Show rt a let our motto be GOOD HEALTH BY DR LLOYD ARNOLD professor Pro fior of bacteriology and nd preventive medicine university of illinois college of medicine HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE we hear so many people speak of high blood pressure as if it were a disease that perhaps it would be well to state that high blood pressure la 19 not a disease people do not die of high blood pressure but high blood pressure Is a symptom that something Is wrong with tb the e health of the body the blood circulates within a closed system of vessels in the body the heart libart Is the central pumping mechanism the large outbound vessels from the heart are called arteries these gradually tra dually become smaller in diameter the farther they get away from the heart until they finally end in small threadlike thread like capillaries capil laries there tire are many hundreds of these capillaries capil laries branching off like the limbs of a tree fro from in t desmall he the small arteries in the skin muscles ind organs the capillaries capil laries are the distributing agents As the blood in the large arteries leading from the pumping station the he heart is under considerable pressure in order to insure a proper distribution trib ution of blood the walls 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 capillaries capil laries it returns to the heart through the veins these veins begin as very small vessels close to the capil laries and increase gradually in size ns as they approach the heart but the walls of the veins are never as thick as those of the arteries for the blood Is not under very much pressure in the venous system the volume or amount of blood in the body remains relatively constant the absorption of water and other fluids and the excretion by the kidneys and the sweat glands maintain a constant blood volume or balance ta 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 cap capacity nelty of the vascular system decreases in most instances because the arteries become hardened and hence cannot dilate land and increase in size with each heart beat its as they should this inability to dilate an and increase in size normally Is called arterio sclerosis 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 the gradual development of scar tissue finally uses up all the reserve power of either the heart or the kidney and an elevation in blood blond 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 edi clency of the heart 3 the state of the kidneys the fact that one has high blood pressure Is usually baroug brought lit 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 the physician other factors than the state of the blood vessels the heart and the kidneys may be involved too the best time to be begin in treatment for high blood pressure Is the time when it starts to rise everyone of course has momentary rises in blood pressure due to anger strenuous exercise or worry but if these periods lost last only a short time they are unimportant from if a health standpoint but if the blood pressure Is elevated above the normal tor for any length of time it Is important to know whether this increased pressure will remain stationary or whether it will become progressively higher then health habits can be corrected apoplexy brights disease and heart failure are usually the terminal conditions in persons person ss with sustained high blood pressure the individual with high blood pressure after determining de the cause and and following the physicians direction should guard against strenuous cal exercise as much as possible possie le strong contractions of the muscles of the arms and legs always increases blood pressure ba b dec decreeing the volume of blood in the muscles while they are contracted and hence there Is rapidly increasing blood pressure tor for a short time this may be disastrous to an individual with hi high blood pressure worry and overwork sleeplessness les and physical exhaustion will also increase the blood pressure above the normal and should shoula be guarded against low blood pressure Is usually ns as important a danger signal for the older individual as high blood pressure low blood pressure in ninny many instances Is due to it a decrease in the efficiency of the be heart a rt 11 muscle u cle there Is decreased pumping force of the heart and hence a lessened pressure within the arter arterial lal system the individual with high blood pressure or low blood pressure should not delay in consulting a physician c western newspaper union |