Heart attack question

[Girl_Interrupted]

Hi i recently heard that a local girl in my area died of a heart attack, she was 25!! My god this really freaked me out, she was so young. Not only that she had a baby one week earlier!! I'm 35 and have gone into panic mode, my father died of a heart attack when he was 60 and his brother when he was 52, however they were 8 children in the family and some lived well into their 80's.

Do I need to get checked out, I dont smoke, not a heavy drinker (christmas drinks thats all) not overweight. I try to eat a healthy diet, but over christmas have somewhat over indulged :(

Any advice :) xxxxxxx

[Em.ma]

Are you having any symptoms of heart attack?

[Em.ma]

im also scared of one at the moment. High heart rate, chest pain

[Girl_Interrupted]

No symptoms, so i guess thats a good sign. I'm just thinking a check up at the docs might be a good idea. How are you, does this worry u alot?

[Em.ma]

Im good, Just really first heart rate at the moment. My doc took it today and it was 124 bpm were as my mums was 80 bpm (normal).
Chest problmes dont worry me much. I have a fear of Anerysum/brain problmes/stroke are my fears.
If talking to your GP helps you. Im sure it would be a good idea.
Im starting to feel as if im wasting the NHS's time when they have people that really have heart problems and i go in and its all anxiety lol.

[Girl_Interrupted]

Yeah its hard hun, i've had a few heart checks b4 in the past, all normal!! and yes just anxiety. When u hear something like this it just freaks me out and a girl so young!! I think its a case of calming down and ur bpm will return to normal, i feel quite anxious now so i bet mine are up!! Take care xx

[nomorepanic]

As you know I had a heart attack and I survived. We have a family history too yet my mum is fit and healthy at 71.

They did, however, give her an ECG recently and keep an eye on her cholesterol.

The best you can do is cut out the risk factors - smoking, drinking, obesity, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, stress etc and I see that you are on top of most of those already.

[Em.ma]

my grandad had angina and had a heart attack at 67 :(

i dont smoke or drink. im normal weight and my chloestroal is fine and normal so my gp sees no reason for me to have an ECG or any tests.

thing is my heart rate was high but my blood pressure normal lol

[Girl_Interrupted]

I did not know u had a heart attack, sorry to hear about this. I'm glad u are ok. Its a mystery that a 25 year would suddenly have one. I'm only guessing there was more going on with her health. Just so sad, thanks for yr reply xx

[Em.ma]

did she just have a baby? im guessing she had an underlying condition that know one knew about. young people dont generally just have a heart attack.

[nomorepanic]

Yeah I had one in Sept 2008 so just over 2 years ago. I had a stent put in the artery at the time. I now have what they call "heart failure" - it sounds pretty scarey but it is just a term used when the heart is damaged beyond repair.

I just have to make sure I keep well and exercise as much as I can to keep the heart strong.

Generally people dying so young of heart attacks means they had an underlying problem that caused it

[Girl_Interrupted]

Hi em.ma, yeah my dad was 60 or 62 can't remember as i was only 9 months old when he had his heart attack, he smoked and worked to hard (according to my mum) it does concern me the older i get, but i'm told by my gp i'm low risk. Still worrying though. Try and relax hun xxxx

[Girl_Interrupted]

Yeah one week ago she had a baby, she was happy to be home with him and her partner. I'm guessing that she may have had underlying medical problems with her heart.

Nicola u are very brave to go through that, i admire you, i think i'd be a mess!! stay strong : ) xxxx

[JulieM]

A persons heart rate can increase due to anxiety, for when we are afraid, adrenaline is released into the blood stream that makes the heart beat become much faster to pump the bllod and oxygen to muscles to enable them to 'Fight or Flight' away from the physical danger, this is a primative human instinct, and totally automatic and not something we can control willingly.

When we read or hear about a young person having a heart attack, we very rarely know the full facts unless they happened to be a close relative or friend. It is indeed very rare for a heart attack to take place in someone so young, and for all you know the girl in question could have been previously diagnosed with a heart defect as a child, and maybe went ahead with the pregnancy against medical advice. There is also the chance of some sort of drugs interaction, or a complication such as an undetected blood clot or severe bleed occured during or just after the birth, and this finally traveled to cause a blockage within the heart and hence a heart attack.

Just because you hear or read about someone so young in a newspaper, which is often sensationalized by journalists, and the way they make headlines read ten times worse than they actually are, with a veiw to boosting sales of their paper, doesnt mean that most other 20something girls in the area are likely to suffer a similar event, but i do agree that it makes people feel scared and question their own lifestyle and heart health to look for simularities incase they just may have the slightest remote chance of suffering the same fete.

Julia

[Girl_Interrupted]

Hi Julia thanks for the response, yes i agree with what u have written, i do not know the full extent of her medical history, this was her 6th child by the way! All were without complication. I think she had to be induced as the baby didnt want to come out!! I live in a small town so news (bad) always travels fast. I think i find it upsetting because she was so young and left behind such a beautiful family. Her partner works locally and I see him on my travels. Alot of people have said its unlikely for someone so young to have a heart attack without there being some kind of complication either heart defect or pregnancy related. Thanks again xx

[nomorepanic]

Nicola u are very brave to go through that, i admire you, i think i'd be a mess!! stay strong : ) xxxx

Thanks :hugs:

Ironically it wasn't the heart attack that nearly killed me it was the Crohn's flare up! :wacko:

[Girl_Interrupted]

Oh Nicola u have been through alot, hugs to you :hugs:xx

[nomorepanic]

Thank You. I try not to let it get me down. I am still alive and I am doing ok at the moment.