5 ms·

Implant Cures High Blood Pressure

22 points by kkleiner 17y ago

TrevorJ 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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 17y ago
    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 17y ago
      > it's clunky and cobbled together You mean, just like the natural human body? Visit a nursing home.
      - TrevorJ 17y ago
        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 17y ago
        >>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.
- dmix 17y ago
  Nano technology will make body implants much less cruder then your description.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
rarrrrrr 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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 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.
  - berntb 17y ago
    Stress can make a big difference for blood pressure. Trust me (and many others) on that. I had problems with burning out when I was young. I realized (after too many years) that I wasn't sensitive to stress -- I just couldn't relax during periods when I worked hard, so I was stressed all the time. Not good. Meditation exercises helped me. Yoga could probably work, too. Disclaimer: You might, of course, have a medical condition. Edit: Some grammar, hopefully clearer.
  - absconditus 17y ago
    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.
tlrobinson 17y ago
But isn't high blood pressure sometimes just a symptom of other problems?

22 points by kkleiner 17y ago

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 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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 17y ago
    > it's clunky and cobbled together You mean, just like the natural human body? Visit a nursing home.
    - TrevorJ 17y ago
      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 17y ago
        >>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.
dmix 17y ago
Nano technology will make body implants much less cruder then your description.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

rarrrrrr 17y ago

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 17y ago
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 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.
- berntb 17y ago
  Stress can make a big difference for blood pressure. Trust me (and many others) on that. I had problems with burning out when I was young. I realized (after too many years) that I wasn't sensitive to stress -- I just couldn't relax during periods when I worked hard, so I was stressed all the time. Not good. Meditation exercises helped me. Yoga could probably work, too. Disclaimer: You might, of course, have a medical condition. Edit: Some grammar, hopefully clearer.
- absconditus 17y ago
  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.

tlrobinson 17y ago

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