is this possible?

[k81990]

dear doctor, I am 13 years young, and my dad had a heart attack. I now realize I am at risk and am fighting genitics both ways, mother, and father. my mothers father died from CGF, and my father hada heart attack january of 08'. Since I was 8 or 9, I have been experiencing dizzy spells. which include, fainting, nausea, blurred vision, and this terrible stomach pain, like I have to vomit. 2 of these spells, I have actually fallen, and another one, I broke glass, and injured myself. I am quite scared. I am wondering if the signs point to anemia, Low blood sugar, or a possible heart problem. I wonder if its a heart problem because of genitics, stress, and my diet, ( I am 4'9, slender, 90-95 lb) is terrible, mostly boxed, and frozen foods, as I refuse to eat healthy. any ideas? I have been to doctors. they have ruled out diabetes.

[Jeffrey R Boris, M.D.]

Dear K,

Certainly without being able to examine you or to get more history, it is difficult for me to tell you what is going on.  I think that there are two things going on here, though.  The first is that you probably have syncope, which is passing out, or at least near-syncope (almost passing out).  There are lots of reasons for this, but the most common that I see amongst teenagers is the fact that they do not adequately keep their tank full of fluid.  I do recommend that you make sure that you are well hydrated, even if you don’t feel thirsty.  You should probably have four 8-12 ounce glasses of fluid (milk, water, juice) and a salty snack to keep your blood pressure up.  Also, you should not skip meals and you should eliminate caffeine (sodas, tea, coffee, energy drinks), as it is a diuretic and will make you urinate fluid back out.  If this persists despite these interventions, though, you should probably see your doctor again.

The other think going on is your family history.  You should know that there are controllable risk factors:  diabetes, cigarette smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure), and high cholesterol.  There is also some research that suggests that being overweight and lack of exercise MAY contribute to a heart attack, as well.  Thus, just because you have a family history of coronary artery disease, the problem that eventually leads to a heart attack, does not mean that you are destined to have it.  You can take control of this yourself and prevent it.  It sounds like you are rather slim, so your risk for acquired diabetes is low.  Hopefully you are active, doing aerobic exercise on a routine basis.  Don’t smoke.  Make sure that your blood pressure is normal at your routine doctor visits.  As far as frozen/processed foods, many of them have lots of chemicals and salt, or high amounts of fat to make them tasty.  I don’t recommend routine nutrition with them.  You need to move on to having more fruits and vegetables.  If brown is the only color of your food (bread, cereal, cooked meat, etc.), then you need to expand the colors to more greens, reds, purples, and other foods.  They do taste good, if they’re prepared well—really.  There are some good cookbooks out that can help you or whoever is making your meals make fast, healthy, and tasty things.  Plus, the more you get used to eating like that, the better that you actually feel.

[momtofourboys]

I am not a doctor by any means I just want to wish you good luck. you seem to have a lot on your plate at such a young age. I hope someone can help take care of you, especially to hep you out with your stress. stress in itself, from what I understand isn't good, especially for someone your age. In my opinion, whom  ever is responsible for your care, might be able to have a complete exam, not just for diabetes, but other things to help rule out things so you don't have to go around with the stress like this. you should be able to enjoy life at 13 and not have to have this burden on your shoulders.
Good luck and I hope you can get some answers some where.
michelle

[k81990]

no, you don't understand, my mother and father are still alive, but, I am concerned about my heart risk . ?

[momtofourboys]

so sorry I thought they passed on thankfully i am wrong. I wish you the best
michelle

[EchoTech]

I am not a doctor.

Genetics come into play later down the line when you are 35 and older, depending on your family history.  What you eat can affect it, but again it takes a while before the damage accumulates to the point where it's a problem.  I would work on handling your stress better, eating better ( you won't feel as crappy) and keeping hydrated.  There may be someone at school that can help you mange the stress if you're not comfortable with asking your parents.