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Subject: health Fri, Aug 14 1992
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 04:30:56 EDT
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08-14 0000
DECISIONLINE: Health
USA TODAY Update
Aug. 14-16, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
    
MANY IN DOUBLE JEOPARDY:
   As many as one in nine adults has both high blood pressure and 
high cholesterol - a "double whammy" that more than doubles the 
risk of heart attack with just one of the conditions. But about 
one-third of Americans still know little about the risks of 
either, despite awareness campaigns, says a new Gallup Poll, out 
Thursday.
(For more, see special Heart package below.)
    
SOME DOCTORS WON'T GET PAID:
   Doctors, nursing homes and other providers of health care for 
the poor won't get paid after this week if California's budget 
crisis continues. A federal appeals court Thursday rejected a 
request from care providers and Controller Gray Davis to order the 
state to continue Medi-Cal payments. The payments have been made 
with IOUs since the state lost spending authority July 1.
    
EPA HAS NEW PESTICIDE RULES:
   Rules aimed at protecting about four million farm workers from 
exposure to pesticides were released by the Environmental 
Protection Agency after an eight-year delay. The EPA says the 
rules could prevent between 10,000 and 20,000 pesticide-related 
injuries 
and illnesses a year, at an annual cost of up to $60 million.
    
NEW HEALTH CAMPAIGN IS CARTOON:
   There's a new ally in the war against AIDS - a cartoon couple 
who wake up after a night of drugs and anonymous sex. The "Get 
High, Get Stupid, Get AIDS" campaign, unveiled by federal health 
officials, follows Jeanine and Barry as they worry about the 
morning-after risk.
    
WAR AILMENTS LEGITIMATE:
   The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that it is studying a variety 
of mysterious ailments reported by U.S. veterans of the Persian 
Gulf war. Officials say the problems may be linked to oil fires in 
Kuwait.
    
EPILEPTIC LINK FOUND:
   The trigger for a type of epileptic seizure in children may 
have been discovered by researchers at the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center and Duke University in Durham, N.C. A 
specific brain protein called the GABA-B receptor may cause the 
seizure known as petit mal, according to a study team. The cause 
of these seizures has not previously been identified.
    
NEW DRUG FOR SEIZURES PROMISING:
   According to a recent report, the link between GABA-B receptors 
and the seizures is important because it may indicate a new way to 
treat the seizures. A VA-Duke study suggests that drugs that 
reduce the stimulation of this brain protein could also prevent 
the seizures, hopefully without the side effects present with 
current therapies.
    
MEDICAL COSTS ON THE RISE:
   Medical care costs, which rocketed in the 1980s, rose 0.5% in 
July, the Labor Department reported Thursday. July's figure, the 
fifth straight monthly price hike of 0.5% or less, has economists 
predicting that medical costs could rise as little as 7.2% this 
year, well below last year's 9.4% increase.
    
AMVETS TO TACKLE ISSUES:
   Veterans health care tops the list of issues to be deliberated 
during the AMVETS 48th National Convention, Aug. 22-29, at the 
Clarion Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Deputy Secretary of Health 
and Human Services Kevin E. Moley will keynote the annual 
gathering, which is expected to attract more than 2,000 members 
and delegates of the veteran organization. Call 301-459-9600 for 
more info.
    
SPECIAL PACKAGE ON HEART:
    
MANY LACKING CRITICAL INFO.:
   A Gallup survey of 1,001 adults shows 66% don't know their 
cholesterol levels and 59% don't know their blood pressure.  
Desirable blood pressure levels are under 140:90 and desirable 
total cholesterol is under 200. "You can't confront your risk of 
heart attack until you know" your numbers, says Dr. William 
Castelli, Framingham (Mass.) Heart Study.
    
ONE RISK COMPOUNDS THE OTHER:
   High blood pressure makes arteries more susceptible to earlier, 
more severe artery clogging and worsens heart attack risk. Other 
research finds: About half of those with high cholesterol also 
have high blood pressure; about 40% of hypertensives have high 
cholesterol; overall, about 22 million Americans have both.
    
PEOPLE NOT LOOKING AT BOTH:
   "Unfortunately a lot of people may get treated for one or the 
other, but there seems to be not a really good aggressive 
management when you have both. That should be just the opposite," 
Castelli says. This combination should concern people more than 
the recent news reports of the hazards of low cholesterol levels, 
he says.
(End of package.)
    
Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of 
USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution 
violates federal law.
    

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