Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hypertension: Yesterday, today and tomorrow

September 2005

Recently I devoted my entire Sunday evening radio show, The Heart Show (WOR 710, 4 PM), to hypertension – high blood pressure. Ironically, hypertension is one of the serious cardiovascular ailments that has virtually been cured and yet the problem never seems to go away. By that I mean that we can easily diagnose it; we have some knowledge of its origins; and we’ve developed dozens of therapies both natural and pharmacological to treat it. But it is a “silent killer.” Nearly a third of the 65 million Americans who have high blood pressure don’t know it. And of those who are diagnosed, only about a third are getting proper treatment. It’s frustrating. I’m going to quote here from a recent report from the American Society for Hyperextension (ASH), because it is so explicit in its description of the problem and its seriousness:

The new definition/classification proposed by the WG-ASH is based on the view that hypertension is a complex cardiovascular disorder and is not just a scale of threshold blood pressure values. It characterizes the disease as a progressive cardiovascular syndrome with many causes that result in both functional and structural changes to the heart and vascular system.

What about “prehypertension”?
I have warned you of “prehypertension” – blood pressure found in the range of 129/80 to 139/89. We’ve called this “borderline” A danger zone. A study published last month in the journal Stroke reports that people with prehypertension are at triple the risk for heart attack and heart disease. “If we could eliminate prehypertension, we could potentially prevent about 47% of all heart attacks,” says one of the study’s authors.

Well, they’ve gone ahead and done just that . . . in a sense. The newest analysis bypasses the prehypertension classification and advises clinicians that the numeric measure of blood pressure in itself is not sufficient to assess someone’s health risk.Blood pressure must be considered in the context of any of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For example, someone with a seemingly OK blood pressure of 120 over 80 or lower but who is a smoker or who is overweight should be treated. Here are the newest categories in the recommendation of ASH. Normal. Resting blood pressure usually equal to or lower than120/80, although it may be occasionally elevated; but no risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and no identifiable early markers of cardiovascular disease.

Stage 1 Hypertension
Blood pressure usually around 120/80-139/89, although values equal to or greater than 140/90 may be occasionally or intermittently observed. (Previously called prehypertension.) Early signs of functional or structural changes in the heart and small arteries

This includes individuals with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and early disease markers but no evidence of organ damage.

Stage 2 Hypertension
Resting blood pressure frequently equal to or greater than 140/90 and much higher with physiologic or psychologic stress.; Signs of progressive disease resulting from persistent functional and structural changes in blood pressure control mechanisms and in the heart and vascular organs. Identifiable or widespread disease markers and evidence of early organ damage may be present regardless of blood pressure levels.

Stage 3 Hypertension
Sustained resting blood pressure equal to or greater than 140/90 even when treated (greater than160/100 is not uncommon). Clinical evidence of organ damage or overt cardiovascular disease, regardless of blood pressure levels. Cardiovascular events may have already occurred. Aging and persistence of other identifiable risk factors continue to exacerbate the risk of illness and death.

Because blood pressure is such a sensitive indicator and requires careful and frequent assessment of each individual, I have recommended natural therapies to many of my patients just as a defense against developing hypertension.

My Blood Pressure Support contain a combination of nutrients designed to modulate blood pressure, chief of which are amino acids, minerals and herbs that have been proven as blood pressure stabilizers. And of course, the first line of defense against hypertension is exercise and losing excessive weight.

There is no shortage of therapies or medicines for treating hypertension, but they are of no avail if hypertensive persons are oblivious of their condition and if people in general do not pay attention to their health.

For Women
New ideas in HRT
Since the warning was issued several years ago that hormone replacement drugs increase the cancer risk for women, medical science has been searching for an alternative that would ease the discomforting effects of menopause – a remedy that would also give some protection against the heart attacks and strokes that have been associated with the hormonal changes of menopause. Actress Susanne Somers wrote two popular books describing the benefits of “bio-identical hormones” for the relief of menopausal symptoms. These are hormones manufactured to have the same molecular structure as the hormones made by the body. (In contrast to synthetic hormones – those implicated as risk for cancer: Premarin, Prempro and Provera and others.)

Critics have challenged Ms. Sommers’ claims for bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), saying there is no proof that it protects against post-menopausal weight gain. Because of my commitment to prevention of heart problems, I have been supportive of BHRT therapy as an approach to heart attack and stroke prevention. I have also discovered other therapies with the same promise and more. Barry Fox PhD, who is the co-author with me of The Side Effects Bible, writes about a natural food extract from the noni fruit of the South Pacific Islands. Bio-Noni Juice is available from the Tahiti Trader Co. Their nutrition scientists have taken the natural noni product and added herbal fortifiers, all of which have been used traditionally as painkillers, mood stabilizers, and bone strengtheners. Chromium, for example, is one of the added ingredients, a mineral I have always recommended for its cardiovascular benefits.