What does a child prodigy do after the hoopla has died? Marc Yu’s answer is: “You know about fame, and hard work, and the business dimension. But this is all mixed up with idealism because of your age and because of the nature of music. Or, at least, that’s how it worked out for me.”

Marc attends school and music studies, while continuing his commitment to making the world a better place. He started humanitarian activities during his child prodigy days by doing charity fundraisers. He will reminisce about being on the front page of the LA Times; playing for Ellen, Leno, and Oprah; giving concerts for BBC Proms or the National Geographic; and being the subject of documentaries on highly gifted children. But he also remembers being able to move people at fundraisers to unselfishly open their wallets for good causes. “Without this, music loses something special and becomes another circularity – people pay money so musicians can play music so people can pay money, etc. Music becomes another business on a planet full of businesses, and here we are today：in trouble.” To Marc, music should explode that circularity, as in the 60’s when rock bands led a generation to stop the Vietnam War. “It is not hard to find good causes if you steer clear of the ‘Trending Now!’ and the stream of advertising.”

This summer Marc will merge his idealism with that of China Cal. Fundraising is essential for providing grants to children with heart problems that would be fatal if untreated. Marc will be joining one of several intern teams that travel by minivan down dirt roads to remote village schools where they listen carefully to schoolchildren’s hearts in order to detect the rhythmic ‘swishes’ that doctors call heart murmurs. Aside from cardiologist-supervised heart screening of school children, interns help record medical histories, measure heart rate and blood pressure, and assist in physical and ultrasound examinations. They help advise parents regarding treatment programs, which include heart surgeries for their children. Among other accomplishments, China Cal can point to diagnostic and financial support of children’s’ heart surgeries（over 70 in 2012）, countless villagers treated for high blood pressure, and over 1,500 village doctors who received training.

China Cal Publishes Paper about Diabetes in Rural Yunnan
The mission of the China California Heart Watch includes researching heart disease and its risk factors among the rural poor of Yunnan Province, China. China Cal has now sponsored five peer-reviewed reports published in international scientific journals over the past five years. The most recent report was accepted last month in the International Journal of Diabetes. Two China Cal interns, Linh Nguyen（left）of the Washington University School of Public Health and Shireen Khalife（right）of the University of California, Irvine, Program in Public Health led the research team to investigate the prevalence of diabetes and its associated factors in Yunnan Province’s rural regions.
 

The research team also included, Professor Dayi Hu of Peking University and former President of the Chinese Cardiovascular Society, Profeesor Yong Huo, President of the Chinese Cardiovascular Society, Professor Song Yuan Tang of Kunming Medical University School of Public Health, Professor Robert Detrano of the University of California, Irvine, and Professor Stanley Azen and Ms. Laurie Dustin of the University of Southern California.  These researchers found important ethnic differences in diabetes prevalence in rural Yunnan.

China Cal Completes Research about Sub-clinical Atherosclerosis in Yunnan
China California Heart Watch collaborated with Beijing’s Fu Wai Hospital and Research Institute（Fu Wai）and Dali Medical University Affiliate Hospital（Dali MU）to complete research on the comparative prevalence and extent of coronary atherosclerosis in Beijing city residents and Yunnan rural farmers. Dr. Hui Li Cao（left）of Fu Wai led the research team. She was assisted by her mentor, Professor Bin Lu, also of Fu Wai and by Professors Tian Zhao Ouyang and Xin Hua Wu of Dali MU and by Professor Jing Qian Lu of Kunming Medical University and by Professor Robert Detrano of University of California, Irvine. Dr. Cao is working with bio-statisticians at the University of Southern California to write a manuscript that she hopes to present to the American Journal of Epidemiology.

China Cal Represented at Newborn Screening Summit in Beijing
China California Heart Watch founder and director, Robert Detrano, became involved in pediatric heart disease in December of 2007 when surveying high blood pressure in a small town hospital in the mountains of Qujing Prefecture near Kunming City.

“It was after midnight when a knock on my door aroused me from a deep sleep. It was the hospital night nurse who was embarrassed but clearly disturbed about something. A mother had brought her three-month-old newborn and lay holding her dying baby close to her chest. In a bitterly cold and unheated hospital room, I examined the baby girl, her skin and lips purple and her breath rapid. With my ultrasound instrument, I found that she had a large hole between the two main chambers of her heart and that blood was flowing in the wrong direction. I asked the mother if she had taken the baby to Kunming for surgery, and she told me she had just returned from there, but did not have enough money to pay for the operation. The baby died the next morning.”

This experience resulted in the founding of the China Cal pediatric heart branch which last year received awards totaling more than $390,000 for research, teaching and clinical care regarding 

pediatric heart disease in rural Yunnan and to China Cal representation at this spring’s Newborn Summit in Beijing. The Summit, sponsored by the Newborn Foundation, was a two-day series of lectures and discussions by international experts on congenital heart disease. Professor Detrano presented cases of children with Eisenmenger’s syndrome whom he treats in Yunnan province. Eisenmenger’s syndrome is the tragic result of failure to diagnose congenital heart disease in infants and small children. Eisenmenger patients are no longer operable and are destined to live short lives with decreased quality of life because of their disease. China Cal is dedicated to publicizing and eventually eliminating this tragedy.

The New Born Foundation presented China Cal with a gift of a Masimo pulse oximetry device worth approximately $2,500. To the left is a picture of Dr. Xu Zhong Yu of the China Ministry of Health who spoke at the New Born Summit.

China Cal Launches Photo Book：Get Yours Now!
We sincerely thank our volunteer staff for making the China California Heart Watch photo book a reality. The book is hardcover, 60 pages, and includes 133 photos. The photos were taken by China Cal doctors, interns, and volunteers between 2006 and 2012, and are arranged by geographical region. They reflect the striking beauty of the landscape, the cultural diversity of Yunnan’s communities, and the unfailing dedication of China Cal’s volunteers and collaborators. The book was edited by volunteers Cameron Jean Shaw and Zephyr Detrano. Thank you for your dedication in helping rural Yunnan become a heart-healthy region.

Donors who make tax-deductible donations of $150 or more can receive a free copy of the book by mail. See below for how to donate. After making your donation, please request that a photo book be sent to you and send your mailing address to Robert Detrano. We will pay shipping charges within the US and Canada.

China Cal Chinese Blog Now Going Strong
China Cal volunteer Fei Shu has created and started posting on our new Chinese blog. Check it out at here.

Please Donate Now

China Cal operates solely through the generosity and vision of donors, participants and you. Every donation is tax-deductible and helps tremendously by allowing us to continue our efforts in saving lives, raising awareness about heart disease, and improving quality of life through our medical, research and education programs. In order to continue and improve our work, we must soon hire a cardiac nurse to help us with our clinical work. With your help, we can purchase better equipment and hire the staff we need. Your contribution is greatly appreciated. To donate, click here or or send a check payable to China California Heart Watch and mailed to Robert Detrano, China California Heart Watch, 19 Mistral Lane, Irvine, CA, 92617.