The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-08-31
Coffee vs.. Alcohol.

cally what DR.. Oliver P. Rex, medical
director of the Penn Mutual lnsur-
ance company, says. The medical
gentlemen who guard the interests OF
the insurance companies have done
much to teach the present generation
how to live. Having the best oppor-
tunities of studying physiological
problems they are able to draw accu-
rate general conclusions from the
great number Of individual cases which
come under their observation as medi-
cal examiners.
The physician for an insurance COM
pany always makes a careful examina-
tion of the action Of the heart tor
organic or functional arrangements.
If he finds an organic trouble which
cannot be removed he usually "turns
down" the applicant for insurance.
He finds plenty of cases with funct-
ional troubles, due to various causes,
which may be cured in greater or less
time by removing the causes. He de-
tects these by listening to the heart
beats; and to we'll trained ear the
variations of these heart-beats from
the rhythm Of healthy heart indi-
Gates one cause Of the arrangement.
1t is easy, DR.. Rex said, to note
the difference between the 'bicycle
heart" whisky heart and "cof-
fee heart. These troubles are so
frequently met with by examiners that
| they are commonly known by the
above names. The man or woman
who exercises by riding bicycle up
hill or 'scorching," produces an en-
largement, or hypertrophy. of the
heart. The stimulation Of alcohol,
tobacco, coffee or tea affects the
rhymth Of the beats.
A heartbeat consists Of two sounds,
one long and one short. In the first,
blood is filling the relaxed heart; in
the second, the heart contracts, with
corkscrew motion and violently ex-
pels the blood through the arteries.
II is essential to a healthy circulation
that the first movement should be
completed and the heart filled before
the second is begun. Strong stimu-
lants disturb the regular action, short
ening the length Of the long beat,
and long continuance in their use
may make the arrangement perma-
| nent.
The best remedy, Of course, is to
remove the cause, and the doctor re-
ferred to several cases where marked
beneficial results were produced with
| in short periods. He would conine
the use of coffee to two cups a day.
Coffee topers are plentiful and are as
much tied to their cups as the whisky
topper. The effect Of the coffee upon
the heart is more lasting, and, conse-
quently, worse than that Of liquor. 1t
is powerful stimulant, and in certain
cases Of extreme weakness is more
valuable than liquor. AS beverage
it is important to use it only at the
close Of a meal, when it is said to
assist digestion. In this respect it is
unlike tea, which, by its tannic acid,
prevents digestion.
Men and women alike suffer from
too much coffee, but men alone, in
this country, at least, are the sufferers
from "tobacco heart the result
principally Of smoking. There is not
only the stimulus which comes from
smoking and chewing alike, but there
is the action of the nicotine in smok-
ing which creates an additional dis
turbance of the heart functions. Dr..
Rex has found that smoking after the
DAYS work is done is less harmful
than the morning and midday cigar.
In one or two cases that he mentioned,
gentlemen told him that by omitting
smoking during the day they found
their brains clearer for business and
their digestion improved.
Of course it will be understood that
as the heart is the center of the cir
culatory system, any disturbance Of
its action must affect every part OF
the body; and this in turn produces
diseases in other organs. 1t is not
surprising, therefore, that the exam
lining surgeons Of the army have re-
jected many fine looking fellows with
tobacco hearts and bicycle hearts on
the ground that they would break
down under the strain OF service IN
the feld.-PAiladelphia Ledger.
When q Woman is Safe.