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Winter can place strain on hearts. UST about the time wild groundhogs-are popping up to have a look at their shadows, a number of groundhogs in Ontario research labs are waking up to the fact that they have been working on heart research while asleep. And at the very moment when Valentine cards are showering heart shapes around the country, the Ontario Heart Foundation is, appropriately, launching its drive for funds, Yes, in more ways than one February is "heart month", For instance, this month is the one in which more people should fear a heart attack than in any other. Of course heart attacks can happen any time of year but February does have a slight edge as a risk month, For one thing our resistance to all kinds of disease tends to be low at this time of year. For another, the effort of pushing cars and shovel- ling snow in February's traditionally heavy snowfalls is often too hearts that haven't been exercised since the last golf game of autumn, / : Heart 'disease is still the biggest single Canadian disease killer, though there is mount ing evidence that progress against it is now being made. Only a few years ago a heart attack was tantamount to a sentence of death, Now, if you survive that first attack you may live and enjoy yourself for many years to come, Sidney Liswood, the superintendent of New Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, had a heart attack four years ago. He tells me he is grateful for it. "It taught me not to try to do too much, not to syuander my time and energy. By ration- ing myself I can get done all the things I really want to do and have leisure left to relax." ISWOOD, who 'once thought he might never work again has been able to return to full- time direction of a major hospital, Of course, President Eisenhower is a further example of a man who -- following his doctors' orders -- was able to return to a demanding task and carry through despite a heart attack. Both these men and many thousands of much for 'others are taking the new anti-coagulant drugs. These control the clotting of blood and help prevent further heart attacks (caused when arteries that feed the heart muscles with blood become clogged up). It's worth noting that the first of the important anti-coagulants, heparin, was deve- loped in Ontario by Dr, Charles H. Best, the co-discoverer of insulin, Dr. Charles H. Best developed heparin. Another important change in heart treat- ment is the decision of doctors to get away from the ordering of excessive rest. Once, the heart patient was put on a shelf for life. Now he is encouraged to take reasonable exercise and lead a normal life without overdoing it. The reason is that the heart has remarkable recuperative powers. Once it has got over the initial injury caused by the clogging of a blood vessels it tends to recover. And, being a muscle, it needs reasonable exercise, without strain, to become strong. A third big development is the emphasis 'on diet. There is still debate about this but a growing phalanx of medical opinion believes that all hearts patients should stop eating animals fats, eggs (including fat meats, butter, lard, pastries, cream etc.) and replace these with more vegetables and fruits, some fish, corn oil margarine and liquid corn oil. Some doctors' are ordering such a diet for their heart patients' now. A few experts even say that to avoid heart attacks everybody should go on such a moderated diet, They believe we have a high rate of heart attacks because we eat too 'many animals fats. This seems borne out by the fact that some primitive people, like South African natives, have practically no heart disease and live largely on corn cakes. OR people whose hearts are in too serious condition to respond to anti-coagulant therapy and a moderation of diet there are impressive surgical techniques available now in Ontario. Hearts can, of course, be opened up prac- tically as the surgeon wishes, which is a start- ling change within the last 20 years. The heart can be stopped entirely and the circulation can be taken over by an artificial heart-lung ma- chine, Plastic valves can be inserted into the CONTINUED ON PAGE 8