Fraternity-Testvériség, 1967 (45. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1967-05-01 / 5. szám
Your Medical Director Speaks BY FRANK S. HORVATH, M.D., F.A.C.P. THOUGHTS ON YOUR "TICKER” ... Do you know that your “ticker” is the most wonderful pump in the world and the most important one to you at that? It works for you from your first to your last breath! It works day and night and keeps you alive by pumping blood continuously through the bloodvessels to the brain, to the lungs, kidneys, liver, muscles and to all the other organs which cannot live nor function without the oxygen and nutrients extracted from the foods you eat. The oxygen and other nutrients absorbed into the blood carry the energy and strength to your body. It is obvious that your “ticker” must be a strong pump and the arteries open, elastic and smooth inside to assure a smooth circulation . . . just like the pipes in the plumbing of your house. If you pour greasy water into the drain, or there is too much lime, iron, or other contaminant in your water, you know that your drain pipes will clog up, just the same as the fuel pump or the carburetor of your automobile will clog up if you use too rich or too poor a mixture. Your car will stop and you will become deeply concerned and will rush for help! Before long you will learn that you will have to use a proper mixture of good oil and gasoline and that you will have to have your car FRATERNITY OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA Edited by the Officers of the Federation Published monthly, with the exception of the summer months, when the June-July and August-September issues are combined. Subscription for non-members in U. S. A. & Canada $2, elsewhere $3 a year. Office of Publication: Standard Press, 364 Somerset St., New Brunswick, N. J. 08901. Send 3579 to Editorial Office: 3216 New Mexico Avenue, N. W., Washington, D. C. 20016 EDITORIAL COMMITTEE THE SUPREME OFFICERS Dr. Zoltán Béky, President Rev. Joseph Kecskeméthy, Secretary Paul St. Miklóssy, Treasurer László L. Eszenyi, Controller Second Class Postage Paid at the Post Office in Somerset, New Jersey. checked regularly to prevent a breakdown. You will soon realize that the gas and oil lines must be clean, just as the pipes in your plumbing must be clean for proper functioning. Has it ever occurred to you that your heart works 8-10 times more than your automobile, but receives very little or no recognition or appreciation? It was given to you free, yet you have probably never realized that you own the most important and miraculous pump, which not only requires clear understanding, but very special consideration ... or at least as much consideration and care as you give your car or the plumbing in your home! Along the lines of the above described comparisons and reasoning, have you ever considered that this most important and hardworking pump in you might also wear out and fail even before you grow old? The special arteries of your heart, called the coronary arteries, carry the blood, containing oxygen, nutrients, and energy to the heart muscles. These arteries may wear out or may get clogged up (thrombus). Either death or serious damage to the heart may follow during such a “heart attack” (coronary thrombosis) depending upon the size and position of the clogged-up artery. If a main branch is affected, sudden death is inevitable. If a smaller branch is affected and the damage is recognized and properly treated, then recovery usually takes place. Do you know that heart attacks kill more than a half million people ... both young and old ... in the United States of America every year. . . more than cancer, accidents and pneumonia combined? Has it ever occurred to you that these heart attacks may be end results of ignorance and neglect concerning our health habits? . . . the things we do every day resgarless of whether we should do them or not? It is of fundamental knowledge that the composition of the blood, to a great extent, depends upon: 1. The amount of foods we eat. 2. The kind of foods we eat. 3. The amount of physical activity we regularly perform. Excessive amount of food intake will greatly increase the amount of fatty substances in the blood, which may become deposited in the body as fat, causing overweight. These fatty deposits may build up on the inner linings of the arteries, especially of the coronary arteries, and particularly in those people, who indulge too often in foods that are rich in fats, such as fatty meats, bacon, eggs, lots of full milk, sweet cream, sour cream, ice cream, butter, fried foods, rich pies, etc. These fatty deposits build up faster in those people who are physically inactive, who work under pressure and are under nervous tension and smoke cigarettes heavily. All of these factors cause constriction of the arteries, thereby diminishing the blood flow to a trickle, or a clot (thrombus) may catch against the already damaged wall of the coronary artery and shut down the blood-flow altogether and either stop your “ticker” or damage it seriously. It follows that the same principles prevail with the human heart, the bloodvessels and circulation as with the fuel pump, the carburetor, the gas and oilline of an automobile or the plumbing of the house, to which I referred in my introduction for the sake of easier understanding. About 95% of all heart attacks are brought on by the fatty (athero sclerotic) changes of the coronary arteries which changes often begin in early childhood. Heart attacks may affect all age groups including youngsters not yet out of their teens, especially in the United States! These observations bring with them the hope that these dangerous changes of the coronary arteries can be both prevented and reversed. In my next column I shall present principles and measures to help prevent or ward off the potential heart attack or stroke, which is of great concern to all of us. WHAT SUCCESS IS This is one of those author unknown type of things that has a lot of meaning packed into a few words. When we ran across it, it was simply labeled “Success.” Success is speaking words of praise, In cheering other people’s ways, In doing just the best you can, With every task and every plan. It’s silence when your speech would hurt, Politeness when your neighbor’s curt, It’s deafness when the scandal flows, And sympathy with others’ woes. It’s loyalty when duty calls, It’s courage when disaster falls, Patience when the hours are long, It’s found in laughter and in song. It’s found in the silent time of prayer, In happiness and in despair. In all of life and nothing less, We find the thing we call success. 9
