Heart
(Continued)
One use of new surgical techniques
involved an 11-month-old boy at Cook
County Children's Hospital in Chicago.
Danny had a hole in his heart between
the two lower chambers known as the
ventricles. There was no hope for him
unless surgery could cover the hole
somehow.
A team of doctors and nurses worked
on Danny for five-and-a-half hours.
The heart-lung machine periodically
did the work of the body, leaving the
bloodless heart open and clear to the
surgeons' vision. They mended the hole,
and little Danny is well on the road to
a happy and normal life.
Four other similarly successful oper
ations have been performed at the
same hospital in recent months.
I ot all heart conditions, of course,
require surgery. Heart attacks
come from a variety of causes,
usually after some warning signal.
About a year before my brother's at
tack (he recovered, incidentally) he
had a severe case of high blood pres
sure. This was reduced by drugs. How
ever, climbing blood pressure usually
indicates excessive physical or mental
strain in the patient and suggests im
mediate examination to determine the
cause.
Some heart attacks occur because the
inner walls of the coronary arteries
become narrowed or blocked by fatty
deposits and plugs. These may be
caused by a high level of cholesterol in
the blood.
Several researchers have suggested a
relationship between fatty foods and a
high cholesterol level, but more recent
surveys question the theory. The New
York State Health Commissioner, Dr.
Herman Hilleboe, and a University of
California biostatistician, Dr. Jacob
Yerushalmy, say the suggested associa
tion deserves re-evaluation. Others
hold that there is nothing substantial
in the claim against fatty foods.
An excess of cholesterol causes or
induces atherosclerosis hardening of
the arteries which annually kills more
than 200,000 Americans. Whatever the
cause of cholesterol, medical science is
waging a fight against it. Pharmaceuti
cal houses are developing compounds
containing fatty acids which they hope
will decrease cholesterol in the blood.
Surgery is attempting to remedy
plugged or clogged coronary arteries
supplying the vital blood to the work
ing muscle of the heart. When the
blood flow is cut off, part of the heart
muscle dies. If the artery is badly nar
rowed, the heart hurts with angina pec
toris because of the extra strain placed
on it in struggling for blood.
These narrowed or plugged arteries
can be reamed out, somewhat as the
pipe smoker reams out the stem of his
pipe. This is regarded in medical circles
as a bold new surgical attack.
Other attempts are under way to
prevent new blood clots with anti
coagulants. A 10-year study of antico
agulants shows that these drugs have
drastically reduced the occurrence of
second heart attacks.
Only 14 percent of those receiving
anticoagulants suffered a second heart
attack within five years, while 60 per
cent of those who did not receive the
drugs had additional trouble.
The drugs also reduced the death rate
from second heart attacks. In the drug
group 20.6 percent died from the next
heart attack, while in the non-drug
group the next attack was fatal to 53
percent.
Medical reports indicate that heart
disease is becoming more prev
alent today among our youth, pos
sibly because of the excessive nervous
tension under which we live. Tension
can lead to a chronic state of con
striction of the arterioles, the smaller
branches of the arteries throughout the
body. Constriction of the arterioles
places a heavier load upon the heart
to pulse blood through them. Eventu
ally the heart becomes weary and hy
pertensive heart disease occurs.
However, a group of heart specialists
at the Veterans' Administration Hos
pital in Cleveland may be on the trail
of a cure for hypertensive heart dis
ease. It utilizes a chemical to block the
body's use of substances which cause
constriction of the blood vessels.
Another victory has been scored in
the fight against rheumatic fever, which
is responsible for 95 percent of all
deaths from heart disease in persons
under 30. The exact cause of rheumatic
fever is unknown although a strepto
coccal infection always precedes an on
slaught of the disease.
The first attack almost never kills
and, fortunately, subsequent attacks
now can be prevented by penicillin,
sulfa, or other drugs.
An ounce of prevention is always
worth a pound of cure, and this is espe
cially true in regard to your heart.
Watch for danger signals. Pains in the
chest could be an indication of a
pending coronary thrombosis. Difficult
breathing and bothersome pulsations
should not go unheeded. Visit your
doctor to determine the cause of rising
blood pressure.
Watch your diet carefully. Continuous
heavy eating can put a constant strain
on the heart and eventually induce
heart trouble. Unusual physical strains
should be avoided, as well as sudden or
prolonged exertion.
Keep your weight at what you should
have weighed between the ages of 25
and 30. Avoid unnecessary emotional
upsets because they can make your
heart beat faster and send your blood
pressure up.
By all means, enjoy life. But do it at
a slow, easy pace; you'll enjoy it longer
that way.
Family Weekly, October 27, 1957 9
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