Soldiers need to worry about their hearts

Hypertension: More Soldiers die from silent killer than from combat
June 7, 2011

By Patricia Deal
FORT HOOD, Texas, June 7, 2011 -- Many people think that combat is the most life threatening event for Soldiers, when actually more Soldiers may die off the battlefield fighting a common enemy.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Between 70 and 89 percent of sudden cardiac events occur in men, and as part of Men’s Health Awareness Week June 13 through 17, 2011, the medical professionals at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center want to make sure male beneficiaries know the best way to help reduce their risk.

There are several risk factors affecting heart disease. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the leading cause of stroke, according to the American Heart Association.

Hypertension has been labeled "the silent killer" because there are no symptoms. It may remain unnoticed for many years.

A significant number of Soldiers are affected by hypertension, according to the Department of Defense's 2008 Survey of Health Related Behaviors. Approximately 17 percent of Soldiers have reported high blood pressure since they entered the Army.

Another 1.7 percent said they never had the condition checked, and 12.7 percent reported they didn't know or remember what their blood pressure was.
read more here
More Soldiers die from silent killer than from combat

VA NOW ACCEPTING CLAIMS FOR HYPERTENSION

VA begins taking claims related to Agent Orange exposure

By Chris Roberts
El Paso Times



Veterans Affairs has started taking claims for hypertension related to Agent Orange exposure, but it will determine at a later date whether the claims will be honored as being military "service-related," according to service organizations who received notices from VA.

A letter from the Texas Veterans Commission to its county service officers indicates that the claims are expected to be approved.

The claims won't be actively "worked" until the VA makes its decision.

Requests for comment made to local VA agencies were referred to Washington, D.C.

However, after two days, the public affairs office in Washington, D.C., still had no comment.


If the claims are approved, it could mean as much as $300 a month for Bob Snow, a retired soldier who worked as a forward observer directing artillery fire in the Vietnamese jungles.

Snow - who worked with special forces soldiers and Montagnards, a French name for the indigenous people of Vietnam's central highlands - operated in areas sprayed with Agent Orange, a defoliant that knocked down vegetation used as cover by the enemy.
go here for more
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAY08/nf051008-3.htm