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Consider the facts:

• 80 million Americans – about 1 in 3 adults – have some form of heart disease.
• Every day, 2,200 Americans die of heart disease – an average of one death every 39 seconds.
• Heart disease kills nearly five times as many women as does breast cancer.

Mayo Clinic has developed an unofficial national anthem for Heart Month that brings home the message in a fun and memorable way. The music video already has more than 45,000 views and 200 likes on YouTube, and more than 1,400 likes, shares and comments on Facebook.

It’s a spoof of the 1982 Tommy TuTone hit, “867-5309/Jenny.” Click the play arrow below to go right to the catchy chorus of the parody:

In the original video, Tommy was obsessed with Jenny and her phone number but couldn’t work up the nerve to actually call her, and ended up in jail for being a peeping Tommy.

In our updated parody, it’s 30 years later and a graying Tommy has mended his ways and is calling Jenny (who hasn’t changed her famous phone number) to apologize for stalking and to plead with her to “Know Your Numbers” to prevent heart disease.

After adding her as a friend on Facebook, Tommy also urges Jenny to check out this interactive Facebook application with heart disease risk calculators and other educational links.

Media Opportunities

Mayo Clinic cardiologists or others involved in the video are available for interviews during the week of January 30 in advance of Wear Red Day® and throughout Heart Month in February.

• For radio stations, a live call-in segment with a Mayo Clinic cardiologist could include audio from the song as bumper music. Download the full mp3. To schedule, call 507-284-5005 or contact us by email. And of course you could embed the video on your station’s Web site.
• For TV networks and stations, the video could be included in a roundup of funny and popular YouTube videos you might have as a regular feature in your morning shows. If you want to do a longer story, we can arrange satellite interviews, and you can download high-quality snippets from the song for broadcast use below (right-click and “Save as…” to download) Outtakes and other production footage also are available by request.
• Know Your Numbers chorus (25 seconds)
• Opening of song (37 seconds)
• Interactive Facebook application introduced (29 seconds)
• For print and online journalists and bloggers – Cardiologists are available for interviews, and embedding the video could make for an interesting multimedia story on practical application of social media to promote health.

To request an interview, call 507-284-5005 or contact us by email.

For more information on heart disease, see the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s National Wear Red Day® toolkit site and Go Red for Women.

Above, Dr. Rosebud Roberts, Mayo Clinic neurologist and epidemiologist, discusses the findings of research study about Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).  The study, “The Incidence of MCI Differs by Subtype and is Higher in Men,” which was published in the Jan. 25, 2012, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology

The study found MCI was more common in men. Her team is interested in finding who is most at risk for MCI. Since MCI is a risk factor for dementia, and large numbers of the baby boomer generation are reaching this age, physicians are looking prevent or reduce the risk of MCI, or the increased development of dementia will have a tremendous impact on the cost of health care in elderly persons.

A rolling laboratory some people have nicknamed the “Obesity Prevention Bus” is bringing fitness to the office.  

The University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic today revealed the first phase of a multi-step study designed to make increased activity part of our everyday lives.

The motor-home sized lab carries all the tools to measure body mass, fat content and fitness levels.   

A couple dozen Minneapolis office workers are the first volunteers to be studied to see if adding stand-up work stations can help make them happier and healthier.

In addition to weight and fitness levels… researchers are tracking changes in mood, appetite and stress.   

The study’s researchers say finding ways to make our workday less sedentary is becoming a matter of survival in light of the growing obesity epidemic and the economic pinch caused by soaring healthcare costs.

Journalists: click here for a suggested script.

Journalists: The following video and audio clips are available for download and use in your stories.

James Levine, M.D.:   MOV   MP3
Mayo Clinic

Steven Stovitz, M.D.:   MOV    MP3
University of Minnesota
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

Neer Dutta:    MOV    MP3
University of Minnesota Study Coordinator

Mary Breitenstein:   MOV    MP3
Study Volunteer

Broll (unedited) of testing and study volunteers at work:   MOV

The need for joint surgery is declining among rheumatoid arthritis patients, possibly because they can now more effectively manage the disease with medication, Mayo Clinic research has found. When people diagnosed with arthritis since the mid-1990s do need orthopedic surgery, it now is more often on the knees rather than the hips, the study shows. The findings are published online in The Journal of Rheumatology.

Click here to see the entire release.

Journalists: The following video and audio clips with study co-author, Dr. Sherine Gabriel are available for download and use in your post-embargo stories.

Study Overview:   MOV   MP3

Study Findings:  MOV   MP3

Additional Findings:   MOV   MP3

What is RA:   MOV   MP3

Journalists:  For links to video and audio files, see the bottom of this post.

The need for joint surgery is declining among rheumatoid arthritis patients, possibly because they can now more effectively manage the disease with medication, Mayo Clinic research has found. When people diagnosed with arthritis since the mid-1990s do need orthopedic surgery, it now is more often on the knees rather than the hips, the study shows. The findings are published online in The Journal of Rheumatology.

More accurate and more sensitive.  When it comes to cancer screenings, those are two attributes you really want.  Well, results of two studies suggest that a new, investigational colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test developed in collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences Inc. of Madison, Wis., is highly accurate and significantly more sensitive than other noninvasive tests at detecting precancerous tumors (adenomas) and early-stage cancer.

