7 ms·

A (35ish y/o) family friend died 2 months ago from a heart attack, suspected high cholesterol. He was seemingly healthy, active and not overweight. Anyone else

A (35ish y/o) family friend died 2 months ago from a heart attack, suspected high cholesterol. He was seemingly healthy, active and not overweight. Anyone else have experience with cholesterol in early 30's?

openasocket 10y ago
Similar thing happened with my grandfather. He was a great athlete, was the varsity quarterback for a division 1 school, and was on the varsity basketball and baseball teams. He had his first heart attack at 27. He was lucky, though. Managed to live another 50 years with serious heart disease.
RandomInteger4 10y ago
Last time I had my cholesterol checked about 6-7 years ago, it appeared normal, though my HDL was low. I'm 31 now and have been having a weird heart feeling. Not a pain though, but like beating issues. Depending on what I eat and which supplements I take, my heart starts beating weird and my blood pressure goes up. The weird beating seems like my heart is either beating normally or weakly and then there's a "hiccup" every minute or so. When I lay down with my ear against the pillow when this happens, I can hear my blood flow, which seems weird, like my blood containing tubes/pump is wider than the amount of liquid in the chambers; like an echo-y water flow sound. Part of me thinks this is the L-arginine I take (to get "swoll" as they say) combined with the amount of caffeine I take in? Another part of me thinks this is a valve issue from bacterial endocarditis, since I still have my wisdom teeth, though I brush 3+x/day, but I've had 2 splinter hemorrhages without trauma on my fingernails recently, though I like any signs of Osler nodes. I'm 6'1", 184-ish, muscular build, so maybe it's all in my head and the above paragraphs are the result of hypochondria exacerbated by a lack of health insurance or the money to even pay for a routine doctor's visit. I mean, I eat all healthy homemade food; currently cooking black beans + garbonzo beans to make a hummus of sorts. Hoping my anxiety stays tempered long enough for me to get back on my feet while finishing my current project. EDIT: I forgot to mention a frequent shortness of breath, though like in Jason Scott's case, this doesn't seem to prevent me from physical activity, but it bothers me that I can't take deep breathes all the time.
- tgokh 10y ago
  It's probably worth going to a doctor to get an EKG and get checked out. If your heart beat is irregular (either the time between beats seems random, or you have pauses or early beats), it could be a sign of an electrical disturbance in your heart. (this is not medical advice - go see a doctor!)
  - RandomInteger4 10y ago
    Completely understand, and I agree with you. I just wish it was an easy decision to make.
- tarsinge 10y ago
  It's likely https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contract..., a lot of people have them but some people feel them more than others and unfortunately once you start noticing them it becomes really annoying (needless to say the more caffeine you take/the more anxious you are, the more you will feel them). Still you should do a heart check with a cardiologist to be sure there is no underlying condition (unlikely) which can help living with it by being less anxious. Edit: replaced french word
- cableshaft 10y ago
  I used to get these skipped heart beats all the time (I even went to the emergency room thinking I had a heart attack over it several years ago), along with tightness in the chest. I also went to a cardiologist about it, and he pretty much just said "your EKG is normal and you're fat, work out 7 days a week, have a low fat diet, and lose weight". It stopped being anywhere near as frequent, along with a drop in resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, less back pain (probably due to less inflammation) once I went on a low carb diet (notice the low fat diet the cardiologist suggested didn't help much) last year. I also lost 45 lbs in four months, mostly just the diet. I certainly didn't work out 7 days a week. I have periodically cheated since, and each time I get a reminder I shouldn't because I get skipped heart beats, tightness in the chest, and an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. I'm not sure the mechanism behind this (anyone? local doctors have been completely unhelpful), and I almost wish there was another cause, because every once in awhile I really, really want to have those carbs, but I feel a lot better overall when I don't. Something to consider.
karlkatzke 10y ago
Yeah. It was due to a bunch of factors. * Sitting a lot (Standing desk didn't help, regular breaks and walks did.) * Diet (Carbohydrate heavy) * Alcohol consumption * Lack of intense exercise. Of all of those, diet and alcohol consumption were the most important. No one really understands how these metabolic processes actually work, it seems.
ilamont 10y ago
Diagnosed in mid-30s. Genetic component likely. Taking statins daily since then, now late 40s.
r00fus 10y ago
I don't know specifically about cholesterol but I make a point (as a 40+yo) to get an annual physical and associated tests. I think based on Obamacare, this is actually copay free for most/all insurance plans. Cholesterol screening is included [1]. I strongly recommend everyone to take advantage of the free preventative care (until Trump/GOP kills it) [1] http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/exactly-covered-preventative-care-obamacare/ http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/exactly-covered-preventa...

openasocket 10y ago

Similar thing happened with my grandfather. He was a great athlete, was the varsity quarterback for a division 1 school, and was on the varsity basketball and baseball teams. He had his first heart attack at 27. He was lucky, though. Managed to live another 50 years with serious heart disease.

