COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have new insights into how the heart’s sinoatrial node (SAN), the body’s natural pacemaker, and its electrical signals are affected during heart failure.
By JULIE CARR SMYTH and KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) â Dr. Michael Cackovic has treated his share of pregnant women. So when Republican lawmakers across the U.S. began passing bans on abortion at what they term âthe first detectable fetal heartbeat,â he was exasperated.
That s because at the point where advanced technology can detect that first flutter, as early as six weeks, the embryo isnât yet a fetus and it doesnât have a heart. An embryo is termed a fetus beginning in the 11th week of pregnancy, medical experts say.
âYou cannot hear this âflutter,â it is only seen on ultrasound,â said Cackovic, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State Universityâs Wexner Medical Center, where some 5,300 babies are born each year.
‘Fetal heartbeat’ in abortion laws taps emotion, not science
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Dr. Michael Cackovic has treated his share of pregnant women. So when Republican lawmakers across the U.S. began passing bans on abortion at what they term “the first detectable fetal heartbeat,” he was exasperated.
That’s because at the point where advanced technology can detect that first flutter, as early as six weeks, the embryo isn’t yet a fetus and it doesn’t have a heart. An embryo is termed a fetus beginning in the 11th week of pregnancy, medical experts say.
“You cannot hear this ‘flutter,’ it is only seen on ultrasound,” said Cackovic, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, where some 5,300 babies are born each year.
Higher risk for heart disease
Ajay Vallakati Guest columnist
As a cardiologist I am encouraged by the recent attention to health disparities, particularly among African Americans. Health care providers and systems must do better to ensure every person receives the care and treatments they need.
Part of our effort should empower Black Ohioans and all patients to live healthy lives and know the warning signs of diseases for which they are at higher risk.
According to the Office of Minority Health, which is part of the Department for Health and Human Services, African Americans are generally at higher risk for heart diseases, as well as diabetes, stroke, HIV/AIDS, cancer, asthma and some other chronic illnesses.