Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Over the years I've known men in their 50's and even in their 40's. Some were overweight and inactive, others ate right and exercised regularly.
There was one guy I worked with who apparently woke up to his alarm clock going off as he did every Monday morning, reached over to shut it off, stood up, took one step and without warning dropped dead.
Another guy would regularly jog with his new lady friend. They seemed so happy and right for each other. One day they went out for their daily jog and when they returned home, he dropped dead. Here one minute, gone the next.
I've heard about more situations like this throughout the years. I don't think it's a new thing. We just hear about more of them now due to social media.
Nothing surprising here. What’s in fact surprising is the contrary: why do so many middle-aged men, in relatively poor health, nevertheless reach their 80s or even 90s?
Our standards have evolved. When Mozart died at 35, everyone agreed that that was too young. When Beethoven died at 57, that was more or less normal. The biblical age is 70. Why are we so insistent on longevity? It just makes it harder to afford retirement.
Is there a question here? This is not really news. Men have been dying of heart attacks in their 50s since time began, and of widow-makers. Every male on my father's side of the family was dead in his early 50s of that, except my father, who maintained a healthy weight, stayed active, and controlled his blood pressure. He lived to 78.
What is underrecognized is that women die of the same stuff, but our symptoms are different and all too often we're sent home by physicians who think we have a stomach flu or that it's an anxiety attack and "all in your head."
I'm 56 and have a narrowing in the same artery that causes widow-makers, only mine is at the midpoint of the LAD, not the top. If it closes up, only the bottom half of my heart would not get oxygen. Fortunately, we caught it in time, before I needed a stent (when it gets to 70%, it's stent time). I started taking a statin and my cardiologist tells me I'll live to 95 now. Which I kind of don't want to, because I live in the United States and just no with our lousy health care system and the way we treat old people here, but that's another story for another day.
Curious--if one eats a heart-healthy diet and exercises and is at a healthy weight, can they still get a widow- maker heart attack if genetically disposed to heart disease?
Guess my main question is if a person can become almost bullet-proof to heart disease through lifestyle?
Yes. See my post above. I'm a vegetarian, very active, normal weight, etc. But my ticker comes from my father's side of the family. If you have a family history, ask your primary care physician if you need a heart scan. That's how we found my narrowing. She brought it up, herself. Just said, "Yeah, people on your father's side die before they're 57 and you're 56? Here's your referral to a cardiologist. Get scanned."
Sure hope you're eating a heart-healthy diet, exercising, not smoking-- and seeing your Doc on a regular basis??
Oh boy where to start - Psoriatic arthritis, TYpe 2 diabetic, COPD, High Blood Pressure, High cholesterol, AVNRT, Bad knees, hands dont work great due to arthritis, overweight, I can go on.............all my fault! Got lazy, fat, smoked too much, and just in general abused myself to get this way.
Stopped smoking 2 years ago, been on diet for the last 2 years, dropped 25 pounds, but I cant exercize due to joint pain and bad knees, and going to the doc Monday for check up. Getting better, except for my pain...
Oh I forgot, two knee surgeries, carpal tunnel surgery, and may have back surgery in a couple of months.
Oh boy where to start - Psoriatic arthritis, TYpe 2 diabetic, COPD, High Blood Pressure, High cholesterol, AVNRT, Bad knees, hands dont work great due to arthritis, overweight, I can go on.............all my fault!
Blame your parents, not yourself....Of the five problems you list, only the COPD is your fault (and even that has a genetic component to it.
BTW- psoriatic arthrits is basically Rheumatoid Arthritis with a skin component (or is RA basically Psoriatic Arthritis without the skin component?)...Both are associated with a high risk of early arteriosclerosis. Even many docs tend to forget that...With five risk factors for CAD, you deserve a stress test now, before you develop symptoms.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
