Heart disease prevention

[50goingon25]

I'm a 50 year old male with a family history of heart disease and stroke and am trying to prevent it if possible. I exercise daily and maintain a healthy diet. Will this be good enough in the long run? I tend to worry about it too much because of the problems my parents had but I think my numbers are good.  BP runs about 115/65 on average and my total cholesterol is about 100, HDL 45. My glucose is about 85 so hopefully this will keep me out of trouble. I don't take any medications nor do I want to.

[skydnsr]

If you are seeing major improvements in your numbers, then there's your answer -- or at least as much of an answer as you are going to get.  If you've improved your numbers, then it's reasonable to assume you are improving your health, and how can that be a bad thing.  

Agree with ed34 that, from what I am reading, fat in the diet may not be as big a bugaboo as has been thought for many years.  There does seem to be a growing realization in the scientific and medical community that sugar, refined flour, and processed foods in general are dangerous to health.  The latter kind of diet tends to keep insulin and triglyceride levels continuously high, which in turn leads to all kinds of other problems.  

[ed34]

Yes I find it hard to swallow that it's genetic. I can't imagine with the way it is globally on the increase, that so many genes are becoming defective. It is also odd how Japan used to be a main protein diet nation, then after hearing scares of fat related heart disease, they switched to carbs. They are now seeing heart disease increasing. I just don't understand what's taking so long in finding the cause. Perhaps they spent too many years looking at fat.

[50goingon25]

Thank you for your comments. I have been doing quite a bit of reading and research on the subject of heart disease and some of my latest readings indicate that heart disease in many cases is a food borne illness caused largely by the western diet. In some cases it can be congenital but by in large it can be prevented and reversed. My doctor has not diagnosed me with any congenital heart disease or defects do my main goal is to prevent atherosclerosis through my diet and lifestyle and after a 10 month trial experiment I have seen major improvements in my numbers.

[shirish315]

I have gone through the analysis. It is excellent.

[skydnsr]

You're being very proactive in taking care of yourself, and you are to be commended.  That's all any of us can do.  Unfortunately, there is no way to know if this will be "good enough in the long run."  All of us are heading for the same final outcome, sooner or later.  I'm sorry, but it's a fact.  We just don't know exactly how or when.  We do our best to to postpone it as long as possible and to live as good a quality of life as we can in the meantime.  Some types of heart disease are highly genetic, and lifestyle is a relatively unimportant contributor.  Or maybe your parents lived the exact type of lifestyle that led to their heart disease (no offense intended).  If your parents' problems seem to have been lifestyle-determined, and you have chosen a different lifestyle, then maybe you are home free.  And even if your parents' heart issues were genetic, you still may have lucked out and not gotten those same genes.  You can have a discussion with your primary care physician and see if he or she has anything to add to what you are doing to take care of your health.  Otherwise, be happy and peaceful, and enjoy your life.  Don't mess up your pleasure in living by worrying about things that you can't control.  Take care of the things that you can control, and let the rest go.  Good luck.