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Live From...
Heart Bypass Surgery
Aired May 31, 2005 - 13:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And this just in to CNN, one of the greatest mysteries in American history may be solved. "Vanity Fair" reports former FBI official Mark Felt has told the magazine "Vanity Fair" that he is Deep Throat. Now, the source helped uncover the Watergate scandal and bring down the Richard Nixon presidency. Bob Woodward tells CNN he is sticking by his agreement not to identify deep throat until he dies. Mark Felt Jr. had this to say about his father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK FELT JR.: We believe our father, William Mark Felt Sr., was an American hero. He went well above and beyond the call of duty at risk to himself to save this country from a horrible injustice, and we just hope that at some point the rest of the nation can see it that way as well.
We feel, having talked to our father, that dad is pleased with the attention this whole thing has drawn to his 32 years of service to his country. But he believes in his heart that the men and women of the FBI who have put their lives at risk for more than 50 years really deserve recognition far more than he does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And again, that is Mark Felt Jr., talking about his father, W. Mark Felt, who claims in "Vanity Fair" that he is Deep Throat.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In Peru, a tiny girl on the verge of what will be a long, difficult journey. Tonight, a team of surgeons will undertake the first of several operations to separate the fused legs of the 1- year-old Milagros Seran (ph). The baby's rare birth defect is called Mermaid Syndrome, and occurs in one of every 70,000 births. Doctors say it could take up to 15 years to completely correct Milagros' condition.
If you're having heart-bypass surgery should your doctor stop your heart to perform the operation or leave it beating during the surgery? There's been a long-running debate over which way is better. Now after reviewing dozens of studies, the American Heart Association says it doesn't really matter. The lead author of the study says you can get a very good operation using either technique. KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's take it to the next level. What if a heart bypass is only the beginning? Would you be interested in a death bypass?
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more on one man's quest for immortality.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty-seven-year-old Ray Kurzweil's daily routine: 250 supplements, 10 cups of green tea, four miles of brisk walking, all part of his quest for immortality.
RAY KURZWEIL, AUTHOR, SCIENTIST: The diseases that kill 95 percent of us are not things that just hit us one day walking down the street. You can find out where you are on that process and stop that process and reverse it fairly readily with the right lifestyle, the right supplements.
GUPTA: That right lifestyle is outlined in "Fantastic Voyage," live long enough to live forever. Ray is not a doctor but an award- winning scientist. He and coauthor, Dr. Terry Grossman, recommend intravenous supplements for better digestion, acupuncture and regular biological testing to determine body age. All geared towards taking advantage of biotechnological advances they say are just over the horizon.
KURZWEIL: I expect and hope to be in good shape when we have these powerful new techniques from biotechnology 10, 15 years from now. For example, have devices called the nanobots that can actually perform functions inside our bloodstream, augment our immune system, destroy pathogens in cancer cells, enhance our red blood cells, for example, so that we can breathe better.
GUPTA: Sound like science fiction? While oddly reminiscent of the 1966 film "Fantastic Voyage" in which scientists travel in vehicles through the blood system. In fact, humans have made giant leaps in life expectancy. Consider this, in 1900 the average American life span was 47 years. By 1960, it had risen to the early '60s. Now life expectancy is 77.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's for headache, earache, toothache.
DR. THOMAS PERLS, BOSTON UNIV. MEDICAL CENTER: We're always going to hear some special potion or nostrum for immortality, and that's not new.
GUPTA: Dr. Thomas Perls, a leading researcher on centenarians, says that living healthier longer is a good message. But relying on Ray's plan to do it is another.
PERLS: Much of the book is based upon Ray and Terry's own anecdotal personal experience of what works for them. What the book is asking people to do, is everybody to be a guinea pig. And I think that's very dangerous. GUPTA: Anti-aging is a multimillion industry. And as Baby Boomers grow older, they want greater control over their own longevity.
KURZWEIL: I would like to keep on living indefinitely. I would like that decision to be in my own hands, and not in the figurative hands of fate.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: We'll have more on this and many other aspects of alternative medicine. Be sure to tune in tonight, 10:00 Eastern, for a one-hour news night special, exploring some of the potential benefits and potential risks of alternative treatments.
The hurricane season forecast is up next. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
All right, up next, the hottest stories on the Web, and of course our video of the day. A little yoga class, with LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, Kyra, help me with this. Well, I mean, you have to consider this...
PHILLIPS: Why, because I have a twisted mind?
HARRIS: No, well -- for starters, you have to consider this sort of in the running for video of the day. At first this looks like any run of the mill gymnastics class until you start to see some of these moves. Look at this. Look at this. Look at this. You have to get the sciatic nerve that runs down the low back and into the leg -- this is insane -- look at this!
PHILLIPS: It is not yoga. It is actually contortion students at the Mongolian National Circus perfecting an art form that Mongolians claim was developed during the reign of Genghis Khan. Now, Genghis Khan probably had a different word for it, though.
