ARTERIAL AGEING !

 Arterial Ageing

FROM AN OLD  BOOK

It's this simple: Nothing ages you faster than mistreating your heart and arteries. And nothing keeps you younger than keeping your cardiovascular system healthy. More Americans—both men and women—die from cardiovascular disease than from any other cause. Current statistics predict that 50 percent of us will be seriously afflicted by cardiovascular disease and more than 40 percent of us "will die from it. Heart attacks, strokes, many types of kidney disease, and even Alzheimer's disease are largely caused by ageing of the circulatory system.

(THIS  BOOK  WAS  WRITTEN  IN  2000, BUT  SADLY  THE  FACTS  REMAIN,  CARDIOVASCULAR  DISEASE  IS  STILL  ONE  ON  THE  VERY  TOP  KILLERS;  MANY  IN  THEIR  40s  and  50s  ARE  DYING  OF  HEART  ATTACKS,  WHICH  WAS  PRACTICALLY  UNHEARD  OF  60  OR  MORE  YEARS  AGO  -  Keith Hunt)

Most of the premature ageing your arterial system undergoes is self-inflicted. You age yourself by not taking proper care of yourself. The bad news is that most of us are not motivated enough to change our behaviors to protect ourselves from arterial ageing. The good news is that you can start right now.

Your cardiovascular system is the primary system that ties your body together. Because arteries connect to every cell in the body, their health affects your health. Although we hear a lot about heart attacks and strokes, these are only the most dramatic manifestations of arterial disease. By the time a heart attack or stroke occurs, a person's arteries are almost always severely damaged; that is, they've gotten old.

Think of the cardiovascular system as a highway system. If roadways are the infrastructure of the city, the conduits that get us from here to there, then our circulatory system is the infrastructure of our bodies. Our blood vessels carry nutrients and oxygen to our cells and then carry carbon dioxide and other by-products away from our cells. Our arteries, just like streets and highways, wear down. They become clogged with fatty buildup, called plaque, or narrowed from swelling and inflammation. The older and more congested our arteries get, the more subject they are to the body's version of traffic jams— blood clots. This reduction in blood flow means that our cells are not getting the nutrients they need and suffer buildup of metabolic by-products. The heart has to work harder to get the blood where it's supposed to go, increasing blood pressure and stressing the arteries even more. Indeed, just as a major traffic jam can affect a whole city, cardiovascular disease can stress your whole body.

If you look at blood under a microscope, you will see that it consists of not just liquid, but many different kinds of cells—red cells, white cells, and platelets. It is the platelets—and sometimes white cells—that we have to watch out for when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Platelets are covered by an enzyme that, when activated, causes them to stick to other platelets and form a clot. Generally, clotting is a good thing; it is an important function that prevents excessive bleeding. As you age, however, you can develop blood clots where you don't want them—namely, on the walls of your arteries. Over the years, fat builds up on the walls of your arteries, slowing the flow of blood and causing platelet pileups—blood-vessel traffic jams— that further slow the flow of blood. These platelet pileups can form small clots in the arteries. If a clot gets too big, it can fill the entire artery, and blood can't get through at all, causing the tissue supplied by that artery to be at risk of dying. Likewise, when your arterial system comes under stress, the walls of your arteries can become inflamed and swollen, again closing off the flow of blood. In this case, oxygen and essential nutrients don't get to your organs as they used to, causing them to age more rapidly.

How can you prevent arterial ageing? 

You probably know quite a few good habits that make a difference: eating a diet low in saturated fat, exercising, and avoiding stress. Conversely, bad behaviors, like being sedentary, can cause our cardiovascular system to age unnecessarily, and bad habits tend to reinforce each other. The worse our food choices, the more likely we are to be overweight. The more overweight we are, the less likely we are to exercise, and so on. Even mild forms of cardiovascular disease can slow us down and make us feel old fast.

The most important step in your antiageing plan is to protect your heart and arteries. That is why almost every chapter in this book addresses the problem of arterial ageing. In this chapter, I show you the basics. I show you how to think about cardiac health as a conglomerate of health decisions that intersect with every aspect of your life. You will need to learn to think of cardiac health holistically: Everything you do contributes to or detracts from it. For example .... drinking a glass of red wine with dinner, and taking the right vitamins in the proper amounts are quick, easy, and painless ways to make your cardiovascular system healthier.

