quently casualties are due to actual
perforation or penetration of the
heart, but even here many lives have
been saved by vcmergency surgical
work to repair the condition.
There is much apprehension about
the heart rale—fast and slow pulses
—that needs to be dispelled. The
usual normal range ol pulse rate is
50 to 90 a minute: and even 10 at
complete rest and 100 or more when
excited are nol abnormal rates, As
a matter of fact. a heart can get
along well for vears at a rate as low
as 30 and ax rapid as 120 10 13D
if it is in a reasonably Lealthy state
otherwise. At rates of 20 or below
or more than 200. trouble is likely
to ensue unless the condition is only
transient.
There is alo much unnecessary
fear of low blood pressure. Many
persons have core 10 me complain:
ing that their pressure is only 100
or 105 or 110. II they are otherwise
healthy. I have always reassured
them. The lower the blood pressure,
within reason (that is, down as far
as 90 to 110 in an adult). the less
strain on the heart and arteries, and
the longer the life. This fact has
been determined especially by life
insurance studies in the past thirty
years. Insurers once hesitated to ac-
cept the low-blood-pressure candi-
dates, but now. other things being
equal. they jump to take them. as
heing rood risks.
Now let us consider heart dizease
itzelf and various misconceptions in
relation to it. There has been stirred
up a great general alarm about the
imerease of this malady. Unwise
publicity has caused much cardiac
neurosis. IU is true that the diag-
nosis 1s made more frequently nowa-
davs than it used to be, but that is
in large part at least lo be explained
bry three simple facts:
1. There is a tendency in medical
diagnosis to lump under heart dis-
ease various conditions that used to
he otherwise labelled. For example,
what was once called Bright's dis-
case is now recognized as chiefly
heart strain and failure, with result
ing albumin in the urine, caused by
high blood pressure.
2. There ix a higher accuracy in
diagnosi=. Many cases once errone-
nusly called acute indigestion are
now recognized us being coronary
thrombosis,
3. More persons are surviving the
hazards of early life--particularly
infantile dysentery. diphtheria, tuber-
culosis, and typhoid fever—lo reach
middle life or beyond, in which
heart disease i= naturally more
prevalent. Perhaps our faulty modern
way of life, with almost complete
neglect of the ordinary ~imple rules
of health. mav add i= (oll of heart
victims, Mare study of this problem
alse is badly needed.
It is unportant to realize that
heart disease is not one disease. such
as typhoid fever, any nore than dis-
case of the bhram = one discase. If
we break the expression down into
simple terms. it becomes much less
mysterious and terrifying. There are
heart defects present at birth: acute
and chronic rhenmatic hearts; bac-
terial endocarditis (formerly the
most fatal of all. hot now, fortu-
nately, curable in 80 per cent of the
cases); hearts badly supplied with
blood or with muscle actually dam.
aged or destroyed because of harden-
ing of their arteries: hearts dam.
aged by syphilis (fortunately he.
coming rarer): hearts exhausted by
many vears of thyroid poisoning
(also a thing of the past in advanced
posts of civilization): and many,
many lesser (that is. rarer or rela-
tively unimportant) causes (such as
anemia) of abnormal conditions of
the heart.
A few details about the most im-
portant kinds of heart disease are
appropriately added herve. There are
the defects in the heart and large
{Continued on p. 17.)
Moderate exercise will not injure the heart. In fact it is very essential for the inside worker.
Tue
Oriental WatcuMAN, September 1951
13