You may have only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.
However, victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very
vigorously. A deep breath sho as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. A breath and a cough
must be repeated about very two seconds without let up until help arrives,
or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart
and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives!
Cut to the Heart Ever since World War II, physicians have struggled to find ways to treat heart failure, the biggest killer in the modern world.
Electric Heart Pioneering surgeons test artificial hearts in the hope of saving the lives of people with coronary heart disease.
Sunday 24 August 2008 Daily aspirin in middle-age call
Most men over 48 and women over 57 should take a daily aspirin pill to reduce the risk of heart attacks, UK researchers say.
Tuesday 24 June 2008 From a Prominent Death, Some Painful Truths Mr. Russert, the moderator of “Meet the Press” on NBC News, took blood pressure and cholesterol pills and aspirin, rode an exercise bike, had yearly stress tests and other exams and was dutifully trying to lose weight. But he died of a heart attack anyway.
An article in The New York Times last week about his medical care led to e-mail from dozens of readers
Readers’ Questions: Heart Disease Without the Symptoms
The death of television commentator Tim Russert at age 58 has raised many questions about how cardiologists assess a patient’s condition, as Denise Grady reports in Science Times. Among other confusions, many are wondering how Mr. Russert could have passed a recent stress test, as well as other evaluations, and still have succumbed to sudden cardiac death
Monday 09 June 2008 Big hearts 'have genetic problem'
Scientists say they have found a new genetic basis for why some people develop a dangerously enlarged heart.
Tuesday May 27, 2008 Many ignorant of heart-attack signs
Many people with heart disease do not know the symptoms of a heart attack, even though their risk of..
Wednesday 21 May 2008 TORONTO: MINORITIES SUFFER MORE FROM HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
A study by the Heart and Stroke Foundation reveals that 1 in 5 people in the central Canadian province of Ontario has high blood pressure.However, some minority groups have much higher rates of hypertension. People of South Asian, African or Caribbean descent are three times more likely to have high blood pressure than the general population. And the study shows they are more likely to develop it at a younger age. Dr. Sheldon Tobe, a Toronto kidney specialist and a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, says environmental factors include diet, exercise and alcohol consumption. He adds that adjustments in all three areas can help control high blood pressure.
Friday Feb 22, 2008 Mortality rates lower with post-care
Nine out of 10 hospital deaths involving recovering stroke patients could be prevented if they were ...In a month, the mortality rate for people with post-care was 6.3 per cent compared with 28.1 per cent for those without. And after a year, the mortality rate for post-care patients was at 17.9 per cent opposed to 34.7 per cent
Tuesday 29 January 2008 Will Cholesterol Pills Save Your Life? Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are among the most popular prescription drugs in the world. In addition to lowering cholesterol, they also lower the risk for heart attacks.
Thursday 17 January 2008 New Questions on Treating Cholesterol For decades, the theory that lowering cholesterol is always beneficial has been a core principle of cardiology. It has been accepted by doctors and used by drug makers to win quick approval for new medicines to reduce cholesterol.
Monday 17 September 2007 Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy? Once upon a time, women took estrogen only to relieve the hot flashes, sweating, vaginal dryness and the other discomforting symptoms of menopause. In the late 1960s, thanks in part to the efforts of Robert Wilson, a Brooklyn gynecologist, and his 1966 best seller, “Feminine Forever,” this began to change, and estrogen therapy evolved into a long-term remedy for the chronic ills of aging. Menopause, Wilson argued, was not a natural age-related condition; it was an illness, akin to diabetes or kidney failure, and one that could be treated by taking estrogen to replace the hormones that a woman’s ovaries secreted in ever diminishing amounts. With this argument estrogen evolved into hormone-replacement therapy, or H.R.T., as it came to be called, and became one of the most popular prescription drug treatments in America. By the mid-1990s, the American Heart Association, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had all concluded that the beneficial effects of H.R.T. were sufficiently well established that it could be recommended to older women as a means of warding off heart disease and osteoporosis.
Wed 06 June 2007
Diabetes Drug Still Has Heart Risks, Doctors Warn A study intended to demonstrate the safety of a diabetes treatment seems, instead, to have added to the controversy A medical study intended to demonstrate the heart safety of a well-known diabetes treatment seems, instead, to have added to the controversy over the drug.
