Newspaper Page Text
14A
April 28, 2005
Living
SENIOR HEALTH FOCUS
Q: Ls it true that heart disease can manifest itself
differently in women than men? L.U. North Augusta, S.C.
Men and women's hearts
are alike in many ways, but
they are different in other
ways. Understanding these
ditterences can literally save
a woman’s life.
According to Doris Tum
millo, M.D., a board-certi
tied cardiologist who prac
NS
presents:
5
- toMellness
Journey toMellness
; ' LOVE PROTECTION
v MORE THAN YOUR
i ‘ T PARTNER!
]’ LN By Dr. Mary Harris
! ‘ Here are two questions |
i ;'-‘ v?y hate 1o ask: Why 1s the rate of new
S AIDS cases among Black women 20
% umes that of white women and Why do
{ Black women account for 85%; of all
I new AIDS mfections in this country”?
! Black health care experts offer four interesting responses.
{ First, intravenous drug use; second, poverty: third, insuflicient
| health care: tourth, black women not msisting on condom use.
; By far, the last behavior 1s the casiest to change, but seem
{ mgly the hardest to convince Afncan Amencan women 1o nsist
[ upon. Ladies, it's time for a deep and senous reality check. Women
o don'tinsist on safe sex practices are at worst commutting geno-
Cide on our race and at the very least. leaving themselves and oth-
L ers open to harmtul diseases that may last a hifetime
Beyond AIDS, there are more sexually transmitted dis
| cases o know and be concerned about. Following 1s a representa
| tive sample.
Chlamydia s a common sexually transmitted disease that
s negative impheations for men, women and children. Passed
hrough sexual contact when the mucous membrane of an intected
{ person makes contact with the mucous membrane of another,
{ Chlamydia bactena can infect the vagina, rectum and even the eye
] hds!
r Newbomns can get the disease while passing through an
| intected birth canal resulting in eye infections, pneumonia and even
: hlindness
! The few signs and symptoms of Chlamydia mimic those
I ot Gonorrea and people infected with Chlamydia are usually treat
; cd for both diseases. Men and women may show no symptoms
| mtil the disease has spread to the fallopian tubes in women or the
| prostate gland in men. Back pain and a discharge from the pemis or
| vagina are common.
j Antibiotics are used to treat Chlamydia. Condoms can
| prevent its spread.
l Herpes 1s a mild recurrent skin condition that causes
| lesions, cold sores or fever blisters on the mouth and similar lesions
| on the genitals. Herpes is a viral infection for which there is no cure.
| The virus can live in the body forever causing intermittent out
l breaks of sores or no outbreaks at all.
} Herpes Simplex 2 is the disease type that causes genital
| outhreaks. Its passed from partner to partner through direct skin-to
l skin contact with mucous membranes, primarily the mouth and
cenitals. Herpes can be transmitted when there are no symptoms
present and while both women and men can become infected, the
lesions are more visible on the external genitalia of women.
Antiviral medications treat Herpes. Condoms can pre
vent its spread,
! Trichomoniasis can affect both women and men, but
women tend to have more imitating and aggressive symptoms. The
discase can pass back and forth between partners repeatedly with
out treatment of both partners. "Trich" is not life-threatening, but its
symptoms cause itching and an unpleasant discharge that provides
a welcome host for HIV-AIDS infection. This disease is typically
found in sexually active young adults with multiple sex partners.
Trichomomasis is easily treated. Condoms can prevent its
spread.
Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted disease that's
persisted since early human history. Left untreated it can lead to
death, but in modem times it's easily eliminated by early treatment
with penicillin.
When symptoms appear they're typically in the form of
chancre sores on or around the genitals or mouth. Rashes and flat
sores can also appear on other parts of the body. Syphilis is no
longer widespread, but incidences have been increasing, especially
among African American men in the Southeastern states.
Condoms can prevent its spread.
I'm sure you've detected a common thread throughout this
tices at University, the
hearts of men and women
are both shaped like invert
ed cones, have four cham
bers and pump blood
through a network of vessels
that, if unraveled, would
stretch 60,000 miles.
