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Show A (Jiocsa Killer, It's Kliegh B!cos3' Pressure It's a quiet killer, but an ."eciive one--a primary jjse in 65 percent of all ; vjri disease and in 75 per- i all cases of stroke. An initiated 35 million S tnericans suffer from it, and i riiv have no idea they have because there are no f-ptoms. "It" is high blood assure, and it claims its j ,iiims unnecessarily. In w! cases, high blood preside pres-ide can be effectively treat- W ALL-OUT war on high ::od pressure has been raeti by the National High i od Pressure Education :iram (NHBPEP) and the iJis are impressive. Mil-:M Mil-:M has reduced stroke i1? by 38 percent in the i s years. Savannah has -.3 stroke deaths by half in past ten years. Overall, ' nation's death rate by i ".tie has declined 13.5 per-z per-z in the last decade. m, tragically, there are ;eral misapprehensions ;::u! high blood pressure a prevent successful treat--mof the problem. The I Jn fallacies are examined in the May Reader's Digest in a two-part series on the subject. sub-ject. "HIGH STRUNG" Fallacy. Millions of Americans don't know the real meaning of the term hypertension another term for high blood pressure. Wrongly, they associate it with feeling tense and nervous. ner-vous. Though their doctors have given them medication which should be taken daily, they "treat their medicine as if it, were an aspirin to be taken for an occasional headache," according to the coordinator of the NHBPEP. "Hyper," in this case, means too much. 'Tension" refers to the pressure pres-sure of your blood against the walls of the arteries. SYMPTOMS FALLACY. Because high blood pressure has no symptoms, people don't believe they need their medicine. Medical writer Susan Thompson warns: "The effects of neglect are usually symptomless until the cumulative build-up causes an enlarged heart, or other dangerous or fatal complications." "Choose Your Own Treatment" Treat-ment" Fallacy. In addition to prescribing daily blood-pressure tablets, a physician will usually tell the patient to lose weight, get more exercise and cut down on salt consumption. Some people falsely assume they have a choice-and pick an alternative to medical treatment. CURE FALLACY. Once high blood pressure is brought down to normal levels, many people believe their condition is "cured," and stop taking their medication. medica-tion. With few exceptions, though it can be controlled, high blood pressure cannot be cured. In each of these fallacies there is a misunderstanding between the patient and the physician. Either the doctor hasn't explained fully enough or the patient is still cloudy on certain aspects of treatment.. While you have every reason to expect a full explanation from your doctor, if youdpn't understand-"speak up." Proper treatment of high blood pressure can give you a longer, happier and healthier life. |