First timer - Worried and Upset, Just found out something is wrong with my heart

OH forgot to add my Triglycerides are 132 (normal)..
Also sadly I have not eaten well for many years since my divorce 9 years ago.
Diet has consisted of all process foods, frozen dinners, and no vegatbles or fruits.
I also get zero exercize, well I do sit up in the morning, and walk to my car..

I know that these factors alone have contributed to my heart condition, so maybe this is a wakeup call to drastically change my life style..

Again any advise apperciated..

Phil

Phil,

I can relate to what you are going through. I'm female; 55; had to have a stent placed in my LAD (Left Anterior Descending) artery almost 2 years ago. Had angina pains for about 10 days before seeing the doctor...failed my stress test and had an angiogram (cardiac cath) the next day. They found a 99% blockage and put in a stent. I was very, very lucky not to have had a heart attack; it would probably have killed me. I'm doing well now, at least physically, though dealing with some minor liver function test elevations, probably due to the meds I have to take to keep my cholesterol at the numbers they need to be for people with CAD (coronary artery disease).

If I were in your shoes, I would talk at length with the cardiologist to weigh your risks of a heart attack versus the risks of the cardiac cath. If you can't take statin drugs, it will be tough to get your numbers at the level they should be, and even if you do, that won't do anything much for the blockage you already have. The cardiac cath is not only a diagnostic tool; it is the way they fix the problem with a stent (if you are a candidate for a stent; you might need a bypass, but they can't tell that without the cath either). Or, at least this is my understanding. You really need to talk at length with your doctor about your individual risks and options. Don't worry about asking questions again of him/her soon, as you are likely in so much shock you didn't hear much they said the first time (at least that was my experience).

Hope you are at least taking an aspirin every day, as it sure sounds like you have CAD. If the blockage is in your LAD (they can't tell for sure from the stress test you had, but they can get a very good idea) you may be at very high risk of a heart attack and death. Some people refer to a blockage in the LAD as the widowmaker: as I understand it, that's about the worst artery to have a blockage in should you have a heart attack.

The fear you are experiencing in normal...hang in there; it will help you make the right decision.

I would add that the risks of the cardiac cath are real; they accidentally stopped my heart the first time I had one done, and had to revive me with the defrillator, BUT it was also what saved my life. I had a second a year later with no problems. They've been doing them at least since the early 70s...my Dad had several before he died of a 3rd heart attack at age 64 (before stents existed...he could have been a guinea pig for the early bypass experiments but decided again it). If you are in a good hospital with a good interventional cardiologist, you should have few problems.

Again, this is my own personal experience, and I can't give you advice: only you can decide what is best for you in consultation with a good cardiologist. You WILL have to drastically change your lifestyle whatever you decide to do re: treatment.

Take care,

Connie

What about this new CT angioplasty?
Says in some cases will replace the invasive cardiac Cath test..
True if they found blockage and I needed a stint, I would still have to have it done anyway.

Anyone have any experiance in this procedure ??

http://www.angioplasty.org/imaging_g.html

"CT (computed tomography) is a type of imaging that played a relatively limited role in heart disease, mainly to screen for calcium. But the recent development of the MultiSlice (or multidetector) scanner is moving this technology to the front of the line. Many patients who would have previously been referred for cardiac catheterization for diagnosing coronary artery disease may now be diagnosed using less invasive CT angiography. With 64-slice scanning technology and beyond, CT angiography may be moving towards replacing the "gold standard" of cardiac catheterization for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease."

 there are a few poeple on this site that have had the 64 slice scan, that is a very real option if there is one in your area. i was told that if you already have heart disease it is better not to do it,since tehy already know you have heart disease. also it uses a very high amount of radiation  very high, like the equivelant of many regular x-rays. but it is definetly a great option.  i wish i could remmember what i had done before i had the angiogram.  i begged my doctor to order a ct type scan that showed i had a 90% risk of a heart event. it was a calcium deposit test. if it had not been for me pushing for that test i would never had pushed for the angiogram.  Also, i am sure you know you need to change those eating habits. all white breads, white rice, almost white anything is so processed it has no nutritional value.also lunch meats, even the good deli kind are not good. later

 that is what my dr. told me too blueangel. about the stents, that is a bummer.  blue, isn't that a very very low ldl #. is that healthy?

LDL for people with heart disease is supposed to be below 70...but I don't know how low is too low, or if there even is such a thing in an adult with heart disease.

HDL needs to be above 40, preferably higher especially in women. There was a recent study to show that low HDL was even worse for heart disease than high LDL. It has been very difficult to get my HDL up - only Niaspan has done it - but it finally was 52 last time.

Gee, I wish I had your triglycerides....finally got mine below 150. After almost 2 years of medication changes and diet changes, all 4 of my lipid numbers are where they're supposed to be, but the LFTs went a tad too high...Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

Are you taking your Niaspan at bedtime and with your Aspirin? (Actually, they recommend taking the Aspirin 30 minutes before you take the Niaspan, but it's easier for me and my sister to take them at the same time and it seems to have the same result). It helps reduce the flushing in a lot of people for some weird reason unknown to me.

 i was given a prescription for niaspan last month and broke out in a head to toe rash, not a flush, maybe i will try it again. my #'s are  LDL180  HDL63  Trig 99  so as you can see my ldl is terribly scary, but i have not been able to tolerate the statins and i guess not the niapan either.  i also tried Zetia, hurt my intestinal tract, so i have been desparate to find something to lower the bad,  i will let you know if i find a solution. cannot tolerate garlique either.t rying cinnamon,almonds,eating salmon,and fishoil and recently purchased guggul extract, am a little afraid to try it, does anyone else use ?

Hi musicman50,  I just wanted to welcome you to the forum.  I see that some of our veteran members have given you some excellent suggestions and information.  I hope you continue to use Healing Well as a resource for information and support, everyone here is just wonderful.  Take care

 Hi juliet, sounds a lot like how my situation went down. tow stents, lad,, surpise and much anxiety followed, how are you holding up? i personally have never been the same, i would love to keep contact with you and see how you are feeling. i use to have a load of energy and now if i had to work i do not how i could, just too tired.  i have good days alot but i just do not have the stamina i use to. bye for now please keep coming back.

 i excersize almost daily, for sure 4 times a week, i use to ve so anxious i was goiong to die, but the longer you don't(die), the better you feel emotionally. also this forum helped me an awful lot, wish i had found it sooner, kudos to you that you have. i am very fit and try to eat right, that isn't always easy, and i have been told i just produce excess cholesteral in my liver, so when that is the case, i figured it is better to add good cholesteral to try to offset the bad. i do that by taking fish oil and eating nuts, i go for another cholesteral test tomorrow, hope my good cholesteral numbers are up a bait haigher so offset my pititful ldl #'s  bye for now