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The Straith Clinic
For over 50 years the surgeons of the Straith
is introducing
Clinic have been enhancing the appearance
.*:*
of thousands of patients. New technology
We are pleased to announce our latest addition
Tachycardia In
AF our-Poster Bed
Call for a free consultation to learn
to our professional services...Laser Technology
MARSHALL FRANKLIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
more about laser surgery or any of the
for Facial Wrinkles. This technology improves
continues to make available various options
technology for
facial wrinkles
to give patients a more pleasing appearance.
other professional services offered:
facial wrinkles especially around the eyes and
• All cosmetic procedures
lips, and skin imperfections caused by scarring,
of the face and body
• Reconstructive surgery
acne and discoloration.
• Hand surgery
Over 50 years of experience
STRAITH CLINIC
Accredited office surgical suite
Free consultation
Please note our new address and phone number!
E. Sabbagh, M.D. • R. Rifai, M.D.
32000 Telegraph Rd., Bingham Farms, MI 48025
C. Choi, M.D. • W. Sabbagh, M.D.
Tel: (810) 647-5800
Offering a free seminar...
by the faculty members from the University of Michigan Medical Center,
who will discuss all aspects of facial cosmetic surgery, including face and
eyelift surgery, nasal surgery, facial peels, laser resurfacing and liposculp-
ture. A question-and-answer period will follow their discussion. We hope
you will join us.No advance registration is required. For more details, call
us at 1-800-493-3223.
May 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Center for Facial Cosmetic Surgery
Novi Hilton
IBLAWM
University of Michigan
Health System
21111 Haggerty Rd., Novi
Audrey Greenberg Bruen, MD
Board Certified Dermatologist
StaffPhysician at:Wm. Beaunwnt , Providence and
Sinai, 1983 Graduate of Northw&stern
Specializing in treabnent of ACNE, ECZEMA, HAIRLOSS, WARTS, MOLES,
PSORIASIS, NAIL DISEASES, AGING SKIN, ALLERGIC RASHES,
FUNGAL INFECTIONS, SKIN REJUVENATION WITH CHEMICAL PEELS.
Annoucing the opening of her new practice in
West Bloomfield, Novi and Troy
1-800-246-5622
Members of the American
Academy of Facial Plastic &
Reconstructive Surgery
Certified, American Board of
Otolaryngology
COATS
UNLIMITED
Oak Park
Lincoln Center 26150 Greenfield Road
Oak Park, MI 48237
(313) 968-2060
West Bloomfield
Orchard Mall 6421 Orchard Lake Road
West Bloomfield, MI 48322 (313) 855-9955
Troy
Troy Commons 871 E. Big Beaver Road
Troy, MI 48237
528-9966
13y Popular Demand
The Cover-Up is now carrying
BOYS- SUITS & SPORT
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Get Results!
Place Your Ad in The Jewish News!
Call Shari Cimino at
(810) 354-7123 Ext. 208
COATS
for Bar Mitzvahs
and Other Occasions
Orchard Lake Road, North of 41aple
ORCHARD MALL
(810)855-4585
M
y wife has had a mild
heart condition since
her teens. It is charac-
terized by her heart
beating rapidly from time to time,
sometimes as fast as 200 beats
per minute.
This condition is called
"paroxysmal atrial tachycardia."
Each episode of PAT usually
lasts but a few minutes and can
often be aborted by either press-
ing on the carotid artery just un-
der the angle of the jaw, lying
down with the feet higher than
the level of the heart, repeated
swallowing, hard coughing or
initiating the gag reflex by irri-
tating the back of the throat
with a finger or some other ob-
ject.
Any of these maneuvers can
initiate a circulatory reflex that
breaks the electrical cycle in the
heart that sustains the tachy-
cardia.
PAT is not dangerous or life-
threatening as long as the
Sure enough, her
pulse rate was 160
and steady.
episodes are short and no oth-
er serious heart condition is pre-
sent. Most people can tolerate
10 to 20 minutes of PAT with-
out serious incident. Problems
can occur when an episode per-
sists for more than 30 minutes
at a very rapid pulse rate.
While we lived in Connecti-
cut, from 1964 to 1977, my wife's
attacks occurred less than once
a month, usually lasted less
than 30 minutes and she could
abort them by coughing or gag-
ging.
I remember a trip we took to
New Hampshire. We drove by a
picturesque lake and a large old
house that had been converted
to a bed-and-breakfast inn. They
had a vacancy, so we checked in,
had dinner, took a stroll along
the shore of the lake and then
turned in for the night.
We slept in a four-poster bed
that night. It was probably 100
years old with a mattress to
match. The center of the mat-
tress sagged like a hammock
and would nearly touch the floor
if one of us ventured in that di-
rection. There was enough good
Dr. Marshall Franklin is a San
Diego-based cardiologist who
writes for Copley News Service.
mattress on each side to sleep
comfortably, so we each picked
a side and went to sleep.
During the night I was awak-
ened by my wife shaking my
shoulder.
"I've got a tachycardia and it
won't go away," she said.
I reached across the great
mattress divide that separated
us and took her pulse. Sure
enough, her pulse rate was 160
and steady.
I told her to lie flat in the bed
so that I could press on her
carotid artery. As she lay flat,
she slid to the center of the mat-
tress and disappeared. The cen-
ter of the bed had swallowed her
except for an arm and a leg that
stuck up in the air as though
hanging out of the mouth of a
beast about to devour her.
"Take some deep breaths,
swallow and cough," I shouted
into the chasm.
"I can't move. I'm stuck," was
her reply.
I checked her pulse in the one
arm I could reach. It was still
160, but it felt a little weak. I
was very concerned at this cir-
cumstance. I knew she could ex-
perience serious injury if her
heart rate didn't slow soon. Her
blood pressure would drop and
circulation to her vital organs
might fail. She could develop
kidney failure, heart attack or a
stroke.
My wife started laughing, and
I thought she might be getting
delirious. Then she said,
"Sweetheart, if this doesn't work
out, don't tell the kids I died this
way. Make up something ro-
mantic."
She always had a great sense
of humor and still does.
We struggled to extract her
from the mattress, which now
seemed to have taken on a mind
of its own. The beast did not
want to release her. If anyone
had seen us pushing and
pulling, they would have
thought we were a couple of
clowns.
Finally we got her out of the
clutches of the mattress. Quick-
ly, we elevated her legs, pressed
on her carotid artery and had
her cough, all at the same time.
"It stopped," she said. "What a
reliefl"
I felt her pulse again. It was
85, regular and strong. She was
fine.
We looked into the mattress
abyss and my wife said, "I think
it's bigger."
I thought, "Heaven help the
next traveler who sleeps here."0