A HEART FOR TRENTIS; BOY WITH NEW HEART VALVE HOPES TO PLAY SPORTS

Trentis Miller was 6 weeks old when doctors told his parents he would need to have a valve in his heart replaced.

"Right after he was born, they knew he had some kind of a heart problem," said Marsha Miller, Trentis's mother.

Now 14 and an eighth-grader at Jackson Junior High School, Trentis had the surgery in August at St. Louis Children's Hospital. This year he hopes to try out for several sports.

Trentis, who says he feels fine now, is very matter-of-fact about the transplant surgery.

"They did the Ross procedure. They took my pulmonary valve and they put it where my aortic valve was and they put the cadaver's pulmonary valve where my pulmonary valve was," he said.

The wait wasn't easy, Marsha said, but Trentis was strong enough that the family could wait for technology to improve.

"Last summer we realized he really needed the valve replacement," she said.

Had the Ross procedure not been feasible, the other choices would have been replacing the faulty valve with a metal valve or a pig's heart valve.

The metal valve would have required Trentis to be on medication, something not necessary with the Ross procedure.

"I think the surgery may be a little tougher, but because he's young, he'll make a good recovery," Marsha said.

Before the surgery, Trentis said, he really didn't think too much about his heart problem, which kept him from being as physically active as some children. He became tired and short of breath when playing, and needed to rest.

"I knew I couldn't keep up with everybody, and that was about it," he said.

Now that he can keep up, he's starting a fitness program, and he plans to go out for sports.

"I may play football in ninth grade, and I may go out for track this year, and maybe wrestling," Trentis said.

Without the surgery, he said, "I couldn't have made it."

February is American Heart Month, aimed at increasing recognition of risk factors that contribute to heart disease and stroke.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 950,000 lives annually.

The American Heart Association's message for 1996 is "Don't Die of Embarrassment," which calls attention to the fact that some heart attack or stroke victims may wait to call for help because they're afraid of calling in a "false alarm."

According to AHA, the average heart attack victim waits at least an hour before seeking medical attention. And every year, about 250,000 people die within an hour of the onset of symptoms and before they get to the hospital.

Charlie Friend, publicity chairman for the Cape Girardeau chapter of the American Heart Association, said the local chapter is sponsoring several activities this month.

Today, St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital are hosting a "Heart Teleparty" from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Volunteers will be calling family, friends and business associates to raise money for research and development projects for the AHA.

On Monday, a special recognition party will be held for the Heartwalkers, seniors enrolled in a 16-week walking program aimed at increasing cardiovascular fitness. The party will be held at Main Street Fitness in Jackson at 10:30 a.m.

Students at Trinity Lutheran School will hold a "Jump Rope for Heart" fund-raiser.

Throughout the month, students from Southeast Missouri State University will be selling red hearts to be displayed by supporters of the AHA or as gifts.

And the local AHA is sponsoring a speakers bureau to share information about nutrition, exercise and general health.

It's important to know the warning signs of heart attacks, including an uncomfortable feeling of fullness, pressure, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back; pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms; chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.

Warning signs of stroke include sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body; loss of speech or trouble talking or understanding others; sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye; sudden severe headaches with no apparent cause; and unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or sudden falls, especially in conjunction with any of the other symptoms.

Immediate medical treatment is crucial, because the longer the heart or brain goes without oxygen, the greater the risk of permanent damage to the organs.

AMERICA'S MOST WANTED:

Cardiovascular disease is the no. 1 killer in America.

*More than 950,000 Americans die annually of CVD -- about 42 percent of all deaths. Cardiovascular disease is the leadign cause of death for African Americans and Hispanics, and the leading cause of death and disability among women in the U.S.

*Stroke is the third leading killer of Americans, accounting for about one in every 15 deaths.

*CVD cost Americans about $137.7 billion last year in physician and nursing services, hospitalization and nursing home services, medication and lost productivity.

*About one in four Americans has one or more forms of CVD, ranging from high blood pressure to hardening of the arteries.

*One in six men and one in eight women age 45 and over have had a heart attack or stroke.

*Five percent of all heart attacks occur in people under age 40, and 45 percent occur in people under age 65. About four out of five people who die of heart attacks are age 65 or older.