Monday 28 May 2007 nyt
Lost Chances for Survival, Before and After Stroke Dr. Diana Fite, a 53-year-old emergency medicine specialist in Houston, knew her blood pressure readings had been dangerously high for five years. But she convinced herself that those measurements, about 200 over 120, did not reflect her actual blood pressure. Anyway, she was too young to take medication. She would worry about her blood pressure when she got older.
April 8, 2007 nyt Lessons of Heart Disease, Learned and Ignored
The toll from the nation's No. 1 killer could be reduced if
the medical system delivered care that is known to make a
difference.
Friday 16 March 2007
Eliminating mouth-to-mouth saves lives: CPR study Dropping the mouth-to-mouth part of CPR can significantly increase the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest without brain damage, according to a large new study that could lead to a rewriting of resuscitation guidelines for a witnessed sudden collapse.
Monday 05 March 2007 RIM restating results
Stock options probe will result in the BlackBerry maker separating the chairman and CEO roles; adding two more directors to the board
13/12/06 Man with no pulse considered a medical breakthrough Dr. Renzo Cecere implanted the “Heartmate II” mechanical heart into Gerard Langevin in an three-hour operation Nov. 23.
Officials at the McGill University Health Centre say the device, which is about the size of a flashlight battery, could last up to 10 years.
Thursday 16 November 2006 Take heart, chocolate lovers just a few squares of chocolate a day can cut the risk of dying from a heart attack almost in half.
“What these chocolate ‘offenders' taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to Aspirin (ASA) in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack,” lead author Diane Becker of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said in a statement. ....Dark chocolate is chockablock with flavonoids, which have long been known to lower blood pressure and have other beneficial effects on blood flow.
Margins squeeze Nortel
Zafirovski says makeover hindered by competition from low-cost rivals in China and new products with lower margins
Thursday 26 October 2006 OTTAWA: GOVT. INVESTS IN HEARTS
Canada's Health Minister, Tony Clement, says the federal government will spend nearly $8.5 million over the next several years for the development of a co-ordinated Heart Health Strategy across the country. Mr. Clement says the initiative is aimed at dealing with cardiovascular issues from prevention of disease through to rehabilitation. The development of the strategy will also take into account links between heart problems and other conditions such as stroke and diabetes. The national Heart and Stroke Foundation says the co-ordinated approach will improve the entire spectrum of cardiovascular care.
Sunday Apr 16, 2006 The surgeon who did the transplant on Hannah Clark, 12, of Mountain Ash, Wales, said her original organ “is now a normal heart.” He called it a happy endingGirl, 12, gets her own heart back ? 10 years later
LONDON?A girl who was given a second heart 10 years ago had the extra organ removed after her own heart grew strong enough to pump on its own, her doctor said yesterday.
Monday Apr 17, 2006 nyt Taking the Least of You Most of us have tissue or blood samples on file somewhere, whether we know it or not. What we don't typically know is what research they are being used for and how much money is being made from them. And science may want to keep things that way.
2005
Tuesday Jul 19, 2005 Pacemakers by Guidant Have Flaw By BARRY MEIER Guidant told doctors that nine of its older pacemaker models were prone to failing and that some patients might need to have the units replaced.
Saturday Mar 5, 2005 ts Foreign-trained doctors give same care: Study Heart attack deaths compared
Too few residency positions available Doctors trained outside Canada provide the same standard of care for heart attack patients as home-grown physicians, a finding that should reassure patients as well as policy makers seeking to ease the country's doctor shortage, Ontario researchers say.
Vioxx And Heart Disease many links
This one is serious...Let's say it's 5:17p.m. and you're driving
home, (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job. Not
only was the work load extraordinarily heavy, you also had a
disagreement with your boss, and no matter how hard you tried, he just
wouldn't see your side of the situation.
All of a sudden you start experiencing a severe pain in your
chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw.
You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest you home,
unfortunately you don't know If you'll be able to make it that
far.
What can you do? You've been trained in CPR but the guy that
taught the course neglected to tell you how to perform it on yourself.
(Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack,
this article seemed in order.)
Without help the person whose heart stops beating properly and
who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before
losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by
coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken
before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when
producing sputum from deep inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds
without let up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be
beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements
squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure
on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way,
heart attack victims can get to a phone and, between breaths, call
for help.
Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save
their lives!
Another good suggestion is to perform a percordial thump. It is done by making a fist and striking yourself in the middle of the chest very hard. It is used to convert a fibrolating heart into a normal rythm.
