Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1995)
P age Ab F ebruary COPING D r . C harles YV. F ai lexer Stress: The best way to get rid of stress quickly is to sit dow n in a comfortable chair (or lie down). Take a slow, full breath of air. When you have filled your lungs, hold your breath and count to five. Then, ex hale slowly . Repeat this five times in succession. Do the entire procedure every half-hour and w atch stress dis appear. Hypnosis: Hypnosis is not mag ic or mysticism. It is science. Hypno sis is a wonderful way of quickly changing bad habits into good ones. By definition, it is a temporary state of selective concentration in which you block everything out o f your mind and concentrate on only one thing. It is not sleep but is similar to daydreaming. The subconscious is open to powerful suggestions. Dating: Want a successful date? Then, try to be friends, don't look for romance, be courteous and respect the other person's feelings, don't ar gue or intimidate, ask easy ques tions, compliment the person, show interest. Ifthe date fails, don't take it personally. Try , try , try again. Sex: What sex acts are accept able? Anything between a consent ing male and female (with proper protection) is acceptable. Racism: How can I deal with a racist? Tell him that his behavior indicates that he is immature and inferior, instead of mature and supe rior. If the racist behavior persists (in public) return it in kind, (on the job ) report it to the Urban League NAACP. Rainbow Coalition, or sim ilar organizations. Spanking: Is spanking a good form o f discipline? NO. Spanking is child abuse and means that the parent lacks knowledge of psychology. It could result in permanent physical disability for the child and may mean that the parent needs long-term per sonal counseling. C rack: Crack is the worse o f the drugs because it addicts you quickly (before you realize that is has control o f your life). Also, crack offers a destructive means o f m aking a living for thousands o f young people. It hooks your mind and blocks your develop ment as a person. Job Loss: What should you do if you lose your job? Guard against depression by seeing it as an oppor tunity to try something new. Main tain a regular schedule of activities. Don't oversleep or overeat. If you don't know how to find a job, consult an experienced job counselor. Ifyou can't handle it emotionally, consult a psychology. Your city services offer this free o f cost to you. Cholesterol Registry Works to Save Lives (NU) - Do high cholesterol and early heart attacks run in your fam ily ’ If they do. MED-PED, a new screening and registry program, could save your life. Doctors say people with a ge netic disorder that causes high cho lesterol, or familial hypercholes terolemia (FH), are "walking time bombs." The condition causes dan gerously high cholesterol levels that can lead to premature heart disease and sudden, fatal heart attacks. Dr. Roger R Williams, professor of medicine and founder/director of the Cardiovas cular Genetics Research Clinic at the University of Utah School of Medicine, says one in every 500 Americans has FH. When un News USA treated, the dis Roger Williams order typically causes heart attacks in men between the ages of 40 and 55 and in women between the ages of 50 and 65. FH causes the arteries to clog with a fatty substance known as plaque Because FH typically does not cause symptoms until the arter ies are blocked, most people don't know they're affected, even though a parent or other close relative w ith the condition died at a young age. MED-PED attempts to locate the thousands of Americans affected with the genetic disorder. People who register w ith the program and their physicians receive education al materials on reducing their risk for early heart attacks and strokes. The program also offers a refer ral service to regional lipid clinics and a telephone service that physi cians and registered FH patients can use to inquire about the program. The program operates through out the United States and 14 other countries. Take Care Research shows that intensive diet and drug therapy can normal ize high cholesterol levels in FH pa tients and even stop the progression of artery elogging. Doctors suggest FH patients eat a low-fat. low - cholesterol diet. They also suggest increasing consumption of complex carbohydrates. In addition, experts say smok ing makes the risk of heart attack in FH patients even higher. Studies show that FH victims who smoke may have their first heart attack in their 20s. On average, half of the parents, brothers, sisters and chil dren of a person with FH w ill also have the disease. And uncles, nieces, nephews and first cousins are also at high risk. A cholesterol test will show w hether y ou hav e the disorder. If the test is normal, there's no need to wor ry that FH will develop later in life. A person with FH has a 50 percent chance of passing the abnormal gene to his/her children, and a 50 percent chance of passing on the normal gene. If your untreated cholesterol lev el is more than 360 mg/dl and your untreated triglyceride level is nor mal (below 250 mg/dl), you are eli gible for free help and should call MED-PED at 1-800-814-6450. Or send sour name and address to MED-PED FH, 410 Chipeta Way, Room 161, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. MED-PED was developed and is overseen by a council of noted lipid experts from across the country. By Larry Lucas exercise can help