Samuel A. Kojoglanian, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Bill was having a stress test in my office, and was venting about the administration at the high school he teaches. The kids must love him because he’s kind, funny and simply pleasant. He said California is desperately trying to prevent absenteeism. Schools lose funds up to $40 daily per student for an absentee. To make up for it, the students can convene on Saturday and get lessons, but the administration is hesitant because they haven’t budgeted for Saturday school and it would “mess up the system.” Bill was beside himself, saying, “Do the Math! If I get 60 students, and the school gets $40 per student, they’ll make up $2,400, the students will catch up, I’ll get a small reimbursement, and in the end, everyone wins. Just do the math!”
After we finished our test, I brought Bill back to my office. “Bill, your heart is showing signs of disease.”
“What should we do, Dr K?” he asked.
“Well, pal, what do you think about your weight?”
“I guess, I’m overweight and have to start working on things.”
“Overweight? Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is 35. An index of 18-25 is normal, 25-30 is overweight, and above 30, is obesity. Bill your BMI is 35…do the math!”
He was shocked when I said, “Do the math!” I didn’t say it in an ugly way, but I wanted to startle him. We’d talked about his weight for the past 3 years, and he was not only getting heavier, but his heart was starting to pay the price.
Days later, I told John, a friend in North Carolina about “doing the math.” John drinks too much, smokes excessively, and eats without end. “John, I’m begging you to cut your calories down to 2,200 daily, cut the wine down to 4-8oz daily, drink 64 oz of water daily, stop smoking, see your doctor and then start walking. Do the math, bubs!” “Yeah, I got this algebra down,” he laughed. His wife called me 2 weeks later. While sitting on a commode, John had fallen face first onto the cold tile floor. He wasn’t moving his entire right side, and the doctors believed that the stroke would not resolve and he’d be living in his wheelchair for the rest of his life.
It’s not too late for Bill, the school district, my friends, readers, and patients to listen up: hey kids, school is in session…do the math!