European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Affairs of the heart to Zuur health tatty tissue heart attacks occur when coronary arteries narrowed by tatty deposits Are suddenly blocked by blood clots that restrict the flow of blood to the heart in get coronary artery and vein women shortchanged in previous studies of heart disease left coronary artery and vein by Lawrence k. Altman new York times evidence is mounting that doctors treat women with heart disease less aggressively than they treat men but experts say Many More studies in men and women will be needed to determine whether the women Are getting too Little treatment men too much or both just the right amount. Reports in a number of medical journals have led to charges of sexism in Medicine both in treatment and in the studies from which treatments Are designed. Too often critics say doctors rely of findings in men in caring for women. In fact congressional pressure has led the National institutes of health and medical researchers to begin to include More women in studies. But at least As far As heart disease is concerned attributing this problem to sexism is too simple until recent decades there was Little serious research on health problems of old age when heart disease is most Likely to strike women. Indeed examining differences in heart disease by sex is new in the last decade said or. Claude j. Lenfant the head of the Federal National heart lung and blood Institute in Bethesda my. And he said it would be another six years before a Federal study now under Way came up with More precise data about heart disease in men and women in the United states. Women Are relatively spared during the reproductive years and Start catching up to men Only a decade after menopause. One in five men suffers a heart attack by age 60, compared with one in 17 women. These and Many other statistics have led to a widespread impression that heart disease is primarily a Many a disease. Medical students have Long been taught that one of the primary risk factors for heart disease is maleness and women have tended to think of heart disease As something that happens to their husbands not to them. It is a but not As exclusively As doctors once believed. The View is changing in part because of the influence of the growing number of doctors and researchers who Are women. Heart attacks occur when coronary arteries narrowed by fatty deposits Are suddenly blocked by blood clots that restrict the flow of blood to the heart. But it was Only in 1912 that or. James b. Herrick in Chicago taught doctors to recognize heart attacks especially in the living. Until then the Chest pains nausea vomiting and other symptoms now known to be associated with heart attacks were attributed to food poisoning indigestion and other conditions. Now the diagnosis of heart attacks depends on continued on Page 16 tasks at greater risk by Michael Fletcher Baltimore evening Sun when it comes to cardiovascular diseases the news is almost All bad for african americans. Blacks Are at least twice As Likely As Whites to suffer from High blood pressure. They also typically get it younger and have it treated less. Compounding the problem hypertension typically follows a far deadlier course in Blacks than other people. In Blacks it is More Likely to Lead to kidney failure strokes and deadly heart attacks. A hypertension is the no. 1 risk Factor that precedes a whole series of problems that come cascading Down the Hill until we become humpty dumpty who fell off the Wall a a says or. Arthur Beau White. White is the new executive director of the Urban medical research Center a Baltimore research Laboratory focusing on the health problems of african americans. Doctors Point out that stroke is almost an entirely preventable disease but Only if people control their High blood pressure. And Blacks continue to suffer Many strokes. Moreover while cardiovascular diseases Are the no. 1 killer of both Blacks and Whites the diseases Are cutting a deadlier Swath through the Black population. White who spent years working at the National institutes of health says poverty poor nutrition poor health education smoking stress and perhaps a genetic predisposition to High blood pressure cause cardiovascular problems in the Black population. A the backdrop to All of these problems is a Lack of proper nutrition exercise and healthy living Quot White says. Quot but when you have other things going on in your life you done to worry about cholesterol or fighting High blood pressure High blood Prawur can Oft to re duo do Modo not not to Toga enough and Patent often a adhaly to of Nanua s , Blacks seem to suffer More cardiovascular illnesses As they move into Urban life. This is True in the United states where Blacks suffered far fewer heart attacks than Whites As recently As 30 years ago. That is no longer True. Among Blacks in places like Brazil the Caribbean and Africa in areas of rapid development and urbanization doctors Are noticing cardiovascular problems like High blood pressure and even once rare heart attacks. The culprits seem to be the same everywhere relatively sedentary lifestyles coupled with High fat diets and bad habits. A too Many people eat too much fat things like red meat Dairy products eggs cheese and creams Quot says or. Elijah Saunders head of the hypertension division at the University of Maryland Hospital and editor of a textbook cardiovascular diseases in Blacks. People minimize their risk of heart problems by eating foods Low in fats and Salt including fish that is not Fried vegetables fresh fruits and lean Chicken. A was my Grandfather said a you is what you eat a Quot White says. In addition to eating Low Salt and Low fat foods people also should limit sugar in their diets and exercise regularly to avoid cardiovascular problems. A people sometimes say they work hard on their jobs so they done to need to exercise Quot Saunders says. A but that s not going to do it. The Type of exercise that benefits people is deliberate exercise the Type that raises the pulse rate for an extended period of also being overweight is dangerous he says. A Black female obesity especially is a problem that contributes to cardiovascular problems Quot he says. Quot obesity is not simply a matter