HARRIS: Yes. I've got a...
PHILLIPS: Torture. Torture, maybe?
HARRIS: Ouch. That's my word. Look at this guy. Come on.
PHILLIPS: Little different from gymnastics. Gymnastics class was sixth grade, right?
HARRIS: All right. Time to take a quick look now at what's hot on the Web site right now. PHILLIPS: Christina Park has more now from the dot-com desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's hot online? We're checking some of the most popular stories on CNN.com right now. For the top ten reports our users are clicking on the most, surf on over to our Web site and click on most popular. It's at the top right-hand side of your screen.
One of most requested stories today -- actor Christian Slater arrested in Manhattan for sexual harassment. Police say the actor grabbed a woman's behind on the street, adding that he was intoxicated at the time. The 35-year-old says, quote, "I didn't do anything." He starred in films like "Interview with a Vampire," "True Romance," and "Heathers."
Also on CNN.com, the so-called mermaid baby is set to begin 15 years of surgery. Peruvian baby Milagros Cerron was born with legs fused from her thighs to her ankles. Doctors say it could take 15 years of operations to correct her birth defect. Milagros, which means "Miracles," is only three children in the world known to have mermaid syndrome.
Finally, two superpowers join forces to say "I do." Ubiquitous socialite Paris Hilton is engaged to her boyfriend, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis. No date has been set for the wedding yet. It would be the first marriage for both. Hmm, I wonder where the wedding could be.
For the most popular stories on CNN.com, just click on over to CNN.com/mostpopular.
I'm Christina Park reporting from the dot-com desk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, a possible answer to one of the greatest mysteries of our lifetime -- is this man Deep Throat, of Watergate fame?
PHILLIPS: Who is he and why would he reveal his secret now? More about a stunning new report on the second hour of LIVE FROM, with a little help from our friend, Washington top dog Wolf Blitzer. He is in the house. He's actually -- I don't know if we can get a shot of him.
HARRIS: Just a couple feet away.
PHILLIPS: He was just harassing me, actually, over here on the set.
HARRIS: But you got even pretty good.
PHILLIPS: Yes, he's schmoozing with the CNN-I folks over there. Scottie (ph), we can't get a shot of him, huh?
HARRIS: No. Not going to happen.
PHILLIPS: All right, we tried. All right. He'll be here, shortly. Don't go away. Don't want to miss Wolf.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 31, 2005 - 13:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And this just in to CNN, one of the greatest mysteries in American history may be solved. "Vanity Fair" reports former FBI official Mark Felt has told the magazine "Vanity Fair" that he is Deep Throat. Now, the source helped uncover the Watergate scandal and bring down the Richard Nixon presidency. Bob Woodward tells CNN he is sticking by his agreement not to identify deep throat until he dies. Mark Felt Jr. had this to say about his father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK FELT JR.: We believe our father, William Mark Felt Sr., was an American hero. He went well above and beyond the call of duty at risk to himself to save this country from a horrible injustice, and we just hope that at some point the rest of the nation can see it that way as well.
We feel, having talked to our father, that dad is pleased with the attention this whole thing has drawn to his 32 years of service to his country. But he believes in his heart that the men and women of the FBI who have put their lives at risk for more than 50 years really deserve recognition far more than he does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And again, that is Mark Felt Jr., talking about his father, W. Mark Felt, who claims in "Vanity Fair" that he is Deep Throat.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In Peru, a tiny girl on the verge of what will be a long, difficult journey. Tonight, a team of surgeons will undertake the first of several operations to separate the fused legs of the 1- year-old Milagros Seran (ph). The baby's rare birth defect is called Mermaid Syndrome, and occurs in one of every 70,000 births. Doctors say it could take up to 15 years to completely correct Milagros' condition.
If you're having heart-bypass surgery should your doctor stop your heart to perform the operation or leave it beating during the surgery? There's been a long-running debate over which way is better. Now after reviewing dozens of studies, the American Heart Association says it doesn't really matter. The lead author of the study says you can get a very good operation using either technique. KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's take it to the next level. What if a heart bypass is only the beginning? Would you be interested in a death bypass?
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more on one man's quest for immortality.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty-seven-year-old Ray Kurzweil's daily routine: 250 supplements, 10 cups of green tea, four miles of brisk walking, all part of his quest for immortality.
RAY KURZWEIL, AUTHOR, SCIENTIST: The diseases that kill 95 percent of us are not things that just hit us one day walking down the street. You can find out where you are on that process and stop that process and reverse it fairly readily with the right lifestyle, the right supplements.
GUPTA: That right lifestyle is outlined in "Fantastic Voyage," live long enough to live forever. Ray is not a doctor but an award- winning scientist. He and coauthor, Dr. Terry Grossman, recommend intravenous supplements for better digestion, acupuncture and regular biological testing to determine body age. All geared towards taking advantage of biotechnological advances they say are just over the horizon.
