Matter of Time

this Crystal Ball doesn't foretell the future it helps create it through research want a tough problem try and name one phase of our life that hasn't been changed by research and its byproducts you say agriculture what about the chemistry of the soil mechanization scientifically controlled crossbreeding cross-pollination modern food merchandising all right then take Transportation thanks to research this our cry from the Model T and these numbers are just around the corner but why limited to automobiles modern industry is based on [Music] Research modern fiber Tech TS Electronics Plastics Aeronautics atomic energy whole industries that didn't even exist 50 years ago all created by research and then there's the field of medicine from Miracle drugs to Miracle operations the impact of research on sickness and diseases goes on 50 years ago the infectious diseases took a terrific toll heart disease has become our greatest killer even so doctors are optimistic research reduced the infectious diseases and in time it will be able to overcome heart disease but in heart disease a different approach is needed with the microscope we can see what causes tuberculosis or pneumonia or typhoid but we can't see under a microscope what causes heart diseases unfortunately the basic causes are still unknown today there are three main organizations devoted to fighting the problems of heart disease the American Heart Association supported by public subscriptions AIDS professional and public education Community heart programs and research the federal government through the United States Public Health Service gathers and interprets data on heart disease and AIDS State Health departments in heart programs but there's a third group one that has a natural interest in combating heart dis disease it got into the fight just when another kind of war was ending perhaps you noticed this item in the paper back in 1945 life insurance companies to support heart research not only the insurance companies in the United States but in Canada also it pointed out that doctors were concerned about the lack of funds for research in this field [Music] and it explains that more than any other business life insurance is concerned with people's lives and the things that affect them since heart disease was ending so many of these lives prematurely the life insurance medical research fund was created as a public service for the benefit of all supported solely by voluntary contributions from the life insurance companies the fund's goal was stated simply the purpose of the fund shall be to make Financial grants in support of medical research the results of which are expected to reduce mortality and to improve longevity at the outset they decided the most urgent need was for basic research in diseases of the heart arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries hypertension or high blood pressure rheumatic fever and congenital heart disease the core of the problem is hardening of the arteries none of the research programs will make much sense to you until you know what happens when this disease occurs if you could look into one of these arteries you'd see it had three layers a loose outer coat a tough middle layer of elastic fibers and muscle and a smooth inner lining there are two kinds of hardening one takes place in the middle layer the artery might get brittle but if the size of the channel doesn't get smaller Dr aren't too concerned about it and laymen shouldn't be either it's thickening and roughening of the inner layer that causes real trouble actually the lining becomes broken in spots these rough patches seem to encourage clotting if a clot forms in a coronary artery it cuts off the blood supply to a section of the heart muscle and may kill it now the reason why 85% of heart attacks are not fatal the first time is because the heart has a way of doctoring itself small branches surrounding the area grow into the dying part and it gets a new supply of blood it does this by itself that's why doctors prescribe complete rest to let this happen and Aid in repairing the [Music] injury to help in the work of overcoming heart disease the life insurance medical research fund began aiding hospitals medical colleges and Laboratories all over the country and in Canada to date 219 projects in 101 institutions all devoted to finding the causes of the various forms of heart disease have been given grants of one type or another from the beginning the medical research fund knew that a large number of keen trained research workers would be the best means of obtaining its goal so it has awarded over 270 fellowships to help young students to become qualified researchers in the field the research program is fed by three major lines of study the first branch is studying the structure of the heart and arteries both in Normal and abnormal state if you could go into their Labs the researchers would tell you their work is pretty Broad in scope they are trying to fill in serious gaps in knowledge of the normal circulation gaps which block progress in understanding disease since life itself depends on an uninterrupted flow of blood to the tissues such as you see here in the small blood vessels of a frog these projects study the effect of slowing down the circulation by artificial means by the use of [Music] drugs the second branch and largest group of projects studies the ual diseased conditions hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure here is a cross-section of a normal coronary artery and here is the same artery affected by arteriosclerosis large deposits of cholesterol of fatty substance have been deposited to narrow the channel study of the role of cholesterol is one of the most encouraging leads for if they can find out why cholesterol accumulates they may be getting close to the basic cause of heart disease other research is working on the condition of high blood pressure for some reason the small blood vessels contract and narrow the heart has to pump harder to force the blood through in an advanced state if these vessels rupture say in the brain you have a so-called stroke or cerebral hemorrhage the escaping blood puts pressure on the brain with resulting paralysis with high blood blood pressure the circulation in the kidney often becomes impaired and kidney function is then damaged so that waste products accumulate in the body promising leads suggest that the kidney itself may be the seat of the basic trouble in hypertension either by forming a substance which causes narrowing of the little arteries or by failing to remove a similar product of some other organ such as the adrenal gland a third group of projects is developed in new techniques in diagnosis treatment and prevention a new method is being applied to measure the work the heart does this mechanism is called a jiggle bed you can feel the force of the heart in your pulse but actually though it is too small to notice the entire body is pulsing with the beat of the heart this mechanism makes it possible to measure the force of the normal heart in order to determine how impaired a heart might be after a mild attack by measuring accurately the work of the normal we can find out the extent of damage research has also adapted electronic diagnosis using an oscillograph which is basically the same as a TV tube we can now get a more accurate picture of the electrical wave of the heartbeat [Music] the fund has helped support development of this apparatus often referred to as the mechanical heart it has been developed for the purpose of shunting the blood away from the heart and lungs so that the surgeon can perform operations in this part of the body without the area bathed in Blood and with Clear Vision of the parts he is working on [Music] all of these are but a few of the hundreds of different approaches toward the final goal of discovering the cause of heart disease as work progresses in these major Fields separate projects tend to overlap and complement one another some of these promising leads will break down completely But continuing research programs and new ideas will constantly step into the Gap already we know enough about the treatment of heart disease so that most people with heart impairments can look forward to useful and happy lives we also know you can minimize your chances of becoming a victim of heart disease by following this simple formula it's moderation work yes but know when to quit and as age increases learn to stay within your [Music] strength eat a balanced diet and keep your weight overweight and heart disease are bad company relax and don't waste your emotional energy on things that just aren't worth it a longer and healthier life is in store for us all thanks to the men devoting themselves to research research made possible through organizations such as the American Heart Association the United States Public Health Service and the life insurance medic search fund that's why doctors today are increasingly confident of success ESS in finding the means of preventing and curing heart disease and they will tell you it's only a matter of time [Music] [Applause] [Music]