Friday Jan 28, 2005 bbc Binmen could treat heart patients Binmen could give life-saving treatment to heart attack patients in a rural area of England.
Crews would carry defibrillators, machines which give electric shocks, under the plan being considered by Staffordshire Moorlands Council.
Using a defibrillator within four minutes of a cardiac arrest increases the chances of survival by 80% This may be an interesting idea in the context of health care (e.g. imagine if postmen -- or is it postpeople?-- carried such a kit and had an emergency beeper; taxi drivers and selected High school students; now add CPR, First Aid, etc. to the 'kit') DM
Friday Nov 12, 2004 ts ULTRASOUND MAY IMPROVE STROKE TREATMENT
Ultrasounds break up blood clots in the brain and may help to treat
strokes, new research performed at Canadian hospitals suggests.
Friday Nov 12, 2004 ts Paired drugs aid heart health
NEW ORLEANS—Taking one drug to boost "good" cholesterol and another to lower its evil twin can slow the progression of heart disease more effectively than one medicine alone, the first study to test this dual approach has found.
Friday Nov 12, 2004 ts Too much vitamin E hurts, study says
los angeles—High doses of vitamin E, often viewed as a panacea for cancer, heart disease and other illnesses, actually increase the risk of death slightly among the elderly and infirm, researchers said yesterday.
I noticed something which I consider to be blatantly in error -- not your fault but that of the media in general and the authors of the cited study initially.
In November the media inundated us with stories about how more than 400 IU of Vitamin E might be lethal. I looked at the journal article [which had several flaws, including the possibly critical fact that they didn't distinguish between natural and synthetic Eand the kinds of people studied] and almost fell off my chair when I read it.
Having searched thousands of studies which they managed to cut down to about 3 dozen for their meta-analysis (what was left out???), I found that the authors deliberately screened out studies which had a zero or low death rate!
They kept 19 studies and cut 12 studies that had too low a death rate! No wonder they found some deaths in their seriously ill samples, nearly all of which were senior citizens with heart disease, cancer, Parkinsons, etc..
For the authors and media of mass deception to infer and suggest that the deaths were linked to Vitamin E is not merely misleading, it's unscientific and blatantly in error. If the media cannot evaluate such studies when the authors provide the screening criteria, they should ignore them.
Dr. DM [ thanks for this ]
Tuesday Nov 9, 2004 ts Heart drug `find` offers new hope
A simple injection from a cheap, anti-blood-clotting drug has been shown to dramatically reduce heart attack deaths and prevent stroke.
Monday Nov 8, 2004 cbc SUPPORT HOSE HELPS THE HEART
A polyester mesh stocking pulled over the bottom of a weak heart can
help it pump better, according a new study.
Saturday Oct 2, 2004 cbc HEART ATTACK RISK PROMPTS RECALL OF ARTHRITIS DRUG
The arthritis drug Vioxx is being pulled from the market worldwide
because new research shows it could increase the risk of heart attacks
and strokes, its manufacturer announced Thursday.
Wednesday Sep 1, 2004 cbc NURTURE TRUMPS NATURE FOR HEART ATTACK PREVENTION: GLOBAL STUDY
A major new study by a Canadian-led research team has found that almost
all heart attacks that occur worldwide are due to preventable factors
rather than genetics.
Monday May 17, 2004 cbc LOW-CARB DIETS SHED WEIGHT IN SHORT TERM: STUDIES
Low-carbohydrate diets may offer better short-term weight loss than
low-fat diets without increasing "bad" cholesterol, according to
head-to-head comparisons studies, but the plans may not be a magic
bullet in the long term.
Thursday May 13, 2004 cbc EXPANDING MARKET FOR CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUG QUESTIONED
Britain will allow a cholesterol-lowering drug to be sold over the
counter but some say the push for the pills glosses over serious
side-effects.
Thursday May 6, 2004 ts CANADIAN HEALTH CARE QUALITY COMPARABLE TO OTHER RICH COUNTRIES
Canada has the worst record for surviving heart attacks and the best
rate of survival from childhood leukemia, according to an international
comparison of health outcomes.
Tuesday 23 Mar 2004 cbc DEAL REACHED IN CANADIAN CHOLESTEROL DRUG LAWSUIT
A group of Canadians who fell ill after taking a cholesterol-lowering
drug reached a tentative, multimillion-dollar settlement Thursday with
the Bayer drug company.
