Council Meet Tonight: 7:30 p.m.

Vote Scheduled: C.B. 11-08 an Ordinance to amend Section 22-183 of the Carthage Code to require nonresidents to provide proof of insurance (Public Safety Committee).

2. C.B. 11-09 an Ordinance to authorize the Mayor to apply for federal financial assistance on behalf ofthe City ofCarthage, Missouri and to execute any contract(s) resulting from such application. (PubJic Services Committee).

New Business -First Reading

1. C.B. 11-10 an Ordinance amending the Annual Operating and Capital Budget of the City of Carthage for the fiscal year 2010 20 II (Budget, Ways and Means).

2. C.B. 11-11 an Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Blevins Asphalt Construction Co., Inc. for the Annual Asphalt Paving Contract for fiscal year 2012 ($46.30 per ton of asphalt and $1.30 per gallon of tack oil Construction Company (Public Works Committee).

Resolution No. 1627 a Resolution of intent to participate in Natural Hazard Mitigation and to work toward becoming a safer community (Public Safety Committee).

They say that one of the most successful campaigns in recent years is the one calling for designated drivers.

Apparently accidents by drunk drivers has dropped and much of the credit is given to the awareness raised by the ads about designated drivers.

The antismoking ads also seem to have raised awareness.

 

I suppose it’s hard ta say if the ads caused the response or if they just reflect an attitude that is popular.

Gettin’ down to it, I don’t suppose it really matters.

The fact that folks are takin’ a look at lifestyle changes, for whatever the reason, is prob’ly most significant.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Weekly Columns

To Your Good Health

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

Mitral Valve Prolapse Rarely a Health Threat

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: About 40 years ago, when I was in my 30s, I was examined by a famous heart doctor who went over me with great care and concluded I had mitral valve prolapse. He put me on medicine, which I have taken to this day. He also insisted I take antibiotics before dental work.

That doctor died, and my new doctor, quite young, says I don’t have mitral valve prolapse and that I don’t need medicine or antibiotics before dental work. He saw that I doubted him, so he had me get an echocardiogram. It showed no mitral valve problem. I still wonder about this. I can’t accept that my former doctor was wrong. -- J.P.

ANSWER: The mitral valve regulates blood flow from the upper left heart chamber -- the left atrium -- to the lower left heart chamber, the ventricle. When the ventricle contracts, it pumps blood out of the heart. Simultaneously the mitral valve closes to prevent backflow of blood into the left atrium. Mitral valve prolapse means that the mitral valve balloons upward into the left atrium during heart pumping and might leak blood.

In the 1960s, around the time you were diagnosed with this condition, mitral valve prolapse was first described and became a very popular diagnosis. Many of those who were then given a diagnosis of it really didn’t have it. The condition was written about in newspapers and magazines, and dire consequences were ascribed to it.

Now, with new knowledge of how this valve works and with new equipment such as echocardiograms (sound-wave pictures of the heart), a clearer picture of the mitral valve is obtainable. Most people who have a ballooning valve are not considered to have a serious medical condition. In only a handful of these people does a significant leak of blood occur. Those are the people who require treatment, and those are the people who take antibiotics before certain dental procedures.

Your doctor wasn’t wrong. He was a victim of the inadequate knowledge of that era.