Dead At 42 From Ischaemic Heart Disease?!
Question: A friend of the family recently died from Ischaemic Heart Disease, at the age of 42 just got up one morning, fell to the floor and was dead.
Heart disease was not diagnoised before death.
Can anyone give any information on this condition and should heart disease been diagnoised before death. Apparantly the artarys where totally blocked, how could this not have been picked up before ???
Answers: A friend of the family recently died from Ischaemic Heart Disease, at the age of 42 just got up one morning, fell to the floor and was dead.
Heart disease was not diagnoised before death.
Can anyone give any information on this condition and should heart disease been diagnoised before death. Apparantly the artarys where totally blocked, how could this not have been picked up before ???
Without knowing this person's lifestyle, some people simply have a high genetic tendency to develop heart disease and high cholesterol. Fortunately, there are medications that can be taken that help in many cases, but not all. And the person needs to be aware they have these issues in the first place.
While some people never notice any symptoms (this is common in diabetics due to nerve damage), sadly, others ignore their symptoms. They shrug chest pain off as "heartburn" or shortness of breath as "allergies" or "being out of shape".
That said, there are some common risk factors that lead to early heart disease:
-Being overweight/obese.
-Having insulin resistance or diabetes (both Types 1 and 2).
Note: Type 1 diabetes is NOT related to obesity or lifestyle, but high blood sugars increase your risk of heart disease.
-Having high blood pressure.
-Smoking or using street drugs like cocaine or meth
-Chronic alcohol abuse
-Eating a high animal fat diet, or lots of junk foods (trans fats).
-Eating a high glyecemic carb diet, which can lead to insulin resistance and abdominal obesity.
-Physically inactive
-Certain medications, like steroids for arthritis.
-Inflammatory diseases like autoimmune diseases, and high levels of c-reactive protein.
There is still much we don't know about heart disease. There is some evidence to suggest that certain viruses and infections may cause heart disease and damage to the arteries in some people. Then blockages start to form in these damaged arteries.
I would check to see if there is ANY record of this person complaining about heart related symptoms to their doctor. If so, and nothing was done, you may be able to take this further.
If not, all you can do is have their family members screened for heart disease, and get them living a healthy lifestyle to reduce their risk. Everyone should be doing this. Perhaps their family might like to make a donation to the local heart association in their name?
I'm sorry for your loss.
Sadly this is an all too common picture, and I feel sorry for your loss.
There is a small but signficant number of people who have artery damage from too much fat/cholesterol in their blood beore the age of 40. Many autopsies have shown the early effects in 17 and 18 year olds.
Most people do not get their first cholesterol test until they are in their 40s. This would have been the first help, but it often happens this way. Pity because the new medicines are very very good at keeping cholesterol at safe levels.
Second, a simple test called a Treadmill Stress Test could also have picked up your friends condition, and again most people do not get these young, rather it is usually in the late 40s at best.
Once blockages are found, they can oftne be addressed with a catheterization, sometimes an artery bypass.
Could be that the person ignored the symptoms of a heart attack, thought it was indigestion or simply didn't have any symptoms as diabetics often don't.
Sorry, it happens, that's why people should get regular check ups or go to their doctor at the slightest hint of chest pains, shortness of breath or irregular heart beats or a history of the disease, some people are either afraid of the diagnosis or think its nothing or just old age setting in and never bothered getting it checked, especially if their lifestyle was largely sedentary in the first place. bb usually refers to a class of medications used to lower blood pressure and stands for beta blockers.