Monday 22 Mar 2004 ts `Ho hum` is heart smart
A series of medical studies is challenging the way doctors use surgery to treat heart problems, finding that ho-hum prevention therapies like lowering cholesterol and keeping blood pressure in check are better at fighting heart attacks.Researchers say that rigorous adherence to the boring old advice — give up smoking, for example, and take drugs to control blood pressure, drive cholesterol levels down and prevent blood clotting — offers a powerful way to prevent heart attacks in patients at high
Monday Dec 29, 2003 cbc MORE CANADIANS NEED TO IDENTIFY STROKE EMERGENCY: STUDY
Stroke is a leading killer, but a new survey shows less than half of
Canadian adults can recognize its signs.
Friday Nov 28, 2003 bbc FIRST HEART DISEASE GENETIC MUTATION FOUND
Scientists have discovered the first gene linked directly to heart
attacks. "This deletion affects coronary artery walls, making them less able to protect themselves from plaque buildup and heart disease," he added in a release. A deletion involves a lack of key bits of DNA.
see 57 min - Feb 19, 2006 Charlie Rose - A wide-ranging hour-long conversation with author Michael Crichton. His latest book is "Next".
Thursday, January 22, 2004 cc SEXES AREN'T EQUAL FOR HEART ATTACKS: STUDIES
The warning signs, treatment and followup for heart attacks differ
between men and women.
Sunday Nov 16, 2003 bbc Valves grown from patient cells
Doctors have developed a new type of heart valve using cells taken from patients, it has emerged.
Thursday Nov 6, 2003 cc CHOLESTEROL TREATMENT WORKS LIKE DRANO FOR ARTERIES
U.S. researchers have discovered a method of clearing clogged arteries
that could revolutionize treatment of the dangerous condition.
Wednesday Nov 5, 2003 cbc HEART ATTACK WARNING SIGNS DIFFERENT FOR WOMEN
Women have different warning signs for a heart attack than men, with
unusual fatigue and sleeplessness topping the list of symptoms.
Fatigue 'could signal heart attack'
Excessive tiredness or difficulty sleeping could indicate an impending heart attack in women, research suggests.
Tuesday, 21 October, 2003 bbc DRIVING LAWS UNFAIR TO HEART PATIENTS: REPORT
Laws that require doctors to report drivers with heart conditions to the provincial government are unfair and need to be re-examined, says a report released Tuesday.
Tuesday, 21 October, 2003 bbc < CHILL OUT YOUNG MAN: DOCTORS' ADVICE FOR TYPE AS
Young men with "Type A" personality should ease up on the hostility to
avoid developing high blood pressure, a new study suggests.
Saturday Oct 4, 2003 bbc Fatty diet not linked to stroke
A high fat diet, although linked to heart disease, does not increase the risk of a stroke, research suggests.
Wednesday Sep 17, 2003 cbc DOCTORS ISSUE WARNING ON CHOLESTEROL DRUGS
UBC medical researchers are cautioning doctors and patients about the
preventive use of cholesterol drugs called statins - warning they
may be doing as much harm as good.
14 September, 2003 bbc
Lesbians 'have higher heart disease risk'
Lesbians are generally fatter and have a higher risk of heart disease compared with other women, a study suggests. Monday Sep 15, 2003
Test may spot smoking cancer risk
Scientists may be able to tell a smoker whether he or she is at particularly high risk of developing lung cancer.
Three fruit and veg may be enough
Just three portions of fruit and vegetables a day may be enough to protect against heart disease, a study says.
Wednesday Aug 27, 2003 THE DARKER THE CHOCOLATE, THE LOWER THE BLOOD PRESSURE
A new study says eating dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure.
Tuesday Aug 26, 2003 Mediterranean diet 'extends life'
Drinking red wine and cooking with olive oil may help us to live longer, say scientists.
Saturday Aug 23, 2003 bbc
Artificial heart muscle tested
Researchers are developing a "heart blanket" which could give patients with heart disease a better quality of life.
Friday Aug 15, 2003 cbc STUDY CRITICAL OF 'NATURAL' CHOLESTEROL REMEDY
A popular folk remedy used to lower cholesterol levels may do the
opposite, according to researchers.
