Onset date 3 vessel heart disease

  I have 2 cornary arteries 100% closed & 1 80%, as
  well as 1 carotid artery 100% and the other 70%
  closed,I'm 51 years old and thinking of putting in a VA claim for service connected Heart disease.
  My question is ; is there anyway to tell when my conditions began? I did have chest pains in the
  army (67 to 69) as well as thru the years but did
  not get diagnosed untill had to stop working this
  May.
                                 Thanks
                                     Mac

[CCF Cardio MD - MTR]

_
Dear Mac, thank you for your question.  Atherosclerosis is a diffuse process that affects not only the coronary arteries but also peripheral arteries like the carotid arteries.  Atherosclerosis is a lifelong process and evidence of this disorder has been seen at autopsy in teenagers who die from trauma.  Risk factors for atherosclerosis include smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, male gender, and a family history of premature coronary artery disease (before the age of 55).    Thus, you certainly must have risk factors for atherosclerosis to have developed such severe disease at such a young age, but I cannot determine if this condition is related to your military service.  Only your physician at the VA can determine such criteria.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.