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If it’s not one thing….It’s three
Aging Well | Last Active: May 21 7:41pm | Replies (54)Comment receiving replies
Since there was heart disease in my family, thought I’d get a cardio workup. I’ve been a runner since I was 35, vegetarian since 35, then vegan for last five years. Also off and on cyclist. Was I knocked off my blocks when I was told I had an extremely high level of calcium buildup after the CT scan to check my arteries, plus my AlipoproteinB was high, plus left bundle branch block (which I’m still not sure what that is.) Wow. I was full of myself because my lifestyle was so good. Lifestyle didn’t beat out genetics
The disturbing thing is, my cholesterol totals were always very good, generally totals of 180, and I guess no docs saw the family history of heart disease in my chart and just said all was good. This is where self-advocacy really, really paid off. I’m not pleased to be on 2 cholesterol meds and 2 BP meds, but I am grateful I thought to get a cardio workup.
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Ditto for me. There’s just no denying the influence of genes on cardiac health. But I would caution that there is reason to take a breath and keep a hold on common sense.
My Dad died of a heart attack at age 38. So knowing that history, any little unexpected blip and they are writing scripts for beta blockers. Im not taking that on the basis of a single minor variant on an ecg. Nope. But they are not accustomed to hearing ‘not today’. That said, time to take stock and see if decades of neglect left me vulnerable or outright impacted. .