MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDKORD. OREGON SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 8. 1963 g J
Portable Electrocardiocorder Aids in Study of Heart Disease
By JAMES DOYLE
United Press International
PORTLAND, Ore. (UPI) I
watched my heart beat, in the
form of a wavy green line on
a screen, going 60 times its
normal speed in a demonstra
tion of remarkable new equip
ment for the study of heart di
sease. Doctors working with the
equipment believe it is the most
significant step in research of
the heart in recent medical his
tory. The green line formed on an
oscilloscope screen and then
danced and jiggled for 10 min
utes. It represented a 10-hour
chart of my heart action dur
ing part of a normal work day
and hours after work.
A 10 - hour electrocardiogram
(EKG) during periods of nor
mal activity had never been
possible before the development
of the portable electrocardiocor
der. The recorder is carried over
the shoulder like a camera case
with electrodes attached to
the chest while a tape in
side moves slowly, noting beat-by-beat
the heart's changes and
damage if any. But, by
means of a "rapid read -out
system." it can be scanned in
10 minutes speeded up on an
electronic scanner to 60 times
its normal rate.
Audio Signal
Along with the visible elec
trocardiographic impulse,
an audio signal is emitted which
sounds like a car in low gear
until the heart activity speeds
up. Then it sounds like that far
turn during the Indianapolis
'501)'.
The equipment is used for
preliminary analysis. A more
detailed examination is made
on a third unit of the equip
ment. The equipment is at Port
land's St. Vincent hospital in a
new department called a cardi
ac telemetry station. It is the
first such station on the West
coast, and one of the first in
the world. It was opened July
17 under the direction of Dr.
Herbert J. Semler, a cardiolo
gist on the hospital staff, and
RECORDS HEART ACTIVITY-James Doyle, of United Press
International goes casually about his duties with a portable elec
trocardiocorder strapped to his body in Portland, Ore., recently.
The electrocardiocorder records one's heart activity during nor
mal activity and is used for a preliminary analysis of heart con
dition. (UPI)
a former Mayo clinic physi
cian. Dr. Semler says the. equip
ment here is being used p r i
marily for research until more
is known about it.
To demonstrate how research
of this nature is done. Dr. Sem
ler attached the recorder to me
for a 10-hour period and ac
quired a more complete rec
ord of my heart than has ev
er been obtained in any previ
ous examination.
Had Conventional Test
Before I wore the recorder,
however, Dr. Semler and his
technician on the cardiac proj
ect, Mrs. Bernice Piatt, put
me through the paces on the
conventional EKG and a radio
transmitted electrocardiogram.
The transmitter unit was the
step in heart research that pre
cede the recorder. Its proto
type was used at Cape Canav
eral, where cardiac telemtry is
known to be used for monitor
ing the heart action of astro
nauts in orbit.
During the time I wore the
recorder I jotted down on a
"diary" what I did and at what
time. This would be matched
later with the heart action as
recorded on the tape.
The wavy green line I watch
ed looked like a sharp-peaked
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mountain with a nearly level!
floor beside it. One beat after
another was superimposed at!
high speed. When one of the
beats, or "mountains," jumped
outside the line of superimposi
tion, Dr. Semler could note its
formation and the time it oc
curred so that it could be match
ed with my diary to see what
caused it.
While my own heart appeared
normal in the tests, Dr. Sem
ler said the cardiocorder has
already turned up abnormali
ties in persons who have nev
er suspected any heart trouble.
No Evidence Found
Frequently, he said, a person
will complain of a flutter or
chest pain and make an ap
pointment for a standard EKG.
But when it is taken, with the
person at rest or inactive, there
is no evidence of heart damage.
The standard equipment
which has been in use for
many years as functional only
when the patient is at rest.
However, heart trouble may
show up mainly during periods
of activity.or stress.
"We could never follow any
one's heart action for 10 hours
a day unless we had a finger
on their pulse all that time,"
Dr. Semler said.
"With the new instruments, it
is now possible. We think this
is going to have a tremendous
impact on the nation's health."
