Sound Medicine -- February 2, 2002
- Barbara Lewis and Dr. Kathy Miller talk to physicians and researchers
about:
 Baby
heart defects- The
hope of heart regeneration
Women
and heart attacks
Listen to the show:
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Baby heart defects
Expectant parents are always a little anxious during a pre-natal ultrasound.
Usually, the doctor can assure them everything's fine by pointing out
the head, the feet, maybe even a fist while they listen to the reassuring
thumpity-thumpity of the tiny beating heart. Unfortunately, not all
those fetal heart-beats reassure doctors.
Dr. Kathy Miller and Barbara Lewis meet with Dr. Donald Girod, professor
of pediatrics, and director of Indiana University's pediatric cardiology
division. He relates common problems, such as a hole in the heart or
blue baby syndrome. Dr. Girod describes surgical procedures for repairing
baby hearts, sometimes in utero operations, and prognoses for
these children.
- Resources
 The
Congenital Heart Information Network
information provides reliable support and resources for families of
children with congenital heart defects.
- The
Riley Hospital for Children has offered pediatric
cardiology services since 1950. Read here about common procedures.
- Want
to know what happens in the pediatric cardiology section of a hospital?
Here's an interesting outline from the University
of Chicago Children's Hospital.
The hope of heart regeneration
Recently released studies featured in the New England Journal of
Medicine (NEJM) describe signs of regenerated cells among heart
transplant patients. If true, these findings could mean renewed hope
for people suffering from irreparable heart damage. The findings are
preliminary, however.
Dr. Loren Field joins us to discuss these studies. He explains that
although they provide excellent data for cardiac research, they are
small steps toward full-fledged human heart regeneration. Dr. Field
is a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Indiana University.
His cardiac
research includes myocardial regeneration, the cardiomyocyte cell
cycle, and cardiac grafts.
Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Edward Srour explains the
role of bone marrow stem cells in heart cell regeneration. Dr. Srour
talks about bone marrow and its role in helping broken hearts mend.
In a recent study, patients' ailing hearts were injected with stem cells
from their own bone marrow, in hopes that the as yet undeveloped cells
would grow into heart cells, replacing those lost to damage or disease.
The findings were positive. Dr. Srour describes the mechanics of the
procedure and how the study's results fit into the big picture of heart
cell regeneration.
- Resources
- This
brief article presents an overview of the study published in the
January 3, 2002 issue of the NEJM.
- Read
about organ regeneration research underway at the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute (HHMI), in Dr.
Mark Keating's laboratory.
- In June
of 2001, a team of scientists published evidence
that human heart muscle cells regenerate after a heart attack,
again in the NEJM.
Women and hearts attacks
Heart disease accounts for the highest number of deaths among women,
averaging about half a million a year. But with so much publicity focused
on the serious health risks more unique to women, such as cervical,
ovarian and breast cancers, heart problems in women tend to be overlooked.
A recent study, however, indicated more women die of heart complications
in the hospital than men, perhaps due to slower diagnoses.
We talk with Dr. Elisabeth von der Lohe, who explains that because
women have different heart attack warning signs, women experiencing
cardiac arrest may have a delay in care.
Von der Lohe is medical director of Indiana University Hospital's Women's
Heart Clinic and clinical associate professor of medicine specializing
in heart related issues particular to women. She is an interventional
cardiologist.
- Resources
- Find
out how
women's hearts physiologically differ from men's at the Women's
Heart Institute.
- The
Women's Heart Foundation
is an excellent Web site, with links to doctor-recommended diets,
exercise plans, guides to medicine and surgery -- even on-line tests
to measure heart risks.
- Read
more about women's health at the National
Women's Health Information Center.
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This week's Medical Mystery
— a winter-time affliction
One name for it is xerosis. Another term is asteatosis. It often strikes
in the wintertime, and it particularly affects older folks. It can be
merely annoying, or cause itching, even pain. Unfortunately, staying at
home to avoid contracting this condition won't work.
What is this mysterious
condition?
Health Quiz — Watch
those eyes
If you are over 60 years old, or if you're an African American over
40 years old, there's a vision problem you're susceptible to, and need
to be examined for. Which of the following three eye conditions are we
talking about?
A. Near-sightedness
B. Detached retina
C. Glaucoma
What's the truth?
Weekly Notebook: Warning signs of heart attack
• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in
the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes
away and comes back.
• Pain that spreads to the shoulders neck or arms.
• Chest discomfort along with light-headedness, fainting, sweating,
nausea, or shortness of breath.
Heart attack warning signs more common in women
• Unusual chest pain, stomach or abdominal pain.
• Nausea or dizziness, without chest pain
• Shortness of breath with difficulty breathing
• Unexplained anxiety, weakness or extreme fatigue.
• Palpitations, cold sweat or paleness
Source: National Women's Health
Information Center
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