What's more, heart dis
case 1s the number one
killer of both men and
women. And in both gen
ders it is caused by the grad
ual build up of plaque in
the coronary arteries, the
blood vessels that feed the
heart.
Risk factors don't discrim
inate cither. Family history
can play a part in heart dis
case as can aging. But the
disaster lifestyles many
American lead really kicks
the risk into high gear:
smoking, nactivity and the
domino effect that starts
with unhealthy, high-fat
cating and can lead to obe
sity, diabetes and heart dis
case. The results? Deposits
of fat and cholesterol that
narrow the coronary arter
African American men 2.5 times more
likely to die from prostate cancer
Disease now accounts for
42 percent of new cancer
cases among black men
WASHINGTON DC -
Prostate cancer continues to
increase its death grip on
African American men as
about 1,000 black men are
expected to die this year from
the disease.
The new numbers from the
American Cancer Society’s
2005-06 Facts and Figures for
Afnican Amencans show that
the morality rate of African
Americans with prostate cancer
versus Caucasians has increased
from 2:1 to 2:4:1, the highest
ratio ever tracked for the dis
case.
Research has shown a num
ber of factors that start to
explain why African Americans
are disproportionately affected
by prostate cancer. It's widely
believed African Americans
metabolize testosterone in the
The Groups on cancer
On Monday, May 9,
2005 from 6:00 pm to
8:00pm, Tabernacle Bap
tist Church will host
“Clearing the Air a
regional training on
tobacco control, lung
cancer, and secondhand
smoke for African Ameri
can leaders and commu
nities. This free training
will be conducted by The
National Black Leader
ship Initiative on Cancer
[1I: Community Net
works Program at More
house School of Medi
cine, a partner organiza
tion in the Georgia Eth
nic Health Network.
Tobacco use is killing
African-Americans and
our communities need to
be informed. Did you
know that you can get
smoking related diseases
without ever smoking a
cigarette? It’s called sec
AUGUSTA FOCUS
ies, restrict blood flow to
the heart and cause chest
pains, heart attacks or
strokes.
When it comes to
responding to heart discase,
the hearts of men and
women differ in significant
ways.
Take symptoms, for
example. Men typically
experience difficulty breath
ing and the classic chest
pain associated with heart
attacks. According to Dr.
Tummillo, women’s symp
toms may be more subtle:
fatigue, shortness of breath,
nausca or indigestion, back
or abdominal pains or just a
general feeling of distress.
As a result, women often
delay seeking medical treat
prostate differendy from white
men — increasing the growth
rate of the tumor or cancer
cells. Other studies involving
African American men point to
diet and cholesterol as con
tributing factors — s i
obese rr?cn or those m'ii‘ high
cholesterol have rapidly grow
ing tumors if prostate cancer
occurs.
A new study conducted on
the disparity comes from the
University of Cincinnati where
rescarchers pointed to a mutat
ed gene in Africans that protect
them from malana. The gene
Mmay encourage cancer tumor
growth.
The best way to avoid death
from prostate cancer is annual
screening, The facts are dear ~
if cancer is caught early while
stll confined to the prostate,
survival is 99.3 percent.
African American and others
with a family history should
‘Clearing the Ai at Tabernacle Baptist church
ond hand smoke. Lung
cancer is the leading cause
of death among African-
Americans. More than 87
percent of lung cancers
are smoking related.
However, despite the
prevalence of smoking
related diseases and
deaths among African
Americans, our commu
nities, and more impor
tantly, our youth contin
ue to be disproportionate
ly targeted by tobacco
companies for tobacco
products.
Come join us after work
on Monday May 9 from
6:oopm to 8:00pm to
learn more about how to
save our communities and
protect our children. The
event is free of charge and
food will be provided.
National Black Leader
ship Initiative on Cancer
I1I: Community Net
ment, causing more women
to die of sudden heart
attacks than men.
