learned first-hand about
advances being made against A ID S
W orkout fo r Hope has a national
fu n d -ra isin g goal o f $1.5 m illio n ,
w hich w ill be reached through the
20,000 enthusiastic participants who
are now' obtaining pledges and spon­
sors fo r the national aerobic and exer­
cise marathon. Locally, the event w ill
be held from 10am to 1pm on Sunday,
A p ril 4, 1993, at the Portland State
University B allroom , 1825SW Broad-
way. For more info rm a tio n ca ll 800/
934-9196.
Packwood Hails Approval Of Medicaid Waiver
Oregon Senator Bob Packwood
a p p la u d e d the A d m in is t r a tio n ’ s
approval o f the M e d ic a id w a iv e r
w h ic h w i l l a llo w th e s ta te to
im p le m e n t th e O re g o n H e a lth
Plan, and provide health care cover­
age to a ll residents. “ I am delighted
that the A d m in istra tio n has approved
O re g o n ’ s in n o v a tiv e h e a lth care
plan We are ready to offer access
to health care to 450,000 uninsured
Oregonians and th is M edicaid w aiver
is the ca ta lyst fo r o u r p rogram .
Oregon is a beacon fo r A m erican
sa id
o n h e a lth ca re re fo rm ,
Packwood.
“ In Oregon rig h t now, more than
450,000 people—about 19 percent o f
the state’ s p o p u la tio n -d o not have
health insurance Oregon came up
w ith a solution to the challenge o f
p ro vid in g health care to those people.
Oregon decided that the current sys­
tem that leaves so many out in the cold
is sim ply unacceptable. The Oregon
plan w ill expand M edicaid coverage
to 120,000 a d d itio n a l low -incom e
people The plan w ill cover the rest o f
the state’ s uninsured through an em­
ployer-based sy stem. We w ill extend
coverage to the w o rkin g poor and the
medically uninsurable,” he continued.
“ Oregon took a courageous stand
in conceiving i t ’ s plan. We don’ t have
u n lim ite d resources. We made tough
choices to come up w ith a plan that
offers solid affordable health care to
everyone in our state. I ’ m very pleased
that his A d m in istra tio n has given us
the chance to try something new. O r­
egon w ill lead the nation in health
care reform ,” he continued.
Sickle-Cell Anemia Scanning
Sidetracked: Funds Diverted To Screen
For “Black Crime Genes”
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
Several more alert members o f
P ortland’ s black com m unity say they
w ill direct close attention to the agenda
o f the A p ril 21 conference in Bend,
Oregon: “ Crim e Prevention A nd Com­
m unity P o lic in g -B rid g in g The Gap ”.
The meeting is sponsored by the C rim e
Prevention Association o f Oregon.
N ationwide, A fric a n Americans
mount concern that the m u lti-m illio n
d o lla r “ crime/gene” in itia tive s spon­
sored by the federal governm ent and
reported by the m ajor science jo u r­
nals, are devoting little attention (or
funds) to the root cause o f crim e in
black o r any other com m unities: JOB­
LESSNESS! However, massive fund­
in g is available fo r crim e-related ge­
netic research” o r m ountain top con­
ferences i f only they w ill include
“ H ealth” in their agenda
We now have it from credible
sources that the most valuable tool in
c o n tro llin g S ickle-C ell anemia is be­
ing abandoned The diversion o f funds
from desperately needed health care
to ra c is t and p o ssib ly g e n o cid a l
projects is “ c rim in a l:” From Tom
D woretzy we have, “ T w o m ajor ge­
netic-disease-screening program s-for
Tay Sachs disease and sickle-cell ane­
mia-serve as examples o f what can go
February-March issucoP O m ni Maga­
zine” , P.16. M r. Dworetzy gives an
excellent overview ofthe massive gene-
screening projects now.
