On Aug 18, 11:05 am, "Eigenvector" wrote:
"Val" wrote in message

...





"rachael simpson" wrote in message
...
Just a head's up for anyone interested....

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Deer hunting could be a dangerous endeavor
for men with heart disease or risk factors for it, research findings
suggest.
~snipped~
SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, July 15, 2007.

There's about a dozen major triggers for heart attacks established by
Harvard Medical School*. I figure this particular "in depth scientific
study" was done by somebody who wanted to write off a free hunting trip
all in the name of research. Having lived and hunted (deer, elk, bear,
moose, cougar) in prime Montana/Idaho mountain country; these "twenty five
subjects" sound like the big city desk jockies I saw who showed up in the
fall to pay out a few grand for a week's worth of guided Daniel Boone
fantasies to mount a dead animal on their wall to serve no other purpose
than bragging rights.

I can't see deer hunting being a particularly strenuous an activity. You
have to haul the gear into the bush, but that's not all that much really -
depends on the REAL reason for hunting. Some people take it more like a
vacation, others see it as a day trip, others a need to get food to sustain
themselves and their family. A guy hunting out of need isn't going to pack
100 lbs of gear and 2 half-racks of beer. Once you bag one you have to haul
it back out - but deer's don't weigh that much and its not tough to rig up a
travois or skid pan to aid you.

Now Elk hunting can get strenuous - just pulling it out.



*from HARVARD HEALTH PUBLICATIONS
Harvard Medical School

Waking from sleep. Long before you wake up, your body prepares for a new
day by trickling stress hormones into the bloodstream. They signal small
blood vessels to constrict, make your heart beat faster, and begin
boosting your blood pressure from its sleep-time low. This activity
ensures adequate blood flow through your blood vessels by the time you are
ready to get out of bed. It's no coincidence that cardiovascular problems
peak between 6 a.m. and noon. The slight dehydration that occurs during
sleep may contribute to this early morning peak, as may the overnight fade
in protection from blood pressure drugs and other heart medicines.

Heavy physical exertion. Shoveling snow, lifting heavy objects, running,
and other types of strenuous physical activity can trigger heart attacks,
strokes, and cardiac arrests. Don't take this as a reason to stop
exercising. In fact, the opposite is true - exertion is much less likely
to cause trouble in people who exercise regularly than in those who don't.

Anger. A furious argument or gut-churning anger can provoke a heart
attack, stroke, or cardiac arrest. In two large studies, a bout of anger
increased the chances of having a heart attack between ninefold and
14-fold over a two-hour period following the anger-provoking event. A
study presented at last year's American Heart Association meeting showed
that anger often preceded shocks from implanted
cardioverter-defibrillators, pacemaker-like devices used to halt
potentially deadly, fast or chaotic heart rhythms.

Natural disasters and war. Heart attacks and cardiac arrests spiked
abruptly on the day of the early-morning earthquake in Northridge, Calif.,
in 1994. Israeli researchers saw spikes in heart attacks during the first
week of Iraqi missile attacks in 1991, while New Jersey researchers found
a 49% increase in heart attacks within a 50-mile radius of the World Trade
Center immediately after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Weather. Severe heat waves, such as the ones that struck Europe in 2003 or
the Midwest in 1995, increase heart-related deaths. Cold weather triggers
cardiovascular problems, too - in the United States, deaths from heart
disease peak in December and January.

Air pollution. Breathing air full of tiny particles from car, bus, and
truck tailpipes and fuel-burning factories or electricity generators is a
trigger for heart attack and stroke.

Infections. Pneumonia, the flu, and upper respiratory infections are
potent triggers for stroke and heart attack. Urinary tract infections have
also been linked to strokes.

Sexual activity. Sexual activity briefly raises heart attack risk. Sex
with a new partner in an unfamiliar setting increases the risk more than
sex with a familiar partner in a familiar setting.

Overeating. A heavy meal, especially one that is chock-full of saturated
fat or carbohydrates, can raise the risk of having a heart attack by
temporarily making blood more likely to clot, interfering with blood
vessels' ability to relax and contract, or increasing the heart rate and
release of stress hormones.

Other triggers. These include grief, lack of sleep, mental and
work-related stress, the use of cocaine and other "recreational" drugs,
holidays, and sporting events (like the World Cup) if your team loses.

BTW, there have been many studies done that show that avid gardeners are
healthier, both physically. emotionally and mentally than their non
gardening counterparts. I take this to mean us gardening folk will live
long and not be crazy, eccentric and a little quirky perhaps, but seldom
certifiable.

Val

I usually get a young, dry doe around three or four hundred yards from
the house. Then I come back, get the tractor and bring her back in
the loader.
As a young man in WY,CO, ID,WA, and MT, I used to run all over hell to
get the winter's ration of deer, elk, and (best of all) antelope.
Don't do that anymore.

cheers

oz, who always observed the prime directive in elk hunting: NEVER HUNT
DOWNHILL