Thanks for this important post about cardiac health. I would add, it's wise and recommended for anyone with a family history of parents or grandparents who died of a "heart attack," but you're not sure exactly what the cardiac issue was, to get tested. CT scans also detect aortic aneurysms, which otherwise go undetected and often arefatal. They can be fixed with surgery. I wrote a profile on longtime ultrarunner Monica Ochs who had open-heart surgery to get an aneurysm repaired, and she found out about only because she happened to get a CT scan—something she pushed for. She told me, "The only reason I found it is it was an incidental finding on a CT scan I had. I had high cholesterol genetically, so my doctor wanted to put me on statins, and I said, ‘Let me check my calcium score and see if my arteries are truly being clogged.’ So I went into [the scan] for that and had an incidental finding of an ascending aortic aneurysm.” As for difference between heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest, my understanding is a heart attack involves a blockage, whereas sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction. With a heart attack, you have hours to get help; with sudden cardiac arrest, you have only a few minutes, and it's essential to have access to an AED to treat sudden cardiac arrest. Learn CPR/AED and know where AEDs are located where you live!
Thanks for a good post on an important topic. I'm one of the lifelong aerobic athlete types (decades of competitive running, rowing, cycling, etc.) who tends to accumulate plaques and has a high CAC score. There's speculation that these plaques are harder and more stable (ie less likely to break off and kill you) than a sedentary person with an equivalent CAC score. Nonetheless, I'm on statins now and have made some adjustments to my exercise routine. I can offer a few published studies and an article that might be of interest:
My husband, who is 46 years old, had a 99% blockage in his LAD and survived a heart attack on June 10th this year. The craziest thing is, he has no athlerosclerosis whatsoever. Just a plaque rupture in one spot of one artery, possibly caused by a motorcycle accident a couple years ago. He underwent cardiac catheterization and had a stent placed.
Last week, he began having symptoms of an MI, again. He spent days in the emergency department, nights wondering if this was it. When he walked out of the ICU on Saturday for the second time this year, I wasn’t sure how much more my heart could take.
This time, it was spasms in the cardiac arteries. Likely a direct result of med interactions. We are whole food/plant based vegans, he eats a diet with zero added salt, sugar, or oil. I honestly believe that the changes we made five years ago in this direction saved his life.
Thank you for writing this. We all need a reminder to check in on the status of these big, beautiful hearts: our own, and those of our friends and family.
Thanks for this important post about cardiac health. I would add, it's wise and recommended for anyone with a family history of parents or grandparents who died of a "heart attack," but you're not sure exactly what the cardiac issue was, to get tested. CT scans also detect aortic aneurysms, which otherwise go undetected and often arefatal. They can be fixed with surgery. I wrote a profile on longtime ultrarunner Monica Ochs who had open-heart surgery to get an aneurysm repaired, and she found out about only because she happened to get a CT scan—something she pushed for. She told me, "The only reason I found it is it was an incidental finding on a CT scan I had. I had high cholesterol genetically, so my doctor wanted to put me on statins, and I said, ‘Let me check my calcium score and see if my arteries are truly being clogged.’ So I went into [the scan] for that and had an incidental finding of an ascending aortic aneurysm.” As for difference between heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest, my understanding is a heart attack involves a blockage, whereas sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction. With a heart attack, you have hours to get help; with sudden cardiac arrest, you have only a few minutes, and it's essential to have access to an AED to treat sudden cardiac arrest. Learn CPR/AED and know where AEDs are located where you live!
WOW, and yes. That's crazy.
Thanks for a good post on an important topic. I'm one of the lifelong aerobic athlete types (decades of competitive running, rowing, cycling, etc.) who tends to accumulate plaques and has a high CAC score. There's speculation that these plaques are harder and more stable (ie less likely to break off and kill you) than a sedentary person with an equivalent CAC score. Nonetheless, I'm on statins now and have made some adjustments to my exercise routine. I can offer a few published studies and an article that might be of interest:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7365748/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28450347/
https://peterattiamd.com/exercise-intensity-and-cac/comment-page-1/
My husband, who is 46 years old, had a 99% blockage in his LAD and survived a heart attack on June 10th this year. The craziest thing is, he has no athlerosclerosis whatsoever. Just a plaque rupture in one spot of one artery, possibly caused by a motorcycle accident a couple years ago. He underwent cardiac catheterization and had a stent placed.
Last week, he began having symptoms of an MI, again. He spent days in the emergency department, nights wondering if this was it. When he walked out of the ICU on Saturday for the second time this year, I wasn’t sure how much more my heart could take.
This time, it was spasms in the cardiac arteries. Likely a direct result of med interactions. We are whole food/plant based vegans, he eats a diet with zero added salt, sugar, or oil. I honestly believe that the changes we made five years ago in this direction saved his life.
Thank you for writing this. We all need a reminder to check in on the status of these big, beautiful hearts: our own, and those of our friends and family.