CAD/Heart Disease risk

[Chris73]

Hello, im a 32 year old male, 6'3 265lbs (overweight), I used to weigh only 180 pounds in my early 20's. My grandpa died of a heart attack when he was 56 year old. I admit i have an anxiety disorder and take klonopin .5mg per night for a year. I recently wore a 48hr holiter monitor for pvcs, some of them will multiple in a row. The doctor said i had over 200 in 48hr. I had an echocardigram and it was normal, earlier in the year i also had a stress test because of chest pain, it was also negative. MY pvcs have almost stopped, however i heard about a 34 year old man that died of a heart attack that started after a stressfull event.

What are my chances of having a heart attack like this young man did, I worry that stress and anxiety is harming my heart and that is why pvcs started then stopped, it was like it was trying to tell me something.

I recently had blood tests and my glucose was 90, my ldl was 110 and my HDL was 35 and tri was i think 190. My blood pressure is around 110/70 and my resting pulse at night is 55-65.

What is my heart attack/heart disease risk factors???? I worry about my HDL and tricryles, and i worry about dieing young because i hear all these stories.. the heart information is so scary. Thank You

Chris

[Cleveland Clinic]

Chris,

Overall your risk of a harc endpoint from coronary disease such as MI or death is very low. Assuming your not crazy enough to smoke given your worry over all of this, it probably is less than 1% over the next 10 years.  This makes some assumptions.

However, given your weight and a family history it is important that you act now. Channel this anxiety of yours into a healthy lifestyle. It is the single most important thing you can do to reduce your long term risk of health problems.  Work with your physician to develop a healthy diet and weight loss program.

good luck

[tickertock]

Every cardiologist I ever saw the first question they asked me was my family history of CAD, not one in my immediate has an history, most lived to late 80s mid 90s on bothsides, the second question was Do you smoke? Thank goodness I never did have that habit as that seems to be the most detrimental thing in developing CAD and double if you have a family history.

The one thing I understand is very important if you have a family history of CAD is to take preventative steps very early in life, don't smoke , eat right and exercise and have check ups regularly as genetics as I understand it is still probably most predictive factor in who is most likely to develop CAD, of course even without a family history there will always be the occasional surprise and unlucky one.

[Healthyself2]

Yes, you certainly can have a heart attack in your thirties and many people do.  Some, like myself, tough it out, spend a few days in bed, and are never hospitalized for it.

I would say your 2 factors of concern are your low HDL and being overweight.

Because your ratio is still ok, I wouldn't worry too much, and it's probably not necessary to take drugs, but you should try to reduce both risk factors.

You can increase HDL with exercise.  I would suggest long duration, moderately aerobic exercise like walking up and down hills or swimming.  This will also help with the weight problem.

I walk 1 1/2 in a wooded park before work and at noon.  It helps with a lot of things including anxiety, stress, and attitude also.

Good Luck

[RowerLarry]

I had NO factors, except genetics.
I'm 53, and just had triple bypass surgery. Only an angiogram after multiple bouts of severe chest pain revealed the extent of my problem.  They did my surgery the next MORNING, 7:00 AM.

For clarity, ask the risks of an angiogram.  CAD clogs arteries. Only an angiogram can actually show if they are clear or not.