carotid arteries

I'm a 31 year old female, 5f 8inch tall and 58kg.  Last year I stood up and my back wouldn't straighten like I had a cramp or something.  I went to the hospital and they asked if I felt ok as my blood pressure was 180/118!  Well from that day on I did not feel ok...I was riddled with panic for obvious reasons!

I smoked (don't anymore) around 5-10 smokes a day for 15 years and drank a bottle of wine once a week.  My father died at 54 of heart disease and had bypass surgery at 47. He too did not look the part and had not smoked since he was 34 years old.

It took about 6 months to get my blood pressure under control with medication and now I'm on a very low dose to keep it around 130/80.  I asked my doctor to test me for heart disease and that I wanted a scan on my carotid arteries...well he laughed and said "you not going to find plaque in your neck arteries at your age!". Anyway, I went to another doctor and he agreed to refer me for test (just for 'piece of mind' he said).

Well sure enough 15% was found in both left and right carotid arteries.  This may not sound like much but considering my age and being a mother of two young children, it has really scared me.

I get a mild chest pain that last anything from afew seconds to a minute once a week (especially in winter), and occasionally after eating...yet I passed stress test, echo scan etc.  

What is the prognosis for me?  How quickly can the carotid artery block completely.  I have just had my annual check and thankfully it has not grown.  Is it possible to stop the growth?

I'm I being overdramatic to think that my heart is very likely to be diseased as well?

[ChatterAlly]

Not at all overdramatic.  I was diagnosed with PAD at the age of 50 and was told that the same thing ccould happen in my heart.  I had a 100% block in the artery that supplied blood to my left leg.  That was stented.  4 years later I was in the ER with a 95% blockage in my RCA and that was stented twice.  So yo see, you need to make some changes now to better your heart health.  Take care, Ally