Participants: James Marcum & Charles Mills
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP00019A
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00:17 Life is tough enough,
00:19 so why do so many of us insist on adding pressure 00:22 not only to our daily existence, 00:23 but to our arteries? Stay tuned... 00:27 I'm Dr. James Marcum 00:29 Are you interested in discovering the reason why? 00:33 Do you want solutions to your health care problems? 00:35 Are you tired of taking medications? 00:38 Well, you're about to be given the "Ultimate Prescription" 00:42 Today, we continue our in-depth look at what's killing us. 00:45 HYPERTENSION is deadly, 00:47 but there's GOOD news for us all. 00:49 Hypertension isn't mandatory, it's optional. 00:53 Medical scientists tell us that there are things 00:55 we can do to mitigate the problem, 00:57 but it may require some radical changes in our behavior. 01:01 Dr. Marcum, how can our arteries begin the journey 01:04 from pressured to peaceful? 01:06 Oh, I like that... I like the word "peaceful," Charles 01:08 That's something I really like. 01:10 But high blood pressure, that's a major issue 01:14 and we've been talking about the conditions that are 01:17 killing people all around the world. 01:18 I think back where we've been recently... 01:21 We've been to heart disease, the heart attacks, 01:23 the arrhythmias, the heart failure. 01:25 We've talked about medications; 01:27 how they can kill us. 01:28 Many different things - we've talked about stroke, 01:31 and now we move to high blood pressure. 01:33 How does that kill us? 01:35 Well first of all, Charles, I'm going to ask you a question. 01:37 Do you know what high blood pressure is? 01:39 I would assume that would be higher than it needs to be. 01:42 Exactly! We have to have some 01:43 blood pressure - we'd fall down dead. 01:45 And high blood pressure is that pressure that is generated 01:49 by the heart and it puts on the walls of the arteries. 01:52 So when your heart squeezes, we call that systole; 01:55 when it relaxes, we call it diastole. 01:57 So it pushes blood into the arteries throughout the body. 02:01 Unfortunately, sometimes that pressure is 02:04 higher than it needs to be, and we have a number, 02:06 and we use a fancy device called a "sphygmomanometer" 02:11 that measures this and we like that top number 02:14 ...you know it goes in a number, 02:15 we like that it be at least below 140 mmHg... 02:19 that's the pressure. 02:21 And we like that bottom one to be at least less than 90 mmHg 02:26 And people can get it tested in a drug store... 02:29 When was the last time you had yours checked, Charles? 02:31 About 6 months ago. 02:32 Do you remember what the number was? 02:35 97/55- That is a very good blood pressure. 02:39 And actually, the LOWER the pressure is, 02:41 the better - as long as you're meeting your needs of your body. 02:44 That was at Wal-Mart - can you trust the Wal-Mart thing? 02:47 That's where you put your arm in there... 02:49 Now that's usually pretty good. Okay, all right - okay. 02:52 Now if blood pressure goes unchecked, 02:55 day-in, day-out, year after year, 02:57 you might not even know it until there's damage done inside 03:00 That's why they call hypertension the "silent killer" 03:03 Years ago, doctors used to really make a big deal about 03:06 high blood pressure being the silent killer, 03:08 but now, other things have sort of come to the forefront, 03:11 but blood pressure is still a leading cause of death. 03:13 Well how does that happen? 03:15 Well when the blood pressure is up that many years, 03:19 sometimes a guy won't get it checked 03:20 from when he's 20 till 50 03:22 ...30 years of pressure - it stretches things out. 03:25 And have you heard this term "aneurysm?" Yes 03:27 Okay, well aneurysms can develop when the blood pressure 03:31 works on a weak spot and it can cause a 03:33 weakening of the artery; 03:34 the artery can actually explode and burst. 03:36 Can't you feel it when have all... Not necessarily! 03:40 That's why they call it "silent" 03:41 Now if you have an aneurysm in the head, 03:43 you might have a headache when it's bursting. 