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Show Hunting and Heart Problems Go Together, Officials Say Utah's 1973 elk and deer hunting seasons could prove deadly, possibly pos-sibly the deadliest ever, according to the state's safety and health officials. of-ficials. Hy "Deadly" they do not mean for the elk and deer they mean for human beings. With present meat shortages and high food prices, state officials predict there will be more inexperienced hunters hun-ters in the mountains than ever before. Not only will these hunters hun-ters be inexperienced with guns, but many of them will be in poor physical condition which could lead to heart attacks at-tacks through a combination combin-ation of exertion, excitement, excite-ment, alcohol, and high altitudes. Heart attacks have usually us-ually claimed more elk and deer hunters in Utah than shooting accidents. The following sentence appeared in a Salt Lake Citv newspaper Oct. 23, 1972: "Hunt -related fatalities fat-alities and injuries continued con-tinued to mount, with three hunters dead of heart at-tacts, at-tacts, one from a gunshot gun-shot would, and one beneath be-neath the wheels of a pickup truck.'" Last year's high rate of heart attacks among hunters, coupled with the fact that there will be more hunters in poorer physical condition this year, has prompted Dr. Alan F. Toronto of Salt Lake City, president of the Utah Heart Association, Associa-tion, to make the following follow-ing suggestions to deer and elk hunters: Plan your hunt, allow time to adjust to the altitude. al-titude. Know the location of the nearest phone, doctor, doc-tor, ranger station or Fish and Game Department Depart-ment men. Take plenty of short rests. Hunt at a steady, unhurried pace. Don't strain to lift a dead animal an-imal get help. Don't try to do as much at 50 or 60 as you did at 25 or 30. Eat moderately. Take a rest or nap after each meal. Eliminate or limit your drinking, as higher altitudes may lower low-er your tolerance to alcohol. al-cohol. The hunter with a known heart condition should make certain that at least one member of his party knows of his condition, what medicine he takes, and how it is administered. Dr. Toronto emphasized: emphasiz-ed: "A person with a known heart condition should never hunt by himself." him-self." In the event a person in a hunting party does have a heart attack, the Utah Heart Association offers the following advice: ad-vice: Contact a doctor immediately. im-mediately. Don't let the patient walk or ride a horse. Try to get help, to come to you, but if this is not possible, make a litter and carry the patient pat-ient to where he can get medical attention, or where he can be transported trans-ported by jeep or helicopter. heli-copter. Help the patient take the position most com-' fortable to him. This probably pro-bably will be halfway between be-tween lying and sitting. Usually he cannot breathe comfortably if he lies flat. Loosen tight clothing as belts and collars. Do not allow the pat -ient to become chilled, but do not induce sweating sweat-ing with too many blankets. blank-ets. Do not give the patient pat-ient anything to drink without the doctor's advice. ad-vice. Dr. Toronto advised Utahns as well as out-of-state hunters: "Hunt happy and come healthy. Having your doctor check you over a week or two before the hunt is an extra ex-tra precaution that can make your trip an enjoyable en-joyable one instead of a tragedy." |