Knees, statins, blood pressure
It makes sense to think about developing a strategy for staying healthy, for staying alive while maintaining a good quality of life. In my case, 50+ years of hill-walking and jogging has just about destroyed my knees, so a new approach was indicated, something that would allow a good cardiovascular workout without undue strain on the joints.
‘Cycling, thats the answer’ my son-in-law said. “Get a road bike and some spandex shorts and get out there pedalling, you’ll get fit and have lots of fun ‘. This was all the excuse I needed, I bought myself a new road bike and started some secret cycle trips around the back roads near where we live, keeping out of the traffic and avoiding very steep hills so that I wouldn’t be embarrassed by having to get off and walk!
I soon discovered the pleasure of cycling on a modern lightweight bike, something that had passed me by in earlier life (a Raleigh three-speed doesn’t have quite the same fun quotient) and something that has become quite addictive. With time to think about it, I bought one or two books on cycle training (The Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael is the best) and tried to get some science into my training runs.
As training levels increased , I began to think about just how much exercise is suitable and/or appropriate for an elderly man in his late sixties, how to measure progress and how to read warning signs about overdoing things.
Attitudes towards exercise and the elderly have undergone something of a sea change, but quality information about optimum exercise levels for the elderly is both hard to find and is something that changes quite rapidly as scientific knowledge increases.
Nowadays, the advice is that cardiovascular exercise has long-term physical benefits that can help protect against the onset of dementia by maintaining a healthy blood flow to the brain. It is claimed that regular vigorous exercise can restore strength levels and can even reverse the effects of aging of the muscle fibres!
It’s a favourite topic in Saga Magazine – demographics and the need to keep elderly people in employment have focused on this area, with the introduction of initiatives designed to bring about major improvement in coronary heart disease statistics, particularly in the areas of cholesterol, strokes, and high blood pressure.
A key therapy in these vital areas concerns the use of drugs called statins, described as enzyme inhibitors that reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver. My guess is that the medicos have gone a bit gaga over the benefits of these low cost ‘wonder drugs’, and while the following list shows some of the pros and cons, you really have to determine the risk/benefit analysis for yourself
- Statins reduce incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease, strokes and heart problems
- Statins – the case for taking them
- Statins – the case against
- Statins – usage merely substitutes one cause of death for another
- Statins – don’t eat grapefruit when taking this drug
Blood pressure seems to be a key element in monitoring how we’re doing, it’s certainly one of the very first things that the Doctor measures when/if we make a visit to the surgery.
Blood pressure is quoted as two numbers, one above the other. The first number Systolic Pressure is the pressure produced when the heart contracts, the second number Diastolic Pressure is the blood pressure when the heart is relaxed. Ask your Doctor or Practice Nurse to tell you your blood pressure numbers, then check what the numbers mean by comparing them against this chart.
Blood pressure is usually shown as millimetres of mercury equivalent (mmg), for the engineers amongst us, this equates to 0.019337 pounds/square inch. Since a ‘normal’ BP is usually in the range 120/80 this means that 2 p.s.i. is good, but 3 p.s.i. is bad!
So there it is, you can save your knees, save (hopefully!) your wits and maybe rejuvenate your muscles by getting more cardiovascular type exercise. My experience is that it will make you more cheerful too, it’s hard to sweat and worry at the same time!