MEDIA ADVISORY: NEWS CONFERENCE / VIDEO AND AUDIO FEED

ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found that some patients who visit the emergency room (ER) with chest pain can be evaluated safely and effectively in the emergency department without expensive hospitalization. The study will be published in the Dec. 23, 1998, edition of New England Journal of Medicine.

The results were so promising that Mayo Clinic converted the Chest Pain Observation Unit (CPU) into its everyday clinical practice within one month of completing the study.

The cost of chest pain is high -- in both human lives and expense. Approximately five million people in the United States visit an emergency room with acute chest pain each year. The majority of these patients are usually admitted to the hospital for two to three days at an individual cost averaging more than $4,000 and a total annual cost of $10 billion. More importantly -- because the cause of chest pain is difficult to diagnose -- an estimated six to 10,000 Americans die after inadvertently being sent home from the ER when they are actually having a heart attack.

Possibilities for broadcast and print news media include: a live news conference with the study's principal investigator that will be transmitted by audio feed; and b-roll and soundbites that will be sent by satellite video feed.

News Conference: Tues., Dec. 22, 1998 --10 a.m. CST; Baldwin Building First Floor Lecture Hall; 200 Fourth Ave. S.W.; Rochester, Minn. News media should park in the Baldwin Building Parking Ramp and take the elevators to the first floor lecture hall.

Audio Feed of News Conference: The news conference with the study's principal investigator will be available on audio feed.

Technical Information:
Tues., Dec. 22, 1998
Test: 0945-1000 (CST)
Program: 1000-1045 (CST)

To Call in Questions During the News Conference, call: 1-800-362-8351

For "Listen-only" Access to News Conference, call: 1-888-232-0361, participant code #320892

Audio Broadcast Technical Difficulties?: Call 1-888-232-0361

Video Feed of B-roll and Soundbites: Video of soundbites from the study's principal investigator and b-roll from the Mayo Clinic Emergency Room at Saint Marys Hospital will be fed by satellite on Wed., Dec. 23, 1998 at 10 a.m. CST.

Technical Information
Wed., Dec. 23, 1998

ESTCST11:00 - 11:10 a.m. (testing)10:00 - 10:10 a.m. (testing)11:10 - 11:30 am10:10 - 10:30 am(B-roll and soundbites)(B-roll and soundbites)

Satellite Transmittal Information
Ku-Band
Satellite: Galaxy 7
Transponder: 14U (H) Channel 64
Downlink Frequency: 12005 MHz
Audio: 6.2 and 6.8 MHz
Longitude: 91� W

C-Band
Satellite: Galaxy 6
Transponder: 22 (V) Channel 22
Downlink Frequency: 4140 MHz
Audio: 6.2 or 6.8 MHz
Longitude: 99� W

Satellite questions prior to broadcast: 507-266-8113 (Mayo Clinic Video Communications)
Satellite technical difficulties: 202-775-4300 (Diversified Communications, Inc.)

Information for Journalists: Additional information, including a full copy of the news release, a link to the New England Journal of Medicine article and other information will be available at Mayo Clinic's journalists' website at www.mayo.edu/news.

To receive Mayo news releases by e-mail, send a message to [email protected]. Include your name, affiliation, and e-mail address. Mayo Clinic news releases are available on the Mayo Home Page, http://www.mayo.edu. Mayo Clinic health information is available on Mayo Clinic Health O@sis at http://www.mayohealth.org.

Shelly Plutowski
507-284-2417 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: [email protected]

Jane Jacobs
507-284-2387 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: [email protected]