Life Span with Heart Disease???

[Beeohbee]

53yo male , two heart attacks in five years, 3 angios in last 12 mos, total of 8 stents with 6 additional blockages needing stents or surgery in near future.  What might the prognosis be for life span??  Severe breathing issues and mild pain with major fatigue leave me in a very unhappy lifestyle....  How long would an average person survive with similar undetailed symptoms and med history..

[anandbharti]

Go to a website called realage.com. The program on that website will estimate your life expectancy after you answer a series of questions. There are many other programs which also estimate your life expectancy but I found this to be better than others. There is also a program which estimates life for heart failure patients. I am 48 year old male and suffer from diabetes, heart failure, thyroid condition, have had 2 heart attacks so far and had bypass surgery 5 years ago. I work full time but did not pay attention to saving for retirement , thinking I will not survive that long. However , with the continuous medical progress being made , I think i may have normal life expectancy and should start saving for retirement.
Hang in there and Good Luck.

[cmt51597]

Thanks so much for your vote of confidence Flycaster305.  I'm happy to hear your are able to manage your case and it's interesting to hear different feedback about coreg.  I'm not an expert on it by any means so I'm open to any information on it.  And most of us who have been around the block knows, there's no such thing as a silver bullet especially in the form of a drug-- if it was that simple we wouldn't need docs-- it would just be us patients and the drug reps!!  yikes--scary picture-- at least lots of free food and plenty of pens!  So as you say Beeohbee needs to take a multi-pronged approach to his care.  The army does not rely on one single weapon in their arsenal, neither should he in the war with CAD.  

Beeohbee- I can understand the depression.  Man, sometimes just watching CNN is depressing.  You have been and are going through a lot.  You're only human.  But, there are always two sides of the coin and you can choose which side to focus on.  You have a choice in that matter as long as you have your witts and it sounds like you do.  If you are not already, you should ask your doc about meds to help you with your mood like celexa or zoloft.  Zoloft is pretty strong.  When you meet with the doc next week ask about the meds for your mood.  Don't feel ashamed about taking something- there are people with a lot lesser problems taking them and it's a normal prescription for someone in your condition- almost routine.  It's hard to get better when your outlook is doom and gloom.  If it makes you feel any better I have confronted many many men who had a heart attack your age and were around 20 years later, but they all told me that they made major lifestyle changes in their lives.  I think with the coreg, an aggressive  care approach, getting you back on your feet and walking, making the key changes I spoke of and following the drs advice to the T you can move on and live a good life, maybe even recover enough to live a very active life.  You have to be motivated.  You should read Lance Armstrong's book about her fought his cancer and won.  And if you find yourself getting depressed think about all the 19 year old kids fighting in Iraq getting their limbs blown off and then come home to find a system that fails them-- now that IS depressing to them and their family.  These kids have hardly had time to have the freedom to go to a bar and order a beer.  You've had the chance to enjoy 3 decades of that.  

[Flycaster305]

I want to reinforce cmt51597, Coreg is for many people, and many who contribute on this formum, a wonder drug of sorts, but not all people have spectacular results.   I'm older than you but have a short term history much like yours, four angiograms in two years, seven stents, a second heart attack.  My heart function wasn't very good, but four factors have me back in the swing of things: Coreg, exercise, good diet and I'm blessed by wife and family that encourages me.  However, I have no illusions, I have in the words of my doctors very agressive CAD.  I would also encourage you to talk to your doctor about Coreg.  It is now a $4.00 a month pill at Walmart.
Best wishes.

[Beeohbee]

Depression seems to play a major role in my life lately.  Naturally my pride keeps me fighting it but I definitely seem to be losing that battle.  Several friends passed in last 3 weeks of lesser heart problems.  I will meet the dr again this week and see about the next step

[Beeohbee]

Thanks for you frank and informative answer.  Never heard of Coreg but will definitely look into it.  Good for you that you can run a 6min mile.  You are definitely a good person and I appreciate your help.

[cmt51597]

Sorry to hear about your current condition-- but you are still here right, so you must be a fighter.  First you have to look at why you've had 2 heart attacks at your age.  Is it family history of CAD, lifestyle, or some other external factor.  If it is lifesyle (i.e. overweight,smoking, fatty diet, excess stress, lack of exercise, or some combination of these)- you need to work on correcting these so eat a heart healthy diet (suggest mediterranean type diet- low in saturated fats, high in fiber and good kinds of cholesterol- HDLs), get exercise (start out with light walks), lower stress (get medication if needed), and stay away from smoking and alcohol.  

If you are not on it already, you should ask your doctor about getting on Coreg.  This has been shown to extend the life of heart attack patients by helping strengthen the heart's contraction/EF.  But, before this, they may want to put in the stents or perform a CABG (coronary artery bypass graph).  If your condition is corrected, get on the right drugs and are motivated and committed to changing your lifestyle, then you can live for several decades- given you are not afflicted with some other health issue in the near future, like lung cancer where you may only have a year to live. But, if you don't change, you don't listen to your docs, you don't get the necessary procedures done, then I would get my last will and other related paperwork in good order.  In your case, 3 will NOT be a charm!  You can fight this-- it helps to have something to live for (your family/loved ones, life goals, etc.).  See about the Coreg, it can possibly make a big difference for you and your lifestyle.  It also won't hurt you to buy and read a pile of books that are available on living a "heart healthy" lifesyle.  In the future there is also the promise of cultivating stem cells into heart cells and then implanting them in a patient such as you and can possibly replace the heart cells that died in your two previous heart attacks or myocardial infarctions.  That is what happens in a heart attack- heart cells die and they don't come back unless they can regenerate these cells as described.  If you can survive long enough to reap the benefits of these cutting-edge treatments, then who knows how long you can live?
My heart is strong enough to allow me to run a 6 minute mile, but I can get hit by a bus tomorrow and then it's game over.  It's all relative my friend.  Try your best to hang in there, but always be prepared for the worse-- if you have a family-- make sure the proper provisions are in place.  After all- people in the military who are deployed have the same provisions in place (it is a requirement) when they are shipped out and you are probably more at risk in your current state than they are.  Good luck!