reduce these risk factors. Your doctor may prescribe Since knowledge is power, the medicines to help reduce your more you know about health the blood pressure or cholesterol level, more power you'll have to keep if necessary. Studies have shown yourself healthy. that litestyle changes and medica For this reason, the pharmaceu tions together are often more effec tical research industry is producing tive in reducing these risk factors and distributing booklets on such than one or the other alone. important diseases as heart attacks, Just as knowledge can be a breast cancer and stroke. The first pow'er to help you avoid a heart booklet, "What You Need To Know attack, it can also help you detect About Heart Attacks," is available one and, most important, survive with 24-hour emergency cardiac now. You may obtain a copy by one. care. Call the local emergency calling 1-800-862-4110. The sooner a person receives number or ambulance service or Heart attack is the leading cause medical treatment, the greater the have someone drive you. of death tor both men and women chances of surviving a heart attack • Chew one aspirin tablet imme in the U.S. Every year, 1.5 million and avoiding permanent damage to diately to reduce the size of the clot Americans suffer heart attacks. the heart. Some potent new drugs (unless you're allergic to aspirin). And death rates from heart disease that can prevent the death of the It you use nitroglycerine for are higher for African-Americans heart muscle, for example, work angina, put a tablet under the than for others. In fact, African- only if they are given within the tongue. American women between the first four to six hours of the attack. • Lie down, propped up with ages of 35 and 74 are twice as So, if any of the followine symp pillows, and try to stay calm. likely to die of a heart attack than toms start to occur, don’t wait. Get • Have someone call your per white women in the same age help immediately: sonal physician. group. • Crushing chest pressure or The good news is that the vast That doesn’t mean you should pain in the center of the chest that majority of people survive their just sit back and become a statistic. last more than a few minutes or first heart attack, and most are able Although there are some risk fac comes and goes. The pain may be a to lead normal lives afterward. The tors you can't change—your age, burning sensation easily mistaken outlook for heart attack patients your gender and your family his for severe heartburn. today is a lot brighter than it was in tory, tor example—there are others • Chest pain that spreads to the the past—and it's getting better as you can do something about: shoulders and arms on the left or researchers learn more about the People who smoke, people with both sides, as well as to the neck or disease. high cholesterol and/or high blood back. Just as knowledge can help you pressure, people who are obese and • Accompanying nausea, vomit avoid, detect and survive a heart people who don’t exercise are ing, sweating, cold sweats, short attack, knowledge is also helping eight times more likely to develop ness of breath, palpitations, light- researchers develop new medicines heart disease. Therefore, by mak headness or faintness. to prevent and treat heart attacks. ing some changes in your lifestyle, • A sense ot impending doom. you can lower your risk of heart Once you’ve recognized the Larry Lucas is Associate Vice disease. signs of a heart attack, you must President of the Pharmaceutical Quitting smoking, following a act quickly: Research and Manufacturers of low tat diet and getting regular • Get to a hospital equipped America in Washington, DC. Kaiser Signs Transportation Agreement Kaiser Permanente is contract ing with American Medical Response Northwest to dispatch non-emergen cy medical transportation for the health maintenance organization. Kaiser’s 350,000 members in the Portland and Vancouver area will now receive better service because there will be just one number to call when non-emergency medical trans portation is needed, according to Mike Anderson, special services manager for Kaiser's community medical services. Anderson said under the con tract, trained personnel will deter mine appropriate levels of transpor tation, dispatching an ambulance or wheelchair car if one is needed or directing members to alternative transportation when that’s more ap propriate. The agreement is expected to reduce the number o f inappropriate 911 emergency calls. Trace Skeen, chief executive officer o f American Medical Re sponse Northwest, said the contract represents the first time a local emer gency medical services provider and a major HMD have cooperated to do centralized dispatching for non-emer gency medical transportation. Safeway Low Prices Prices effective February 15 through February 21, 1995 at your nearby Safeway store. Fresh Lean Ground Beef •Approximate 10-Lb. Package • Maximum Fat 22% • SAVE UP TO 61$ LB. Sunkist Seedless Navel Oranges Young, Tender • 4 to 7-Lbs • SAVE UP TO 71 1 Lb Flav-R-Pac ¡(í 'OrangeJuice io rS S fL ee S liis S lS ^ es a" n g "D u 'a e !\ . . , ' 12-0unce h ' • SAVE UP TO u u , l 80« on 2 . . . . . ; h lS W v k rr~ n a i i i u j ▼ ▼ w * * f to ; .• , • ; P orti and O bserver Take One of These and Help Avoid a Heart Attack Stress. Hypnosis and Sex Excerpts from previous columns b \ 15, 1995 • T he * iY 0 4 „98 Sn/oy Wra Savings With The EXTRA In-Store Safeway Savings Guide Available at your Safeway store.