RandomInteger4 10y ago

Last time I had my cholesterol checked about 6-7 years ago, it appeared normal, though my HDL was low. I'm 31 now and have been having a weird heart feeling. Not a pain though, but like beating issues. Depending on what I eat and which supplements I take, my heart starts beating weird and my blood pressure goes up. The weird beating seems like my heart is either beating normally or weakly and then there's a "hiccup" every minute or so. When I lay down with my ear against the pillow when this happens, I can hear my blood flow, which seems weird, like my blood containing tubes/pump is wider than the amount of liquid in the chambers; like an echo-y water flow sound. Part of me thinks this is the L-arginine I take (to get "swoll" as they say) combined with the amount of caffeine I take in? Another part of me thinks this is a valve issue from bacterial endocarditis, since I still have my wisdom teeth, though I brush 3+x/day, but I've had 2 splinter hemorrhages without trauma on my fingernails recently, though I like any signs of Osler nodes. I'm 6'1", 184-ish, muscular build, so maybe it's all in my head and the above paragraphs are the result of hypochondria exacerbated by a lack of health insurance or the money to even pay for a routine doctor's visit. I mean, I eat all healthy homemade food; currently cooking black beans + garbonzo beans to make a hummus of sorts. Hoping my anxiety stays tempered long enough for me to get back on my feet while finishing my current project. EDIT: I forgot to mention a frequent shortness of breath, though like in Jason Scott's case, this doesn't seem to prevent me from physical activity, but it bothers me that I can't take deep breathes all the time.

tgokh 10y ago
It's probably worth going to a doctor to get an EKG and get checked out. If your heart beat is irregular (either the time between beats seems random, or you have pauses or early beats), it could be a sign of an electrical disturbance in your heart. (this is not medical advice - go see a doctor!)
- RandomInteger4 10y ago
  Completely understand, and I agree with you. I just wish it was an easy decision to make.
tarsinge 10y ago
It's likely https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contract..., a lot of people have them but some people feel them more than others and unfortunately once you start noticing them it becomes really annoying (needless to say the more caffeine you take/the more anxious you are, the more you will feel them). Still you should do a heart check with a cardiologist to be sure there is no underlying condition (unlikely) which can help living with it by being less anxious. Edit: replaced french word
cableshaft 10y ago
I used to get these skipped heart beats all the time (I even went to the emergency room thinking I had a heart attack over it several years ago), along with tightness in the chest. I also went to a cardiologist about it, and he pretty much just said "your EKG is normal and you're fat, work out 7 days a week, have a low fat diet, and lose weight". It stopped being anywhere near as frequent, along with a drop in resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, less back pain (probably due to less inflammation) once I went on a low carb diet (notice the low fat diet the cardiologist suggested didn't help much) last year. I also lost 45 lbs in four months, mostly just the diet. I certainly didn't work out 7 days a week. I have periodically cheated since, and each time I get a reminder I shouldn't because I get skipped heart beats, tightness in the chest, and an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. I'm not sure the mechanism behind this (anyone? local doctors have been completely unhelpful), and I almost wish there was another cause, because every once in awhile I really, really want to have those carbs, but I feel a lot better overall when I don't. Something to consider.

karlkatzke 10y ago

Yeah. It was due to a bunch of factors. * Sitting a lot (Standing desk didn't help, regular breaks and walks did.) * Diet (Carbohydrate heavy) * Alcohol consumption * Lack of intense exercise. Of all of those, diet and alcohol consumption were the most important. No one really understands how these metabolic processes actually work, it seems.

ilamont 10y ago

Diagnosed in mid-30s. Genetic component likely. Taking statins daily since then, now late 40s.

r00fus 10y ago

I don't know specifically about cholesterol but I make a point (as a 40+yo) to get an annual physical and associated tests. I think based on Obamacare, this is actually copay free for most/all insurance plans. Cholesterol screening is included [1]. I strongly recommend everyone to take advantage of the free preventative care (until Trump/GOP kills it) [1] http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/exactly-covered-preventative-care-obamacare/ http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/exactly-covered-preventa...