Dear Dr. Johnson: Is it possible to successfully cure a heart attack?
A heart attack (myocardial infarction) by definition means that a portion of heart muscle has been permanently damaged (killed) because of diminished blood flow to that area. Therefore, if the phrase ``heart attack`` is accurately used, it would mean that irreversible damage to a portion of heart muscle has occurred.
Given that situation, a ``cure`` for that portion of heart muscle would not be possible. However, there is increasing emphasis on aggressively treating a heart attack ``in progress`` to minimize the amount of heart muscle that is permanently damaged. In that sense, it is possible to ``treat`` a heart attack.
Among the many approaches now employed as aggressive treatment is the use of agents to dissolve blood clots in the heart`s blood vessles (the coronary arteries) within hours of the beginning of the heart attack. Other methods rely on using other agents at a later stage to help minimize damage to the heart muscle.
Dear Dr. Johnson: I have read that excessive dieting with rapid weight loss can actually produce a ``rebound`` situation that winds up making the person fatter. Would you explain this?
When a person loses weight, the body tends to adapt to a lower food intake by lowering its metabolic rate, or the rate at which it burns calories. Therefore, if an individual then starts consuming more food again, that food will be ``burned`` at a slower rate than it might have been before the weight loss--at least that`s the theory.
There is some evidence to support this notion (and, therefore, to support the idea that weight loss should be very gradual to prevent a rebound phenomenon). Any good weight-loss program should focus not only on food intake, but also be concerned with an exercise program to help build up muscles and, therefore, to use more calories.
Dear Readers: Reports continue to appear in medical literature concerning the dangers of clove cigarettes. It is now apparent that the naturally occurring anesthetic (Eugenol) that appears in clove can numb the breathing system and render it less responsive to the irritation caused by deeply inhaling the clove and tobacco combination found in clove cigarettes. This may account at least in part for the severe lung damage being reported in clove cigarette smokers.