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Show So3 AM: Oofe'i By WILLIAM J. GOLDWAG, M.D. Copley News Service Q. I have heard many stories of how important the first few minutes after a heart attack can be in deciding if a person lives or dies. IT'S great if you are in a large city and there are paramedics at hand who can be at your side in 10 or 15 minutes but what do you do if you live in a small town without well trained emergency emer-gency crews and you have to rely on yourself in case you think you're having a heart attack? Is there anything I can do to protect myself if I think I'm having an attack? A. Knowledge of your body is only helpful if it reduces fear. Fear is one of the most potent destructive forces that can afflict us. THE most important thing you can do is to learn how to deal with fear and anxiety. Such feelings release chemicals into the blood stream that speed up the heart and make it pump harder in preparation for "fight or flight." This is exactly the opposite effect that you seek if you are having hav-ing a heart attack. The most important thing to do is to get into as relaxed a state as possible. Don't waste any energy on considering all the negative possibilities that could occur, such as dying or being an invalid or ending up in the hospital or the shock to your family, etc. IF someone is with you, inform in-form them that you aren't feeling too well and let them know who to call if you think you need help. A new simple procedure has been found to be useful especially for persons who suffer from a potentially lethal type of disordered heart rhythm where the heart doesn't really beat but just quivers ineffectively (ventricular (ven-tricular fibrillation). It requires that you begin to rapidly cough at one to three second intervals. Researchers have shown that this method can create enough pressure in the chest to force blood out of the heart even if it isn't beating. beat-ing. Keeping some blood flowing in this manner can supply enough oxygen going to the brain to permit the person to remain conscious and thus continue to cough. IF fainting occurs then someone else has to perform resuscitation to support life but as long as one can stay conscious they can continue to keep the vital functions going. So far it is certain that this, helped one patient stay con-" scious for at least three minutes after his heartbeat stopped. Any patient subject to these kinds of attacks could begin the cough cycle immediately upon feeling the "sinking" feeling that starts it and at least have time to call for help. Other measures may be needed to straighten out the abnormal situation but it enables a person to do something effective toward his own survival no matter where he is. Q. I AM due to have a hysterectomy in the near future fu-ture but I'm scared, not so much of the operation itself but two relatives of mine had blood clots after relatively minor operations and the thought of it makes me wonder whether I shouldn't just forget the surgery. My doctor says not to put it off. I confess I'm pretty chicken. Is there anything I i, w"hout any ''-. waller perSP1 , ?me indication S by Phlebitis in X L"' fl ess common y fe' ' from the leg or Si ? the luneinrt f Vlc,6 nutation of the." r''-.- "hichcausesVbS-more "hichcausesVbS-more easily ' P blood nowlXX', Pr 'one i varicose veins. y Studies show thai these factors Jgg by precautions taken!' ' time. Get your normal. Many hosp tinely use elastic stock l keep the veins co?; and speed up blood . tegs. Turning fre,uep, bed, moving the WS! getting walking ran routine in mostinsi' ONE German ptn,. reported on a pedal', used in bed on aluV after surgery. His was designed to deteci": that produced no sym;,-and sym;,-and also to measure, blood flow rates in the pelvic veins. Using compression stock. 3 fast pedaling on the j,,L while lying down, fo,. minutes several times ijy the occurrence ol clopi from 38.5 percent to percent. This emphasis , importance of musculo tivity in preventing ' clots. You can best do i. practicing bending vt. back and forth rap:; short periods every to.-used to.-used to it before surge-, it will be easier to car, even if you're panly a |