KURZWEIL: I expect and hope to be in good shape when we have these powerful new techniques from biotechnology 10, 15 years from now. For example, have devices called the nanobots that can actually perform functions inside our bloodstream, augment our immune system, destroy pathogens in cancer cells, enhance our red blood cells, for example, so that we can breathe better.
GUPTA: Sound like science fiction? While oddly reminiscent of the 1966 film "Fantastic Voyage" in which scientists travel in vehicles through the blood system. In fact, humans have made giant leaps in life expectancy. Consider this, in 1900 the average American life span was 47 years. By 1960, it had risen to the early '60s. Now life expectancy is 77.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's for headache, earache, toothache.
DR. THOMAS PERLS, BOSTON UNIV. MEDICAL CENTER: We're always going to hear some special potion or nostrum for immortality, and that's not new.
GUPTA: Dr. Thomas Perls, a leading researcher on centenarians, says that living healthier longer is a good message. But relying on Ray's plan to do it is another.
PERLS: Much of the book is based upon Ray and Terry's own anecdotal personal experience of what works for them. What the book is asking people to do, is everybody to be a guinea pig. And I think that's very dangerous. GUPTA: Anti-aging is a multimillion industry. And as Baby Boomers grow older, they want greater control over their own longevity.
KURZWEIL: I would like to keep on living indefinitely. I would like that decision to be in my own hands, and not in the figurative hands of fate.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: We'll have more on this and many other aspects of alternative medicine. Be sure to tune in tonight, 10:00 Eastern, for a one-hour news night special, exploring some of the potential benefits and potential risks of alternative treatments.
The hurricane season forecast is up next. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
All right, up next, the hottest stories on the Web, and of course our video of the day. A little yoga class, with LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, Kyra, help me with this. Well, I mean, you have to consider this...
PHILLIPS: Why, because I have a twisted mind?
HARRIS: No, well -- for starters, you have to consider this sort of in the running for video of the day. At first this looks like any run of the mill gymnastics class until you start to see some of these moves. Look at this. Look at this. Look at this. You have to get the sciatic nerve that runs down the low back and into the leg -- this is insane -- look at this!
PHILLIPS: It is not yoga. It is actually contortion students at the Mongolian National Circus perfecting an art form that Mongolians claim was developed during the reign of Genghis Khan. Now, Genghis Khan probably had a different word for it, though.
HARRIS: Yes. I've got a...
PHILLIPS: Torture. Torture, maybe?
HARRIS: Ouch. That's my word. Look at this guy. Come on.
PHILLIPS: Little different from gymnastics. Gymnastics class was sixth grade, right?
HARRIS: All right. Time to take a quick look now at what's hot on the Web site right now. PHILLIPS: Christina Park has more now from the dot-com desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's hot online? We're checking some of the most popular stories on CNN.com right now. For the top ten reports our users are clicking on the most, surf on over to our Web site and click on most popular. It's at the top right-hand side of your screen.
One of most requested stories today -- actor Christian Slater arrested in Manhattan for sexual harassment. Police say the actor grabbed a woman's behind on the street, adding that he was intoxicated at the time. The 35-year-old says, quote, "I didn't do anything." He starred in films like "Interview with a Vampire," "True Romance," and "Heathers."
Also on CNN.com, the so-called mermaid baby is set to begin 15 years of surgery. Peruvian baby Milagros Cerron was born with legs fused from her thighs to her ankles. Doctors say it could take 15 years of operations to correct her birth defect. Milagros, which means "Miracles," is only three children in the world known to have mermaid syndrome.
Finally, two superpowers join forces to say "I do." Ubiquitous socialite Paris Hilton is engaged to her boyfriend, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis. No date has been set for the wedding yet. It would be the first marriage for both. Hmm, I wonder where the wedding could be.
For the most popular stories on CNN.com, just click on over to CNN.com/mostpopular.
I'm Christina Park reporting from the dot-com desk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, a possible answer to one of the greatest mysteries of our lifetime -- is this man Deep Throat, of Watergate fame?
PHILLIPS: Who is he and why would he reveal his secret now? More about a stunning new report on the second hour of LIVE FROM, with a little help from our friend, Washington top dog Wolf Blitzer. He is in the house. He's actually -- I don't know if we can get a shot of him.
HARRIS: Just a couple feet away.
PHILLIPS: He was just harassing me, actually, over here on the set.
HARRIS: But you got even pretty good.
PHILLIPS: Yes, he's schmoozing with the CNN-I folks over there. Scottie (ph), we can't get a shot of him, huh?
HARRIS: No. Not going to happen.
PHILLIPS: All right, we tried. All right. He'll be here, shortly. Don't go away. Don't want to miss Wolf.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