Blood Pressure: Lower It!

Blood pressure readings are measurements of the overall health and well-being of our hearts and arteries. That is why monitoring your blood pressure is one of the best ways of gauging your RealAge. For example, the difference between having low blood pressure rather than high blood pressure can mean a RealAge difference of more than twenty years!

Do you know how high your blood pressure is? Chances are it's too high. Eighty-nine percent of Americans have blood pressure higher than the ideal for preventing ageing..... More to the point, high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is one of the leading causes of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure. High blood pressure has no symptoms. Most of us live with it and feel fine. As a result, it is hard for patients to take high blood pressure seriously or to see it as an indicator of a serious health risk.

(ONE  REASON  THIS  BOOK  IS  NO  LONGER  IN  PRINT  IS  BECAUSE,  THE  AUTHOR  GIVES  BLOOD-PRESSURE  READINGS  WHICH  ARE  TODAY  IN  2014  OUT-OF-DATE.  SEE  THE  INTERNET  FOR  UP-TO-DATE  SCIENCE  ON  WHAT  IS  NOW  CONSIDERED  "NORMAL"  BLOOD  PRESSURE  -  Keith Hunt)

In fact, I have patients who, even though they know about the devastating effects of high blood pressure..... Here's one story. Roger V., a longtime associate at the University of Chicago, had, over the years, asked me for medical advice. One day, he called me about his father-in-law, Jake. Jake had just retired from a lifetime career as an engineer. A World War II veteran, and proud of the fact that he' d never been sick a day in his life, he was never one to go to the doctor. When Jake had his retirement physical, it was the first time he had seen a doctor since leaving the service some forty years earlier in 1946. Jake reported that his doctor told him he had a 'touch' of high blood pressure—.....  more than a 'touch' by anyone's standards. But Jake steadfastly refused to go on any medicine or even to return to the doctor.

Jake and his wife, Sara, bought a motor home. For three years, they took trips, went to art museums and cultural events, and meandered around the country just enjoying their free time. After forty years of working hard, they were finally reaping the benefits. Jake called it the 'great life.' He told Roger and his daughter, Joyce (Roger's wife), 'Don't worry about my blood pressure. Now that I'm not working, I'm not under any stress. My blood pressure's sure to have dropped.'

Since nothing 'seemed' wrong, no one paid too much attention. Then it happened. Jake had a stroke. The stroke left him partially paralyzed and impaired his speech. He needed a walker to get around. In a matter of minutes, he had lost the 'great life' he had worked all his life to enjoy.....

Finally, his kidneys started to fail, a side effect of hypertension. Roger and Joyce brought him to see me.

Giving him the 'cold, hard facts,' I finally convinced Jake to accept blood pressure treatment. With medication, his blood pressure dropped and his kidney function improved. Indeed, he managed to live a fairly good life, remaining relatively independent for another decade, until his kidneys finally gave out entirely. Although his poststroke life was adequate and he made the best of it, it was not the life he had dreamed about. And it didn't have to happen.

(NO  THERE  ARE  MANY  NATURAL  WAYS  TO  BEAT  HIGH  BLOOD  PRESSURE.....YOUR  DIET,  AND  EXERCISE,  ARE  TWO  OF  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  -  Keith Hunt)

What Is Blood Pressure, and How Is It Measured?

Most of us have had our blood pressure taken every single time we've visited a doctor since we were children. But what exactly does blood pressure measure? What does blood pressure tell us about our overall health?

Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by blood on the walls of the arteries as blood flows through them. The higher your blood pressure, the more stress and strain you are putting on your body. In RealAge terms, you are burning away years faster than you need to.

The only way to measure your blood pressure is to perform a quick, painless test using an instrument called a sphygmomanometer—the rubber cuff and gauge that they strap on you the minute you walk into a doctor's office. When your blood pressure is measured, make sure to ask what it is and to write it down. Keep track of your blood pressure and how it varies over time. Your blood pressure is not always at the same level. It is often elevated when you are anxious, upset, or in a hurry. Just being in a doctor's office can raise your blood pressure ('white-coat hypertension'). When your blood pressure is measured, make sure you've had enough time to calm down, are sitting and relaxed, and aren't talking to someone about an issue you feel passionately about. If your blood pressure is high or higher than you'd like, go to your local pharmacist and buy a sphygmomanometer. Either your doctor or the pharmacist can show you how to use it. Monitor your blood pressure regularly, keeping track of any fluctuations. You will keep far more vigilant watch over your own blood pressure than anyone else will. After all, it's your body, and you have the most to lose.

