Big Army Of Collectors For Heart Fund Appeal

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32120, 16 October 1969, Page 14

Big Army Of Collectors For Heart Fund Appeal

The biggest army of collectors ever assembled in the Canterbury-Westland district would be out to collect $95,000 for the National Heart Fund on Saturday, said Mr G. Burns, the Canterbury-West-land zone appeal chairman, yesterday. It was hoped to have 4000 collectors, who would call at every house in the zone from Kaikoura to the Waitaki River on the east side and from Karamea to the Haast on the west The house-to-house

target of $95,000 represented less than $1 a household, because there were more than 84,000 houses in Christchurch alone.

Mr Bums said that the rest of the Canterbury-Westland zone target of $153,000 would come from special gifts, many of which were already in hand

The latest figures for the appeal bring the national total to $350,621. The National Heart Foundation hopes to raise $600,000 throughout the country on Saturday. With the $400,000 sought by direct appeal to businesses and prominent citizens earlier in the year, this would give it a working fund of Sim.

This will be used to reduce the incidence of heart disease in New Zealand by fostering research, educating the public on factors which aggravate heart disease, and rehabilitating those left invalids by heart attacks. Biggest Killer

Heart ailments kill more New Zealanders than all other diseases combined. In 1966 cardiovascular disease caused 52.5 per cent of all deaths, and the cost of heart disease to New Zealand is estimated to exceed sloom a 'year.

Education within the medical profession will be a major task of the foundation, according to one of its bulletins. “The amount of reading available in this field is vast,” it says, and beyond the power of any individual to assimilate fully. Every doctor must be told about developments and helped to keep up to date.

“Greatly increased funds are needed to support research in several areas which New Zealand is very suited to study. These include studies in blood fats and their influence in arteriosclerosis particularly in familes with a high inherited level of blood fats and other high risk

groups. Further clinical study of patients with arterial diseases in the limbs is also required, the incidence of this disease being very high in New Zealand. . “The extension of the research being carried out in the special coronary care units now established in several hospitals appears to offer good possibilities. "Comparative studies in disease incidence similar to those being carried out in Wellington at present require further support. “Support is needed for work at present being done in Auckland and Dunedin on I the influence of kidney disI ease in hypertension. “Clinical research in the isense of assessing the results of treatment can be carried I out effectively in many centres in New Zealand—indeed New Zealand is well suited for this type of research. (More than anything else, it I provides working doctors with the checks and controls they need in developing treat- | ment.” Appeal Figures The state of the appeal is:— National total previously (acknowledged, $294,621; national • gifts of $5OO and over received since September 26, $38,500; i other national gifts received since September 26, $15,862; Can-terbury-Westland zone gifts of I $lO and over since October 6, $1605; other Canterbury-West-'land zone grift® since October 6, !$33: total, $350,621.

Gifts, other than from the ICanterbury-Westland zone, of $5OO and over for the week iended October 3, were:—

! D. V. Bryant Trust, $20,000; Associated Banks. $12,500; Mr J. iV. Hott. $2000; Union Steam Ship [Company, Ltd, $1000; Wellington Publishing Company, Ltd, jssoo: H. and J. Smith, Ltd, >$1000; Royal Exchange Group, $500; New Zealand Refrigerating Company. Ltd, $1000; total, $38,500. Canterbury - Westland zone gifts of $lO and more received from October 6 to October 10, were:—

Oakleys, Ltd, $10; Duckworth, Turner and Company, Ltd, $5O; Brightlings Transport. Ltd, $100; N. M. Peryer, Ltd, $200; Mr H. J. L. Harris, $250; Upper Riccarton women’s branch of the New Zealand Labour Party, $10; Fletcher. Humphreys and Company, Ltd, $100; Butterfields (Christchurch), Ltd, $150; Kreglinger (New Zealand). Ltd, $200: Mr R. J Hudson, $l5; Mr and Mrs G. W. Fairweather, $100; P. H. Venables, Ltd, $100; Automatic Metalworkers. Ltd, and Consolidated Metal Industries, Ltd, $5O. Mrs G. G. Aitken, $5O; McKenzie and Willis. Ltd, $100; A. R. Barris and Company. Ltd, $5O; Altrusa Club of Christchurch. $10; Cremation Society of Canterbury, Ltd, $5O: Johnson and Sons (N.Z.), Ltd, $10; total, $1605.