BETWEEN HEARTBEATS: 2-year-old Kaden's life hangs in the balance as a transplant team replaces his heart
Kaden Cook lies naked on a table in the middle of the operating room, unconscious. His eyes are taped shut and a white sheet covers his stomach. Two tubes are down his throat, helping him breath, and an IV is in his neck. The air is kept cool, under 70 degrees, to slow the bacteria.
( BY JEFF SEIDEL, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER, 10/20/2002 12:43 PM PDT)

A heart for Kaden
Debbie Westphal sits on her living room couch, wearing pajamas and sipping Diet Coke. She turns on her laptop and searches for a phone number.
( BY JEFF SEIDEL, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER, 10/19/2002 12:43 PM PDT)

Ice cream treat can improve heart scan image
Eating ice cream before having a certain type of heart scan can improve the quality of the image obtained, according to study results presented here this week at the 8th Congress of the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology.
( BY GONZALO ARGANDONA, Reuters, 10/18/2002 07:43 AM PDT)

WHO: Doctors treating wrong patients
Doctors in many countries are targeting the wrong people for treatment to avert heart attacks and strokes, according to a new report by the United Nations health agency.
( By EMMA ROSS, Associated Press, 10/18/2002 06:56 AM PDT)

Stressful Work Tied to Heart Disease Death Risk
People who put much more into their jobs than they get back may be more likely to die of heart disease than those with more satisfying work, new study findings suggest.
( BY AMY NORTON, Reuters, 10/18/2002 07:38 AM PDT)

Even Treated Depression May Up Heart Risk
In a finding that may shed light on the link between depression and an increased risk of heart disease, researchers in the UK report that people being treated for clinical depression seem to have impaired blood vessel function.
( BY MERRITT MCKINNEY, Reuters, 10/17/2002 10:43 AM PDT)

Widow Sues Artificial Heart Maker
The widow of a man who died after almost 10 months with an artificial heart filed suit Wednesday against the maker of the device and the hospital where it was implanted, saying her husband wasn't adequately informed of the ordeal he would endure.
( BILL BERGSTROM, Associated Press Writer, 10/17/2002 06:27 AM PDT)

Inexperienced Can Use Defibrillators
No medical degree? No job on an ambulance? No sweat!
( JEFF DONN, Associated Press Writer, 10/17/2002 06:27 AM PDT)

Hypertension prevention tips updated
The government has issued updated guidelines on high blood pressure that emphasize that exercise and diet are often enough to prevent hypertension, even in people at high risk for the disorder.
( LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer, 10/16/2002 07:21 AM PDT)