Hypertension or high blood pressure is projected to affect more than a quarter of Canadian adults within two years, a new study says.
About six million, or 23 per cent, of Canadians were living with diagnosed hypertension four years ago, the study in Monday’s issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds. Hypertension accounts for about 13 per cent of all deaths, Canadian researchers say.Hypertension accounts for about 13 per cent of all deaths, Canadian researchers say. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
When blood pressure is too high, it puts stress on the body’s entire vascular system, forcing the heart to work harder.
It accounts for about 13 per cent of all deaths, Cynthia Robitaille of the Public Health Agency of Canada and her co-authors said.
Hypertension increases the risk of death from a variety of causes, including heart disease and stroke. Left untreated, hypertension can also increase the risk of dementia and kidney failure.
To determine how common hypertension is, Robitaille’s team looked at data on 26 million people aged 20 and older between 1998 and 2008.
Slightly more women (24.3 per cent) than men (21.7 per cent) had the condition.
“We forecast that about 26.5 per cent (7.4 million) of Canadian adults will be living with diagnosed hypertension by 2012-13,”the study’s authors wrote.
Source: cbc.ca/news/health
According to chealth.canoe.ca/condition_info
Primary (or essential) hypertension is when the cause is unknown. The majority of hypertension cases are primary. When there is an underlying problem such as kidney disease or hormonal disorders that can cause hypertension, it is called secondary hypertension. When it is possible to correct the underlying cause, high blood pressure usually improves and may even return to normal.
Other factors that can contribute to hypertension include:
age (blood pressure usually increases with age)
diet
excessive alcohol consumption
lack of exercise
obesity
sleep apnea
stress
Diet is what I am going to focus on here. Canadians are becoming exposed to more and more GMO foods than ever before. Currently the majority of corn, soy, and potatoes in the Canadian market come from Monsanto’s GM seed.
19 Studies Link GMO Foods to Organ Disruption
articles.mercola.com
A new paper demonstrates that consuming genetically modified (GM) food leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice. Researchers reviewed data from 19 studies and found that parameters including blood and urine biochemistry and organ weights were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals.
The kidneys of males were the most affected, experiencing 43.5 percent of all the changes. The livers of females followed at more than 30 percent. Other organs may have been affected too, including the heart and spleen, and blood cells.
These are clearly side effects that can cause secondary hypertension, and as the amount of GM crops that we consume continue to rise, so are the cases of hypertension.
Making these connections will only further public knowledge about the negative impact of GMO crops on both our health and environment. And gives even more initiative to all of us to support things like MP Alex Atamanenko’s bill C-257 An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (mandatory labeling for genetically modified foods) . Which is currently in the House of Commons.