Sunday Aug 10, 2003 bbc Enzyme offers heart drug hope
Scientists believe they may have found the target for a new generation of drugs to treat heart disease
Thursday Jul 24, 2003 cbc Cut cholesterol without leaving the kitchen
Toronto researchers find that a healthier diet is essentially as effective as common cholesterol-reduction drug
Thursday Jul 24, 2003 cbc HIGH FIBER DIET HELPS CHOLESTEROL LEVEL: STUDY
A vegetarian diet high in fibre and low in saturated fats can lower
cholesterol levels as effectively as some drugs, according to a new
Canadian study.
Thu 7/3/03 cbc FAMILY CELEBRATES BABY EMILE'S ARTIFICIAL HEART
The youngest child in North America to have survived on a mechanical
heart is now a celebrity in medical circles.
Sunday Jun 15, 2003 bbc 'POLYPILL' COULD CUT HEART ATTACKS BY 88 PER CENT
British doctors say they've come up with a drug formulation that would
have "a greater impact on prevention of disease in the Western world
than any other known intervention."
Sunday Jun 15, 2003 bbc Stroke risk 'determined in womb'
The risk of having a stroke as an adult could be determined when a person is in the womb, researchers suggest.
Sunday Jun 15, 2003 bbc ASPIRIN JUST AS GOOD AS STROKE DRUG FOR BLACKS: STUDY
Aspirin has proved its worth yet again, according to a new study.
Sunday Jun 15, 2003 bbc VITAMIN PILLS DO NOT PROTECT AGAINST HEART DISEASE: REVIEW
Popping vitamin E and beta-carotene pills every day will not ward off
heart attacks or strokes and may even be harmful in some cases, doctors
say.
Warning over heart defect success
Advances in medicine mean that many more people are surviving serious heart defects - but this creates a fresh set of problems.
Friday Mar 7, 2003
HRT 'can protect the heart'
HRT can only protect against heart disease if given at the right time, research finds.
Sunday Feb 16, 2003 Special pacemaker 'saves lives' Fitting a special device for heart failure could save thousands of lives in the United States alone, according to research.
Friday Feb 14, 2003 cbc RESEARCH ETHICS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY: CANADIAN SCIENTISTS
Scientists say the applications of nanotechnology include tiny machines
that could travel throughout the body, destroying viruses or cancer
cells. But Canadian bioethicists are calling for more research into the
implications of the new field, before opponents derail it.
Friday Feb 14, 2003 cbc THINK OF YOUR 'FLOWER POWER' ON VALENTINE'S: FAIR TRADE GROUPS
As Canadians celebrate Valentine's Day, the country's fair trade groups
are asking people to think about where their flowers come from.
Friday Feb 14, 2003 cbc Friday Feb 14, 2003 cbc EPILEPSY DRUG COULD HELP TREAT HOT FLASHES
A new non-hormonal treatment may be in store for women in menopause.
Thursday Jan 30, 2003
Heart call The cardiac monitor which rings your doctor
2002
Friday Dec 20, 2002 cbc PACING DEFIBRILLATORS MAY CARRY MORE RISKS: STUDY
Sophisticated defibrillators may knock the heart out of rhythm,
increasing the risk of hospitalization and death, according to a new
study.
Saturday Oct 12, 2002 cbc WOMAN DIES IN VICTORIA HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM
The Vancouver Island Health Authority and coroner's office are
investigating the death of a woman in an emergency ward waiting room on
Thursday.
The unidentified woman, 59, died of a heart attack during a 40-minute wait at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.
Hospital staff working in the emergency ward sent her to the waiting room. There were 20 other people waiting for admission to emergency.
Saturday Jul 6, 2002 cbc STUDY SUGGESTS EXPANDING USE OF STATINS TO CUT HEART DISEASE RISK
The results of a five-year study on more than 20,000 people suggest a
cholesterol-lowering drug could offer a slight benefit to a far wider
range of people than thought.
Thursday Feb 14, 2002 cbc HEART PATIENTS OK TO USE VIAGRA: STUDY
A new study funded by the American Heart Association has found Viagra
has no adverse effect on the heart.
Tuesday Jan 29, 2002
Cells around the heart that trigger irregular heartbeat can be targeted
and zapped using radio waves, according to a study published Monday.
Friday Jan 11, 2002
Aspirin may work to prevent a first heart attack or stroke in those at
high risk, according to a fresh look at earlier aspirin studies.
2001
Friday Nov 30, 2001 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Robert Tools, the first person to receive a fully self-contained artificial heart, died Friday of internal bleeding and organ failure after living with device for 151 days. He was 59.