of cosmetics it is bad losing weight even 5 to 10 pounds is considered the single most effective no drug method of cutting bipod pressure. Those who Are significantly overweight get the most benefits but losing a few pounds also helps those who Are not obese. Regular aerobic exe Rdse a Ven if h does not Lead to i if it does not weight loss can help prevent and Correct High blood pressure. A 45-minute brisk walk every Day or 45 minutes on an exercise bicycle three times a week can be effective. Mit Salt consumption by itself May not cause High blood pressure but when pressure is High about half of All patients can reduce it by cutting Salt intake by As Little As half. This is especially helpful for older people who Are More sensitive to Salt. Increasing potassium in fresh fruits and vegetables and Calcium in Dairy products May help reduce pressure. Potassium supplements should be taken Only with medical advice. Consuming More than two alcoholic drinks a Day can raise pressure. Improper reactions to stress among those who Are stress sensitive can raise blood pressure. Stress reduction techniques like muscle relaxation meditation and yoga can be helpful but Long term effectiveness has not been assessed. Moderate drinking can Cut the risk by Natalie Angier new York times in one of the most extensive reports yet on the health benefits of moderate drinking scientists say that one or two drinks a Day can substantially Cut the risk of heart disease. The new study not Only confirms previous findings that suggested alcohol has positive effects on the body when taken in sensible amounts but it also eliminates some of the uncertainties that made past studies open to scepticism and even angry dismissal. The new report by or. Eric b. Rimm and his colleagues at the Harvard school of Public health in Boston appeared in the aug. 24 Issue of the British journal lancet. A because there Are so Many problems associated with alcoholism there Are a lot of people who Are reluctant to. Say anything Good about alcohol at All Quot said or. Gary d. Friedman of the Kaiser Permanente medical care program in Oakland Calif. Friedman also has studied the effects of liquor on heart disease. Quot but it s Clear now that alcohol can be protective Quot against heart disease in otherwise healthy moderate drinkers. The new report is part of a continuing study begun in 1986 to investigate the Long term effects of various diets and habits on the health of 50,000 men 40 to 75 years old. All the men Are associated with health care a dentists veterinarians pharmacists optometrists a and in general Lead reasonably healthy lives. The great majority do not smoke and most limit their fat intake. But what varies significantly among them is the amount they drink which is Why the Harvard researchers were Able to calibrate accurately the effect of alcohol on heart disease. The men were first asked in 1986 to fill out detailed questionnaires about their medical history and diet. They were surveyed again two years later. The Harvard researchers eliminated from their analysis anybody who had begun with existing heart disease cancer diabetes gout or any other illness Likely to skew the results. The scientists found that those who drank from More than 5 Grams but less than 30 Grams of pure alcohol daily had a 26 percent reduction in the risk of heart disease Over those who drank nothing or less than 5 Grams. A 6-ounce Glass of wine has about 11 Grams of alcohol a 12-ounce can of Beer about 13 Grams and a one ounce shot of hard liquor about 15 Gram the reduction in risk held True for All types of cardiac disease including sudden and fatal heart attacks clogged arteries and non fatal heart attacks. Quot we saw a protective effect in each one of the categories Quot Rimm said. Those who drank hard liquor seemed to be slightly better protected than those who drank wine or Beer but the researchers said the difference insignificant the researchers have yet to consider separately those who drink More than a moderate amount but preliminary evidence indicates that even a daily intake of from 30 to 50 Grams probably still protects against heart disease although that Quantity of alcohol can Start to impair health in numerous other ways Rimm said. Or Charles h Hennekens of the Harvard school of alcohol Content scientists found those who drank More than 5 Grams but less than 30 Grams of pure alcohol daily had a 26 percent reduction in the risk of heart disease Over those who drank nothing or less than 5 Grams. Beer 12 ounces �13 Grams of alcohol liquor 1 ounce = 15 Grams of alcohols amps Sharon Kilday heavy drinkers have the highest risk of heart disease. That s one of the reasons alcoholism is the second biggest preventable cause of death alter cigarette smoking or. Charles h. Hennekens Harvard school of Public health Public health said All benefits vanish and alcohol can seriously injure the heart when the daily intake exceeds 50 Grams. Quot heavy drinkers have the highest risk of heart disease Quot he said. Quot that s one of the reasons alcoholism is the second biggest preventable cause of death after cigarette other researchers have found a similar correlation Between Light to moderate drinking and a reduced Chance of heart disease among women Rimm and other researchers believe that alcohol helps reduce heart disease by raising the Levels of two types of High density lipoproteins or hols in the bloodstream. Often known As Quot Good Quot cholesterol Hal seems to help cleanse the arteries of fatty deposits alcohol May also lower the Levels of Low density Lipoprotein or Bdl and help prevent excessive blood clotting which can cause heart attacks. But doctors warn against viewing the results of the new study As an invitation to engage in drunkenness doctors said the dangers of heavy drinking Are extreme including cirrhosis cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract and weakening of the heart muscle but for those who drink wisely doctors said the evidence in favor of moderate indulgence was convincing Quot to people who like to drink a Glass of wine with dinner said Friedman Quot i say More Power to them Quot Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday september 10, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 15
