Heart disease in young adults

Hi and Welcome to HealingWell, Turtlecol!!

I'm so sorry that your husband is going through all this and You, too!!  This disease tends to take over the family as well - I want to welcome you personally and mention, your husband's a lucky guy to have someone as caring as you!

I was 46 when I had my heart attack and I guess I thought I was pretty young!    I just knew I was going to die.  No one could go through all that and feel as horrid as I did and live through it!  But, I did.  I started eating healthier and doing more physically and then suddenly I started having angina and ended up with a stent.  That was right after 9/11 and between watching the terrible news and then getting the stent placed, I somehow starting having a lot of anxiety, which led to several panic attacks.  I really read everything I could on all this and knew the diagnosis before I even saw my Dr.  By age 49 I had a carotid endarterectomy done right after the stent.  After that being told that I had heart failure, led me into depression and another stent. Had my gallbladder removed in between. :) By last August 2004, at age 52 I ended up having an emergency bypass when my artery ruptured. 

Trust me.  I know and understand what your husband's feeling, just that I felt it 10 yrs. later than he did.

Some anxiety symptoms mimic other things...Shortness of breath (SOB) happens at times, due to not breathing properly when under stress - it's almost like a hyperventilation.  I hope his Dr. doesn't think he's crazy?!  Sometimes their bedside manner needs adjusting. There have been studies done that have shown that people who've had stents placed have actually gone through Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS).

If you or your husband would like to chat with me or anyone else here, just give me a holler!  I'll be happy to meet you in the cardio chat room.

Please reassure both yourself and him that what he's gone through is scary as heck!!  This is normal to be afraid of what's going to happen next!

Keep posting, other members will come along and offer you more ideas. 

Hugs, Teri   I care.

I am new here and this is my first post reply.  Your husband is not alone.  I had a stroke at 31, a angioplasty in my heart at 32, three stints and a heart attack when I was 37 and then 2 more stints at 43.  I can relate to this.  It is hard to be a young person with CAD.

Being a young woman, it made it just that much harder to get physicians to believe me when I told them I had chest pain....even after the heart attack and stroke!  I recommend finding a cardiologist that he feels hears him and is attentive to his whole illness.  Part of side effects of CAD is stress caused by fear.  Who wouldn't be frightened.  It is truly part of the disease but the good news is, over time, you learn to live with it.  A good doctor makes the most difference along with taking control of your disease and doing every thing you can to take care of yourself..physically and emotionally.  Your husband is very lucky to have a wife that is so caring.

Thank you for your reply and I wish you well also.

I am enjoying this site so far.  I am glad to have a place where people can relate but I wish they didn't have to be sick in order to understand.