Roughly 27% of the US adult population suffers from high blood pressure or hypertensions, yet less than one quarter of these individuals are taking medication to control their condition, according to the results of a national study.
The report, based on a survey of more than 16,000 adults aged 25 or older, indicates that about 27% of respondents had blood pressure of at least 140/90 mm Hg. But only 23% of these individuals were taking medication to bring their blood pressure down to safe levels. What's more, 31% of people with high blood pressure were unaware of their condition, the researchers note.
Access to and use of healthcare played only a minor role in whether or not a person with high blood pressure received treatment.. Some 92% of people with uncontrolled hypertension had health insurance, and about 75% of those unaware of their hypertension had had their blood pressure measured within the past year.
Hypertensive individuals were more likely to have elevated systolic pressure, the top number in the reading, which measures pressure when the heart contracts. Studies have shown that in elderly people, this number is more closely associated with heart disease risk than diastolic pressure, the bottom number that refers to blood pressure levels while the heart is between beats.
The New England Journal of Medicine August 14, 2001;345:479-486, 534-535
It is encouraging to find that the accompanying editorial to this study argued that medication is not the only way to confront the problem. A diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains and low-fat dairy products can help reduce blood pressure in some people, particularly those with only mild hypertension.
Of course I would thoroughly disagree with the grain inclusion as that is the major culprit in causing the problem to begin with, yes even sprouted whole grain bread can cause high blood pressure.
The editorial goes on to explain that the overwhelming preference of physicians for prescribing antihypertensive medications rather than lifestyle modifications needs to be changed, particularly as better non-drug approaches become available.
It does appear that the leaders in medicine are beginning to understand some of the foundations in health, and not disease care. This is encouraging. However, it will likely take them another ten years to believe the absolute necessity of avoiding grains if one has high blood pressure.
They need to understand that following the eating plan will normalize blood pressure in about 75% of people. I have helped many hundreds of people to get off their high blood pressure medicine with normal blood pressures.
The remaining 25% have some type of emotional stress causing excessive output of the adrenals which also responds very favorably to normalization of stresses.
However, even if all the leaders in traditional medicine accept this information it will take another generation for the average physician to incorporate these truths.
This is where you, the reader, can facilitate the process. If you believe in the mission of this site, to transform the traditional paradigm, then you can encourage friends and relatives to sign up for the newsletter so they can begin to understand the truth about health.
The more people that understand the truth the sooner the traditional physician will begin to wake up and stop the nightmare of healthcare our country is currently in. They will be economically motivated as half of their waiting rooms will be empty.
Yes folks, you can make a difference by joining in the crusade to change the system!
Related Articles:
http://www.mercola.com/2001/may/12/blood_pressure.htm http://www.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/05/28/blood-pressure-part-one.aspx reformat http://www.mercola.com/2000/aug/6/c_e_blood_pressure.htm replace dietary changes in comment with eating plan
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