Ken wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 1:00 pm
Yes, genetics has a great deal to do with cholesterol and artery blockage.
My wife and I basically have the same diet and I actually exercise more than my wife. But I am on statins for high cholesterol and she is not. And I have had open heart surgery for a valve replacement caused by a congenital valve defect that was genetic.
Familial hypercholesterolaemia is the fancy name for the inherited condition that results in higher than normal levels of LDL blood cholesterol. It causes up to 10 per cent of early onset coronary artery disease and the cause is genetic (an inherited gene mutation).
But yes, while EKGs can help diagnose heart conditions and artery blockage, you will obviously want good blood work and blood monitoring to inform the best treatments and monitor their effectiveness.
Luckily the science of heart disease is very advanced and we have effective treatments, especially compared to many other diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. The problem with heart disease is that medicine alone is insufficient. It requires diet and lifestyle changes which can be very difficult for many.
Thank you Ken, sorry you had to go through the surgery so young - they gave us a list of recommended books to help - it is amazing my Mom doesn't have the family problems she truly attributes it to taking her supplements for so long- AND not cooking like her southern heritage. I haven't known her to exercise since she was in her 20s.
I wasn't that young. It happened February 2021 during the middle of COVID when I was 58. Which was an experience itself going through surgery in a hospital that was on COVID lockdown. But since then all is well. And I actually feel tremendously better. Previously I was getting exhausted and feeling faint when exercising which I had put off as just being out of shape. But it turns out it was the heart valve not my overall fitness.
I had a choice of a mechanical valve made of titanium and carbon, or a tissue valve made of pig tissue. The advantage of the mechanical valve is that it lasts forever but you need to be on blood thinners the rest of your life. The advantage of the tissue valve is no blood thinners, but they have a finite life span and you may be going in for surgery or repairs in 10-20 years.
I went with the mechanical valve. I'd rather be on blood thinners (warfarin) for life rather than go through a second heart surgery in 10+ years.
Thankfully insurance paid for all of it minus our deductible. The total cost all-in was about $280,000. We are part of a big HMO (Kaiser) and every last aspect of it was done in-house through Kaiser clinics and hospitals so billing was never an issue. All very seamless which is one advantage of HMOs. You never have to worry about insurance or billing.
1 x
A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
Ken wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 1:00 pm
Yes, genetics has a great deal to do with cholesterol and artery blockage.
My wife and I basically have the same diet and I actually exercise more than my wife. But I am on statins for high cholesterol and she is not. And I have had open heart surgery for a valve replacement caused by a congenital valve defect that was genetic.
Familial hypercholesterolaemia is the fancy name for the inherited condition that results in higher than normal levels of LDL blood cholesterol. It causes up to 10 per cent of early onset coronary artery disease and the cause is genetic (an inherited gene mutation).
But yes, while EKGs can help diagnose heart conditions and artery blockage, you will obviously want good blood work and blood monitoring to inform the best treatments and monitor their effectiveness.
Luckily the science of heart disease is very advanced and we have effective treatments, especially compared to many other diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. The problem with heart disease is that medicine alone is insufficient. It requires diet and lifestyle changes which can be very difficult for many.
Thank you Ken, sorry you had to go through the surgery so young - they gave us a list of recommended books to help - it is amazing my Mom doesn't have the family problems she truly attributes it to taking her supplements for so long- AND not cooking like her southern heritage. I haven't known her to exercise since she was in her 20s.
I wasn't that young. It happened February 2021 during the middle of COVID when I was 58. Which was an experience itself going through surgery in a hospital that was on COVID lockdown. But since then all is well. And I actually feel tremendously better. Previously I was getting exhausted and feeling faint when exercising which I had put off as just being out of shape. But it turns out it was the heart valve not my overall fitness.
I had a choice of a mechanical valve made of titanium and carbon, or a tissue valve made of pig tissue. The advantage of the mechanical valve is that it lasts forever but you need to be on blood thinners the rest of your life. The advantage of the tissue valve is no blood thinners, but they have a finite life span and you may be going in for surgery or repairs in 10-20 years.
I went with the mechanical valve. I'd rather be on blood thinners (warfarin) for life rather than go through a second heart surgery in 10+ years.
Thankfully insurance paid for all of it minus our deductible. The total cost all-in was about $280,000. We are part of a big HMO (Kaiser) and every last aspect of it was done in-house through Kaiser clinics and hospitals so billing was never an issue. All very seamless which is one advantage of HMOs. You never have to worry about insurance or billing.
For some reason, I thought you were still wet behind the eats- well, no more than 50s anyway.
Fascinating solution and insurance testimony- thank you for sharing! Glad you feel so much better-