The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1940-10-29
A Mild Ailment

The first reaction is likely to be
extreme depression, followed by
frantic effort to find some treat
ment-something to do about it.
But really it is very mild disease
in most instances-hardly a dl-
sease at ala physiological con-
dition-no more a disease than
gray hair. And If it weren't for
life insurance examinations. and
annual health audits, for which
we hear so much praise, a man
might carry his high blood pres
sure for twenty-five years and
never know he had it-so symp-
tomless and harmless it is. Nor
is it rare-about 70 per cent Of
those over the age of fifty have
some degree of it.
have been reviewing some re-
cent studies in the medical litera-
ture on high blood pressure, but
before we come to them let US put
down some Of the fundamental
facts. Blood pressure is just what
the name implies-the pressure
the blood is under in going
through the blood vessels-usual-
ly we apply it to the pressure in
the arteries which carry the blood
from the heart to the extremities.
The pressure in the velns-venous
pressure-is not easily measured.
Two Forces
The arterial blood pressure is
maintained by two forces-the
contraction or beat of the heart
and the pressure exerted by the
elasticity of the artery wall. Com
pare it to the stream coming out
of a rubber hose-the stream is
maintained steady first by the
water pressure from the main,
and then by the pressure Of the
rubber hose on the fluid within.
When the hose gets hardened
when the arteries get thickened
in the aging process-the force
from behind has to be higher to
maintain a steady stream-and
you have to have a steady stream
of blood to maintain life. So the
blood pressure goes up. The heart
not only contracts (systole) but
dilates (diastole) so you have two
points of blood pressure-systolic
and diastolic. In general, the
normal blood pressure is 100 sys-
tolic, so diastolic.
The question of what is a nor
NAL pressure is one which is not
entirely settled, despite all the
figures that have been collected.
If a man has an occasional blood
pressure of 140 systolic, does that
mean that he will later develop
continuous high blood pressure
the state known as apprehension?
This question has been studied by
DR.. Edgar A. Hines, Jr., at the
Mayo Clinic, in follow-up exam
nations of number Of cases. In
general, it may be said that in
people with a systolic pressure
over lao and a diastolic pressure
over 85 at the age of forty, it
means that in ten or twenty years.
about 80 per cent have permanent
high blood pressure - hyperion
sion. But this, as you notice, takes
ten or twenty years, and it may be
another ten before symptoms or
disability appear.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Z. NJ. C.-"D Please tell me
something about adhesions.- Can
they be cured without an opera
ton? (2) Does hard work and ex-
ercise aggravate them? l was
operated on for appendicitis TWEEN
ty-two years ago. (3) Would l
help the pain by wearing a corset
all the time to hold it tight?"
Answer-Adhesions, in spite Of
gossip to the contrary, are seldom
the cause Of abdominal pain. II
they are really present, operation
is about the worst thing that can
be done for them. Operations
make adhesions. Hard work and
exercise are good for them. Wear
ing a corset may relieve the strain
10 some extent. The chances are
if you are troubled with abdominal
pain twenty-five years after an
appendicitis operation, you proba-
bly, have something el~7.
hat the agriculture economics d.
vision hollers for.
Cooperative study by the census
bureau. the public health service.
nc agriculture department and our
- -. x..,.o-t. 1, oaIIad for