Health & Wellness
^
ealthbea
may cause
attack symptoms
DALLAS ( AP) - Younger ER patients with heart
symptoms should be asked if they've recently
cocaine, which can cause similar chest pain, the
"*~?n Heart Association warns doctors. For these
, honesty can be a matter of life or
attack treatments can be deadly i
cocaine
guidelines published online last week in the
Heart Association journal Circulation say
y room doctors need to be aware that
of a heart attack in younger patients with
disease risk factors may be caused by
use. ?
drug can cause chest pain, shortness of 1
, Anxiety, palpitations, dizziness, nausea and|
sweating ? all symptoms of a heart attack.
knowing what you are dealing with and giv- 1
wrong therapies could mean death rather than |
said Dr. James Reiffel, professor of ("
at Columbia University
ew York Presbyterian Hospital.
; The number of ^ocaine-related users visiting ERs
rose 47 percent from to 2(X)2, increasing from
135,711 to 199,198, according to the government's
Abuse and Mental Health Services
tion. That's a tiny percentage of the
100 million patient visits to emergency
ilttor.
Cocaine can cause a heart attack, but only about 1
to 6 percent of patients with cocaine-associat
t pain actually have a heart attack, the state
says. Still, doctors say it's important for anyone
pain to get it checked out.
increases blood pressure and the heart I
constricting arteries into the heart, said McCocd,|
director of the chest pain unit for
Health System in Detroit.
Three-star rating for Baptist
1 Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
has received a three-star rating by the Society of
Thoracic Surgeons (STS).
The STS recently devel
a comprehensive rating
that allows for compar
regarding the quality of
surgery among hospi
the country.
15 percent of
the three
denotes the
rat
the Society of
surgeons is a renec- gg
high quality of heau care av;
said Rich Lundy, administrative
igy diagnostic services at Wake
! results reflect the dedication of our multi- 1
(disciplinary team of experts which include warid j
renowned physician experts in cardiovascular care.**
The analysis of national data from the STS
I Adult Cardiac Surgery Database cove
I from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2006.
r's water is bacteria
(AP) - It could be three
6 residents of a southern Colorado town <
t from the tap after dozens <
poisoning were linked to municipal.
; seven people in the hospital.
t analysis indicates the municipal i raj? ? ?
>sa is the source of the bacterial outbreak, as
1, said Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for
s health department
Bill Ritter declared an emergency Friday in j
County, activating the National Guard i
J as much as $300,000 for response effort
i city and county ha\ e also declared emergen- 1
i officials scrambled to provide .safe w "
s t the system with chlorine.
of last Friday, 138 cases of salmonella 1
| had been reported in people from j
), of which 47 were confirmed by 1
The conditions of those
?ed.
, with about 8,500 residents, gets
i well system The water is pure
i not chlorinated.
I are seeking how the system
Possibilities include a
or cross-contamination with a
! said
invited to symposium
J. Stabbs is one of four
around the country invited
ny of Orthopaedic Surgeons i
Research Society to particif
? in an upcoming sj
t assistant professor in the ]
Surgery at Wake Forest
1 Center, has been invited to |
Imaging and Computer
Knee and Hip Research
in Providence, RJ. The Ac
T ses for the young investigators.
, who. recently joined the sports
! Forest Baptist, has served as
ans for Duke University, the
_ U.S. Ski Team, the Colorado 1
t Marathon, and the Boston Ballet
t on hip arthroscopy, Stubbs has i
nal articles, created orthopaedic
, and given lectures at national i
lie surgery conferences.
Another honor for med student
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Bryant Cameron Webb, a second
year student at Wake Forest
University School of Medicine, has
received a $5,000 David E. Satcher
Research Fellowship from the
Student National Medical
Association (SNMA) to explore
racial and ethnic health disparities in
academic research.
"Cameron is an outstanding stu
dent and champion for reducing and
eliminating health disparities," said
Ronny A. Bell, Ph.D., professor of
epidemiology and prevention and
director of the Maya Angelou
Research Center on Minority Health
at Wake Forest Baptist. "We are priv
ileged to "have him as part of our
work here at the center."
Webb will conduct his investiga
tion under the direction of a team of
mentors including Bell, Kristen G.
Hairston, M.D., M.P.H, assistant pro
fessor of internal medicine
endocrinology and metabolism, and
David L. Mount, Psy.D., M.A., assis
tant professor of internal medicine
and a health disparities scholar
through the National Institutes of
Health National Center on Minority
Health and
Health
Disparities.
He and
other fel
1 o w s h 1 p
awardees
will be hon
ored during
a luncheon
at the 2008
Annual
Medical
Education
Conference, March 21 in New York
City. The research projects will be
featured in the Journal of the SNMA
and presented at the Annual Wilbert
C. Jordan Research Forum at the
2009 Annual Medical Education
Conference in New Orleans, La.
"This research touches on my
interest in the intersection of health
policy and legislation with the elimi
nation of health disparities? both
passions of mine," said Webb. "Dr.
Hairston helped craft the original
idea for the research an* has been I
invaluable in providing overall guid
ance on the project.
"The goal of the project is to
translate the wealth of healfh dispari
ties data into a tool Tor more effective
creation and review of health policy
and legislation. A variety of state
health care intervention indicators,
such as state health spending.
Medicaid program analysis, state
sponsored health disparities legisla
tion and the function of state minori
ty health offices will be used as a
composite of state efforts aimed at
eliminating disparities," he said.