(I  HAVE  A  SPHYGMOMANOMETER:  BLOOD  PRESSURE  SHOULD  BE  TAKEN [A  NUMBER  OF  TIMES  OVER  SAY  15  MINUTES]  IN  THE  MORNING  AND  EVENING.  WHEN  RELAXED  -  Keith Hunt)

Blood pressure is always presented as a fraction..... The top number in the fraction is called the systolic blood pressure, the pressure exerted on the artery walls when the heart beats. The bottom number, the diastolic blood pressure, is the pressure exerted when the heart is at rest, between beats......

As you age, systolic blood pressure (and sometimes also diastolic blood pressure) tends to increase. Why? As you age, the walls of your arteries become atherosclerotic—less elastic and clogged with buildup from fats and lipids. This arterial hardening forces the heart to work harder. The heart becomes enlarged, and the arteries become scarred and damaged. It is a vicious cycle: The more damaged the arteries become, the harder the heart has pump......

In less than 5 percent of these cases is high blood pressure caused by some underlying medical condition. In these instances, when the root cause is corrected, blood pressure returns to normal. In more than 95 percent of the cases, there is no specific cause of high blood pressure; many times it is the result of the poor care we've given our arteries over the years.

(YES  THE  BOTTOM  LINE  IS  IT  ALL  COMES  DOWN  TO  HOW  WE  HAVE  PHYSICALLY  LIVED;  HOW   WELL  AND  HEALTHILY  WE  HAVE  EATEN,  EXERCISED,  SLEPT,  AND  KEPT  OUR  EMOTIONS  IN  GOOD  ORDER - LITTLE  STRESS  IN  OTHER  WORDS  -  Keith Hunt)

How Do You Achieve Ideal Blood Pressure?

What should you do if your blood pressure is higher.....

(TODAY  THE  BENCH  MARK  OF  BLOOD  PRESSURE  IS  NOT  THE  BENCH  MARK  OF  2000  WHEN  THIS  BOOK  WAS  WRITTEN.  GO  ON  THE  INTERNET  FOR  THE  UP-TO-DATE  SCIENCE  ON  BLOOD  PRESSURE  -  Keith Hunt)

Eat a more nutritious diet that is low in saturated fat.

Get more exercise.

Lose weight.

Stop smoking.

Cut your sodium intake to less than 1,600 mg a day.

Increase your potassium, calcium, and magnesium intake.

Avoid stress and consider strategies to reduce stress, such as increasing social connections or using relaxation therapy, biofeedback methods, or yoga.

Because nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction are important components of ageing, this book has chapters devoted to each (see Chapters 8, 9, and 11). If you have higher-than-ideal blood pressure, pay special attention to the recommendations in these chapters. If your family has a history of cardiovascular disease, pay extra attention. These chapters show you how easy it is to incorporate heart-healthy eating and exercise habits into your life. Lowering your blood pressure is not an impossible task.

Talk to your doctor. He or she can help you formulate a blood pressure-reduction plan that fits you, with special consideration for your particular needs and concerns. Your doctor can help you decide if you should be on medicine for hypertension. If so, he or she can work with you to choose the medication that works best for you. Remember, there are several kinds of treatments, and some may suit you better than others, so you should ask about all of them. If you experience side effects or don't feel as good as you think you should, don't discontinue your medicine—doing so can provoke a heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor about possible alternative treatments.

(THE  FIRST  THING  SHOULD  BE  A  SERIOUS  LIFE-STYLE  CHANGE,  IF  YOU  ARE  ALWAYS  OVER  THE  TOP  IN  WHAT  THE  LATEST  SCIENCE  TELLS  YOU  IS  "NORMAL"  BLOOD  PRESSURE  -  USE  THE  INTERNET  -  Keith Hunt)

In addition, your doctor can tell you whether your high blood pressure is 'sodium sensitive.' Many people are sensitive to sodium; that is, their blood pressure responds to the amount of sodium they ingest. If you think that you are salt sensitive, you should cut back on foods containing salt. And if you think that getting rid of your salt shaker will do it, think again. Most of the sodium we ingest comes not from salt we add to foods, but from sodium added by manufacturers to packaged foods. There are high levels of sodium in everything from soda pop to most breakfast cereals. Learn to be a label reader. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables instead of processed food to avoid sodium.

