Heart Disease

[Sofea]

Can you have heart disease without high blood pressure

[ed34]

Some people have heart attacks who have high blood pressure, some have normal, some have low. Some have low cholesterol, some average and some high. Some smoke, some don't. Some drink lots of alcohol, some don't. Some eat healthily, some don't. There is no text book answer for those who will get heart disease and who will not. That's why there are many people still misdiagnosed and why so many people still die from heart attack. If there was such a simple answer as high blood pressure, we could save everyone.
Perhaps your Doctor friend would like to join us and have a discussion?

[ed34]

"After all that has been said I can also just confirm:  familial cholestorol is the primary reason for CAD's (coronary artery disease) and other heart related problems"

I'm not sure it is the 'primary' reason? The view I hold is that the primary reason has to be damage to the artery lining, through whatever reason (too much stress, hbp, genetics, bad diet etc). If the artery lining is undamaged and is perfectly smooth, cholesterol couldn't become trapped to start the disease. If our immune response was a bit more intelligent, we wouldn't have this problem.

[vienna13]

"My BP is perfect due to diet exercise and not drinking soft drinks and OR alcohol! "

:))Believe what you want.

[Sofea]

Your post makes more sense, if your Parents suffer from Heart Disease that young in life, then thats Genetics! Especially since your tests proved to be genetic. Regardless of what anyone says your diet CAN cause your health to deteriorate leading to high blood pressure/diabetes.  Diabetes wrecks havoc on your kidneys, lungs and heart, I know my father was a Diabetic, in turn he had heart disease. Smoking can cause heart disease too. I am sure Smoking didnt help your Mothers conditions Diabetes and CAD. if anything it makes everything worse.
Good luck to you!

[Sofea]

My BP is perfect due to diet exercise and not drinking soft drinks and OR alcohol! Being a NON SMOKING as all my Family I'm sure helps~

[Sofea]

No misunderstanding at all, it just goes to show you NOT ALL doctors/people  agree, he is a family friend, a well known Cardiologist! I didnt post this for an argument, goodness, lol. You can beleive what you choose, he did state this to me. My husband and I were speaking to him about heart disease and HBP, we were never speaking of LOW blood pressure as someone brought up. Both of my Parents had HBP my Mother did in her 40's I am also 50 with perfect BP/Diet and exercise. My Mother never exercised ih her life. She passed away recently after living with HBP half of her life. She was 84. She had a heart attack at this age and this age only. My Father passed away due to the COMPLICATIONS of Diabetes. That terrible disease ruins all vital organs, which we all know.... My Fathers HBP was from Diabetes and probably drinking too much while younger, he finally quit when he was 55. Also a known fact Alcohol turns to Sugar in the body. He lived to be 83. My only reason for this post is, both parents had HBP at my age. I am free of it, eat healthy, work out, like everyone should. So far so good. My husbands Father had quadruple bypass surgery at the  age of 68 my Husband is and has always been a wonderful athlete, both of his parents have and have had HBP my husband like me has normal BP.  We have NO signs of heart disease, neither of us eat fried foods red meat, trans fats. We haven't touched a soft drink in years both of our fathers loved soft drinks. There IS a tie between Diet/Lifestyle/ Exercise, We ARE living proof. Other Family members on BOTH sides have BP,but we fortunately do not at this time thank God!

[Smiley2000]

After all that has been said I can also just confirm:  familial cholestorol is the primary reason for CAD's (coronary artery disease) and other heart related problems.  My mum has CAD since her early 30's and Ischemic heart disease she is diabetic and she has Porphyria but she smoked all her life (quit 10 yrs ago, but the damage was already done), she is obese and unhealthy diet.

We are 3 kids and we were tested and I was 5yrs old when it was confirmed that I have familial hypercholestorol on both my mum and dad's side of the family.

So I made the decision when I was young to not follow in her footsteps and I ended up having heart problems, but it was congenital, but I don't have CAD.  I have been on statins since my early 20's and still go for annual Lipograms and every 5yrs an Angio.  I know my risk factors and I stay ahead of it.

