My love/hate with this message board

[mas2782]

I never thought about my heart really until I got A-Fib about 18 months ago at age 29 and had to be cardioverted. Since that time I've spent countless hours on this site and several of the yahoo support group sites gaining a tremendous amount of knowledge and hearing the testimonies of the wonderful people on all these sites. I have gotten a tremendous amount of good information from this site especially...both the doctor forums and this one.

My problem is that I feel like for every good bit of information I gain, I also learn of a story that sends me into a mental tailspin because I then become even more of a hypocondriac...worrying that I will get/have whatever issue I learn about.

What I KNOW about myself is that I have a normal pulse, normal BP, mild MVR, and a lone instance of A-Fib that lasted 11 hours. I also have low HDL (27)...but my other cholesterol numbers are good. So basically I have no major problems according to all the medical data. I have no family history of CAD...my grandfather had an aortic valve replacement at age 60 and lived to age 75 before dying of cancer.

I am currently taking niacin, CoQ10, baby aspirin, fish oil, and Provex CV (Melaleucca product). I'm also doing the South Beach Heart Diet and have lost 15+ lbs. in 3 weeks.

I have had 4 echos, a TEE, a regular stress test, and a nuclear stress test in the last two years. My most recent nuclear stress test came back negative (11/2007). But I can't shake the feeling that I am going to have early onset CAD or some other heart issue. It seems like every month or so I read a story like the one currently on the doctor's forum about the poor guy who lost his brother at 32 to a heart attack even though his brother was 155 lbs., ran 3 miles a day, and had a negative echo/ekg and normal cholesterol numbers.

Not sure what I am trying to say...maybe just looking for reassurance...but it's hard feeling like for all the research out there it still seems like they don't really understand what causes CAD completely and why it manifests in some people with seemingly good cholesterol ratios, but doesn't manifest in people with poor ratios.

Thanks for listening.

[anacyde]

It's easy to look around and think - wow - is it inevitable that everyone will develop a heart problem?  Is anything safe?  What I need to remind myself of sometimes is that, on a heart forum, that's all I'm going to read about.  While that likely sounds quite simple, there were times in years past that I read things that frightened me.  While the story of the 32 year old dying of heart disease was heartbreaking, it is the exception when this happens.

I've got to agree with sweetwaterguy on the thoughts occupying rent free headspace, though admittedly I am plenty guilty of it at times.

Some quotes I like when I'm feeling particularly morbid and down, "Good health is just the slowest rate at which we can die," or, "Don't take life too seriously, no one gets out alive."  It helps me regain my perspective and sense of humor about things.  We have time on this earth, we just don't know how much.   Some of us may have a teensy tendency toward needing to be in control, and thus we feel unnerved by this concept.  Ultimately, we can exist in fear, or we can choose instead to live each day the way we truly want to.

I hope that helps you feel a bit better.  And if not, you may want to consider charging rent ;)

Happy New Year to you.  May this one have good health, fewer worries and more fun for you.

[Sweetwaterguy]

   I am one of those who has contributed to your delinquency.  Having said that, I would suggests you have "too many cooks" in your kitchen.  An episode of a fib at your age is relatively unremarkable.  It is treatable, not life threatening, and may never occur again.  
  You pose hypothetical questions that have few or perhaps no answers.  You are taking the right steps to insure your best chance at a  long life.  It won't be a healthy life, however, if you keep worrying and try to fix what does not appear to be broken.  From your information you give every indicationof being a very healthy person.  Eat right, exercise, live right.  That is the prescription for maintaining good health.   I would suggest giving permission for all those unproductive thoughts to live rent free in your head is keeping you from living right.  

[mas2782]

Thanks for your comments...appreciate your insight as always. Keep us posted with things in your world.

Thanks again.

[erijon]

It is a small world, Dr. Yang is my cardiologist. I have always found her to be very good at explaining things and putting them in perspective. I have also seen Dr. Thompson in their office. The advice on the scan is very true and is the reason I have not done one when it was offered to me by Dr.Yang.

Good talking to you and hang in there. If you ever want to talk just reach out to me on this board.

Jon

[mas2782]

Thanks for the encouragement. My docs are at KU Med now...but I started out at Overland Park cardio...Dr. Yang. I ended up in the ER at OPR as well last fall after calling my cardio late in the day and complaining that I had back pain. Ofcourse all the tests came back negative and I ended up meeting an ER doc who has become a good friend of my wife and I...my father-in-law actually performed her wedding...small world.

Even with all the tests coming back negative I still struggle with constantly learning about more potential issues. But I guess I am doing everything possible to take care of my heart. Like the doc said to me last time, "I don't think we'd find anything if we did a scan...but even if we did the treatment at this point would be the same"

Thanks again for the kind words...glad to hear your situation is under control and doing well.

[Flycaster305]

Worry comes with more information, and we have loads of information to riffle through these days, and it can make us apprehensive.  We have come to expect miracles from our health care providers but we have to do as you are doing, taking control of the health issues you can control.  This will age me, but I remember very well when I was young and WW II raging, and lots of meds, including the new antibiotic drugs were reserved for the wounded soldiers.  I remember well when my sister and I had ear infections, we were wrapped in blankets and a hot wire burned a tiny hole in our eardrums to relieve the pressure.  It worked (What did you say?) but it wasn't a fun time.  Today an ear infection is quickly and easily cured.  Our doctors today have so much information and so many tools that as long as we stay ahead of diseases and do our part by keeping fit, eating well, etc we have a wonderful chance of living long lives.  I've got pretty serious CAD, but so far I'm still here because like erjon, I corrected some real lifestyle choices that hurt my health.  Stay alert, stay healthy and happy.  Stress is a huge killer.  

[erijon]

I understand how you feel, my journey started with a trip to the ER (since you're also from my part of the world, I went to the Heart Center at Overland Park Regional) with mild chest pain, just to be safe. Well they took one look at this overweight 47 year old male complaining of chest pain and took me in ahead of everyone in the waiting room, good way to get past the crowd but not a good feeling. After being there for about 30 minutes the pain was gone and the blood tests started coming back and everything was looking good. The doctors asked me about my risk factors and I did not have any family history of early onset CAD, don't smoke and my blood pressure was controlled but I caught considerable abuse for not knowing my cholesterol numbers. To make a long story short, they made me stay overnight and have an Echo and Thallium stress test the next day, both normal and my lipid profile came back ok so they sent me home with a referal to a cardiologist with Overland Park Cardiovascular. I started down the same road as you, reading every bit of info I could get on the internet and having the tests repeated each year for the past three years, all normal. When I saw my cardiologist for my last test results in August, she explained they were normal and she did not see a need for me to have regular visits with a cardiologist any longer and unless something changed my family doctor could manage my care. It was at that point I decided to let go of the anxiety and looked back at the positives in my life.

Since my "scare", I have had my heart checked out from every possible angle and it's all good. I have changed my life style and lost 60 pounds and got into a daily exercise routine which includes 45 minutes of intense cardio daily, something I never thought I could do. I started eating better and got my cholesterol from 201 to 151 with my LDL dropping from 140 to 58. I guess what I'm saying is some good came from it and I agree with Maggie, I have too many other things to concentrate on rather than wait for something that may never happen.

In the case of the 32 year old that died of a heart attack, keep in mind that 70% of heart attacks are caused by unstable plaque in your arteries rupturing and causing a clot. Everyone has some plaque depending on their individual risk factors and if an unstable plaque breaks free and forms a clot, you're going to have a heart attack wether you're a star athlete or a high risk heart patient. You can't worry about what you can't control, take action of those things you can.

Sounds like you're going to do great! Here's wishing you the best in the New Year. Go Jayhawks!

Jon

[maggiemag]

I know what you mean, and it can be hard to get over.  But, in relation to the guy whose bother died at age 32, I doubt it was a heart attack.  It was probably a fatal arrhythmia from some rare abnormality.  I think they may tell the family that it was a heart attack, OR the family just interprets that from the situation where someone has a sudden cardiac death.  Most lay people don't know that a heart attack is most often only from blocked coronary arteries.  They use the term generally with anything that has to do with the heart.  At any rate, for me anyway, I just have to know that everything happens for a reason and I won't die one second before God wants me too.  And I have to let it go.  I know, it's easier said than done!  I have other things to worry about than something that may never happen.