Bob &
Judith draw the dinner special; Tom is the happy winner.
Master of Ceremonies Roger Fox welcomed everyone to the
regular Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club on February 20, at
Amari Resort’s Tavern by the Sea. After the usual opening announcements, he
introduced Dr. Prinya Chomsang, M.D. as guest speaker. Dr. Prinya is a
cardiologist with Bangkok Hospital Pattaya’s Heart Center.
Dr.
Prinya Chomsang, M.D., cardiologist with Bangkok Hospital Pattaya’s Heart
Center
With Valentine’s Day just over, Dr. Prinya pointed out
that besides being struck by Cupid’s arrow, there are other things that can
go wrong with your heart. First, the heart is a muscle and acts as a pump.
Its job is to ensure that blood flows through the body. Blood carries all
the vital materials which help our bodies function and removes the waste
products that we do not need. With the aid of diagrams, Dr. Prinya described
the various components of the heart, starting with the arteries, then the
chambers and valves, as well as other integral parts. Also, surrounding the
heart is the pericardium, which is two layers of tissue with some fluid
between the layers which acts as a lubricant.
He pointed out that there are many diseases that affect
the heart. One is pericardium disease which is an inflammation of the
pericardium causing chest pain and accumulation of fluid around the heart.
Another is coronary artery disease where plaque builds up inside the
arteries blocking the flow of oxygen carrying blood to the heart itself.
A third is valvular disease. One being valvular stenosis;
a condition where a valve opening is smaller than normal, causing the heart
to work harder to pump blood through it.
Another is valvular insufficiency which is also called
regurgitation, incompetence, or leaky valve. It is caused when the valve
does not close tightly and results in some blood leaking backwards. As the
leak gets worse, the heart has to work harder and less blood may flow to the
rest of the body.
Myocardial heart disease relates to the heart muscle
tissue. An example would be an arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and can
occur when anything alters the sequence of electrical impulses contributing
to the heart’s rhythm.
Dr. Prinya then described some of the symptoms of heart
disease. These are shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitation (irregular
heart beat), slower or faster heart beat, weakness or dizziness, nausea, and
sweating.
If you experience any of these symptoms, there are
several investigative procedures that can be performed such as an
electrocardiogram (EKG), chest X-ray, echocardiogram (similar to a
sonogram), exercise stress test (about 90% effective, but not perfect), and
CT scan (a recent addition to investigating heart disease). These methods
are non-invasive.
Another test is the angiogram, which is invasive as an
incision is made and a catheter is inserted through an artery going to the
heart chamber. A dye is released, which reveals any narrowing or blockages
in the arteries. Dr. Prinya said any blockage of more than 70% needs to be
treated.
Treatments vary depending on the nature and significance
of the heart disease. One is medication, which can be temporary or lifelong.
Another is angioplasty and stenting; this is where a catheter with a balloon
is inserted through the artery to the blockage. A stent is a wire mesh that
is placed over the balloon. When the balloon is blown up, it expands the
wall of the artery. The stent also expands and remains expanded when the
balloon is deflated.
A more serious operation is a coronary bypass. This
entails opening the chest cavity and using a blood vessel taken from the
chest wall or from a leg to splice into the artery before and after the
blockage, thus bypassing it.
For valvular disease, there is valve replacement surgery.
This can be done with a mechanical valve or a tissue valve (usually from a
pig or cow).
For irregular heartbeat, a pacemaker can be placed in the
body which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the
heart muscle, to regulate the beating. A recent type of treatment is radio
frequency ablation where radiofrequency energy is used to destroy abnormal
electrical pathways in heart tissue or normal parts that are contributing to
a cardiac arrhythmia.
After Dr. Prinya answered many questions from the
audience, Roger Fox updated everyone on upcoming events and called on
“Hawaii” Bob Sutterfield to conduct the always informative and sometimes
humorous Open Forum, where questions about living in Thailand and Pattaya in
particular are asked and answered.
Men pour the
sticky rice into the bamboo in preparation of roasting.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Residents of four Rayong neighborhoods celebrated the start
of the new rice-planting season with the traditional roasting of 999
bamboo-wrapped servings of sticky rice.
The Feb. 16 ceremony in the Klong Namhu section of Neonpra
sub-district saw residents of Koh Kok, Nogtangmae and Nongnamyen join their
neighbors to prepare the 100-meter-long dessert tray.
Village Chief Somkiat Charoensap said the tradition began in
Buddhist teachings and is done at the start of the new planting season in the
third lunar month to show gratitude for the previous harvest and pray that the
next one would be as good.
Residents work in unison on the merit-making project, with
men cutting the bamboo poles into the desired sizes, cutting it at each joint to
prevent leakage. Meanwhile, the women soak the sticky rice, grate the coconut
and season the batch into three desired tastes: sweet, greasy and salty. The
rice is then added to the bamboo and roasted. This takes place the day before
Makha Bucha Day, and is referred to as Shaving Day.
The rice is then brought to the temple.
The dessert
is then roasted to perfection.
