Possibility of Heart Disease

[NervousNellie]

Do you think it's possible for a 30 year old to have heart disease??? I'm trying to think about this logically for a minute, but my HA is getting in the way. I never had these worries or HA until 1 year ago and it's taken over my life!!

I've had a several EKG's, an echo, a 24 hour monitor and bloodwork - doctors tell me not to worry about my heart, but then every time I go in to see the doc I panic and the focus is back on my heart. So here's what I can tell you about me and maybe you can give me an opinion: Cholesterol was high (but was tested 6 weeks after pregnancy, so that may have been off), but then I changed my diet and cholesterol came WAY down. But I guess I'm worried that my triglycerides were high at 202 (were at 266 after the pregnancy), however I was on the birth control pill at the time. I've stopped taking the pill now and try to eat better, so I'm hoping that all of my levels are back within a safe range. I also smoke and want to quit very soon, but that's one of my worries too. I've smoked for about 11 years, on and off, quitting for about 3-4 years in between. So total smoking time was about 7-8 years. I also have a family history - my dad had an extremely minor heart attack about 3 years ago (at the age of 56), but is doing very well and there was no damage to his heart (he has smoked for 40 years and didn't eat well). My grandfather (on my mom's side) died at the at of 59 of a heart attack (he smoked and ate a terrible, terrible diet loaded with butter). But my dad's side of the family has longevity - all have lived well into their late 80's, grandma is still alive, grandpa passed away 7 months ago at the age of 89. My mom's side wasn't so fortunate (grandpa passed at age of 59 of heart attack and grandma at age of 74 from leukemia).

Now that you know a bit about me, back to my original question - do you think that I could have heart disease at the age of 30???? I'm nervous just asking this question.....

[House fan]

Whats your symptoms Nellie?

[NervousNellie]

Whats your symptoms Nellie?

That's the strange part....I don't really have any!! I used to have constant palpitations, but in the past week they have really calmed down. I now only have a few in an entire day. Occassionally I have some chest pain, but I know its muscular because when I turn I can feel it pulling - and it doesn't feel like it's deep inside, it feels like it's just out of my reach to massage it. And then when I have a panic attack (only when going to the doctor's office) I have a really fast heart rate, usually around 150. But my oxygen level has always been between 98-100 when they check me at the doctor's office. Right now I'm just really freaking out because my toes get soooooooo cold that they turn blue! As soon as I warm them up, they're back to pink.

Other than that, occassionally I have some lightheadedness, but that's pretty rare. I also just stopped taking the birth control pill 4 weeks ago, so I don't know if any of this has anything to do with the adjustment from that. I feel like a basket case!! My husband keeps telling me that there's nothing wrong with me (he's even talked to my GP), but I can't stop thinking that my areteries are all clogged and I'm going to have a heart attack!!! Now I'm worrying about blood clots in my legs because of the blue toes, but I have no other symptoms other than cold feet!! Somebody please tell me that I'm crazy....I think I could handle that a lot better than finding out I have heart disease!!!

[House fan]

Alright, you certainly don't have heart disease, so take some comfort in that. What you have got is a fixation about your own heart, and that is very common with anxious people.

If you really want to strengthen your heart and protect it further, why don't you start introducing cayenne pepper into your diet on a daily basis. I take a teaspoonful of cayenne in a small glass of orange juice 3 times a day. Nothing moves blood like cayenne, and it also has the ability to stop certain kinds of heart attacks within 30 seconds, such is it's power. It can also unclog blocked arteries within the heart, so if I were you, I'd do a wee bit of googling, and investigate this further.

Hawthorn supplements strengthen the heart also, so with both combined, you are on to a winner. I never leave the house without a jar of cayenne in my pocket, imagine that!

Hope this helps.

House.