These facts are very shocking and
especially so when a quick poll o f
readers indicates that most were un­
der the impression that the campaign
against S ickle-C ell Anem ia was w ell
on the track. We note that there have
not been w arnings o r alerts concern­
in g these present and immediate dan­
gers to our collective health—not from
our usually quite vocal politicians and
not from our health-related agencies
in this area (they are quite dependent
upon a constant flow o f federal d o l­
lars). Clearly, this is not a reassuring
state o f affairs
As usual you w ill fin d the “ Ob­
server Newspaper” in the vanguard o f
a continuous m o n ito rin g o f volatile
national events that also impact on
our northeast com m unity. We urge
the readers and th e ir organizations to
communicate their concerns—not only
to us, but to other in stitutions consid­
ered appropriate, in clu d in g the Con­
gressional Black Caucus. Last year,
you did ju st that in response to my
revealing articles on “ The O rig in A nd
Spread o f A ID S " and “ The Syphilis
Experim ents” ( 1/8/92). That article is
so im portant to our understanding o f
rig h t, and wrong.
Tay Sachs-carrier screening be­ ju s t how dangerous are some ren­
gan in 1971 and is generally consid­ egade elements o f the medical profes­
ered a success story. The ailm ent sion, that I am asking my editor to
is mostly found among East European reprint it “ by request".
One other caution; in the 1970's
Ashkonazi Jew sand their descendants
A fte r a year o f technical preparation, a concerned student o f mine at the
education, and a p u b lic -re la tio n s university rushed into class w ith a
c a m p a ig n , v o lu n ta r y s c re e n in g copy o f a massive four-page docu-
began. U ltim a te ly, it reached over m e n t-a n insidious and in su ltin g sur­
1 m illio n adults. In contrast, the vey instrum ent to be administered to
s ic k le -c e ll-a n e m ia p ro g ra m , also “ welfare recipients” in A lbina. This
begun
in
th e
S e v e n tie s
is outraged woman was ju s t one o f a
g e n e ra lly ” T h e m o s t p ro fo u n d number o f needy black students hired
difference between the tw o campaigns by our key intercity hospital to fan out
was that the sickle -cell screening over the A fric a n Am erican com m u­
p ro g ra m was m a n d a to ry in a nity w ith their deadly questionnaire
number o f states It was Caucasian- There was page after page o f carefully
designed and im p le m c n tc d -a n d designed questions, not just about eco­
nom ic status, but direct queries about
targeted toward A frica n Americans
According to an O ffice o f Technology social and sexual habits, life styles and
A ssessm ent re p o rt, th is le d to
accusations that the program was
b a s ic a lly ra c ia l g e n o c id e Even
though by the late Seventies the man­
datory aspect was dropped, the ethnic-
s p e c ific p ro g ra m c o n tin u e d to
g ro ce ry-sh o p p in g patterns These
com piiscd a careful contrived m atrix
to determine the presence o f males
and their comings and goings (clothes
in the closet, razors in the bathroom),
the number, health and disposition o f
fa il due to la c k o f e d u c a tio n ,
counseling, and co n fid e n tia lity o f re­
children, pregnancies and infant m or­
ta lity , legitim acy, the education o fth e
recipients and their parents, etc Wc
got out the w o td and brought this
sults.”
Be sure to read his fu ll report in
caper to a halt.
As we speculate whether these
type operations arc s till going on, it is
equally im p o rta n t to consider the
source and purpose A s I recall, the
survey was designed by a university in
South Carolina, and then the feder­
ally-funded project was “ franchised”
out across the nation to local health
prov iders w ho were believed to have a
better (and naive) rapport w ith the
black com m unities (sizeable cash in ­
centives were added o f course). A
common practice, but th is "separation
o f pow ers" is often used to conceal the
identity o f the real designers o f the
project and the actual genocidal pur­
pose i f such is the case.
A ll such gov ernment and univer­
sity-sponsored exercises in behavior
m odification and population control-
w hether about genes o r crim e -n e e d to
acquire an extensive data base in the
m in o rity com m unity for m axim um
effectiveness C ertainly, that A lb in a
survey instrum ent fits the b ill. Dr.