03:46 If you have an aneurysm here, 03:47 which is called an "abdominal aortic aneurysm" 03:50 sometimes you can feel that... 03:51 But you can also have stretching up here in the thoracic aorta; 03:55 you can have aneurysms back here behind the legs... 03:57 they call that a popliteal aneurysm. 04:00 So high blood pressure can contribute to aneurysms 04:02 Also, that pressure that's on the walls of blood vessels 04:05 day-in, day-out can damage the endothelium. 04:08 And if the endothelium is damaged, 04:10 it's more likely to pick up cholesterol and plaque. 04:13 And the endothelium is the lining of all the blood vessels 04:16 throughout the entire body. 04:17 So high blood pressure is a risk factor for developing 04:20 heart disease or atherosclerosis. 04:23 It's a risk factor for damaging the blood vessels on the legs 04:26 which we call peripheral vascular disease. 04:29 It's a risk factor for damaging the arteries 04:32 in the neck and brain which is called cerebral vascular disease 04:36 So high blood pressure can damage 04:37 not only our blood vessels, make them weak, 04:39 aneurysms also make it more likely to pick up plaques. 04:43 But not only THAT... 04:44 if you're pumping iron all the time, Charles, 04:49 ...You look like a weightlifter in your younger days... 04:51 Yeah... You look pretty stout there. Thank you! 04:52 But what happens to the muscles first, Charles? 04:54 At first, the muscles get BIG! Yes 04:57 They hypertrophy - they get bigger. 04:59 But as you lift weights longer and longer, 05:01 guess what? Sooner the muscles wear out. 05:04 And then they become weak. 05:05 Your arteries and veins are wearing out? No-no 05:09 But listen, if the heart has to pump against high pressure 05:11 all the time, your heart gets tired. 05:14 He can pump 20 years against it but sooner or later 05:17 the heart goes, "Man I'm tired, I'm getting weak" 05:19 So one of the causes of a weak heart is 05:22 pumping against too much pressure 05:24 for too long of a period of time. 05:26 So high blood pressure can contribute to heart failure. 05:29 It's one of the causes of a weak heart. 05:32 Also, high blood pressure can damage the arteries of the brain 05:37 leading to strokes. 05:39 It can damage the arteries in the organ of the kidney 05:42 leading to kidney damage and dialysis. 05:44 So high blood pressure really is a hidden killer. 05:48 And a lot of people now don't even realize they have it. 05:50 Now, let me tell you... 05:52 Years ago we didn't have quite as big a problem with 05:55 high blood pressure as we do today, 05:57 but our lifestyles have changed. 05:59 The more stress on our body, the higher the blood pressure. 06:02 And it's okay to have high blood pressure for a few minutes 06:04 if you're scared or if you're running a race it might go high 06:07 But then it comes right back down and that's good. 06:11 But if it's high all the time, it's going to damage things. 06:15 Now things that make it high all the time; 06:16 conditions that we get into... 06:18 There's a condition called "sleep apnea" 06:20 where you don't breathe enough at night. 06:22 You might not even know you have it. 06:24 Those people make a lot of catecholamines 06:27 which raise the blood pressure. 06:29 So one of the causes of high blood pressure 06:31 is sleep apnea. 06:33 Another cause is - years ago we didn't have all these 06:35 processed foods. 06:37 Well, anytime you take processed food and you have to 06:40 make it last a long time... 06:42 Guess what the settlers used to do to make their meat last? 06:45 They put SALT on it! 06:47 So salt is a preservative in almost all the foods. 06:50 Anything in a package, you're going to see sodium with it. 06:53 Anything from an animal has sodium in it. 06:55 Even a canful of soup has TONS of sodium! 06:59 Guess what sodium does? 07:00 Raises our blood pressure, 07:02 and we're eating more of that than ever 07:03 because we're eating more processed foods! 07:06 So we talked about that. 07:07 What about our weight? 