[NervousNellie]

I've already started trying to do things to strengthen my heart (although I know that there's nothing wrong with it....tests have proven that)!! I take fish oil supplements, magnesium and B vitamins daily. I've also started drinking green tea every night before bed. I'll have to try the cayenne pepper though - I like spicy foods and I use it in quite a few recipes! Thanks for the advice! Hopefully I'll get over this fixation soon. It's just really hard to do!

[LeeBee]

Hi Nellie - arterial clogging, called artherosclerosis, really only occurs in older people because it takes years and years - decades - for the development of plaque that causes the blockage. My dad is 63 and was diagnosed with artherosclerosis last year. You are definitely too young to have it, and you are a woman. Estrogen seems to have a protective effect on the heart.

My dad has done a LOT of research on his condition. He has spent months reading the latest research. One of the interesting things that he found was there is increasing evidence that there is no real relationship between cholesterol levels and heart disease.

It is true that the plaque that forms in the arteries is partly made up of calcified cholestrol, but this is not because too much cholesterol is present. The cholesterol is just used to plug up damage to the arterial walls. So it's the damage that causes the problem, not the cholesterol.

In fact, there is evidence that people with extremely low cholestrol are more likely to develop degenerative diseases and cancers because cholesterol has a protective role to play in various organs including the liver, and it helps make up your nervous system and brain. The relationship isn't fully understood yet - does the disease come first or the low cholesterol - but it is there.

There is loads more to read about this. A lot of people think that the newer research is a bit scary because if contradicts the prevailing advice that cholesterol is bad, so I know that this post might be contraversial. If you're interested let me know, I have some links.

My advice would be moderation in everything really - eat a well-balanced diet with lots of fresh vegetables and good-quality dairy, meat products and fish, all of which have loads of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. And go easy on booze and heavily processed stuff, especially sugary things. Liver, believe it or not, is incredibly good for you.

Personally I wouldn't drink green tea just before bed as it does contain caffeine. It is really good for you though . Don't worry, you absolutely don't have heart disease. And even if you're were to develop it, you wouldn't start to feel symptoms for another 25 or 30 years.

[NervousNellie]

Wow LeeBee! Thank you so much for all of that information!! That really does make me feel A LOT better!! I've never had a problem with cholesterol in the past. It was only one reading and an endocrinologist that I saw (to rule out diabetes) said that I never should have been tested so soon after pregnancy, as it alters the results. I am definitely interested in those links that you talked about. It's funny....when I was younger, I wanted to be a cardiologist. I even worked in a cardiologists's office for 2 years and was absolutely fascinated with all of the tests and how they could take somebody who's future was so grim and fix them up to be healthy people!! Now I'm absolutely terrified of them and doctors/hospitals! It's just so unbelievable how powerful the mind is!

By the way, I drink decaffeinated green tea at night - caffeine doesn't usually bother me - I sleep like a baby! But for the sake of my anxiety, I'm sticking to decaf!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the great information that you gave me!!

[LeeBee]

You're welcome. I'm glad you're feeling better about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Int...terol_Skeptics
http://www.thincs.org/index.htm
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/

I'm still not quite sure what to believe myself, I am reading up on it at the moment. It is really interesting. The main message seems to be that animal fat is actually OK, it's refined sugar and highly-processed vegetable oil that are the problem. Anything that lets me eat lots of cheese and cream is cool with me !

[NervousNellie]

LeeBee - Thanks for the links!! This is really something interesting. All these years you're brought up to believe that cholesterol is bad! I believe in natural ways to correct problems within the body - I HATE taking medication, so I try to avoid it at all costs! I try to eat well and try to go organic when at all possible. I'm always avoiding the hydrogenated products and watching out for trans-fat. So since I'm into all of these "natural" foods, I can completely believe that cholesterol that is naturally found in dairy products and meats can't be that bad for you. It only makes sense that foods that are processed are unhealthy, but that's because of all of the unnatural ways that they prepare the foods. I'm probably opening up a big can of worms here, but these are just my opinions. I'm hoping that someday soon we can get a definitive answer as to what is good and what is bad for us!!! Thanks again for all of your help!