The screening test, called stool DNA testing, works by finding signature genetic markers in stool samples mailed in by patients. The testing can be done from home, and should be accessible wherever the mail goes.

“Colorectal cancer continues to be an enormously huge problem. It is the number two cancer killer in North America, and only about half of all adults that should be screened for colon cancer are screened for colon cancer,” says lead study author David A. Ahlquist, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist. A simple, accurate test will help to bring screening to more patients.

“The nice thing about the colon is that it is very accessible.  A positive test would be followed by a colonoscopy to remove the polyps. And removing the polyps then, will prevent a subsequent cancer from forming,” say Dr. Ahlquist.

Journalists: The following video and audio clips are available for download and use in your stories.

Dr. Ahlquist:

Colon Cancer:   MOV   MP3

New Tool:   MOV    MP3

Why the Test Works:    MOV   MP3

Removing Polyps:   MOV   MP3

Goals:   MOV   MP3

Dr. Thibodeau

Testing Availability:    MOV   MP3

Broll

Lab work:   MOV

Below is a link to an edited youtube video with Dr. Ahlquist and Dr. Thibodeau that you can embed with your stories.

Another technique is an injection of platelet rich plasma (PRP), a concentrated dose of healing platelet cells that exist in the patient’s blood. In a recent study published in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic researchers reported that the combination of tenotomy and PRP injections produced significant improvement in patients with long-standing tendon injuries.

“These disorders can be hard to treat, and patients tend to receive one therapy or the other, depending on what a doctor happens to offer. Our study was the first clinical study to investigate the combination of both treatments in injured tendons,” says study author Jay Smith, M.D., of Mayo Clinic’s Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

The study included 34 patients with a wide range of tendon and soft tissue injuries, from rotator cuff tendinitis to plantar fasciitis, an inflammation on the bottom of the foot. In the first stage of the two-part treatment, researchers used high-resolution ultrasound technology to guide a needle to the injured area, and the physicians repeatedly poked the tendon with the needle, inducing minor bleeding within the tissue.

“The needle breaks up nonhealing, degenerative tissue and induces bleeding, hopefully converting a chronic, degenerative injury into an acute injury that has healing potential,” Dr. Smith explains. Afterward, patients received an injection of concentrated platelets from their own blood. The platelets release growth factors into the area to start the healing process.

Researchers found maximum benefits tended to occur within four months after the procedure. More than 70 percent of patients had better use of their tendons, and 76 percent reported improvement in pain. In addition, researchers found some indication of tendon healing, which was detected with sophisticated ultrasound imaging. 

“Larger studies are still necessary to determine whether the combination is particularly helpful for certain injuries or types of tendons, but this investigation showed these therapies together are safe and effective for some people who have an ongoing tendinopathy,” says Dr. Smith.

Drug Shows Promise for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment

A new investigational drug called Regorafenib has been shown to shrink tumor size and improve overall survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Research was presented at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology by Axel Grothey, M.D. of Mayo Clinic.

News Release Regorafenib clinical trial2

Journalists: The following video and audio clips are available for download and use in your post-embargo stories.

Study Overview:   MOV    MP3

Idea Behind The Drug:   MOV    MP3

Study Results:    MOV    MP3

Below is a link to an edited youtube video with Dr. Grothey that you can embed with your stories. It will be made public when the embargo lifts.

Whether you’re a black-diamond skier or a novice on the bunny slope your day can be spoiled by an injury that happens on the last run of the day.  End-of-the-day tweaks and spills are more common than you’d think, says physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Ed Laskowski, M.D., of Mayo Clinic.  Muscle fatigue at the end of the day can lead to sloppy technique and injuries such as a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee, which can require surgery and intensive rehabilitation. Dr. Laskowski, a former elite skier who turned his career to medicine, says that recreational skiers can take steps to optimize their protection from injury.

Physical preparation before a big ski weekend can go a long way, according to Dr. Laskowski, who specializes in fitness, wellness, strength-and-stability training, and sports injury prevention strategies. To gear up for a ski holiday, people can do conditioning exercises that make the sport safer: 

• Endurance exercises, especially with an aerobic component, can help train the muscles so fatigue doesn’t lead to injury at the end of an 8 hour ski day.
• Strength training that focuses on the major muscle groups in the legs, especially those used in skiing, can help skiers stabilize and control their bodies. Core exercises to help link upper and lower body movements are also important, as are balance exercises that emphasize stability.
• “Ski specific” exercises can help train for the side-to-side motions required by the sport. One simple but effective exercise to prepare for skiing is to practice jumping from side to side over a line of tape on the floor, using both feet and then using one foot at a time.

Dr. Laskowski specializes in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and serves as co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. A former competitive alpine skier, he served on the Olympic Polyclinic Medical Staff for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Laskowski to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Laskowski, contact Bryan Anderson (507) 284-5005 or newsbureau@mayo.edu.

Journalists:  The following video and audio clips with Dr. Laskowski are available for your use. 

Being in shape for skiing:    MOV     MP3

Knee Injuries and Skiing:    MOV    MP3

Learn from an Instructor:    MOV    MP3

Skiing B-Roll:   MOV   (MANDATORY COURTESY:  Squaw Valley, USA/Tahoe-TV)