Beware of TV pitchmen diagnosing illnesses across the airwaves

ABOUT a year ago, in the middle of a TV sports report in Florida watched by the man in my life, up popped the inventor of the Jarvik artificial heart.

If you don’t remember the Jarvik artificial heart, join the club. If memory serves, it was a yoke that kept people going while they awaited a transplant.

The inventor announced himself and I thought he was going to tell us all about his gadget. Not so. He was on the box to plug a heart medication. (It seemed fair to infer that his machine hadn’t been the panacea for all cardiac ills.) He split in two and started talking to himself, which was even more confusing. One bit of him was worried about side-effects. The other bit was poo-pooing said side effects. At the end of the ad, up came the brand name and the manufacturer’s logo. It was such a great ad, I wanted some of the drug straight away, even though my heart gets on with its job in a most workpersonlike way.