Late last year, Webb received the
2007 National Association of
Medical Minority Educators Inc.
scholarship award. He also serves as
president of the class of 2010 at
Wake Forest University School of
Medicine. A native of
Fredericksburg, Va., he graduated
from the University of Virginia in
2005.
Webb
Participating in Research is
Everyone's Responsibility
Medical research has played a
very important role in our under
standing of the risks and burdens
associated with various diseases,
and health conditions and in the
development of practices that can
treat these conditions or avoid
them altogether. Much of what we
know about health disparities has
come from dedicated medical
researchers who have committed
their time and energy to under
standing and alleviating these ter
rible tragedies. Unfortunately, our
history is scarred by the exploita
tion of people of color and other
vulnerable populations, such as the
poor, people with limited mental
capacity, and prisoners. Probably
the most famous of these cases is
the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In
this study, which began in 1932,
African American men were inten
tionally withheld treatment for
syphilis after it became available
in 1945 in order to study the natu
ral history of this disease. The
study was finaHy stopped, but not
IrfUkw flrxsaou fltstfl)
Wake Forest University Bapti^
until nearly 40 years after it began.
Fortunately, numerous efforts
have been put into place to ensure
the safety of participants in med
ical research. Funding for federal
research through the National
Institutes of Health mandates that
minorities and women be included
in research studies or that a strong
justification be. given for exclud
ing them. At medical centers in
the US, Institutional Review
Boards (IRBs) review and approve
research studies conducted by their
faculty before these studies can be
conducted to ensure that the stud
ies are safe, ethical, and beneficial.
These faculty r?embers and their
staff must also go through research
ethics training before they are
allowedato participate in research
Many medical centers also have
training programs to educate their
faculty on culturally appropriate
ness in working with various pop
ulations. Yet, despite these efforts,
numerous studies have shown that,
because of the -legacy of the
Tuskegee study and other barriers,
many ethnic minorities remain
reluctant to participate in medical
research.
Why is it important for me to
participate in research studies?
For one thing, getting input
from communities of color during
studies helps ensure that the prod
ucts of research (such as interven
tions, educational materials, new
programs, etc.) are culturally
acceptable and appropriate to the
community. Secondly, it is impor
tant for researchers to understand
whether certain drugs, regimens.
See Research on All
Wal-Mart says Rx program saving customers millions
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
In an address to the Council of
Teaching Hospitals in New
Orleans last week, Wal-Mart's
senior vice president and president
of health and wellness, Dr. John
Agwunooi
announced
that the com
pany's $4
prescription
program has
saved
Americans
more than $1
billion.
Wal-Mart
launched the
program in
September 2006, and as of March
10. the company estimated that
consumers had saved
$1,032,573,012.61.
Agwunobi, a former U.S.
Assistant Secretary for Health and
Human Services and Admiral in
the U.S. Public Health Service
Commissioned Corps, said that
more than 100 of Wal-Mart's $4
prescriptions are used to treat sefi
ous conditions such as heart dis
ease and diabetes,.
"While $1 billion in savings is
an astonishing achievement, the
real savings to America - and its
health care system - are even larg
er. That's because many of our
competitors have also lowered
their prices. $4 prescriptions now
See Wal-Mart on All
Agwunobi
Galson ?
Doctors
0
to discuss,
obese kids
Surgeon General
expected in
Greensboro for
discussion
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Acting U.S. Surgeon
General Rear Adm. Steven K.
Galson will speak on preventing
adolescent overweight and obe
sity to members of the Society
for Adolescent Medicine (SAM)
at their annual meeting tomor
row in Greensborg.
In early March Dr. Galson
kicked off a nationwide tour to
promote the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services'
Childhood Overweight and
Obesity Prevention Initiative.
"Healthy Youth for a Healthy
Future," which targets over
weight and obesity prevention
and the promotion of healthy
lifestyles for children.
The tour coincides with the
theme for SAM's annual meet
ing: Adolescent Obesity:
Prevention and Treatment.
Members of SAM will discuss
how they
can he^jp
create
environ
ments for
children
and ado
lescents
that focus
0 n
improv
1 ik g
access to
afford
able healthy foods and provid
ing opportunities for safe physi
cal activity in schools and com
munities. In addition, experts in
adolescent obesity will review
how current treatment strategies
that tackle adolescent obesity
(behavioral, pharmacological,
and bariatric surgery) can be
implemented.
According to Dr. Galson.
"Today more than 12.5 million
children and adolescents two to
19 years of age are overweight
and are at greater risk for
numerous health consequences
such as cardiovascular disease
and type 2 diabetes. By taking a
look at what each of us can do in
our lives and communities to
make ourselves and our families
healthier, we can begin to tackle
this epidemic
Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.
president and CEO of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, is
slated to open the conference
and discuss the scope of the ado
lescent obesity epidemic, its
impact on health and on society,
and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation's vision for revers
ing the epidemic by 2015.
Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey is a
national leader jn transforming
America's health systems so
young people can live healthier
lives and receive the health care
they need. In April of 2007. the
Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation pledged $5(X) mil
lion over the next five years to
combat childhood obesity in the
US - the largest commitmenUjy
any foundation to this issue. *
The keynote speaker for the
conference is Kelly Brownell,
PhD. MPH. Professor in the
Departments of Psychology and
Epidemiology and Public
Health at Yale University and
the Director of the Rudd Center
for Food Policy and Obesity.
Dr. Brownell is an interna
tionally known expert on weight
control. He has written 1 3 books
and more than 2(X) research
papers and book chapters, and
holds appointments on 10 edito
rial boards.
Lavizzo-Mourty