(NAPSA)—There is a growing concern in Hispanic communi- ties about the relationship between obesity and certain health risks, such as diabetes and heart disease. According to research cited by the American Heart Association, nearly three-quarters of the males and over 70 percent of the females in the Mexican-American community may be considered overweight by current government standards. Both of these percentages are significantly higher than the percentage of men and women thought to be overweight in other communities. The seriousness of this information is underscored by the finding compiled by the American Heart Association that both Hispanic males and females report experiencing angina pectoris— chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease—at a much higher rate than either black or white Americans. The good newsis that there is a wider range of treatment options available to treat coronary heart disease in the Hispanic and other communities than ever before. For example, one new option is a small device that was approved in 1996 for use in keeping blood clots from clogging the dialysis grafts necessary to treat patients with kidneyfailure. In 1999, the device—called the AngioJet—was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for removing potentially deadly blood clots in a patient’s coronary arteries before the patient undergoes a balloon angioplasty, often with stenting. By removing blood clots from A new FDA-approved medical device, called the AngioJet, dissolves potentially deadly blood clots in a patient’s coronary artery before they undergo a balloon angioplasty. the coronary arteries before angioplasty and stenting, the risk of complications, such as heart attack, is far less. The device works a lot faster than clot-busting drugs. Such drugs are administered through an intra-arterial (1.A.) line into a patient’s arm, which may take up to 30 hours for maximumeffect. In contrast, a procedure using the device takes only a few minutes to complete. In addition, it would be an alternative treatment for patients unable to take clotbusting drugs dueto possible drug interactions or complicating health conditions. Plus, sinceit is less invasive than surgery, patients only require local anesthesia and are awake the entire time that the AngioJet is being used. The system has been used to treat over 150,000 cases in 1,100 locations worldwide and is made by Possis Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: POSS). To learn more, visit the Web site at www.possis.com.
