Homecomings of the past
Fairfield West goes wild
Extreme Makeover: Home edition
A heart to heart with leading cardiologist
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
MIDDLETOWN — Dr. William Abraham, professor of internal medicine and director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center, was the keynote speaker Monday, June 9, during the Atrium Medical Center/American Heart Association Golf Classic at Brown's Run Country Club.
An internationally known researcher in heart failure, Abraham has participated as principal investigator in more than 100 multi-center clinical drug and device trials and has received grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Cardiology and the Aetna Quality Care Foundation.
Extras
After the golf event, presented by AK Steel Corp., Abraham sat down and answered a few questions about heart disease, future procedures and the new Atrium Medical Center.
Q: What advancements have we made in heart disease in the last five years?
A: We have made tremendous advancements. It's important to note, that heart disease, or heart vascular disease, still remains the No. 1 killer of Americans, men and women.
But we have made great strides and the number of people who are affected, and the number of people who die from heart vascular disease, is on the decline because of improved therapies. We have better ways to open up blocked blood vessels, we have got better ways to treat weak hearts, and we have better ways to treat irregular heart beats.
Q: What about someone who has heart disease in 2008 versus someone who had heart disease in 1998.
A: There have been a lot of advancements in the treatment of congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure generally is associated with a weak heart or stiff heart that can't meet the body's demands. Over that number of years, there have been a number of break-throughs in both medical therapy, but particularly in device therapy.
We are in much better shape than we were 10 years ago. And things continue to get better. For example, for people with end-stage heart disease, there are newer, implantable heart pumps that can improve life. The outcomes of heart transplantations are better than they've ever been.
A decade ago, most transplant programs limited transplantations to those under the age of 55 or 60 years of age. Now we transplant people up into their 70s with very good results.
Q: Atrium Medical Center recently performed its first open-heart surgery. Can you talk about what that means to the hospital and for Middletown residents?
A: First of all, I have to say that Middletown is extremely fortunate because in that it has a very sophisticated health care system, particularly with the opening of the new Atrium Medical Center. There really is so much more to be offered. In the past, people who were having heart attacks or needed heart surgeries, they had to go other places. And there's a downside associated with that, particularly if you're having a heart attack. The old adage, 'Time is muscle.' The more time you wait while being transferred to another place, the more damage is being done to your heart. So having an open-heart program with the ability to perform open heart right in Middletown, we will improve outcomes for Middletown residents.
Q: If you lived in Middletown and had heart disease, you'd feel comfortable going to Atrium versus going to Dayton or Cincinnati?
A: Absolutely. Everything that can be offered in the bigger cities can be done locally here in Middletown. There are some forms of end stage heart disease where you may need to go to a big-city center or academic medical center for advanced, or investigational procedures, but for the bread and butter that most patients need, they can get it right here in Middletown.
Q: It seems like we've been talking about the new hospital for 10 years. Now that it's here, when you drive by the facility, what goes through your mind?
A: The term that comes to mind first is 'state of the art.' I had an opportunity to see that medical center built from the ground up and it's really an unbelievable state of the art facility that offers all types of procedures.
Q: In the next 10 years, where will be when it comes to treating heart disease?
A: The bad news is, based on the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other risk factors associated with heart disease, it will continue to be the No. 1 problem that we face in America from the health care standpoint. On the other hand, our treatments will continue to get better and better and one of the trends that we'll see over the next 10 years will be an ongoing shift from drug therapies to device therapies. So rather than take a lot of pills, in the future, we'll be implanting more devices, doing more procedures.
Q: Why did you decide to take the time to talk to this group at Brown's Run?
A: I've been coming to Middletown every month for nearly 10 yeas to do a clinic. I've grown to be very fond of the local community. This is a community that has, until recently with the Atrium Medical Center, been under served in so ways, like not having an open heart program.
And it's a wonderful community comprised of wonderful people. I'm happy to see the right care being brought to the community rather than making the community go somewhere else.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.
