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MSNBC is reporting that Harvard University researchers have
developed a new device that can scan an individual’s heart in 15
seconds to determine if they are at risk of a heart attack. Actually, the
device detects plaque in the coronary arteries. This detection is a sign
of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), the medical term for the chest
pain associated with heart attacks and angina.

According to the article, Dr. Udo Hoffman, lead author of the study
and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, said,
“ACS is rare without plaque, so MDCT (the device) results may
quickly identify a group of patients that can safely be discharged…It
would be a big relief for patients to be quickly told that they don’t have
anything wrong with their hearts and they can go home,”

Read the Article!!

Discussion-Starters:

  • Ask your child(ren) what the following words mean: "plaque,"
    "research study," and "radiology." Then, ask if your child(ren)
    think that doctors should continue to learn new things even
    after they have finished medical school. Encourage them to
    explain their opinions. Should everybody continue to learn
    throughout their entire lives?

  • Inquire as to what your child(ren) know about the human heart.
    What is its function? How does it work? The Franklin Institute
    has a website entitled “The Heart: An Online Exploration.” You
    and your child(ren) might enjoy perusing this site.

  • The new device mentioned in the MSNBC article will enable
    emergency room attendants to determine if somebody is at risk
    of a heart attack, very quickly. Ask your child(ren) how this
    might benefit other people at the emergency room. Ask how
    this might benefit an individual who is determined not to be at
    risk. Sometimes people go to a public emergency room when
    they don’t really have an emergency. Ask if this is fair to other
    people. Why might it not be fair? (Why would people go to the
    emergency room if they don’t have real emergencies?) What if
    the individual going to the emergency room is paying full price
    for the visit, is it fair? Encourage your child(ren) to support
    their opinions. What do you think about these questions? Share
    your thoughts, as well.

  • Ask your child(ren) to feel their hearts pumping. Do the same,
    yourself. Explain that our hearts are absolutely essential to our
    lives. But, ask how often we really stop and think about the
    importance of our hearts. Do your child(ren) agree that we take
    our hearts for granted? Do you think we take our hearts for
    granted? What else in our lives do we take for granted? Ask
    why we take some things for granted in our lives. Why do you
    think this is so? If you don’t think this is so, why not? What do
    you do to ensure that you don’t take things for granted?
Measuring Heart Plaque in Fifteen Seconds
October 31, 2006
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