why universal healthcare is so important-

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/us-usa-bloodpressure-idUSTRE74O7RZ20110525

Reuters) - Nearly one in five young U.S. adults may have high blood pressure, researchers said on Wednesday in a study suggesting the problem of hypertension is more widespread than previously thought.

Hypertension is easy to prevent and inexpensive to treat through diet, exercise and drugs, yet it is the second-leading cause of death in the United States. The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences that often conducts studies for the government, last year declared high blood pressure a "neglected disease" that costs the U.S. health system $73 billion a year.

The latest findings by a team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are in sharp contrast to a federal government study by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that suggested only 4 percent of young adults might have high blood pressure, a condition that raises the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

Both studies used the same definition of hypertension: a blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 millimeters of mercury or more. Normal blood pressure is considered to be 120 over 80 or lower.

"The findings are significant because they indicate that many young adults are at risk of developing heart disease, but are unaware that they have hypertension," said Quynh Nguyen, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose study appears online in the journal Epidemiology.

The researchers did not study why the numbers may be rising or relate the findings to U.S. intake of sodium, a major contributor to high blood pressure.

U.S. health officials say the study is a worrisome signal, but are cautious to embrace the new findings until they have been confirmed in other studies.

High blood pressure, or too much force exerted by blood as it moves against vessel walls, is the leading risk factor for premature death worldwide.

[RainDog]

1. k/r n/t

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. The republicans and bluedorks have a plan to solve that.

Die quickly.

[w8liftinglady]

3. I've taken care of a lot of younger hypertensives... they don't die quickly

they stroke out and develop renal failure first....then drop dead after lingering in long-term care with bedsores for year...making their three-times weekly dialysis visits.

[bobbolink]

4. I agree with your premise, of course. However the NUMBER ONE prevention for hypertension would

be for We, The People to get smart and take better care of ourselves by insisting that the STRESS level be reduced in our lives.

I would be surprised if the US isn't the leader in high blood pressure in industrialized nations. Other nations aren't nearly as stressful on its citizens.

Yet, we don't seem to want to tackle this head on. :shrug:

We would rather use DRUGS, from the Pharmcos.

[1awake]

5. K/R n/t

[kctim]

6. What govt pays for, govt makes the rules for

Dictating and controlling the peasants diet would be easier and cheaper than treating the results of a poor diet.

[Newest Reality]

7. We can no longer

assume that health and longevity are a driving force when it comes to the masses. Those benefits are reserved for those who can afford the lifestyle and services that support those conditions.

It appears that our society is driven primarily by what will financially profit those who control it and their cohorts. It appears that our vast numbers -- divorced as they are from power -- place a substantial portion of us in a cattle-like, commodity position where humans are ruthlessly used-up, burned-out and then, discarded.

Like fast food work, life for the many is becoming a high-turnover existence where our sole purpose, (from those looking down on us) is to support the wealthy and provide the means for their exploits. The rest of what we are calling "a life" is about distractions, treats, and pharmaceuticals that serve as psychological pens in which we are compelled to dwell from cradle to grave.

It is most disheartening to watch the rise and dominance of corporatism and view, with an inescapable sense of disgust and contempt, the transformation of people into nothing more than things when there was a potential for something better, historically speaking.

Perhaps we can wake up and something can happen? Who knows what might emerge if we can bring ourselves to allow it while finding the courage to throw off our prisoner mentality.