Re: Heart disease has family wondering

[Guest guest]

What an interesting yet very frightening story. Sounds like a house of

horrors. I love the comment from Hutton, director of public affairs

for

the New York

State Department of Health, said that it is scientifically

impossible for a mold to contain a virus that could attack

somebody's heart. But a mold can transmit an infection to people

with weakened immune systems. " Generally what happens is a mold can

aggravate and cause people to have allergic reactions, " she

said. " It really depends on the individual types of molds in the

house. " They always say it can only be a problem if you have a weakened

immune system.

When will they ever get it. Very sad for the family to got through this.

Heart disease has family wondering

Hillsdale Independent - Hillsdale,NY*

By JOE MINISSALE 05/02/2008

_http://www.zwire.http://wwhttp://ww_ (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?)

newsid=19655498 & <WBR>BR & PAG=PAG & dept_dept_<WBR & <WBR>rfi=6

E. GREENBUSH--Help wanted: A new heart for a 29-year-old East

Greenbush man, on waiting list for a transplant at New York City

hospital.

At 25, Larry DeCoste felt a sudden, sharp chest pain

one summer evening in June 2005. " I was in my room, woke up at night

and couldn't breathe, " he said. " Cardiomyopathy, that's what they

call it. " Caused by a virus, this is a serious disease in which the

heart gets larger and becomes inflamed.

But his doctors were stumped. They installed a pacemaker, and

told him to tough it out and see if the heart would heal itself. But

soon after Mr. DeCoste suffered a full-blown heart attack. He was

hospitalized several times, but doctors could not pinpoint what had

ruined his young heart. " They really didn't come to any

conclusions,conclusions,<WBR> " he said. " They didn't find an

The family consulted specialists at New York-Presbyterian

Hospital, the university hospital of Columbia and Cornell, who

recommended he receive a new heart.

For now, a brown bag with tubes attached to his shoulder pumps

his heart for him.

" It keeps me alive, " said Mr. DeCoste, who discussed his

condition Wednesday at the Corliss Avenue home where he grew up. " It

pumps the blood out of my heart properly. "

Too weak to work, Mr. Decoste said that at any moment he must

be ready for a phone call telling him to get to New York City within

three hours.

" Yeah, it's very tough, " he said. " I try to stay positive

everyday. "

His mother, DeCoste, 52, has requested extra time off

from her job as a monitor at Columbia High School, so that she may

be ready to take her son to the hospital as soon as the call comes.

She said that her middle son, , 24, also uses a pacemaker for

an irregular heart rhythm. Although, the youngest son , 19,

however has a perfectly healthy heart. Her whole family is ill, she

said. " There's something wrong here, " she said. " We're all confused.

My doctors are confused. "

There is no history of heart disease in her or her husband's

family, Mrs. DeCoste added.

" It's weird that both my sons would need pacemakers, " she

said. " Doctors say this is a sick house. "

A document from the Rensselaer County Health Department states

that house was inspected March 28, 2002. The inspection found a

moderate to high degree of mold in there. Mrs. DeCoste said she

replaced the windows at the department's recommendation, but mold

regenerated rapidly.

There was one species of mold in the basement that the Health

Department could not identify, she said.

In the backyard of the house, there is a dead tree with three

stumps stripped of bark. Mrs. DeCoste said mold has killed the tree,

and is killing the other tree in the front yard. " Even our trees are

dying. My neighbors tell me that 'Here you are in summer and your

house looks like winter.' "

The family moved into the one-story ranch-style home in the

early 1990s. Mrs. DeCoste said she cannot remember if the house was

inspected before they bought it. Moving is not an option because the

mortgage has been paid off, she added, and the family cannot afford

it because of medical expenses. " How could we sell it? " she

asked. " The people [buyers] would come after us later. "

Hutton, director of public affairs for the New York

State Department of Health, said that it is scientifically

impossible for a mold to contain a virus that could attack

somebody's heart. But a mold can transmit an infection to people

with weakened immune systems. " Generally what happens is a mold can

aggravate and cause people to have allergic reactions, " she

said. " It really depends on the individual types of molds in the

house. "

Certain species of aspergillus, for example, a class of molds

that are commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere in fall and

winter, can be pathogenic. Although most people have a natural

immunity to the mold's ill effects, those who don't can develop

aspergillosis, a rare, usually fatal infection that can affect

virtually any organ, but especially the heart, lungs, brain, and

kidneys. Because of this, hospitals take great precautions against

during bone marrow transplant, which requires suppression of a

patient's immune system, Ms Hutton said.

Other molds, she added, can kill trees, such as the chestnut

white mold, which can kill chestnut trees.

Ms. Hutton recommended that Mrs. DeCoste have her house

examined by someone who knows what they're doing. " There are

companies you can hire to remove mold, " she said.

In the meantime, the family has established a fundraising

account. If you would like to help Larry DeCoste with his medical

expenses there is benefit fund at Trustco Bank, 501 Columbia

Turnpike, Rensselaer, NY 12144.

" Thank you very much for your consideration in giving me a

second chance at life, " he writes in a statement calling for

donations. " Life is such a valuable thing and to get a second chance

at it means everything to me. "

To contact Rensselaer editor Joe Minissale email

_jminissale@IndeNewsjmin_ (mailto:jminissale@...) .

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