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Cardio-vascular Health

Hypertension, Heart

10 Things To Know About Your "Vital Rubber"

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

June 15, 1996

Sir William Osler once remarked that if one wishes to live long, much depends on the quality of the arterial tissue. Or the "vital rubber" as he called it. Hypertension affects an estimated 50 million Americans and 4 million Canadians. Here are 10 points you should know about this common problem:

1. Hypertension: Do You Really Have It?

25 percent of patients who believe they suffer from hypertension and are being treated for it, don't have it. They suffer from "white©coat" hypertension a nervous reaction to being in the doctor's office. A better term is "assembly©line hypertension". What they need is an old©fashioned family doctor who doesn't rush them out of the office in two minutes. Rather, one who says "relax, think about a Caribbean cruise and I'll check the pressure again in 10 minutes". It's usually lower.

2. Hypertension: Is An Industrial Disease.

High blood pressure is almost unheard of in rural peoples of the underdeveloped world. There are at least 20 populations where blood pressure does not increase with age. They include Greenland Eskimos, Congo Pygmies, Cook Islanders, Kalahari bushmen, Polynesians and Australian Aborigines.

3. Hypertension Can Be Triggered By A Change of Location.

Studies show that people in the Third World are not immune to hypertension. For instance, when they move to our industrial world they too may develop hypertension.

3. Hypertension And Stress.

Everyone's blood pressure varies during the course of 24 hours. Unless you are dreaming about Dracula it falls during sleep. But daytime tensions make the heart pound harder and blood vessels constrict. Investigators found that residents of high stress neighbourhoods in Detroit had higher blood pressures than those living in more peaceful areas. The rush of getting to the office on clogged highways, deadlines, job insecurity and dozens of other stressful situations take their toll on the cardiovascular system. Even well©conditioned people can be affected by stress. For instance, the blood pressure of astronauts shoots sky high when they're about to be blasted into space. And even seasoned television personalities can't keep their pressure under control during the final seconds of the countdown. But few people can say, "The hell with all this stress. I'll move to an island paradise". So, what can they do?

 

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4. Hypertension Can be Eased by Regular Exercise.

In 1970 Dr. R.S. Paffenbarger reported the benefit of regular exercise. His study showed that hypertension was 20 to 40 percent lower in individuals 40 to 50 years of age who had participated in five hours of sports activity per week during their college years. Other studies show that without exercise the risk is 20 to 50 percent greater of developing hypertension.

5. Saw Slowly

A high©powered executive once watched an elderly farmer sawing a log. It seemed to take forever to accomplish the task. Finally the businessman said, "Why does it take you so damn long to saw that log?" The farmer replied, "When I saws I just saws!"

6. Lose Weight

Just losing a few pounds has been shown to reduce blood pressure. 60 percent of patients with hypertension are obese.

7. Beware of Salt.

10 to 15 percent of the population are salt sensitive, which means that salt drives up the pressure. All humans need is a daily pinch of salt. However most people consume about three teaspoons of salt a day. Newfoundland is part of what's called the North American "stroke belt". Newfoundlanders eat more salt, have three times as much hypertension and three times the number of strokes. Since no one knows in advance if they're salt sensitive, toss the salt shaker off the table.

8. Think Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium.

These three minerals are important in the regulation of blood pressure. Dairy products are the best source of calcium. Potassium is plentiful in most foods. Magnesium is in whole grains, leafy greens, meats, milk, bananas and nuts.

9. Vitamin C.

Vitamin C is needed to produce collagen that binds cells together just as mortar keeps bricks from falling apart. Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling believed that healthy collagen keeps arterial cells from developing atherosclerosis which in turn triggers hypertension.

10. Pour Yourself a Glass of Canadian Wine

Wine has been the universal tranquillizer since the beginning of recorded time. A glass of wine relaxes the body, dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Canadian wines contain greater concentrations of "Resveratrol" than most other wines in the world. It's believed that Resveratrol helps to decrease atherosclerosis and the risk of hypertension. To purchase wines with a higher Resveratrol content look for the three letters VQA on the label. Wine is also a powerful antioxidant which helps to eliminate free radicals, the cause of degenerative problems such as hypertension. The antioxidant effect of flavonoids present in red wine are 10 to 20 times greater than vitamin E


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod