The Rural Voice, 1979-09, Page 9Opinionated
Heart Disease and the farmer
BY ADRIAN VOS
When a farmer talks with a non -farmer about heart disease,
almost invariably he hears his companion say: "Well, that is one
thing a farmer doesn't have to be too much concerned about. All
the exercise you get, and all this fresh air you breathe will keep
you guys healthy."
Then, suddenly, a neighbour gets a heart attack and the
farmer is not so sure anymore, after all, the neighbour had the
same exercise and the same fresh air that he himself got.
When the farmer starts to think about it, he realizes too that he
actually doesn't get all that much exercise.
It used to be that a farmer walked all day behind the plow or
other farm implement, while the horse did the pulling. But with
the advent of the tractor, the farmer sits all day long. In addition,
he inhales the occasional whiff of carbon dioxide from the
exhaust. Both the lack of exercise and the inhaling of carbon
dioxide are considered contributary causes of cardio vascular
disease (CVD).
Consider the barn work. The dairy farmer used to do his
milking by pail. Even after the advent of the milking machine the
farmer still had to carry the pails of milk to the cans and the cans
to the cooler and from the cooler to the roadside.
Today the milk is piped straight from the cow to the cooler
where the trucker pumps it out. No more exercise except
washing the cow's udder.
We could go on with examples, but the fact is clear that
today's farmer is doing little sustained exercise. No more than
his city cousin in his office and possibly less than the tradesman
who may have to climb ladders all day in the building trade or in
painting a house.
Since John Kennedy did his appeal to the office workers of
America to begin jogging, many have settled into a routine of
exercise. Gyms have sprung up for the public and companies
have build special gyms for their personnel.lt is suspected that
the average sedentary worker is more fit today than the average
farmer.
Look at today's farmer. He is 25 years old and his belly is
protruding over his belt.
Look at them. They are 25 years old and too tired to walk half a
mile. They need a car.
Just look at them and compare them with the many slim city
people who do their exercises.
That doesn't necessarily mean that exercise will prevent heart
attacks. After all, medical men will tell you that the cause of
heart attack is still not known. But they will also tell you that
there are some things that can be done to limit the chance of
getting the disease .
Heart attacks are often accompanied by such symptoms as:
A. High blood pressure. All the various heart associatons are
agreed that everyone should have their blood pressure checked
at least once a year. It can easily be kept in check with
medication.
B. Obesity. This can be kept in check by self discipline, unless
it is caused by a disorder such as diabetes or other glandular
malfunction. A doctor shows be consulted to prescribe
medication for the disorders or a diet and exercise if there is no
sign of aiscase.
C. High blood cholesterol. ,Ctrs is a highly controversial issue.
According to many researchers of world reknown, such as Dr.
Michael deBakey, Dr. Raymond Reiser and Dr. George Mann
and many more, high blood cholesterol can't be controlled by
dieting. They recommend a simple medication program that is
much more effective. Other doctors won't give up their old ideas
and recommend a lower intake of animal fats. More new evidence
supports the former view. We will come back to that.
D. Lack of oxygen in the heart muscle. Dr. Kavanagh of
Toronto gives recovering heart victims strenouous exercises. He
even had them go for 40 km in the Boston Marathon with good
results. The exercise makes the blood circulate faster through
the lungs, thereby giving more oxygen to the muscles, including
the heart muscles.
the world famous neurologist
E. Stress. Dr. Wilder Penfield,
from Montreal, thought that stress was a major cause of heart
disease. With the high investment that farmers have today in
their farms, it is little wonder that a change in government
policies here and abroad, a change in the weather or in the
market, can have a profound effect on their concern about that
investment. A farmer is much more likely to develop stress than
his city friend with a nine to five job. It is sometimes called
" managers • disease."
High blood pressure is so dangerous because the victim may
not know that he has it. There are no symptoms. The only way to
find out is an annual check-up.
A person who doesn't know how heavy is too heavy, can find
charts in the doctor's office on the ideal weight of a man or a
woman. It may vary somewhat with the bone structure.
A rule of thumb for a man is that the number of centimeters of
his length minus one hundred is the number of kilograms he
should not exceed. (One inch is 2'h cm).
Studies have shown that high blood cholesterol per se, does
not cause clogging of the arteries. It needs a precondition. After
all, the body itself produces the stuff. People with low blood
cholesterol occasionally suffer also from a blockage of the
arteries and a heart infarction .
New studies by Dr. Kilmer McCully, of the Harvard Medical
School, indicate that only when the walls of the arteries are
damaged by a lack of vitamin B6, the cholesterol components are
able to attach themselves to the walls and block the flow of blood
to the heart. A balanced diet with a good supply of fresh
vegetables appears to be very important. Fresh vegetables are
loaded with Vitamin B6.
Exercise doesn't necessarily have to be jogging. It can even be
damaging to some aged feet and knees. Dr. Alan Levy, a noted
American sports physician, says that a brisk three-mile walk is
just as good as a three mile jog.
Getting the needed oxygen to the heart is sometimes impeded
by simply sitting on the running tractor and inhaling small
amounts of exhaust fumes. Just as by smoking, when carbon
dioxide replaces oxygen, it prevents oxygen from getting to the
lungs and muscles.
What to do about stress is different for each individual. It is so
easy to say: "Put your worries away. It doesn't solve your
problems anyway." But for a tense individual it will take a
special effort. It may be that the dream of that big farm is just too
much, and a more satisfying and longer life can be had by
desiring a bit less.
How many farmers have foregone a much needed holiday
because they were too concerned about their investment? Or
because they couldn't forget that huge operating loan for a
oouple of weeks?
It is becoming more and more evident that the farmer has been
too complacent about his supposedly healthy life far too long. His
life could well be, on the average, less healthy than that of his
urban neighbour.
Unless he changes his thinking and does as his city cousins do
in exercising, thereby strengthening his muscles and inhaling
fresh air at the same time, has his blood pressure checked, eats
more fresh instead of canned vegetables, he will be more and
more likely to have a heart attack.
THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1979 PG. 7