Ronald W. Walters, a p o litic a l scien­
tist at Howard U niversity, is the black
who led the successful fig h t to cancel
last summers conference on “ Genetic
Factors In C rim e ” . He opposes all
research on al lcgea “ biological” causes
o f crime.
T h is aborted huge national gath­
e ring o f scientists, physicians, psy­
chiatrists, anthropologists and law
enforcement o fficia ls was funded by
that $400 m illio n program planned by
form er Health and Human Services
Secretary, D r Louis W S ullivan;
“ psycho-social research exam ining
c h ild abuse, drug addiction and ‘ other’
potential causes o f crim e “ (w hat hap­
pened to joblessness?). See pp. 24-
29,February issue o f the Scientific
Am erican Magazine and agenda o f
Bend conference.
M uch o f this Controversy that has
left "S ickle -C e ll A nem ia" research a
stepchild or worse was prompted by
the racist remarks o f D r. Frederick K.
Gordon w ho now heads the “ National
Institute o f M ental H ealth". C itin g
research on monkey violence and sexu­
a lity, he commented, “ maybe it isn’ t
ju st the careless use o f the word vv hen
people ca ll certain areas’ o f certain
cites ju n g le s’ ” W c arc in trouble, no
doubt about it!
(C ontinued next week, the fasci­
nating Japanese sickle-cell gene sur­
vey, etc., and how w ill Oregon's new
“ H ea lth -R a tio n in g " program affect
sickle-cell scanning ’
X.-'»
E ve ryo n e w ith h y p e rte n sio n
should be under a physician’ s care.
Once the physician recommends a
strategy fo r blood pressure control,
patients should ask questions in order
to understand the plan o f action and be
aw are o f potential problems Patients
should stay under a doctor’ s care who
w ill fo llo w th e ir progress and deter­
mine w hether adjustments in the plan
are needed.
Remember, except in rare cases,
high blood pressure is a life -lo n g dis­
Beyond the in d ivid u a l tragedy
in flicte d by this disease, the A frica n -
Am erican com m unity as a whole suf­
fers the lost contributions that these
in d iv id u a ls w o u ld have otherwise
made. T h is makes high blood pres­
sure an enemy to be faced by the entire
com m unity. The encouraging news is
that this menace can be controlled and
its devastating effects reduced.
H ig h b lo o d pressure u su a lly
causes no sy mptoms u n it damage to
• «
ease that cannot be cured but can be
controlled to reduce the chance fo r its
potential complications.
E xcitin g new in fo rm a tio n gath­
ered in recent years demonstrates that
blood pressure can be lowered in in d i*
viduals w ith hypertension by lifestyle
changes These m odifications can con­
tro l h igh blood pressure in some in d i­
viduals w ithout medications and re­
duce the necessary dosage o r num ber
o f medications in others. They include
reducing salt in the diet, stopping
tobacco and alcohol use, w ig h t loss in
obese individuals, and increased exer­
cise. These non-drug strategies are
excitin g because they hold the poten­
tia l to low er the incidence o f hyperten­
sion when employed com m unity-wide.
Such a strategy could be carried out at
the “ grass roots” level and aimed at
not ju st the in d ivid u a l hypertensive
but at an entire com m unity. Such com ­
m unity “ empowerment” w ould no only
reduce hypertension, but w ould im ­
prove the health ofthe A fric a n -A m e ri­
can comm unity as a whole.
J
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gonorrhea.
The decrease in gonorrheal in ­
fections is apparent nationwide, and
is related to sev eral factors, according
to Skeels Heabh ' oartm er s and
phy sicians have become more aggres­
sive in diagnosing and treating gonor­
rheal ii ctions. T h is includes id e n ti­
fyin g sex partners o f infected persons
and referring them fo r evaluation and
treatment Effective treatment is a va il­
able that ensures patient compliance.