07:08 Did you know that when you carry extra weight with you, 07:11 and the weight is called endocannabinoid system, 07:13 your weight makes chemicals - cortisol, adrenalin, 07:17 that ALSO raises your blood pressure. 07:20 So your blood pressure might be up for 30 years, 07:23 you might not even know it 07:24 until you go to the doctor in heart failure; 07:26 he might do a bunch of tests 07:27 and say, "Listen, you're in heart failure" 07:29 "Did you ever have high blood pressure?" 07:30 ...And you go, "I don't know" 07:32 And he says, "Well, it looks like you have 07:33 because your heart is worn out. " 07:35 So high blood pressure can be a hidden killer 07:38 even though it kills slowly. 07:41 It doesn't kill fast unless an 07:42 aneurysm ruptures or anything like that. 07:44 It's usually a slower killer. 07:45 So EVERYONE in the audience today NEEDS to have 07:48 their blood pressure checked! 07:50 Now if their blood pressure is CHECKED, 07:52 and if their blood pressure is HIGH, 07:54 the next thing I want to know is... 07:56 "Well, how long has this happened?" 07:58 And I can do that by checking 07:59 the organs to see if they're damaged. 08:01 If their kidneys are damaged, if their heart has been damaged, 08:04 ...In other words, the longer they've had the hypertension 08:06 then the more damage in the heart... 08:07 ...The more likely we've had damage to an organ. 08:09 Now I'm hoping they don't have it damaged. 08:11 But if I see damage done to an organ system, 08:14 I say, "Uh oh,... well, you've had this for 08:16 many, many years. " 08:17 And then we work on getting the blood pressure down. 08:20 And the key to getting the blood pressure down 08:22 is finding out WHY the blood pressure is high. 08:25 Is it because of diet? 08:26 Well then we want you to change your diet. 08:28 Is it because of weight? 08:30 We want you to lose weight. 08:31 Is it because of thyroid? 08:32 We want you to get your thyroid treated. 08:34 Is it because of sleep apnea? 08:35 We want THAT treated. 08:37 So the real treatment for high blood pressure 08:38 is to find out why FIRST 08:40 and NOT necessarily take a medication. 08:43 I can think of only 3 things, maybe you can tell me more; 08:47 3 things that would affect blood pressure. 08:50 The strength of the heart, 08:51 the condition of the arteries, 08:54 and the condition of the blood... 08:56 What else is there... those 3 things. 08:58 Well remember, the hormones, 09:00 thyroid can control the blood. 09:03 There are certain medical conditions like adrenalin... 09:05 That change the blood? Well, it changes the 09:07 constriction on the blood vessels. 09:09 Constriction - okay. 09:10 Like too much adrenalin. 09:11 For instance, let's say you have sleep apnea... 09:13 Well that puts stress on the body. 09:15 Whenever you have stress, you make adrenalin. 09:17 Adrenalin constricts the blood pressure. 09:19 When your blood pressure is too low, 09:20 I give you adrenalin to make the blood pressure go up. 09:22 I think of a hose being squeezed. 09:24 Yeah, well chemicals in the body can squeeze all those things, 09:28 and the real treatment is to get less adrenalin in the body. 09:31 Sodium can raise the blood pressure because 09:33 it concentrates within the blood vessels. 09:35 So there are lots of causes of high blood pressure. 09:38 And the real treatment is to try to identify the illness. 09:40 Now as we get older, here's the interesting thing, 09:43 as we get older, the blood vessels do get stiffer. 09:46 And as they get stiffer, naturally our blood pressure 09:49 goes up with age. 09:50 So the ways we can help stiff blood vessels, 09:53 the best thing is to exercise! 09:54 You know, to get out and get things 09:56 so they stay elastic longer. 09:58 So as we get older, the blood pressure goes up, 10:01 and the treatment for that would be maybe to exercise more, 10:04 or maybe to eat less salt. 10:06 Now some people have blood pressure that's genetic 10:08 and they can't do anything about it. 10:10 We call that "essential hypertension" 10:13 And some people that have essential hypertension 10:15 the risk of a medication - 10:17 okay - the risk of it, might be worth the benefits... 