If you have bad genes, there is not much you can do about it, but the best you can do for yourself is to live healthy by exercising, eating heart-healthy diets, to not smoke or use illigal drugs and to check your Cholestorol and have annual check ups, bloodtests done.

[vienna13]

Maybe you misunderstood what your doctor said. Or he is very wrong, I have hard time believing it he said that. Many people have high blood pressure and very good strong heart. My mother had HBP, as high as it was hard to control. Her heart was strong, never had more problem then HBP. Also many people suffering on heart medication from weakness from the pills, they do because they have normal BP or low to start with and the pills will lower the BP, but they need those pills even if they have normal BP. And many people have normal BP: while in heart failure, have cardiomyopathy etc…..
How do I know that? I have been reading here years and had on other boards also for years before I came here.

  Also about diet and healthy lifestyle, I just have to smile.(Not even funny :) I had been doing that since forever. I never had smoke more than few for experience; drink no more than one-one occasional glass of something with food. I was eating the right food, had plenty of regular exercise, and one point I still ended in  severe heart failure , just like other family members, father side  in generations  (some was smoker, some wasn’t.)

[ed34]

Just to add, I do agree totally that if you see traits in family history which could have caused generations of heart disease, such as smoking or bad diet, no exercise, etc, then breaking these will greatly reduce the risk of you ending up the same way.But if it's genetic, then there's little that can be done at the moment other than medication.

[ed34]

Your Doctor is WAY off the mark. There are two classifications to hypertension, primary (essential) and secondary. Primary CAN be through diet, perhaps high salt intake, but the majority are believed to be through genetics. If you ask most Doctors, they will say they have no idea why the majority of their HT patients suffer from it, they can only prescribe meds to try and lower it. The Arterioles seem stiffer than they should be. Genetic traits have been observed through many generations in many families. Secondary hypertension is when a malfunctioning organ is the problem. This could for example be the adrenal gland. It doesn't have to be the heart. I had a completely blocked LAD, and my RCA was blocked half way down. My BP was normal even during both attacks over the years. You could be a stressed person in home or work life, have high blood pressure and a good set of coronary arteries. I just don't understand why any qualified cardiologist would say HT is caused by the heart.

[erijon]

Thanks for your response, but I have to disagree on one point. In cases where family history is involved, changing your lifestyle compared to your family members does not mean you are safe. In cases of familia hypercholestemia, diet and exercise are almost never enough and it is necessary to have some medical intervention. Just eating right and dieting will not assure you of beating your family history.

Also, many people with high BP have healthy hearts. BP is a cause for heart disease, not always a symptom of it.

Jon

[Sofea]

Sorry to hear this! I only ask because a Cardio Dr. I know stated you have to have heart disease to have high blood pressure. He stated raised BP shows something is wrong. Such as being a diabetic, kidney disease etc. In order to have heart disease you have to have a problem. To erjon, most heart attacks do not show with raised BP. I do know Heart Disease can be family history BUT, that is only IF you follow the same terrible diet that your family did. You can stop disease with diet alone. Myself I am fine, no problems I am only asking this question to see how many people really know. I see a lot of people are unaware?? We all know thyroid can wreck havoc on BP too...
Thanks everyone! Good health to you~

[Smiley2000]

I agree with "erijon" that BP is not a good indicator for heart disease.

If you have a family history of heart disease or any risk factors like diabetes, obesity, smoking and poor diet, you should have a fasting Lipogram (Cholestorol) test at least annually and would do no harm to go to a Cardiologist for a check up.

I had a very LOW bloodpressure due to severe mitral valve incompetence, heart failure and poor heart function.  Now, 3 years after my mitral valve repair, my BP is still 90/60 on a good day.  But I have familial high Cholestorol and high risk for coronary artery disease.

[erijon]

Unfortunately, yes. BP is not a good indication of existing heart disease although it is a cause. It is possible to have a normal BP even during a heart attack, everyone reacts differently. Just make sure to do as much as possible to keep yours normal.

Jon

[vienna13]

Yes