Is it possible for a column to save lives?
I'm willing to try, after attending a press conference at Cabrini
Medical Center about a pilot program, sponsored by the center and
the Congress of Racial Equality, to target latent cardiovascular
disease in African-Americans. The program itself was indicative
of the continuing excellence of CORE's commitment to community
concerns, and it was exhilarating to learn of a new diagnostic
technology that not only is non-invasive but also might be more
accurate than the riskier invasive angiogram.
CORE press conferences are always interesting, because the
organization's chairman, Roy Innis, seeks answers to
long-neglected problems among African-Americans. There are
community leaders and then there are community blowhards
masquerading as leaders. The latter are prone to convening press
conferences to herald pronouncements about everything they
believe is wrong, but they rarely offer any concrete solutions.
They are addicted to cameras, banks of microphones, and lecturns.
Bona fide leaders, on the other hand, issue press releases
detailing new programs that result from the hard work they've
been doing on behalf of their community. Roy Innis is such a
leader, and responding to a press release from the Congress of
Racial Equality may actually lengthen my own life.
The high rate of heart disease in his community is scarcely the
only big problem Mr. Innis has tackled. For instance, he asks why
there should still be famine and starvation in Africa when
bio-technical advances in agriculture can make those twin plagues
a distant memory? CORE teamed up with Monsanto Chemical to
introduce the new technology to African farmers, and in January
CORE held an information conference at the United Nations at
which academics, scientists, farmers, and diplomats shared
opinions on the subject.
Now, with Cabrini, CORE will recruit 100 subjects who will
receive a free diagnostic screening utilizing the Cardiac CT
machine. Cabrini's chief cardiologist, Michael Poon, pioneered
the phenomenal heart-scan technology, and the hospital founded by
Mother Cabrini, the first American saint, is the only New York
facility with so highly skilled a diagnostic team. (The phone
number the facility can be reached at is: 212-995-6000.)
How many times have we learned of a young athlete who suddenly
dies after a game or a race even though there was no indication
of a heart condition?
What about the person who drops dead while shoveling snow, even
after being given a clean bill of health from a stress test?
As I listened to Dr. Poon explain technical details of the
cardiac CT,I felt like many in the audience, that this was a
dream come true for many reluctant patients like me. The test is
not invasive, and requires only an IV. It takes - hold on to your
hat - only 30 seconds for a complete scan of the body's vascular
system.
The drawback is that the center is still awaiting the coding from
Medicare and Medicaid and insurance companies will not approve
payment unless certain conditions apply. If, however, you have a
couple of grand burning a hole in your pocket, it would be worth
spending for the peace of mind a clear test would bring.
We hear so much about fatalities and strokes caused by aneurysms,
and people my age privately wonder if such a weakness exists
somewhere in our aging bodies.
What is unique about this technology is that it can pick up
potential damage to the cell wall that might be missed by an
angiogram because the lumen, or opening, of the artery appears to
be of normal size. Dr. Poon explained that, while the lumen does
not narrow until the later stage of heart disease, the wall of
the artery may be bulging outward, and the cardiac CT can
diagnose that potentially deadly condition.
Candidates for the Cabrini/CORE pilot program are being chosen
from those who are considered low-risk according to current
guidelines , which involve such factors as cholesterol levels,
weight, and hypertension. If patients' cardiac disease can be
pinpointed and treated before the arteries sustain damage, then
the high incidence of heart disease in the African-American
community might be reduced. Applicants should contact CORE at
212-588-4000 for further information.
Last September I spent the night in the hospital because of chest
pains. A stress test and two echocardiograms ruled out a heart
condition, but my symptoms linger. In the next few weeks I will
be undergoing a scan with the new technology. Normally I would be
terrified, but even I can handle a 30-second test.
Stay tuned.