Don't Feel President Clinton’s Pain
Heart disease such as President Clinton's should now be diagnosed more accurately and safely with an ultra-high speed scanner.
Los Angeles CA (PRWEB) September 12, 2004 -- Bill Clinton underwent numerous
cardiac stress tests. After his latest one, he declared, “I aced it”. The next
morning, we learned that his coronary arteries were 90% occluded. This scenario
is not limited to the former President. In fact, it is quite common.
Even
though President Clinton’s quadruple bypass surgery was successful and the
prognosis for his recovery good, we should all be questioning the wisdom of
cardiac stress tests as the first line of detection for coronary artery disease
(“CAD”), a disorder that will affect 49% of American men, and 32% of American
women at some point in their lifetimes, according to the American Heart
Association.
Stress tests are favored as a non-invasive method of testing
for CAD. However, according to research performed by Dr. Daniel Berman, Director
of Cardiac Imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, there is greater than 50%
chance of missing coronary artery disease (CAD) in high-risk patients who have
undergone “normal” stress tests. His studies show that even severe CAD, such as
occurred with President Clinton, can be missed by the stress test.
With
the advent of non-invasive, ultra-high speed scanners such as the Electron Beam
Tomogram (EBT), anyone can now be screened for the presence of calcium within
the walls of the coronary arteries. The results indicate the degree of risk of
suffering from a heart attack if the patient goes untreated. “An EBT can scan
the coronary arteries, and determine the presence of atherosclerosis far more
accurately than the standard cardiac stress test,” said Douglas Boyd, PhD., the
device’s inventor.
If calcium is detected in a non-invasive EBT scan or
if the patient is suffering from cardiac symptoms, the patient may be advised to
get an electron beam angiogram, which involves performing an EBT test with an
injection of dye into a vein in the arm. According to Dr. Boyd “The EBT provides
a clear roadmap of the interior of the coronary arteries, and can often find
obstructive disease that is missed by stress testing”. Dr. Boyd also points out
that EBTs use significantly less radiation than other forms of ultra-high speed
scanning.
In President Clinton’s case, even though he can afford the
best medical care, his doctors relied on the standard stress test. In my
opinion, a non-invasive, ultra-high speed alternative would have placed him at
less risk, and possibly resulted in earlier recognition of his need for surgical
treatment. In an era in which technology enables doctors to see 3Dimensional
images of the anatomy, doctors should change their mode of diagnosis to include
more accurate tests that cost less than the cardiac stress test. The public
should be encouraged to include preventative scanning to detect potential
disorders that can be prevented, reversed or retarded before the onset of costly
complications.
May you never feel President Clinton’s pain and please do
what is best for yourself.
Myles L. Saunders, MD
Myles L.
Saunders, MD is the Chairman & CEO of HealthAddress, Inc., a company
involved in the interpretation of digital medical images including those taken
by the EBT.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/9/prweb157173.htm