By "we" he meant himself
and his two assistants, Dr. Rob
ert Gustafson, resident at St.
Vincent hospital, and Dr.
Two Accidents
Checked by Police
John Harold Greb, 25, of 5170
Table Rock rd., Central Point,
was cited by state police for
failure to yield the right of way
following a two car accident on
Stewart ave. and Kings highway
Friday.
Greb was treated for minor
injuries and his passenger Tam
my Lynn Greb 2, was treated
for head cuts at Rogue Valley
hospital and rcaleased.
According to police the Greb
car started to turn left onto
Kings highway directly in front
of a car driven by Walter Abbot
Emerson, 53, of route 1, box 217,
Talent.
A car driven by Latham Craig
Wright, 21, of 3321 Jacksonville
highway, knocked down 38 feet
of wood fence on Biddle rd.,
near Hilton rd. Friday, state po
lice reported. No injuries were
noted.
The Wright car was pass
ing a car driven by Charles
Louis Moore Jr., 38, route 1,
box 23, Rogue River, as the
Moore car was attempting to
turn into the Medford Meat com
pany, state police said.
Charles Norland of the U. S.
Public Health service. All three
men are working on a voluntary
basis, with support for the proj
ect derived in part from t h e
Frank R. Menne Research fund
of St. Vincent hospital and the
Oregon Heart association, plus
voluntary contributions by per
sons wishing to see such re
search progress as rapidly as
it has already.
Reliable Library
The purpose now is to gather
a reliable library of heart
charts and histories. The nest
step, and the one to which the
station is gradually being di
rected, is to use the cardiocor
der as a diagnostic tool.
"We are getting useful data,"
Dr. Semler said, "but it has to
be carefully evaluated first pri
or to its future in clinical med
icine." He wants completely analyzed
file of healthy, and in some in
stances unhealthy, hearts be
fore the recorder is put into
clinical use. In time it will ful
fill its function of finding coro
nary disease while it is treat
able. While we watched the green
line on the oscilloscope, we
matched notes I had kept in
the diary. At one point, as I
took a story on the telephone
under pressure of a local dead
line, the cardiocorder told us my
heart rate jumped up. The su
perimposition of the heart-beat
picture changed slightly. The
audio scanner hummed at
greater pitch.
Once as I raced across the
room to grab a ringing tele
phone from a dead stop, t h e
picture revealed that my heart
abruptly leaped into a higher
rate.
Later in the day I look a nap
with the lightweight recorder
still hanging around my shoul
der. My heart rate leveled off
to about (U) heats a minute
until I was awakened by a tcle-
pnone.
The green line blipped and
danced and (hen went hack to;
a more normal configura t i o n, j
but remained at a higher speed i
as I dressed and, later, as I j
drove through heavy traffic. !
Had there been any abnormal
action during the 10-hour peri
od, it would have been clearly
printed for the doctor to ex
amine. . It is easy to understand why
Dr. Semler holds the cardiocor
der as one of the most useful
tools yet developed for the di
agnosis and future treatment of
the nation's number one killer
"heart attacks."
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Spiritual Leader of Mormon
Church to Have 90th Birthday
SALT LAKE CITY (UPI) -White
- haired David O. Mc
Kay, spiritual leader of two mil
lion members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter - day
Saints, plans to observe his 90th
birthday tomorrow by "just re
laxing" at his boyhood home.
I never felt better in my
life and I moan it," he chor
tled with a twinkle in his blue
eyes. "The only thing that wor
ries me is that I get tired after
working 8 or 10 hours a day.
Talking about his birthplace
at Huntsville in northern Utah
made him recall the past.
"I certainly gave my mother
a lot of trouble as a little ras
cal," he said. "I'm extremely
happy I was able to attend the
dedication of a new chapel in
Wales. It makes amends for my
childhood capers."
The chapel dedication took
place last month in Cardiff
about 12 miles from the birth
place of his mother. The over
seas roundtrin flight boosted his
lifetime travel log estimate to
at least one million miles by
all types of transportation.
