Show There Is Now New Hope For Hearts To reduce the risk of premature pre pre- mature death or disability from heart heaXt and circulatory di sease the logical place to start is with a visit to your youX physician If he finds anything wrong he can take immediate steps to bring the condition under control and reduce the possibility of serious damage later on ONLY your doctor can advise advise ad- ad vise you whether your blood pressure is too high and if so what to do about it Only he can tell you what fats to exclude from your diet Ill He alone should advise what steps you should take if you aXe are overweight It cannot be emphasized too strongly that these three fact fac- toX'S tois treatment of high blood pressure the control of dietary die die- tary fats and the reduction of weight by dieting are the responsibilities of the clan ciano In coping with problems which they pose he must lay down all of the rules The patient pat pa- tient simply isn't qualified to act on his own initiative if if he does he incurs serious risks HYPERTENSION or ii hi I g h blood pressure produces a constriction of i c blood vessels called arterioles This constriction means the heart heaXt m must t pump with increased in- in creased force and that the arteries must carry blood under under un- un der increased pressure If high blood pressure persists the heart grows grows grows' larger and its its muscles flabbier Finally the heart is unable to compensate for the Increased load and to function efficiently More lore than than persons in the United States are af a- fUeled with hyp I 6 0 n which can produce serious heart diseases damage the kidneys and also play a major Jt role tn in causing stroke For For- your doctor can c cf festively control most cases of Control is pUshed gh the use ol of drugs and other methods Here early diagnosis is of special import import- ance Where control is begun early enough and where It Is consistently followed the chance for longer life is improved O S I IS S 0 r hardening of the arteries is believed to be a prime factor in coronary y heart disease which causes about deaths yearly Singly or in combination with high blood pressure also is a major factor behind stroke which is is responsible for about deaths year year- ly is a degenerative degen degen- disease in which the arteries aXe are narrowed and roughened by the build up Inthe in inthe the inner lining of fatty sub sub- I lances including cholesterol Many studies have suggested that persons with excessive cholesterol in their blood I streams have a greater likelihood like like- of suffering heart atta at at- ta tack k or r stroke Th American Heart Association Asso- Asso elation has recommended reduced reduced re- re fat consumption corn with the reasonable sub sub- n of vegetable oils and other unsaturated fats in lieu pf of animal fats in the diet as a possible means of pro pro- venting and andI I lessening the risk of heart attacks at at- tacks and strokes The Association Asso- Asso elation poi points out that fat reduction reo re- is probably of greatest potential benefit to e e groups namely the overweight over over- weight persons who have already already al- al ready had a heart heaXt attack or stroke and men whose personal personal per per- and family histories suggest sug sug- gest that they may be particularly susceptible to sclerosis FINALLY it is generally believed be be- that the excessively overweight individual is far more prone to incur heart and circulatory disease especially if he has high blood pressure For example among persons aged 50 45 who aXe are 20 pounds or more overweight the average aver aver- age deatH rate is increased about 20 per pCr cent Any dieting should be under strict rued rued- cal supervision N Nor o r xii m a I 1 weight will not only make the individual look better and feel better but will also improve his chances for a longer life |