Tuesday, October 23, 2001 DALLAS (AP) - A cancer drug has been shown to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels in oxygen-starved areas of the heart, offering a potential new treatment for people with clogged heart arteries.
Wed 8/1/01 HEART CELLS GROWN FROM STEM CELLS
A team of researchers has managed to turn stem cells into heart cells
for the first time. STEMCELL-Notes.htm
Fri 6/1/01 11:59 AM A new threat to health care
Yesterday, public hearings began on the Parti Quebecois government's bill to change the way regional health boards, hospitals and health-care institutions are governed. The proposed law, Bill 28, amounts to a government takeover of institutions that rightfully belong to the public and that depend on support from the community.
Of all the pressing issues in Quebec's health-care system, the structure and composition of boards of directors might not strike the average patient or his family as the most urgent. Lineups for heart surgery would rank higher in most people's minds, as would the wait for cancer treatment, the purchase of MRIs or the shortage of nurses. see
Wed 5/23/01 6:59 AM Heart-surgery waits too long
Last spring, the Parti Quebecois government injected $25 million into the province's health-care system to reduce the waiting lists in heart surgery after a group of heart surgeons denounced the situation publicly, suggesting that people were dying while waiting. Premier Lucien Bouchard was furious at the doctors, but he found the money.
Mr. Bouchard has since retreated to the comforts of the private sector and the waiting lists for heart surgery are basically as long as they ever were. Last spring, between 975 and 1,000 Quebecers were waiting to be operated on. This spring, there were 952 people waiting for surgery. The Montreal Health Board counted 646 people waiting for heart surgery the week of April 9-13.
Wed 5/9/01 4:19 PM Quebec lacks heart-specialty facilities: report
By: AARON DERFEL
Quebec heart-surgery patients might be faring worse than those in other provinces because fewer operations are carried out here in centralized facilities, a national report card on Canada's health-care system suggests.
At the same time, Quebec's health-care professionals book off sick more often than workers in other fields - a fact that shows the system is under enormous strain, the study notes.
Tue 3/13/01 Vic mould woes grow
By: AARON DERFEL
Doctors will follow up hundreds of patients who underwent surgery at Royal Victoria Hospital in the past six months to determine whether any were infected by a fungus that has shut down the entire operating block.
The hospital is still trying to find out whether the aspergillus mould lurking in the ventilation system is the same type that infected two heart-surgery patients - one of whom died, sources say, in January.
18/Jan/2001 Prescription is no cure
If the signs weren't obvious already, Quebec's health-care system is in danger of hitting the wall. The explosion of medical costs could make a publicly financed system unsustainable within 10 years. An aging population, along with the spread of cancer, heart disease, strokes and other conditions, has already put immense pressure on the system. This will only increase as the cost of new technologies and pharmaceuticals rises.
A commission headed by former Quebec cabinet minister Michel Clair yesterday outlined the issues in stark arithmetic. Health costs are growing faster than the economy. With current trends, Quebec will spend half its operating budget on health and social services by 2010, up from 30 per cent in 1985. This will occur in a province with a tax load 20 per cent higher than the rest of the country, and with a debt load that is 51 per cent of its gross domestic product (compared with 29 per cent in Ontario and 13 per cent in Alberta).
2000
May 31, 2000 Viagra not harmful to heart: Pfizer study The study's authors found Viagra didn't change blood pressure and may have made it
easier for blood to flow through the heart.
Viagra was introduced in April 1998. Since
then, according to Pfizer, doctors have written
19 million prescriptions for the drug for more
than six million men.
Mending Broken Hearts National Geo Mag Feb 2007 
Have a heart Economist Jun 13th 2007 
BBC
Recurrent Stroke Prevention Guidelines
Binmen could treat heart patients
MORE CANADIANS NEED TO IDENTIFY STROKE EMERGENCY: STUDY
Stroke is a leading killer, but a new survey shows less than half of
Canadian adults can recognize its signs.
FIRST HEART DISEASE GENETIC MUTATION FOUND
THE DARKER THE CHOCOLATE, THE LOWER THE BLOOD PRESSURE
A new study says eating dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure.
RESEARCH ETHICS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY: CANADIAN SCIENTISTS
Scientists say the applications of nanotechnology include tiny machines
that could travel throughout the body, destroying viruses or cancer
cells. But Canadian bioethicists are calling for more research into the
implications of the new field, before opponents derail it.
