

Implant Cures High Blood Pressure - kkleiner
http://singularityhub.com/2009/06/09/implant-cures-high-blood-pressure/

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rarrrrrr
I (optimistically) imagine an alternative where society collectively realizes
that hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and other trendy western "diseases"
are largely preventable through diet and lifestyle.

However, I agree with TrevorJ that it's more likely we'll bankrupt ourselves
paying for sick-care instead. There's unfortunately not much money involved in
prevention.

Personally I find zapping my organs with electricity inferior to choosing
better food. :)

In the case of hypertension, some of the obvious actions are: Cut out
processed foods with high sodium. Get plenty of heart healthy Omega3/6/9 oils
(promotes blood vessel elasticity). Reduce caffeine and stop smoking (causes
blood vessel constriction and hardening.) Drink plenty of hibiscus tea.
Exercise and get to a reasonable body mass.

~~~
ComputerGuru
I'm 20 and have hereditary hypertension. I've never smoked and I'm a health
160 lbs at 6ft... yet I've clocked in at 180/110 and doctors aren't sure
what's causing it.

Regular coffee drinkers don't experience any blood pressure fluctuations due
to caffeine intake (<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2488117.stm>)

Thank god for treatments, because prevention isn't always possible.... and
it's not always the person's fault that they're experiencing these issues.

~~~
absconditus
I don't believe rarrrrrr is advocating ending medical research.

Most people with hypertension are not in the situation that you are. Diet and
lifestyle changes are effective cures for many people, but they don't come in
pill form.

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TrevorJ
It is hard to escape the feeling that in 80 years the average 20 year old will
consist of four parts frail, flabby skin and bone with three parts metal, wire
and battery holding the whole cobbled mess together till the next (computer)
virus takes out some vital system and lands the whole Frankensteinien creation
in the Geek-squad staffed wing of the local hospital.

~~~
berntb
Sigh. Already, there is quite advanced work on controlling stem cells (Google
for e.g. growing human organs).

Medicines to recreate the effects of exercise and good eating will certainly
be done inside a decade or two. (-: Needed, since human laziness is harder to
change. :-)

In less than 20-30 years, young people can probably be much healthier than
today. (What happens after that, neither you nor I can even begin to guess.)

EDIT: Please note my point above that medicines will be able to emulate
exercise... It is sad, but obviously needed. (Also, I don't really see why a
20 year old coach potato would be that much worse in the future than now.)

~~~
TrevorJ
In response to both the preceding comments. My point is that technology is
useful when we've reached the limits of what the human body can withstand from
aging, disease or genetic problems, but that it's never a good idea to use it
to take you places you should be able to get to through good habits and taking
care of your body.

What I'm afraid of is that people will just rely on it instead of staying in
good shape. "Oh well, I don't need to watch what I eat cause I can get this
implant that will fix my blood pressure problem." It's situations like this
where I think technology is rarely as good as the biological, natural
solution. In contrast indeed, it's clunky and cobbled together.

~~~
asciilifeform
> it's clunky and cobbled together

You mean, just like the natural human body? Visit a nursing home.

~~~
TrevorJ
As clunky as we may be biologically, our technology rarely if ever approaches
being as good as the biological equivalent that it seeks to improve on. Not
saying it never will, just saying it hasn't yet. Even when we think we've
beaten the system we usually end up paying for it in spades with some trouble
that pops up someplace else. Things that work WITH our biology tend to be more
elegant. (Laser eye surgery vs. chunky bits of optical glass in frames perched
on our noses for instance).

~~~
berntb
>>our technology rarely if ever approaches being as good as the biological
equivalent that it seeks to improve on

Well, in just a few decades airplanes will be faster than birds... :-)

Integration tech/biology is a problem still, for a while.

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tlrobinson
But isn't high blood pressure sometimes just a symptom of other problems?