Women also distribute
plaque differently than
men. Instead of gathering
in clumps, as plaque gener
ally does in men, it spreads
more evenly along the vessel
linings in women. There
fore, blockages may not
show up on a woman’s heart
imaging test as they general
ly do on a man’s.
Researchers once thought
that estrogen would protect
women’s hearts, but they
now know that HRT
should not be taken for the
express purpose of prevent
ing heart disease. It can
actually increase the risk.
The good news is that
begin annual testing ar 40.
“Unfortunately, only about
half of all African Amencan
men 50 and older have ever
been tested for prostate cancer,”
said National Prostate Cancer
CEO Richard N. Atkins,
M.D. “And far less men are
tested annually. Its a shame
because countless lives can be
saved with a 10 minute test.”
The National Prostate Can
cer Coaliton (NPCC) sets the
standard for rapidly reducing
the burden of prostate cancer
on Amenican men and their
families through outreach,
awareness and advocacy. The
NPCC is teaming up with the
Churdh of God and Chnist 1o
bring free screenings and edu
cation to its annual conference
next month. For more infor
mation, log onto www. Pca
coalition.org,
works Program at More
house School of Medicine
creates cancer control,
prevention, and research
and training programs for
minority and underserved
populations with the ulti
mate goal of increasing
cancer knowledge, reduc
ing cancer incidence and
mortality, increasing can
cer survival, and improv
ing access to health care.
The Georgia Ethnic
Health Network is a net
work that develops self
determination and part
nership between and
among Georgia's commu
nities of color with regard
to health through advoca
cy and the promotion of
cultural awareness, under
standing and mutual
respect.
heart disease is largely pre
ventable in both men and
women. To protect your
heart, Dr. Tummillo sug
gests you know and manage
your risks. Stop smoking.
Get moving. Avoid stress.
Eat a heart-healthy diet,
and take medications if
your physician prescribes
them.
If you have a question
youd like answered in this
column, want more infor
mation about heart disease
or would like to order a
FREE Women’s HeartAd
vantageO Information Kit,
call University’s Heart Line
at 706/828-2828 or toll free
at 866/601-2828.
3. Joseph Home Healh
Care Quality lmprovement
eforts rewarded
Quality improvement effort
at St. Joseph Home Health
Care are a’in noticed. St.
Joseph Home fimlth Care has
recetved recognition for signifi
cant improvement in its work
with patients experiencin
functional l;iifliculry witE
bathing, A plaque recognizin
St. Jose%)h Fflm?c Hmlt})?zareg
quality improvement was
recently presented to the
agency by gmd, the Medicare
&mliry Improvement Organi
zation for Georgia.
Gmcf works with home
health agencies parudpating in
the H:rg:c Hc:ftfin ngaiityn?ni
vative (HHQI), which is
administered through the Cen
ters for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS). CMS is an
agency of the U.S> Depart
ment of Health and Human
Services.
“St. Joseph Home Health
Care is pleased that its quality
improvement efforts have
earned this recognition,” said
I"Jlaingbmmu.ogllcc Pn'sidcn}:
Clinical € tions, St. Jos
Hospiml.)P\;‘/: are even n)f(?re
pleased at how the work of our
dedicated staft positively
impacts the quality of care for
our patients.”
St. Joseph Home Health
(Zanepmvkgc home health care
for residents throughout a 19
county area. We service 16
counties in Georgia to indude
Richmond, Columbia,
McDuffie, Warren, Lincoln,
Wilkes, Taliaferro, Glascock,
Hancock, Burke, Jefferson,
Screven, Jenkins, Emanuel,
Johnson, and Washington
counties. As well, we provide
service to three South (grolma
counties that indude Aiken,
Barnwell, and Edgefield coun
ties.
St. Joseph Home Health
Care provides qufl?' skilled
nursing care, physical therapy,
occupational therapy, sm;
therapy, medical social work,
home health aide services,
chaplain, and nutritional sup
port services.
More information about
HHQI can be obtained at
www.mcdimrc.gov (select
Home Health Co ) or by
calling 1-800-MEDECARE.