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Archives | (August 2003)
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With A Stroke Of A Pen
------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 1 of 6 On May 14th, with a stroke of the pen, a group of NIH bureaucrats made 45 million Americans sick – literally, not figuratively. The way they did it was by creating a new disease called “prehypertension” that turned millions of healthy people into candidates for expensive multi-drug treatments. And what, exactly does “prehypertension” entail? Nothing more, really, than a change in the rules. To understand the change, though, you need to know what your blood pressure measurement actually is. Blood pressure is measured with two numbers. The first of these is called “systolic” pressure and is measured as the heart beats. The other is called “diastolic” and is measured as the heart relaxes. Your blood pressure measurement is expressed as systolic pressure over diastolic pressure. Until the change a systolic blood pressure of under 140 or less and a diastolic blood pressure of under 90 or less (expressed as 130/80) was considered within normal limits, and has been for generations. On May 14th, all that changed. Under the new rules, the cut-off for normal blood pressure is a systolic pressure of 130 and a diastolic pressure of 80 – in other words ten points less than was considered normal the day before! But that’s not all! In a new twist, the new NIH guidelines also say that at a systolic pressure of 120 and diastolic pressure of 80 an individual is “prehypertensive.” Although treatment with drugs is not mandatory at this level, it is permitted “for compelling indications.” Since 45 million Americans have blood pressures between 120 and 139 over 80, they all have just become candidates for drug therapy! Granted, for “prehypertensives” the drug therapy is not mandatory, but what doctor is going to risk a malpractice lawsuit by not prescribing them? For the drug companies it will be a bonanza! The two-drug therapy recommended by NIH includes a diuretic plus either an ACE Inhibitor, Beta Blocker or Calcium Channel Blocker. Any of these will cost a patient from $500 to $1,000 per year. That works out to between $2.25 billion and $4.5 billion in new sales – to healthy people! For the people who have suddenly become “sick,” however, there is more than just a financial risk involved. |
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