Sexually Transm itted Disease (S TD )
education in clu d in g awareness o f in ­
curable S ' Dx such as genital herpes
and H IV
ID S has a p p a re n tly
prompted many people to adopt safer
sex behaviors.
W h ile the drop in gonorrheal in ­
fections is welcome, Skeels said, the
rate ofchlam ydia infections (Oregon's
♦ X •
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most frequently reported disease) is
least three to four times as high, and
no sim ila r decreasing trend has been
observed. O f particular concern are
the high case rates fo r females seed
15-19 years. C hlam ydia infections o f
the genital tract are associated w ith
adverse type productive health out­
comes, especially fo r women. In addi­
tion, mothers may pass chlam ydia to
their newborns and infants resulting
in serious eye and lung infections.
T w o o f O regon’ s Benchmarks,
the measurable indicators ofthe stage’s
progress, lin k prevention o f gonor­
rhea, chlam ydia, and syphilis infec­
tions w ith improved student and adult
health Continued and im proved in ­
terventions targeted to com m unities
at highest risk w ill provide the lever­
age needed to meet the benchmarks.
■
(fee includes textbook ) Please regis­
ter at least 10 day s before the class
‘I
A •
f e
people stricken by this disease cannot
fin d a suitable match w ith in their
fam ilies These individuals need to
fin d uni elated donors, people w illin g
to come to the assistance o f someone
they likely w ill never meet
O f the more than 10.250 regís-
tered doners in Oregon and Southwest
W ashington, only 120 are A frica n -
locally.
Thousands o f m inorities arc a f­
fected by this fatal disease including
several in the Portland comm unity
Together wc can a ll make a difference
as wc address this c ritica l issue
Tickets arc available at
The Portland Observer News. 4747
total
A c tiv ity
Bicycling. 6 mph
160
240
320
! Bicycling. 12 mph
275
410
545
465
700
935
I Jogging, 5 1 2 mph
495
740
985
, Jogging. 7 mph
615
920 1225
j Jumping rope
Cross-country skiing
750 1000
650
Running 10 mph
855
and locallv T h is is because unique
tissuecharactcnsticsof an individual s
Swimm.ng 25 yds -mm
185
275
365
Swimming 50 yds mm
335
500
665
l Tennis, singles
265
400
535
Walking 2 mph
160
240
320
Walking, 3 mph
215
320
425
Walking 4 1 2 mph
295
440
585
• •
I Source
865
1280 1705
i
c»n Heart Ass ooat'or ) 1990
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rX
C alories B urned
Per H our
II You W eigh A b o ut
tOO 150 200
P ounds
435
i . %
j# - ; ¿
SIS.
IM O
500
* ‘ a * v
W
preciated.
Running m piace
m
ÎA-ÂC-'i
Theater. Those attending are encour­
aged to participate in this food d rive to
benefit Fish Emergency H unger Ser­
vices Y o u r cooperation is greatly ap­
Am ericans M ore m inority donorsare
desperately needed, both nationally
bone marrow are inherited in the same
wav one inherits skin. eyes, and hair
color When no m atching relative is
available, the best chance o f fin d in g a
m atching marrow donor is someone
NE M L K
Wave's H a ir Design, 1926 NE Sandy
g
s®
terol intake. Classes w ill be fro m 9 to
11 am on Saturday s, A p ril 17 and A p ril
24, at Bess Kaiser M edical Center,
5055 N. Greeley Ave., Portland. Cost
is $15 fo r Kaiser Permanente m em­
bers, $32 fo r the general public. A
spouse or other support person is en­
couraged to attend at no extra charge.
