December 15,1999
Page A3
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Health/Education
Heart disease, diabetes studied
T he A ssociated P ress
People who have the type o f diabetes
that develops when they are young
may keep their hearts healthy if they
maintain normal blood pressure as
w ell as an o p tim istic o u tlo o k ,
according to a new study.
Trevor J. Orchard, a professor of
epidemiology at the University o f
Pittsburgh’s G raduate School o f
Public Health who led the 10-year
study, said the strongest indicator of
heart disease in the 658 participants
was high blood pressure, which has
long been established as a significant
risk factor.
But depressive symptoms 1 ike feeling
Y2K problems
shrugged off by
health officials
T he A ssociated P ress
If you have a medical problem, or care
for someone who does, all the talk
about possible Year 2000 computer
failures may sound a little scary.
D on’t w orry, say federal health
officials and doctors responsible for
safeguarding consumers.
Repeated checks o f the nation’s
medical equipment have uncovered
no serious problems since very few
medical devices actually need to know
what year it is to work. There are
plenty o f prescription drugs, so
consumers should not hoard.
And don’t forget, health workers
h andle em ergencies every day.
Doctors even operate right through
hurricanes, using battery-operated
lights if they have to. They know how
to treat people without the help of
computer-operated gadgets.
“W e’ 11 be prepared,” says Dr. Donald
Palmisano, a New Orleans surgeon
and trustee o f the American Medical
Association. “The most important
thing right now is for people not to
panic.”
Consumers can ask their doctors if
they and local hospitals have prepared
for Y2K, Palmisano advised, and take
some prudent steps to ensure they’re
ready for any medical situation, like
keeping records o f insurance claims
and lists o f medications handy.
There could be annoying glitches if
computers get confused when the
calender changes from 1999 to 2000.
Medicare is ready to pay elderly
Americans’ health bills, but worries
that some doctors or hospitals haven’t
fixed their computerbilling programs
so they accurately recognize the new
year.
If your doctor 'messed up' and tries to
stick you with the bill, remember “you
w on’t have to pay for services
Medicare normally covers,” stressed
Medicare administrator Nancy-Ann
Deparle. Medicare patients should
call 1 -800-633-4227 if they get a bill
they should not have received.
Here, in question and answer form, is
a look at some common Y2K health
questions:
Q. Will my pacemaker stop working
on Jan. 1 ? W hat if I’m in the hospital
under anesthesia?
A. P a cem ak ers and an e sth e sia
machines “could care less about what
day it is,” said Dr. David Feigal ofthe
Food and Drug Administration. They
measure time second-to-second or
hour-to-hour and will keep right on
ticking as the century turns.
The FDA has found no device
implanted into people that causes
any Y2K concern.
Some other medical machines do have
computer chips that use a date, but a
recent FDA audit concluded those
that pose risks to patients have been
fixed. Some radiation equipment, for
in sta n c e , c a lc u la te s p a tie n t’s
radiation dose based on their age,
something easy to fix with a software
change. P atien ts can ask th eir
radiation technician if that was done.
“The answer should be either, ‘No,
our system doesn’t use that kind of
calculation,’ o r ‘Y es... we’ve double-
checked and it calculated your age
right,”’ Feigal said.
The nation’s hospitals have spent $8
billion preparing for Y2K. Aside from
FDA-monitored medical machines,
remember hospitals are prepared for
the unexpected every day, says Rick
Wade o f the A m erican Hospital
Association.
Q. W h at a b o u t hom e m e d ic a l
equipment, like glucose monitors?
A. Some sophisticated home medical
m achines keep dated records o f
readings. The date is only a recording
mechanism - your glucose monitor
will still read blood sugar, even if the
date is wrong, Feigal explained. He
calls this just a nuisance, but says
consumers can call the manufacturer
- the name and number should be on
the machine - to ask what to expect.
Q. Will I have any difficulty getting
my prescription medic ine?
A. No, says the FDA.
The industry typically keeps 90 days’
worth of drugs on hand, so those for
Jan. 1 a lre a d y h av e b een
manufactured. Also, many major drug
companies have boosted their year-
end stockpiles, ensuring they’ll have
enough just in case patients overreact
and try to hoard.
Do not hoard, warns the FDA, which
does a weekly check o f pharmacy
records to make sure no one does.
Refill medications like you normally
would - when you have a five- to
seven-day supply remaining.
Q. What if I need an ambulance?
A. If you dial 911, “someone will
answer,” pledged Mark Adams ofthe
N a tio n a l E m erg en cy N u m b e r
Association, which next week will
release a study o f911 readiness. Some
911 call centers, usually operated by
local governments, may not have fixed
all their programs - you may have to
tell the operator your address instead
ofthe computer immediately spotting
it - but you’ll get help, Adams said.
Anyone concerned could keep the
local police number by the phone too.
Q. What about my medical records?
A. The vast majority o f doctors still
use paper medical records. If yours
uses com puterized records, there
probably is a paper copy too, but ask
your doctor if he or she is Y2K
compliant, Palmisano said.
down or disturbances in sleep or
appetite were also more prevalent in
study participants who developed
heart disease.
“W e’re not at the point yet where we
can say tre a tin g d e p re ssiv e
symptoms early can prevent heart
disease,” Orchard said Dec. 7, “but
we need to find out more about the
mechanisms.”
The study w ill be published in
January’s issue ofthe medical journal,
Atherosclerosis.
A lan M. Jacobson, senior vice
president o f the Joslin D iabetes
Center in Boston and a professor o f
psychiatry at H arvard M edical
School, said O rchard’s findings
contribute to a growing body o f data
linking depression to heart attacks
and
o th e r
o u tc o m e s
of
cardiovascular disease.
“The linkage raises interesting
questions for future study and how
we th ink a b o u t the n a tu re o f
psychological problem s and the
outcom es o f m edical illnesses,”
Jacobson said.
“We tend to separate those two into
distinct camps, but this study is one
o f a growing number o f studies that
show you can’t just treat them as
separate animals,” he said.
Orchard said the participants in the
P itt stu d y w ere n o t c lin ic a lly
diagnosed as depressed. Rather, they
filled out questionnaires as doctors
monitored their health over the span
o f a decade indicating whether they
had depressive symptoms.
Moodiness or other symptoms may
not have been severe enough to
require psychiatric treatment. Orchard
said.
“This opens up a nice new avenue for
further exploration,” he said.
The study examined risk factors for
coronary heart disease and arterial
disease in the lower leg, both ofwhich
are common complications ofType I
diabetes.
That type o f diabetes often develops
in children or young teens whose
pancreases fail to secrete enough
insulin to help the body use sugar
and other carbohydrates. It is treated
with insulin injections.
A second type o f diabetes, Type II,
usually develops later in life when the
body stops responding to normal
levels of insulin.
Clinton promotes food safety for holidays
President Bill Clinton promoted two
food safety measures on Saturday.
“With the actions w e’re taking today,
our families can have the peace of
mind they deserve every holiday
season, and indeed, every day o f the
year,” Clinton said in his weekly radio
address.
3.3 million eggs each year are infected
with salmonella bacteria, causing
3 0 0 ,0 0 0 cases o f illn e ss.E g g
p ro d u c e rs and p ro c e sso rs can
choose between two “strategies o f
safety,” C linton said. “The first
happens at the farm, where extensive
tests and rigorous practices will help
prevent infected eggs from ever
reaching your local grocery and the
second happens at the packing plant,
where new technologies like in-shell
pasteurization will help keep eggs
safe and free o f bacteria."
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