Reducing blood pressure requires more commitment than most of the RealAge Age Reduction strategies that we talk about in this book. When you start to think it's too much work, remember that your RealAge will become 1.5 years younger for every two-point drop in systolic blood pressure and every three-point drop in diastolic blood pressure. What could be better than that?

Stopping Atherosclerosis: Open Up Your Arteries!

The second most significant sign of arterial ageing is atherosclerosis, the buildup of fats and lipids along the walls of the arteries. This narrowing of the arteries can lead to the formation of clots, which can, in extreme cases, cause heart attacks and strokes. Indeed, atherosclerosis is a primary cause of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is often the first sign that the arteries are starting to harden. The higher blood pressure rises, the more quickly fats build up, causing even more atherosclerotic ageing, and so on. It's a vicious cycle. What causes fats to build up? We're not sure. Scientists postulate that either inflammation of the blood vessel walls or an excessive and accelerated bombardment of blood against the arterial walls—the very same conditions high blood pressure causes—triggers this process. Moreover, the higher your total blood cholesterol—specifically, the higher your LDL cholesterol—the worse the problem becomes. There are two common types of cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). I always remember L for 'lousy' and H for 'healthy' because LDL cholesterol accelerates fatty buildup in the arteries, whereas HDL cholesterol actually helps inhibit such buildup. That's why you want to have a low LDL reading and a high HDL reading. If you have a high total cholesterol reading, have your doctor determine the levels of each. 

Men are more likely to suffer from arterial ageing than women and at an earlier age. Women usually don't undergo arterial ageing until after menopause. Also, some population groups and families are more prone to arterial ageing than others. For example, if you are a man and a number of close relatives (a father, a brother, or an uncle) have had heart attacks or strokes, especially under age sixty-five, you, too, could be at risk of atherosclerosis at an early age. You will need to pay particular attention to arterial ageing. The same would be true of people who are significantly overweight; those who have high LDL cholesterol readings; and, of course, those who have high blood pressure.

All of us can do simple things that will help keep our arteries young..... In Chapter 7, learn how vitamins C and E protect your arteries. Taking both of these substances in the recommended doses can reduce your RealAge by more than six years. Be sure to read the section on folate because taking folate regularly will help keep lipids from building up in your arteries. Note in the section on ageing of the immune system that you should be careful to brush and floss your teeth to avoid periodontal disease. The bacteria that cause periodontal disease are believed to trigger an immune response that, in turn, causes inflammation, or swelling, of the arteries. An area can then form along the arterial wall, creating a niche in which fats can accumulate, causing the arteries to become atherosclerotic.

When it comes to arterial youth, there are the additional big three: nutrition, exercise, and stress. These are so important that a chapter is devoted to each. Think of them as being interrelated. By eating a diet that is rich in nutrients and low in saturated fats, you will be able to reduce your RealAge by more than ten years. By exercising regularly (it's not that hard!), you can reduce your RealAge by more than eight years. Pay particular attention to Chapter 11, which gives tips for managing stress, because stress and emotional upheaval can cause significant arterial ageing.

Now let us consider two factors that can specifically keep your arteries free from clots—taking an aspirin a day and hormone replacement therapy.

.......................

I'M  NOT  INCLUDING  HERE  WHAT  IS  SAID  ABOUT  ASPIRIN  AND  HORMONE  REPLACEMENT  THERAPY.

THERE  IS  A  LOT  OF  PROS  AND  CONS  ON  BOTH  SIDES.  YOU  SHOULD  TRY  EVERYTHING  ELSE  FIRST,  BEFORE  RESORTING  TO  ANY  KIND  OF  DRUGS.  SORRY  TO  SAY  BUT  OFTEN  DRUGS  ARE  USED  BY  MANY  AS  A  QUICK  ANSWER,  TO  AN  UNWILLINGNESS  TO  MAKE  MANY  LIFESTYLE  CHANGES,  THAT  WOULD  SOLVE  THE  HIGH  BLOOD-PRESSURE  PROBLEM.

