Klarinet Archive - Posting 000141.txt from 2011/05

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Wind Instruments and Respiratory Infections
Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 14:15:02 -0400

There is another side to the health issue.

In 1996 I suffered a heart attack and had to have a stent implanted in one
of my coronary arteries. The surgeon who did the job asked me what wind
instrument did I play.

I had not told him anything about my playing history and asked how he knew I
played an instrument that required blowing air into something.

His response was that he had been putting in stents for years and those with
the largest coronary asterisks were generally woodwind or brass players. In
effect, playing a blowing instrument was healthy in that the exercise of
playing over a long period of time increased the size of the coronary
arteries. And if the person did not die of some other cause, their life
expectancy related to heart disease was extended because of this phenomenon.

Don't yell at me if you don't believe this. I'm just telling you what the
surgeon told me.

Dan Leeson

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