Please register at least 10 days before
only hope for survival is a bone m ar­
row transfusion Howcvei 7 0 % o fth e
bone m arrow candidates You have
the opportunity to w in a 25-inch Ze­
nith color television w ith remote con­
trols for only $5.00 per ticket, as you
assist us in this w orthy cause A ll
proceeds from the raffle w ill be used
'
Canned food donations w ill be
accepted at the door o f both PH1SH
performances Wednesday , M a rch 31
and Thursday , A p ril 1 at the Roseland
Leukem ia is an equal opportunity
disease it affects a ll races equally
M ore than 83,000 ch ildren and adults
arc diagnosed each year w ith leuke­
m ia and other blood-related diseases
m the United States For many, the
means that only an A frican-A m erican
can be a perfect donor match w ith
another A frica n -A m e rica n
In an on-going effort to educate
the comm unity and obtain donors, the
Committee for M in o rity Bone m ar­
row D onor Awareness w as organized
Besides m a kin g m ore in d iv id u a ls
aware o f the need to become bone
marrow donors, the committee is dedi­
cated to raising funds to assist local
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starts
L iv in g w ith an overactive ch ild
can put stress on the entire fam ily.
Learn more about coping w ith this
condition in “ Parenting a C h ild w ith
286-6816.
“ P a re n tin g the T o d d le r and A ttention D e ficit H yperactivity D is­
Preschooler” teaches parents o f 1 to 4- order.” Classes w ill be held from 6:30
year-olds how to nurture and enjoy to 8:30pm on Thursdays, A p ril 15 the class starts
Kaiser Permanente’ s “ Stress M an­
th e ir gro w in g ch ild . Class includes through June 3, at Kaiser Permanente’s
agement
fo r W omen” program can
group sessions on ch ild development, N orth Interstate Services B u ild in g ,
help
women
manage stress w h ich ac­
7201N.
Interstate
Ave
,
Portland.
Cost
positive discipline, b u ild in g self-es­
companies
the
pressures o f life The
is
$75
fo
r
Kaiser
Pcrmanente
mem-
teem and encouraging responsible
eight
sessions
w
ill be held fro m 6:30 to
bers/couples.
$140
fo
r
the
general
behavior. The eight sessions are from
8:30pm
on
Tuesday
, A p ril 20 through
public
Please
register
at
least
10
days
6:30 to 8:30pm on Thursdays, A p ril
June 8, at Bess kaiser M edical Center,
before
the
class
starts.
15 th r o u g h June 3, a t K a is e r
Cholesterol and fat in your diet 5055 N greeley Ave., Portland. Cost is
Permanente’ s Education & C onfer­
$80 fo r Kaiser Permanente members,
ence Center (T ow n H a ll), 3704 N. may increase your risk o f heart dis­
Interstate Avenue, Portland Cost is ease. “ How to Low er Y o u r Choles­ $140 fo r the general public (fee in ­
$75 fo r Kaiser Permanente members/ terol" teaches how to plan meals and cludes textbook) Please register at least
couples, $140 fo r the general public m odify recipes to cut fat and choles­ 10 days before the class starts.
Committee For Minority
Bone Marrow Awareness
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Kaiser Permanente Offer Health
Education Classes in North Portland
Several classes open to the public
are being offered in N o rth Portland
th is
s p rin g
th r o u g h
K a is e r
Permanente. For registration in fo r­
m ation, c a ll K a ise r Perm anente’ s
Health Education department at (503)
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Á *
Oregon Gonorrhea Infections In 1992
Are The Lowest In 30 Years
The 1, 768 gonorrhea cases re­
p o rte d in O re g o n d u rin g 1992
m a rk the fir s t tim e in 30 years
th a t th e case c o u n t has fa lle n
below 2,000, according to M ichae’
Skeels, O re g o n H e a lth D iv is io n
adm inistrator. In 1963, when 1,783
cases o f gonorrhea were reported,
1,855,000 people lived in Oregon
compared to 2,979,000 people today
Thus, the 1992 rate fo r gonorrhea
(60.3 cases p;er 100,000 population)
is sig n ifica n tly lower than the 1963
rate (96.1 cases per 100,000 popula­
tion), Skeels said.
W h ile current g o n o rrlra rates
are g e n e ra lly lo w , rates am ong
com m unities o f color are higher than
rates among whites. In 1992, african
Am ericans were 56 times as lik e ly as
whites to have been reported w ith
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