Control High Blood Pressure Without Drugs by Robert Rowan MD, Chapter 1

Book: Control High Blood Pressure Without Drugs
Author: Robert Rowan, M.D.
ISBN: 0-684-87328-1
U-$0.38-B-0.0046743907-BE-63

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Comments:  All these notes are from the book.  Each note has the reference page.

Chapter 1: Could You Have Hypertension?

• 1. About 1 in every 4 adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. page 15
• 2. Medical name for high blood pressure is hypertension. page 15
• 3. Hypertension increases heart and kidney disease and stroke. page 15
• 4. Hypertension gives no warnings.  page 15
• 5. Only 20 percent of American adults with high blood pressuer have it under control. page 15
• 6. Arteries are hoselike vessels. page 16
• 7. The heart pumps blood to all of our body's organs and tissues. page 16
• 8. The heart pumps blood to the brain. page 16
• 9. Your heart beats about 60-70 times per minute when you are relaxed. page 16
• 10. That is 3-4 ounces of blood pumped into your arteries. page 16
• 11. When the pressure of the blood in the arteries exceeds the pressure that is normal or tolerable for your body, then you have hypertension. page 16
• 12. The heart rate increases and the blood pressure jumps about 50% during sexual intercourse. page 16
• 13. Subtle signs of high blood pressure: nosebleeds, dizziness, ringing in the ears, fainting spells, morning headache, blurred vision, depression, urinating at night. page 17
• 14. nosebleeds are stage 1 symptoms page 17
• 15. Blood vessel walls thicken with continual high pressure page 18
• 16. Many experts think that thickening of the arterial walls follows a kidney malfunction. page 18
• 17. A kidney malfunction increases the amount of water retained in the body. page 18
• 18. More than half of Americans 65 years old or older have hypertension. page 18
• 19. Americans 50 years or younger who have hypertension are men. page 18
• 20. Americans 55-60 who have hypertension are mostly women. page 18
• 21. Women tolerate high blood pressure better than men. page 18
• 22. More men than women die of hypertension. page 18
• 23. African-Americans have a greater incidence of high blood pressure. page 18
• 24. Data from the U.S. Public Health Service page 18
• a. white men 18.5 per 100 people
• b. white women 15.7 per 100 people
• c. black men 27.8 per 100 people
• d. black women 28.6 per 100 people
• 25. Hypertension often appears in families page 19
• 26. If one parent has hypertension, there's a better than average chance their child will have hypertension. page 19
• 27. If both parents have hypertension, the odds are greater that the child will have hypertension. page 19
• 28. People who are more than 25-30% over their ideal body weight are more than likely to get hypertension. page 19
• 29. Inactivity with contribute to being overweight page 19
• 30. People who have stress react with a temporary rise in blood pressure. page 19
• 31. Stress can cause chronic hypertension. page 19
• 32. This is not completely proven. page 19
• 33. Many physicians do suspect that stress plays a role in many such cases of high blood pressure. page 19
• 34. High levels of stress over a long period of time may boost pressure by activating your involuntary nervous system. page 19
• 35. Heavy consumption of alcohol can increase blood pressure dramatically. page 19
• 36. Smokers are at increased risk for high blood pressure. page 19
• 37. A diet high in salt can accelerate hypertension as we age. page 19
• 38. Americans consume far more sodium than their bodies need. page 19
• 39. Stroke Belt States: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia page 20
• 40. Sleep apnea, a severe form of snoring that interrupts breathing, during sleep, can stress the heart muscle and increase the snorer's hypertension risk. page 21
• 41. Lowering your weight, being as active as possible, quitting smoking, and limiting your drinking are all good ways of lowering your hypertension risk. page 21
• 42. Primary or essential hypertension is when there's no single cause of high blood pressure. page 21
• 43. Primary or essential hypertension can't be cured, but it can be controlled. page 21
• 44. Secondary hypertension is if it was caused by tumors of the adrenal gland, kidney disease, or a hormonal abnormality. page 21
• 45. Secondary hypertension can be cured if the trigger can be corrected or passes. page 21
• 46. Malignant hypertension in some cases the optic nerve can hemorrhage and swell. page 21
• 47. Malignant hypertension can slo cause kidney damage, brain swelling, and impaired vision. page 21
• 48. hypotension is blood pressure below normal. page 22
• 49. One condition caused by hypotension that affects the brain results form the G force that occurs when an airplane makes a very sharp turn at a very high speed. page 22