Missionary Activity
President of the Mormon
church since 1951. McKay be
came acquainted with mission
ary activity at the age of sev
en when his father was called
to serve in the British Isles for
two-year period. The fami
ly remained at the Huntsville
farm to maintain the father in
his missionary labors.
McKay followed in his father s
footsteps shortly before the turn
of the century after graduation
from the University of Utah in
Salt Lake City where he was
class valedictorian. Later, he
became an educator and in 1906
was called to serve as a mem
ber of the Council of Twelve
Apostles of the church.
This was the start of fulfill
ment of a remark made years
earlier to McKay by a Scottish
leader in the church, who said:
"If you arc faithful, you will
yet stand in the leading coun
cils of the church."
In the ensuing years of his
apostleship, McKay served in a
wide variety of church posts,
traveling far and wide in the
world to spread the word of
God. He also devoted time and
energy to civic responsibilities :
on a local, state and national
level, acquired business acumen
and maintained avid interests
in youth work, horses, automo-.
biles and airplanes.
The prophecy issued in Scot
land reached full blossom on
April 9, 1951.
Becomes President
McKav was "sustained hy
church members assembled in
the famed Salt Lake City Tab
ernacle on Temple Square as
president. As "prophet, srer
and revcalatnr of the church,
McKay became the ninth suc
cessor to founder and first Pro
phet Joseph Smith.
He brought the presidency a
strong sense of individual free
dom which- he has retained
through the years.
"I believe in freedom of
choice for the individual," he
said. "An individual can choose
to be a saint or sinner.
"The individual is the center
of all our activity. Our church
stands for the salvation of the
individual, not the group or
state. That is what Jesus
Christ has shown us."
McKay's belief in the free
dom of the individual makes
him a strong foe of what he de
scribes as the "Communist con
spiracy." "My feelings would not be au
thoritative," he declared, "but
since you asked, I must say I
do think the Communist con
spiracy Is one of the greatest
menaces in history. The indi
vidual inherently objects to be
ing controlled by any one man
or group. The Communist prin
ciple strikes at trie freedom of
man."
Asked whether he was pleased
with the church's progress un
der his leadership, the tall, con
genial McKay leaned back in
nis chair and, with a steely gaze
through thick glasses, said:
"It's thrilling. There has never
been greater spirit of devotion
among members. I notice it
time and time again on the re
cent trip (to Wales).
"The progress of the church
is most encouraging and it is
due largely to activitv of t h e
laymen themselves. This is an
individual s church."
A six-footer, McKay's phy
sique has become slender with
the passage of years. But the
liery spirit, devotion to the gos
pel, firm handshake, smile
and warm friendliness to all
comers are the same as in his
youth.
Altogether it spells love in
capital letters. He loves people
and those who meet him can't
help but return the love.
"In recent years," said one
church official, "President Mc
Kay has shown his age, espe
cially during informal talks.
But, we've seen him talk for
mally to groups for a 45-min-ute
stretch without any trouble.
And, in church business meet
ings he is sharp as a tack in
running affairs. We have noth
ing but admiration for him."
Early Riser
McKay is an early riser, of
ten at his desk at the church's
headquarters by 6 a.m., when
he isn't globe trotting. A steady
stream of church leaders and
visitors parade into his office
during the day or McKay at
tends meetings scheduled to
move the church forward in all
phases spiritual and business
enterprising activities.
McKay has no regrets that his
years are passing. He smiled
broadly and quipped:
"We used to have an order in
the house not to use the nhrase
'old age.' That is no longer true.
We have welcomed it.
McKay's "we" includes his
wife, Emma Rae Riggs McKav,
They were married in Salt Lake
city on Jan. 2, 1901 and until
about a year ago his AG-year-old
wife was his companion on near
ly all his travels.
Of their seven children, all hut
one are still living. The McKay
family also includes 21 grand
children and 10 great grandchil
dren.
Many of them will be on hand
at Huntsville to honor their
earthly father who has instilled
in thousands of persons in all
lands a dedicated belief and
worship for God.
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