NOW  HERE  IS  ONE  INEXPENSIVE  WAY  THAT  HELPS  KEEP  YOUR  ARTERIES  CLEAN.  WHEN  MY  DAD  RETIRED  AT  63  AND  CAME  TO  CANADA;  THE  FIRST  YEAR  HERE,  HE  READ  AN  ARTICLE  IN  A  LOCAL  PAPER  BY  SOME  DOCTOR,  WHO  SAID  IF  YOU  TAKE  ONE  LECITHIN  TABLET  A  DAY,  IT  WILL  KEEP  YOUR  ARTERIES  CLEAN.  MY  DAD  STARTED  TO  DO  SO  IMMEDIATELY. 

HE  PACKED  UP  AND  WENT  BACK  TO  WALES  AT  AGE  85,  THINKING  HE'D  FINISH  HIS  DAYS  IN  THE  VILLAGE  WHERE  WE  ARE  FROM.  HE  WAS  IN  A  CLINIC  GETTING  A  HEALTH  TEST.  THERE  WERE  PEOPLE  LAYING  ON  SMALL  BEDS  WITH  TUBES  IN  THEM.  THEY  TOOK  A  BLOOD  SAMPLE.  THEY  CAME  OUT  AND  ASKED  HIM  IF  HE  HAD  EVER  HAD  A  "WASH  OUT"  -  HE  REPLIED  NO.  THEY  CAME  AGAIN  THE  SECOND  TIME  AND  ASKED  HIM  THE  SAME  QUESTION.  HE  AGAIN  REPLIED  NO.  THEY  CAME  OUT  THE  THIRD  TIME  AND  ASKED  HIM,  "ARE  YOU  SURE  MR.  HUNT  YOU  HAVE  NEVER  HAD  A  WASH  OUT?"  MY  DAD'S  REPLY  WAS  "IS  THIS  WHAT  THESE  PEOPLE  ARE  HAVING  LYING  HERE  WITH  TUBES  IN  THEM?"  THE  NURSE  SAID  YES.

"I  HAVE  NEVER  HAD  ANYTHING  LIKE  THIS  EVER."

"WELL  MR.  HUNT,"  SAID  THE  NURSE,  "WE  HAVE  NEVER  EVER  SEEN  ANYONE  YOUR  AGE  WITH  SUCH  CLEAN  ARTERIES.  WHAT  HAVE  YOU  BEEN  DOING?"

I'VE  ALREADY  TOLD  YOU  WHAT  HE  HAD  BEEN  DOING  SINCE  HE  WAS  63  YEARS  OLD.

HE  RETURNED  TO  CANADA.

MY  DAD  HAS  ALWAYS  BEEN  HEALTH  MINDED;  ATE  A  BASIC  GOOD  DIET [OVERDID  SOME  THINGS  BECAUSE  HE  GAINED  A  BELLY  ON  HIM  THAT  WAS  TOO  LARGE];  DID  REGULAR  EXERCISE  IN  MANY  DIFFERENT  WAYS;  AND  WAS  WITHOUT  MUCH  STRESS  ALL  OF  HIS  LIFE.

HIS  TOO  LARGE  A  BELLY,  FINALLY  CAUGHT  UP  ON  HIM,  BUT  NOT  UNTIL  HE  WAS  90  YEARS  OLD;  THEN  HAD  A  MINOR  STROKE,  WHICH  HAS  LEFT  HIM  IN  A  WHEEL  CHAIR,  AND  A  SHORT  TIME  MEMORY  THAT  IS  ALL  OVER  THE  MAP.  HE  IS  NOW  IN   A  24/7  CARE  FACILITY.  HE  DIED  JUST  SHORT OF HIS 94 BIRTHDAY.

SO  STAYING  HEALTHY  IS  MORE  THAN  JUST  ONE   THING  YOU  MUST  DO  AS  A  WAY  OF  LIFE.  BUT  SADLY  TOO MANY  IN  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  ARE  IN  AN  UNHEALTHY  WAY  OF  LIVING.  

YES  IT  TAKES  SOME  EFFORT  TO  BE  HEALTHY  AND  TO  STAY  HEALTHY.

Keith Hunt