Talk to the Kiwanis Club of Helena
September 20, 1999
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| Good afternoon. I would like to thank you for inviting me back
to speak to you after my last talk about six or seven years ago. Heart disease remains a
very formidable enemy accounting for the majority of deaths in this country. Indeed, if
you look around you at the others in this room, one half of the people present today will
die from a cardiovascular disorder. The cost |
 Figure 1
Click here for full size chart.
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of caring for cardiovascular disease is staggering-about $100
billion! That is approximately $625 for every person over the age of 20
in this country! The average male dies from this disease at the age of 60 and the average
female at the age of 69. That means of course that many people fail to reach these ages
which are amongst our most productive. Cardiovascular diseases represent the number one
cause of death in this country (see figure 1). In almost all cases, this disease is due to
a build-up of cholesterol and other fatty substances in the walls of our blood |
| vessels, a process known as atherosclerosis. As this plaque as
it known increases in size, it begins to impinge on the opening (lumen) of the artery.
Blood flow slows down correspondingly as the plaque enlarges. Our arteries are
"over-engineered" and large amounts of plaque need to be present to lead to a
significant reduction in blood flow through the artery. Unfortunately, this build-up of
plaque and the subsequent reduction in blood flow may go unrecognized for many years until
a catastrophe event known as plaque rupture occurs. This leads to instantaneous formation
of a blood clot within the lumen of the blood vessel and the vessel abruptly stops its
flow of blood. The tissue supplied by the artery dies due to a lack of blood flow. If this
happens in your brain, a stroke ensues. Lack of blood flow in an arm or leg leads to
gangrene. And of course, lack of blood flow to the heart leads to a heart attack.
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