Caveman Days, Strokes & Heart Attacks

You often hear me writing about most people being asleep most of the time in their survival based, dysfunctional ego mind. I talk about the dysfunctional ego mind ancestrally linking us back to our forefathers 1 million years ago to The Plains of Serengeti. The survival based, dysfunctional ego mind may have been very functional back then with it’s thoughts of;

– What can I eat?
– What wild animal is going to try to eat me?

In today’s world, with our primal needs met, the dysfunctional survival based ego mind is still on about; What is in it for me! What about me? I am safe? Am I approved of? Am I in control? Am I worthy? Am I recognized.

If you allow yourself to be asleep and allow the survival based dysfunctional ego mind to ask these questions of course you are not approved, in control, safe or worthy.

What is worse, as John Kehoe coined the fraise “thoughts are real forces” in his book Mind Powers –

If you or rather your survival based dysfunctional ego mind has to ask these questions it will be right looking for what is wrong and attract the evidence to be right at the same time.

I was reading an article in the Sunday, December 11th edition of The Province and there is an article in it on Strokes & Heart Attacks.

The following excerpt caught my attention.

Ezekiel speculated that in “caveman days” the heightened morning pressure may have allowed prehistoric people to go out and hunt more effectively for their first meal of the day.

Here is the whole article.

It kind of makes you think about who is running your day.

Greater risk of strokes and heart attacks in the morning

BY DON HARRISON HEALTH REPORTER

If you think you might be having a heart attack or stroke when you get up in the morning, call 911.

Half of all strokes and 40 per cent of heart attacks happen between 6 a.m. and noon. There’s no difference in morning-incidence rates by gender or by ethnic group; everybody with high blood pressure is at risk, says expert Dr. Daniel Ezekiel, a Vancouver family physician and University of B.C. instructor.

Each year, 90,000 Canadians die from cardiovascular disease or strokes, but a recent study found two-thirds of those at-risk because of high blood pressure were unaware of the additional morning danger.

“Probably the reason is the [autonomic] morning blood pressure surge,” says Ezekiel. “Your blood pressure starts to rise even before you wake up, until about noon, when it comes down to normal levels.”

Ezekiel speculated that in “caveman days” the heightened morning pressure may have allowed prehistoric people to go out and hunt more effectively for their first meal of the day.

Today, says the former physician for the Vancouver Grizzlies, morning routines contain less violent stresses, but modern-day life can be just as deadly.

“I wouldn’t take salt in the morning [because it makes blood pressure rise],” he said. “I wouldn’t smoke in the morning. Reduce stress if possible: Don’t eat on the run and be organized. E-mail probably raises our blood pressure, as well.”

Because he thinks that too many people are overly medicated, Ezekiel doesn’t believe in the theory that a pill a day keeps the blood-pressure doctor away.

“I always try conservative approaches first,” adds the former cruise-ship physician. “I never put [high blood pressure] patients on pills right away.” There is some good news.

Ezekiel says younger people are better at getting the message about the need to keep blood pressure at the magic 140 reading or lower, and 130 or lower for those with diabetes.

donharrison@png.canwest.com