Prof. Edward Abinader of the Faculty of Medicine examined 24 patients 12 with heart conditions and 12 without first in Haifa at 427 feet above sea level, then at the Dead Sea at 1,319 feet below sea level. He found that those with heart conditions showed signs of better overall cardiac performance for example, they were able to run for a longer period of time on treadmills at the Dead Sea.
"Patients were able to exert themselves significantly more at the Dead Sea than in other environments," Prof. Abinader said. "I originally set out to prove that the Dead Sea wouldnt harm patients with cardiac problems, but I discovered that it actually helps them."
According to Prof. Abinader, the atmosphere of the Dead Sea is unusually rich with oxygen, magnesium, and bromide, minerals that improve the delivery of oxygen to the heart and lungs, thus improving patients cardiac performance. His results were published in the July 2001 American Journal of Cardiology and the July 2001 Cardiovascular Reviews and Reports. This month, Prof. Abinader presented his research at an international conference at the Dead Sea Research Center in Israel.
In addition, Dr. Eldar Berkovits, a Technion alumnus, studied the effects of the Dead Sea environment on 73 patients with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that causes mucus to form in part of the lungs and predisposes the patient to chronic lung infections. He found that the patients were helped by the seas high oxygen levels and its mineral-rich environment
'"/>
Contact: Adar Novak
adar@ats.org
212-307-2519
American Society for Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
8-Nov-2001