“Giraffes have sky-high blood pressure because of their sky-high heads that, in adults, rise about six meters above the ground — a long, long way for a heart to pump blood against gravity. To have a blood pressure of 110/70 at the brain — about normal for a large mammal — giraffes need a blood pressure at the heart of about 220/180. It doesn’t faze the giraffes, but a pressure like that would cause all sorts of problems for people, from heart failure to kidney failure to swollen ankles and legs.” What can we learn from the cardiovascular secrets of giraffes? (It’s all about exercise and diet, which is why I now roam the open plains and woodlands in the savannas of Africa and eat about 45kg of twigs and leaves a day. I’ve just got to stop dipping them in ranch.)