P age A4
African-Americans Of Asthma Risks
The American Lung Association
has declared May as Breathe Easy
Month to create awareness o f the grow -
ing problem o f lung disease w hich has
a significant impact in the African-
American community Today more
than 2 million A frican-Americans in
the United States suffer from asthma,
a potentially life-threatening lung dis­
ease In 1993, asthma rates were 22
percent higher in African-Americans
than among Whites. And, although
African-Americans represent only 12
percent o f the U S . population, they
experience over 21 percent o f al I asth­
ma deaths.
As both a pediatric lung specialist
and the parent o f a child with asthma.
Dr Leroy M. Graham, Jr. knows first­
hand o f the devastating impact asthma
can have on young children.
“ M y son M ax w as d ia g n o sed
with asthma when he was about five-
years-old but the sings were already
visible during the first two years o f his
lif e ,” sa y s D r. G ra h a m . “ M ax
would often experience shortness o f
breath, frequent, long bouts o f colds,
and disturbed sleep .”
As he grew older. M ax’s asthma
attacks would result in excessivecough-
ing and problem s with breathing
Sometimes the mucous that would fill
his airways during an attack would
cause him to gag and vomit.
T oday, becau se eig h t-y ear-o ld
Leroy M axwell (M ax) G raham 111
has learned to m anage his asthm a, he
rarely has to take tim e o ff from school
and he can run and play like other
children his age. As a result, they
endure num erous hospital em ergen­
cy room visits and m ultiple ho sp ital­
izations.
"O ne w ay to com bat m isdiagnosis
o f asthm a is to be aw are o f the signs
that indicate your child may have
asthm a," says Dr. G raham . “ Look
for sym ptom s such as fast or labored
breathing, long and frequent colds,
coughing, w heezing, or the inability’
to keep up with sim ilar aged children
during play or exercise.”
A sthm a is characterized by the
increased reaction o f the airw ays to
various “trig g ers” such as second­
hand sm oke, cold weather, exercise,
outdoor air pollution, allergies reac­
tions and excitem ent or stress. It is
the leading serious chronic illness
am ong children resulting in m ore
than 10 m illion lost school days an ­
nually.
1 f y our chi Id is diagnosed w ith asth­
ma, the American Lung Association
offers educational program s to help
children and their families cope with
lung disease.
“T he A m erican Lung A sso cia­
tio n ’s O pen A irways For Schools
program is offered in o ver 3,000
schools in 38 states,” says Jacqueline
D. M cLeod, MPH, Med., President o f
the A m erican Lung A sso ciatio n .
“T hrough O pen A irways, children
learn to recognize what triggers their
asthma and what they can do to avoid
an asth m a a ttac k ,”
A sthm a d o esn ’t have to be a life-
threatening or debilitating disease. If
your child has asthm a or if you w ant
inform ation about other forms o f lung
disease, contact your local A m erican
Lung A ssociation at 1-800-LU N G -
U SA ( 1 -8 0 0 - 5 8 6 - 4 8 7 2 ) d u rin g
Breathe Easy M onth and all year
round.
Oregon Tissue Bank Becomes
Part of National Network
Com m unity T issue S ervices-a
departm ent o f C om m unity B lood
Center o f D ayton, O h io -h a s ac­
quired the O regon T issue Bank.
This purchase ofassets from Leg­
acy Emanuel H ospital & H ealth
Center expands local and w est coast
tissue banking.
T his also enables a new partner­
ship with organ procurem ent and
organ donation netw orks around
the nation.
C om m unity T issue Services, a c ­
credited by the A m erican A ssocia­
tion o f Tissue Banks, m aintains an
extensive national netw ork o f tis­
sue and organ banks through affil-
iation with m ore than 2,200 hospitals
and physicians around the country,
including L eg acy ’s four hospitals.
“ This greatly increases our ability
to m eet the needs o f our patients,
through expanded tissue and organ
availability,” says L egacy’s C linical
Laboratory D irector, Dr. Juan Millan.
He adds, “ The physicians, surgeons
and tissue bank staffs will be able to
access expanded tissue selection, now
from all over the c o u n try -to include
skin, bone, cartilage and connective
tissue. M ost im portantly, w hat is
needed here in our com m unity will
now be available."
C om m unity T issue Services will
provide increased local access to
needed tissues and organs as well
as:
• Increase volume oftissues avail
able to physicians and surgeons,
• C ontinued com m itm ent to the
education and support o f do n o r and
fam ily-related activities,
• Enhanced co llaborative rela­
tionships with the O regon D onor
Program , com m unity and regional
tissue transplantation organizations,
including regional tissue and organ
banks, and
• O ngoing educational o p p o rtu ­
nities for the public and health p ro ­
fessionals.
Major Health Bill Passes Senate
The Senate approved a health in­
surance reform bill that w ould m ake
it easier for people to stay insured
when they sw itch jo b s or are laid off.
The bill would restrict in su rers’
ability to deny or lim it coverage for
people with health problem s. D is­
abled people, the s e lf em ployed and
small businesses w ould have easier
access to coverage.
Taxpayers w ould also be able to
deduct prem ium s for long-term care.
The bill does not, how ever, do much
for those in jo b s that d o n ’t provide
coverage.
