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Studies find older people fare well in open-heart surgeries.(Front)

Article from: The Virginian Pilot Article date: November 11, 2008

By Marilynn Marchione

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS

Eighty-year-olds with clogged arteries or leaky heart valves used to be sent home with a pat on the arm from their doctors and pills to try to ease their symptoms. Now more are getting open-heart surgery, with remarkable survival rates rivaling those of much younger people, new studies show.

Years ago, physicians "were told we were pushing the envelope" to operate on a 70-year-old, said Dr. Vincent Bufalino, a cardiologist at Loyola University in Chicago . But today "we have elderly folks who are extremely ...

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Man Steals Identity to Fund Heart Surgery

Posted Aug 22, 08 11:30 AM CDT in Science & Health,  Crime & Courts 

Man Steals Identity to Fund Heart Surgery
Source: AP Photo

(Newser) – A Chicago man allegedly nicked the identity of a mentally disabled friend to fund a $350,000 heart bypass operation, say police. John Parsons, 57, was sure he would die without the surgery, said a relative; the alleged scam was uncovered after a caregiver began receiving copies of expenses billed to the man's Medicaid account. Mental-health advocates condemned the incident, while some remain confused by the case.

“You can't just walk in with somebody's Medicaid card like it's a credit card,” said a Medicaid rep. “A doctor would need to know blood type, medical history, and other records that just couldn't be faked.” The hospital will cover the cost of the surgery, but “unlike credit-card fraud where you can go back and seize that toaster or television they bought, how do you go back in there and get somebody's heart?” asked a police officer.

Source: Chicago Tribune

More about:  Chicago • health care costs • identity theft • Medicaid • heart surgery

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