European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Road map to a healthy heart by Daniel q. Haney a science writer heart disease remains by far our biggest killer. It takes nearly 1 million lives a year twice As Many As cancer. Yet there a been real Progress in prevention and treatment. Since 1950, the risk of dying from a heart attack has fallen 45 percent. And several developments on the horizons Are improving the Odds of escaping this Way of death. Clot dissolving drugs a heart attack starts when a blood clot plugs one of the arteries that feed the heart. Once it simply stayed there cutting off oxygen to the heart muscle around it. Now something can be done. For those who get to the Hospital within two or three hours after their Chest pain starts chances Are Good that the doctor will administer one of these drugs to dissolve clots streptokinase spa or Anist replace. Given in time they Stop the attack before the heart is permanently harmed. Lowering cholesterol cholesterol sticking to the arteries is the chief villain in heart disease. Doctors concentrate on keeping the condition from getting worse. Now it looks possible to reverse the damage. One Way by staying on an extremely Low fat diet and learning to avoid other is by taking cholesterol lowering medicines. Eight of them including Lova statin Choles Tramine coolest ipod and Genfi Broil Are on the Market and at least three More Are being tested. Both can actually clean out clogged arteries reducing the risk of heart fast Fri magnetic resonance imaging machines take startlingly Clear pictures of such motionless body parts As joints and the brain. But at nine minutes per shot they Are too slow to snap a beating heart. A new version and others in the works will shoot a picture in 1/20 of a second. The result Stop action images. They could replace ultrasound nuclear Medicine and other tests cutting a one hour cardiac exam to 10 inhibitors when the heart becomes damaged it often can to pump blood powerfully enough. This condition is called congestive heart failure and it afflicts 2 million americans. Evidence is building that blood is pressure drugs called Ace inhibitors can help significantly. The medicines lighten the hearts workload. Widespread use could prevent 10,000 to 20,000 deaths and 100,000 hospitalizations every More than 200,000 americans each year have balloons pushed into their hearts to open up clogged arteries. Unfortunately about a third of the time they close again. In development Are gizmos to keep blood flowing reliably. Among them a miniature electric razor that shaves away fatty buildups a Diamond coated Burr that Sands the arteries and lasers that Burn away blockages. Also on the drawing boards Are tiny wire mesh tubes to prop open and bugs when a blood sucking Bat latches onto its prey the Bat s saliva oozes with clot dissolving proteins. This keeps lunch flowing smoothly. Researchers suspect these creatures spit will prove a Rich source of medicines for freeing people from heart damaging clots. In development Are solvents isolated from the salivary glands of leeches ticks Black flies snakes and Vampire anger learning to control nastiness is gaining followers As a Way to prevent heart disease. Suspicious hostile Quick tempered people Are especially Likely to suffer heart attacks and cardiac arrest. One reason stress hormones like adrenaline trigger the body to pump fat into the bloodstream to provide Energy. Over time this also clogs arteries. Stress management methods that help people control their moods May also help them live drugs not every heart Advance is expensive or High tech. The lowly aspirin continues to amaze. It cuts risk of a first heart attack by up to nearly 50 percent in outwardly healthy men and women. It also reduces the Chance of a second heart attack or a stroke. Vitamin a is promising too. Beta carotene the form you find in carrots and other food May protect people who already have heart disease. Experts guess it May work by stopping cholesterol from combining with of the heart new gadgets help Clear out clogged arteries but exercise and diet still count heredity heart disease runs in families. Genes influence cholesterol level and ability to lower it through diet. Also contributes to High blood pressure and diabetes. Diet contributes to High cholesterol High blood pressure and diabetes major underlying causes of heart trouble. Saturated fat raises cholesterol. For some Salt aggravates High blood pressure. Obesity is a Factor in habits poor physical shape triples risk of dying Young from heart disease. Keeping fit holds Down weight improves blood pressure and raises Levels of High density Lipoprotein or Quot Good Quot cholesterol which protects against heart doubles risk of heart quacks. Causes even More deaths from heart disease than from lung cancer. Increased Hazard goes away quickly after people give up cigarettes. Page 14 abcs the stars and stripes \ tuesday november 12, 1991test your heartiness few simple tests can give you a Good idea of the health of your heart blood pressure Check probably the most important and also the cheapest. Usually free during any visit to the doctor if not ask for cholesterol test provides one number your total cholesterol. If your Reading exceeds 200, you probably need to lower breakdown tells How much of your cholesterol is Hal the Good variety. Some people with High total cholesterol Are actually blessed with unusual amounts of protective known As egg or egg. Measures electrical impulses of heartbeat. Basic test for coronary artery disease heart rhythm problems and heart stress test walk on Treadmill while hooked to egg. Provides More information than egg alone. Sometimes recommended for people starting exercise programs especially those with known heart trouble or at High to do exercises that won t kill you exercise won t kill you. On the contrary. Count the benefits working out Sheds weight Lowers blood pressure builds stamina improves muscle tone and raises heart saving Hal cholesterol. Do it three to five times a week. You la feel better and look you see a doctor first probably not necessary if you re in Good health Start gradually and stick with a challenging but not exhausting regimen. But you should Check with a doctor if you re Over 60 and not used to workouts if you already have heart disease or if you have a family history of heart attacks at Young is great try for three Miles a Day at a brisk Pace. That does no to mean a window shopping stroll. Walking does t Hurt and it s affordable. It requires no teacher health club or special equipment except a decent pair of shoes and is just right for a lunchtime else any brisk sustained exercise done regularly will help the heart jogging swimming biking dancing Cross country skiing aerobics. The Point is to get started and stick with it. It s important to pick an exercise or two that you like and fits your schedule. Solutions getting started what you can do to improve your health death defying diet experts have fingered fat As the most troublesome ingredient eating right in t so hard. Just remember one key Rule Cut the fat. Especially saturated fat the kind in meat and milk. Saturated fat increases cholesterol Levels in the blood which leads to heart disease. Get a grip on your diet and you should be Able to lower your cholesterol level 10 percent or 15 percent. Eating right also does t have to taste so bad. Just make some substitutions Spaghetti for cheeseburgers broiled Chicken for deep Fried. Or pick a bigger baked potato and a smaller piece of Steak say the size of a deck of cards. No need to feel hungry certainly. But because Low fat food also turns out to be Low Cal following a heart healthy diet is a painless Way to trim the Waistline to eat lots of starch and fiber bread pasta Rice fruit Beans vegetables. They re Low fat and Low calorie. Fish and Chicken skinless is better. Bake Broil or poach. Don t Fry. Lean beef pork and Lamb trim off fat. Keep portions Small. Low fat Dairy skim milk Low fat soft cheese fat free Yogurt. Unsaturated vegetable Oil Corn canola safflower Olive soybean sesame and Sunflower. Tub to avoid fatty meat Bacon Bologna hot dogs and other processed meat prime beef cuts rimmed with fat. High fat Dairy whole milk hard cheese such As Cheddar and Swiss butter ice Cream. Saturated oils lard Coconut Oil Palm Oil sweets doughnuts danish most cookies cakes pies and other baked desserts. Egg Yolks substitute Whites for whole eggs. Want More help read american heart association Low fat Low cholesterol Cookbook times books $25. For a fancier meal try Quot the Chez Eddy living heart Cookbook Quot Simon amp schuster $25. Or write National cholesterol education program National heart lung and blood Institute c-200 Bethesda my. 20892 the stars and stripes abcs Page 15