The provision that requires insur­
ers to treat m ental illness on an equal
basis with physical illness, may not
survive because o f the staggering
costs to private em ployers and the
governm ent
The legislatio n , sp o n so red by
Nancy K assebaum R-Kan. and E d­
w ard K ennedy D -M ass., passed the
Senate unanim ously, but faces p ro b ­
lem s in the House. C ongressional
Republicans w ant to include tax shel­
tered m edical accounts and m alprac­
tice reform - proposals that presi­
dent C linton says he will veto.
“ It’s an issue o f fairness,” said
econom ist Paul Fronstin “The bill
m akes it fair for people w ho have
been paying into the system. It m akes
sure they can get coverage som e­
w here else if they change jo b s .”
S ponsors say about 25 m illion
A m ericans would benefit from the
legislation. M ost w ould be covered
underem ployerhealth plans. A sm all­
er num ber w ould be buying coverage
on their own.
T h e b i l l ’s s tr o n g e s t p r o te c tio n
is fo r p e o p le jo in i n g an e m p lo y e r
p la n , o r s w itc h in g fro m o n e p la n
to a n o th e r.
Insurers could lim it or deny cov­
erage for a “pre-existing” condition
for no m ore than 12 months.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Overwork Can Be Fatal
O verw ork is bad for your health
and can kill you, British research­
ers said.
It can bring on heart attacks,
bronchitis or even violent behav­
ior, said Susan M ichie and Anne
C ockcroft o f L o n d o n 's Royal Free
School Hospital and School o f M ed­
icine.
The researchers argue that em ­
ployers should be held responsible
for preventing w ork overload and
stress and provide help to deal with
w ork-related illnesss. “ The em piri­
cal research that exists suggests that
higher w orkloads do increase d is­
ease and death rates," they said in a
report in the British M edical Jo u r­
Hallelujah!
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blood clots, or because you don’t have
enough o f the molecules (that slow
clotting). Or in this case because you
potentially have something wrong that
makes this receptor more active,” he
added.
The receptor molecules found on
blood platelets act like Velcro, helping
platelets stick together to stop bleed­
ing. The abnormal clotting tends cut
o ff blood flow to the heart muscles,
causing a heart attack.
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Johns Hopkins Medical Institution in
Baltimore. They worked with 71 per­
sons with heart disorders, comparing
them with 68 persons with no symp­
toms. The findings suggest it could be
the most important protean in the de­
velopment o f heart attacks.
Biochemist Kenneth Mann says that
until now most platelet disorders have
been associated with bleeding diseas­
es. “The reason for more risk is either
because y o u ’re more prone to form
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BAD CREDIT?
In a separate study o f Italian
ra i I way m en, researchers d isco vered
that w orkers with high physical ac­
tivity and low or m edium jo b re
sponsibility were associated with
greater risk o f chronic bronchitis or
violence
“ It seem s that overw ork can kill,
but that we know precious little
about when, w ho and how ,” the
researchers said, calling for m ore
research and preventive rem edies.
"W e also need governm ent strat­
egies and legislation to increase em ­
ploym ent, reduce the w orking week,
and m onitor and intervene to pre­
vent health and safety hazards at
w ork, which include overw ork.”
Heart Attack Inheritance
An inherited factor that makes blood
more likely to clot may indicate a
higher risk of heart attacks than sm ok­
ing or high cholesterol, doctors an­
nounced last week.
The study was reported in the New
England Journal o f M edicine, and
showed that in 20 percent o f 139 peo­
ple studied, the molecule that appears
on blood plate lets, is strongly assoc iat-
ed with heart attacks that occur before
age 60.
Called PLA2, the factor appears to
be equally dangerous to men and wom­
en. It appears to bring on heart disease
more often and from five to 10 years
earlier than in people without it.
It has long been known that family
history' is important in risk o f heart
attacks. One o f the first questions
doctors ask is about the history ofheart
disease in a family. The discovery
might help explain why heart disor­
ders seem to run in families.
People testing positive for PLA2
could take steps to reduce their risk.
Such steps can include anti-clotting
medications that target the molecule
and lowing cholesterol and stopping
smoking. A blood test that can identify
people who carry the factor is being
developed.
The study was done by doctors Pau I
Bray, a hem atologist, and Pascal
Goldschmidt-Clermont, a cardiologist,
along with several colleagues at the
fa/c /p A t fa/aô&c
nal. “ In Japan, there is even a recog­
nized syndrom e o f ‘death from o ver­
w o rk .’”
T he pair cited D anish, Italian,
Sw edish and British studies that sup­
ported their theory.
A D anish study w hich follow ed
2,465 bus drivers o v er seven years
show ed the incidence o f death and
hospital treatm ent in those with high­
er w orkloads was m ore than tw ice
than in the group with easier jobs.
“ Increased pace o f w ork o ver the
preceding five years and a lack o f
social contact with colleagues dur­
ing spare tim e w ere also associated
with an increased risk o f heart at­
tack s,” they added.
I 3 I 9 N .E . 7th
Fireside Room
Tues. 12:00 N oon
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to
ith this in
mind, you
can prevent
electrical accidents
this summer by
following these
important safety
tips:
❖ Don't let
children climb,
build treehouses
or play in trees
near power lines.
❖ Don't let
children fly kites
near power lines,
or in rainy weather (never use any string
containing metal or foil).
❖ Teach children to stay out of electrical substations
and other areas marked "Danger: High Voltage."
Exercise caution and use common sense around
electricity, and teach your children to do the same.
When it comes to kids and power lines, safety is no
accident.
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