Unstable Angina

[sunit5]

Hi I am 37 years old and recently undergone angioplasty - stent installation in in my right coronary artery, underlying cause of 2 blood clots of 4mm which were diagnosed during angiography.  

First of all I was quite surprised as I m quite young and have no family history of heart disease.  Now my cause of concern is that during my discussion with other patients in hospital, i found that most of them (they were in 50 - 75 age group) have gone through multiple angioplasty or open heart surgery even after they have followed disciplined medication, diet & exercise plan.

What precaution can i take from now on ....so i don't have to go through this again.  I would really appreciate your advice on this.

[MamaBush]

Even without a family history of heart disease, you can end up with heart disease.

I had my first heart attack at 28 (guess how wonderful I felt on the cardiac care ward of the hospital with everyone else in their 50s and up?), have had 5 heart attacks total, thus far, and have four cardiac stents, at the moment.  While heart disease does run in my family, no one had ever had a heart attack as young as I did, most occurred when they were in their 40s and 50s.

About the only thing you can do to help "delay" any further problems is with proper diet, exercise, religiously taking any cardiac medications that were prescribed, and keep your appointments for blood work and further tests.

And, DON'T LET IT CHANGE OR TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE.  People who don't know me well are always surprised at the severity of my cardiac disease, since they see me always active and doing the same things they are doing...even the young people I work with are always in shock.  For some reason, most people feel that if a person has severe cardiac disease, they should be sitting at home in a rocker, knitting and watching tv, no matter what age they are.  The best advice I can give is for you to REMAIN ACTIVE.

Good luck.