Show let our motto be GOOD HEALTH BY DR LLOYD ARNOLD professor of B bacteriology and preventive Ale medicine dicine university of illinois co colleen age of medicine 1111 p HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE we ave hear so many people speak of high blood press pressure as if it tere ere a disease that perhaps it would be well to state that ligh high blood pressure W Is not a disease d sease people do n not 0 t lie die of high woo b d pressure but hig n blood pressure I 1 Is a symptom tom that something Is wrong with th the health of the body the blood circulates ate sw within athin a closed system of vessels in 16 the body the heart Is the central pumping mechanism the large outbound vessels from the heart are called arteries these gradually become smaller in diameter the farther they get away from the heart until they finally end in small thread threadlike like capillaries capil laries there are 11 re many hundreds of these capillaries capil laries branching off like ke the limbs of a tree from V the le small arteries in the skin muscles and organs the capillaries capil laries are the distributing agents As the blood in the large arteries leading from the pumping station the heart is under considerable pressure in order to insure a proper distribution trib ution of blood the walls of the arteries must be able to bear the load so the larger the artery the heavier is the load after the blood passes through the cabill capil capillaries arles laries it returns to the heart through the veins these veins be bein begin in as very small vessels close to the capil laries and increase gradually in size as they approach the heart kut the walls of the veins are never as thick as those of the arteries for the blood is not dot under very much pressure in the venous system the volume or amount of blood in the body remains relatively constant the absorption of water ind and nd other fluids and the excretion by the kidneys and the sweat glands maintain a constant blood volume or balance in case of high blood pressure the capacity of the vascular system is usually decreased hence the pressure increases because the volume of blood remains constant the capacity of the vascular system decreases in most instances because the arteries become hardened and hence cannot dilate and increase in size with each heart beat as they should this inability to dilate and increase in size normally 19 called arterio sclerosis Is or aging of the arteries certain forms of heart disease also play a part in high blood pressure high blood pressure in older adults Is due many times to injuries of the heart and the kidney during childhood or adolescence caused by some infectious disease the primary damage Is done at that time and tile the gradual development of sear scar tissue finally uses up all the reserve power of either the heart or tile the kidney and an elevation in blood pressure Is manifested in later life the important factors to determine in high blood pressure then are 1 the state of the arteries 2 the size and efficiency of the heart 3 the state of the kidneys tile the fact that one has high blood pressure Is usually brought out as the result of a physical examination made by a physician and the control of it after it has developed ve necessitates frequent medical examination and intelligent co opera tion with tile the physician other factors than the state of the blood vessels the heart and the kidneys may be involved too tile best time to begin treatment for iii high ii blood pressure Is ti tle tie e time when it starts to rise the individual with high blood pressure after determining the cause and following the physicians direction should guard against strenuous physical exercise as much as possible strong contractions of the muscles of the arms and les legs always increases blood pressure by decreasing decreasing tile the volume of blood in tile the muscles while they are contracted and hence there Is rapidly increasing blood pressure for a short line cime this may be disastrous to an individual with high blood pressure worry and overwork sleeplessness and physical exhaustion will also increase the blood pressure above the normal and should be guarded against low blood pressure Is usually as important a danger signal for the older individual as high blood pressure pres low blood pressure in many in instances S t a aces I 1 Is due to a decrease in the effi efficiency clency of tile heart muscle there Is decreased pumping force of the heart and hence henc a lessened pressure within the arterial system the individual with high blood pressure or low blood pressure should not allay in consulting a physician 0 Newa pater union |