10:20 which is to prevent all this end-organ damage. 10:22 So there is a place for blood pressure control 10:25 with medications in people that have high blood pressure 10:27 that they can't get down any other way. 10:30 There you go - I think that's the secret... 10:31 That they can't get down any other way. 10:33 But most people, I would say, most people that I see 10:36 can get off some of the medications 10:38 IF they're willing to make the changes, 10:40 and that's a big IF. 10:42 And when I talk to people, 10:43 I say, "Well why don't you want to change?" 10:44 "Well I can't do it" "I can't eat right" 10:47 "I don't feel like I can do it" "I can't do this" 10:49 "You know, I HAVE to have my coffee" 10:51 "I have to have things that make my blood pressure... 10:53 "You know, I HAVE to have this food" 10:55 And I say, "Well listen, let's 10:57 ask the Master Physician for some help" 11:00 And I have them go to God first, 11:01 and say, "God, help this person 11:03 to treat their body the way You would have" 11:05 And I ask them to start with that relationship first. 11:07 And then just try 1 or 2 things 11:09 that can help lower the blood pressure. 11:11 Even us walking in place for a minute or 2 every day, 11:14 or hydrating themselves some more so you don't make 11:17 too much adrenalin... 11:18 Or make sure you don't have sleep apnea. 11:20 These are all things people can do, 11:21 and once God gives them the power to do things, 11:24 and they make just one little change, 11:25 they start to feel better and they see the results. 11:28 And when they see the results, 11:29 whether it be from eating a little bit smarter 11:31 or exercising, then they feel the power of God 11:33 and they know He's right there with them directing their care. 11:36 He's healing them! 11:38 Sometimes even your thoughts can make your 11:40 blood pressure go up - did you know that Charles? 11:42 I'm sure, absolutely! 11:45 And people that are STRESSED OUT, 11:46 people that write all day long like you do - Yes 11:49 You know, it can make your blood pressure go up. 11:51 People that get mad at people, 11:52 that can make your blood pressure go up. 11:54 Sometimes when you get excited, 11:55 that can make your blood pressure go up. 11:57 Well that's okay as long as it comes back down. 12:00 But if you're that way all the time, day-in and day-out, 12:03 you might have this condition which could be 12:05 a cause of death that many people 12:07 around the world are suffering. 12:09 So we want everyone to check on their blood pressure, 12:10 find out the reason why, and hopefully, 12:13 plug into the Great Physician who might be able to 12:15 give them some biblical prescriptions 12:17 that would bring down their blood pressure naturally... 12:19 And if you do need a medication, as we found out, 12:22 be very, very careful and learn everything you can about it. 12:25 I like what you said there... 12:27 You said that when you discover a problem... 12:30 To take it nice and easy - take it slow... 12:32 Try, after you've reestablished 12:34 that relationship with God, try 1 or 2 things... 12:38 Try increasing your water intake. 12:39 Try exercising more. 12:40 Maybe cut out some of the food that you know 12:43 isn't good for you and replace it with food that's good for you 12:45 In other words, you don't have to make a big 12:47 SWEEPING change... 12:48 And sometimes just that relationship itself 12:50 will give you peace that will lower your adrenalin level 12:53 and bring down your blood pressure. That's true 12:55 My, my, my, my... 12:57 It's all about the choices that we make in our lives. 12:59 If we make the right choices, we have good benefits. 13:02 If we make the wrong choices, we should not be surprised 13:05 when those benefits aren't there... 13:07 when we have to face some of the problems that we face. 13:09 We'll take a short break, 13:11 and when we come back, let's answer some questions 13:12 that have been sent in to... 13:14 heartwiseministries. org 13:15 So everybody stay right where you are! |
Revised 2014-12-17