ADVISORY/Cardiologists Screen Young People for Cardiomyopathy.Business Editors ADVISORY... --(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2001 TOPIC: The Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artists has recruited cardiologists from across the United States to screen young people for cardiomyopathy, according to an article in USA Today. The foundation was named for the 26-year-old athlete Chad Butrum who died suddenly of a heart attack during a league football game. Butrum suffered from cardiomyopathy, a disease that causes the heart to enlarge, which can result in a fatal heart attack during physical exercise. Experts estimated that 200 seemingly healthy young people die each year as a result of the condition. Cardiologists are using laptop-size echocardiograms, which allow them to screen for cardiomyopathy in hundreds of school athletes per day. EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story: Professor Elizabeth McNally, of the University of Chicago, studies the genes that cause human cardiovascular and neuromuscular disease Neuromuscular disease is a very broad term that encompasses many diseases and ailments that either directly (via intrinsic muscle pathology) or indirectly (animal muscle in general. Neuromuscular diseases are those that affect the muscles and/or their nervous control. . In particular, she studies the genetics of cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy Definition Cardiomyopathy is a chronic disease of the heart muscle (myocardium), in which the muscle is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. , abnormal heart rhythms and muscular dystrophy muscular dystrophy (dĭs`trōfē), any of several inherited diseases characterized by progressive wasting of the skeletal muscles. There are five main forms of the disease. . 773/702-2672, 773/702-1234 (University PR Phone) Dr. Samuel J. DeMaio specializes in interventional cardiology interventional cardiology Cardiology The subspecialty of cardiology dedicated to the diagnosis, medical and mechanical therapy, pre- and post-procedure management of adult patients with acute and chronic forms of cardiovascular disease amenable to catheter-based and performs approximately 1,200 procedures each year. Dr. DeMaio serves on medical advisory boards and chairs a Baylor University Medical Center Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) is located at 3500 Gaston Avenue in east Dallas, Texas (USA). Its medical services are often listed in the annual U.S. News & World Report compilation of Best Hospitals. coronary angioplasty task force. He patented an angioplasty balloon catheter balloon catheter n. A catheter with an inflatable balloon at its tip, used especially to expand a partially obstructed blood vessel or bodily passage and to measure blood pressure in a blood vessel. Also called balloon-tip catheter. . PR: Matt McQueen Matthew 'Matt' McQueen (born May 18, 1863 - died September 28, 1944) was a Scottish football player who became a director and manager of Liverpool F.C. Life and playing career (mmcqueen@mbapr.com, 214/521-8596). Dr. Dennis S Breen, MD, of Sacramento Heart & Vascular Medical Associates, is an expert on preventive cardiology. 916/830-2000, dbreen@sacheart.com ExpertSource cannot guarantee the immediate availability of these experts or their familiarity with this specific issue. ExpertSource, a collaboration of Business Wire and The Round Table Group, provides academic and industry experts to the media at no charge. Journalists are encouraged to submit queries to ExpertSource when seeking experts on specific subjects. An online registration form is available at http://www.businesswire.com/expertsource. Business Wire's Media Resource Center provides working journalists many free media services. Please visit the BW Media Resource Center at (www.businesswire.com/media) for more information. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion