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Last Updated: May 30th, 2008 - 11:49:13 |
In 2004, the NitroMed pharmaceutical company announced a breakthrough therapy specifically tailored to treat cardiovascular disease in Black people. BiDil, the name for this silver bullet, was developed to override an alleged genetic defect in Blacks that makes us more susceptible to cardiovascular disease by a two-to-one margin over Caucasians and other racial groups.
True to the American way, BiDil is causing quite a stir, both positive and negative, in the Black community and beyond. Many would love to find a miracle cure for what ails them, especially Blacks whom seem to fair the worst in most Western health statistics. Others are alarmed that pharmaceuticals are becoming “color” or race conscious— another possible type of racial profiling. Still others, like we diehard herbalists, sigh with impatience over yet another band-aid approach to true healing that begins with an understanding of lifestyle influences that lead to stress and diseases such as cardiovascular disease.
WHY THE HYPE OVER CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE?
Cardiovascular disease is almost four times more likely among Black Americans than White Americans. In particular, hypertension, the leading cause of the disease, accounts for 20 percent of all deaths among Black Americans, twice the percentage among White Americans. Black folks are diagnosed with heart failure two times more than any other racial group in America, are more likely to have hypertension, are hospitalized for heart failure more often, and die more quickly. Hypertension is considered a “silent killer” because there are little to no symptoms experienced unless other physiological imbalances are present such as heart failure, diabetes or obesity.
Hypertension is not necessarily a heart ailment. It may be a symptomatic clue to one of many imbalances in the body. Primary Hypertension is usually diagnosed without a known cause. This means that the doctor cannot find any problems or physiological dysfunction aside from elevated blood pressure. Acute signs of cardio vascular disease,such as increase levels of c-reactive proteins in the blood (an indication of inflammation and vascular damage), edema, heart murmurs, angina (chest pains) or palpitations, may not be present. We may tell the doctor we feel fine. But since our blood pressure is “high,” the doctor’s diagnosis defaults to a predisposing genetic type factor- such as race- and we end up with a pharmaceutical drug as a preventative measure from future risk of disease. The majority of hypertensive medications have side effects like heart palpitations, nausea and liver damage. Many people end up taking two to three different medications at one time since the underlying cause of their high blood pressure is unknown.
If a doctor takes more time to examine the patient (but managed care typically does not allow them to do so) he might be able to detect underlying stressors that are causing hypertension. Diet, exercise and other lifestyle routines give good insight to other causes. Hypertension can be exacerbated, for example, by daily intake of high fat and processed foods, and alcohol consumption. If the body is not receiving the proper nutrients for cellular growth and activity, the life force—blood—becomes stagnant or sluggish. The impact of free radicals and other pathogens on the vascular system, wears out arteries and veins the way that the constant drip of water wears down rock. The integrity of our blood vessels is key to maintaining a healthy heart. If the vascular system is compromised—as in arteriosclerosis—pathogens have easy access and will tax other body systems such as the kidneys and liver that normally acts as filtration devices for the blood. Alcohol, in particular, is a highly toxic substance that may decrease oxygen in the blood and causes an imbalance in insulin as alcohol breaks down into glucose.
From a psycho-socio-emotional perspective, perception is an important key to hypertension. Since stress has become a daily phenomenon, most of us are unaware of its subtle impact on our health.
The human body is designed with a protective mechanism that is activated by the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathy is synonymous with emotions and feelings. Our nervous system acts like an electrical hormonal output of our sixth sense. It is a direct line into our perception: the way our individual perception communicates with its environment.
Stress on our nervous system directly influences blood pressure. When a person perceives a situation as stressful, the sympathetic nervous system activates the fight-or-flight response, which is a cascade of hormonal reactions within the body. The body receives the perceived stressor as a danger signal and motivates all body systems to deal accordingly. For example, the adrenal gland will begin to secrete the epinephrine and norepinephrine, which stimulates heart contractions, increasing blood pressure so that the body is energized to move quickly. If a person perceives a particular experience as stressful and is in constant contact with that experience, the stress response will continue over time. Our nervous system becomes dysregulated or hyper vigilant, never relaxing, always “on.” Such hyper vigilance ends in diseases such as cardio vascular disease.. Chronic elevated blood pressure can also lead to high levels of glucocorticoids in the blood, one of the causes of obesity and Type II diabetes.
HYPERTENSION: A GENETIC DEFECT OR A SYMPTOM OF LIFE STYLE CHOICES?
Are Black Americans more prone to hypertension and cardio vascular disease? According to the University of Minnesota medical team led by Dr. Jay Cohn, who organized the rationale for the BiDil pharmaceutical African-American Heart Failure Trial, genetic predisposition—Blacks as the weaker race—outweighs any socio-economic influence. Critics of the trial, however, believe that BiDil is the product of smart marketing that combines two current treatments already in use; repackaged under a new focus for a gullible population.
If Black Americans have developed a genetic disposition for hypertension and cardio vascular disease, what weakened us? Surely, Black Americans were not designed with genetic deficits. Anthropologists have revealed, time and time again, that the original man and woman is from one source—a woman—found on the continent of Africa. Somewhere along the evolutionary line, the physical disposition of Black people has changed, a product, no doubt, of increased stress on their body systems. Even the National Institute of Medicine agrees that most diseases are influenced by environmental and social factors and how people perceive them.
Stress is subjective. Therefore a change in perception would weigh heavily on the ability of stress to influence an individual. Rather than develop pharmaceutical drugs that perpetuate a concept of inferiority in a community of people, perhaps re-education about stress and lifestyle choices would resolve the weakness and strengthen humanity as a whole.
The Maharishi Ayurvedic Foundation conducted a study in 1995 with African-Americans. The study found that using transcendental meditation techniques as an alternative treatment for hypertensive drugs was more effective than the drugs. A different study, published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, showed that African-Americans who incorporate prayer, religion and God into their lives had lower blood pressure than those who did not. The critical point of such studies is that even a small effort to change perception, bolsters health.
© Copyright 2006 SeeingBlack.com
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