Heart issues in family & my new strategy

Posted on February 10, 2015

In my blog, I wrote about getting my physical the other day. It went well overall...I don't have any medical issues going on, other than my obesity. Of course, that opens the door to all kinds of nightmares, hence my work going on here!

But I have a family history of heart problems, and a few months ago, a brother of mine, in his mid-40's, a few years older than I, had a serious heart attack. He was a non-smoker, and I think he probably weighed about the same as I. He is okay, but has pretty significant heart damage, and his life will be forever changed. Its a real wake-up call. I asked my doctor during my physical about ways to see how at risk I was. He suggested I get a Cardiac Calcium scan. It is non-invasive, takes about 5 minutes, and costs $150. Easy, peasy. So I did that.

I got the results back today. The range goes from 0-400. I got a 40. At my age, the doc said thats not horrific, but not great either. Puts me at a risk of heart disease in the 75-90% range in my lifetime - yikes! So I need to battle down my cholesterol. I have slightly elevated cholesterol as is, and for normal people, my doc said he would just simply suggest weight loss, and move on. But because of my family history, and my calcium score, he is putting me on a low dose of Lipitor. That should put my cholesterol very low.

Its wierd and uncomfortable for me to imagine being on a serious medication. I pushed back a little bit, but my doc said - "look, yes you are borderline, but if I was you, you need to really get that cholesterol down. If you take the Cardiac Calcium scan again when you are 50, and you have the same score of 40, then your heart disease risk will be at like 25% or something." I get his point.

I'm feeling a little down about the whole thing, honestly. I didn't see myself waking up and popping a pill every day. It feels wierd, and somehow that I have let my own body down to actually be in this position. I guess my family history is part of the problem, and just based on that alone, its good I did all these tests early on. As of now, I don't have any crisis going on, but I need to take my situation seriously. Perhaps by taking precautions now, I will be in better shape when I'm 50 and 60 and beyond.

My doc said even if I get my cholesterol totally under control through diet and exercise, the mediction might still be a good idea for me as a way to protect myself. I'll get my weight under control, take some new labs, and perhaps double check the long-term strategy with a second opinion.

I'm happy to have learning something about myself and my body while I'm still able to do something about it.

Comment Now!

Megan V.

02/11/2015 8:16AM

You could always get a second opinion if you are unsure! But no matter what it's great you are being proactive and asking questions of your doctor about what you can do to help yourself and lower your risk.

Nathan A. likes this comment.

Abbie

02/10/2015 7:43PM

I think being proactive now is the perfect start - try the Lipitor for a year or so. When you get to your goal weight and maintain that for a while - have it checked again and see about the possibilities of getting off of it for say 6 months and have it checked again... I am 56 and don't have to take anything - good thing, I can't even remember a vitamin most days! Ha but that may be a good way to approach it. But the great news is you are doing a ton of damage control on the front end for your wife and daughter and yourself! Good job Nathan

Ruby541

02/10/2015 5:42PM

You can always see how you go as a combination and where you land down the road. My husband was put on cholesterol medication a few years ago too, I don't remember which one as he doesn't take it anymore. He has a family history of high cholesterol too. He only weighs 165lbs at 5'10". He also did a treadmill test and they said he had some kind of heart murmur, or blood pooling in his heart. It was all pretty weird and scary at the time. This was about 8 years ago. He's nearly 47 now and is fine. Sometimes diagnostics can be scary but it's also your body's place at a point in time. I know the risks are there but try to feel good about the strides you are making! That matters so much more than being ignorant, which lots of people prefer to be and then they get in a tight spot that makes it hard to be proactive.

Nathan A.

Thanks Taya. I always look forward to reading your blog and your responses to mine! Yeah I will soldier on and I believe with current behaviors things will take care of themselves.