My dad had a massive heart attack at 42. My mom had 1 at 50. What might my chances be of having one?

Question

I know I can ask my Dr but they're closed til Tuesday.

I had the exact symptoms once but they said it was a major panic attack. As for being healthy, I eat fruit & veggies, but love steak, butter & chocolate. I only eat 1 meal per day, dinner. No vitamins or estrogin, had cancer. I'm lactose intolerant, so calcium is really low. I can't force myself to eat. Anything else I can do?

Answer 1

You should have a full exam. If you haven't already, tell your Dr about your parents. See if they can set up a stress test, blood work, x-rays(if necessary) You only eat 1 meal a day! That's so unhealthy! Even if you can't force yourself to eat, try eating an apple or even some grapes. It won't fill you up & can help keep you healthy. Try to limit the red meat to a couple times per week, try chicken & fish, your veggies should be raw, cooking them loses some vitamins. Try taking a calcium supplement and multi vitamins. Genetics play a big part, but so does your diet & excercise. Of course if you're only eating 1 meal a day, you should ask your Dr what type of excercise you can do. You must be really thin & may not be able to excercise until you're healthier.

Answer 2

Based on you family history I would suggest they do a dna blood test. This will show everything. As long as you are eating healthy and changing your diet. Things will be okay.. My husband is a heart patient he has his heart attack 4 years ago. I had to learn to recook everything and read labels. It does take a while to shop because your reading labels. But its for your own good.

If you baking items. Don't use real eggs use the eggbeats or the other white eggs from land o lanks. Thery are fat free, they don't taste to bad. Instead of using oil you can use applesauce instead. Yes, I've done it for three years and everything i makes comes out very most.

For nomal cooking you can cook normal meals. Up your veggie and fruit intact. Have red meat at least once a month if you can do, There are alot of chicken dishes you can prepare. You just have to figure out which seasons are best for you and what you like


I am lactose intolerate myself. I don't know if your allergic to fish but there are calcium edable tablets that aren't to bad and do not have fish oil in there. (I'm allergic to all seafood). You can take the lactose pills before you drink or eating anything lactose. It will be much easier on your stomach

Answer 3

Heredity is a factor in heart disease but there are lots of other factors within your control:

Have regular cardio checkups. Lots of exercise. Your diet does not sound great - Cut way down on meats, eat more fish, especially those with Omega 3 oils, lots of fruits and vegetables. No fast foods. Think of taking supplementary Omega 3 oil. It comes in capsules. There is a current debate about the value of CQ 10, another supplement. Find out more about it and make a decision. And now the easy part --- drink a glass or two of red wine every day.

Answer 4

How old are you? What is your cholesterol count?

Cut out the steak and eat chicken or turkey. You can drink liquid diets like Ensure to get more vitamins, minerals and sustenance.

Do you exercise? Do you have a good support group of friends and family?

Do you eat whole grained breads and pastas? Do you eat raw nuts?

You can do a lot of things to keep yourself healthy.

My Dad dropped dead at 58 from heart trouble. I was really worried when I got around that age but my doctor told me I am very healthy and not to be concerned as long as I keep on my healthy regimen.

Answer 5

Sally I am sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is very hard. Usually sudden death is caused by a dysrhythmia in the heart. This means that the heart can not pump blood. There have been a lot of advances in cardiac care since 1992 but unless your Dad had been in the hospital or the ambulance was very close the chances of surviving sudden death are pretty slim.

Answer 6

While there are genetic traits that may account for it, it may be related to their lifestyle. If your parents were exercising frequently, healthy weight, it may be hereditary. If not, it may be lifestyle related.

No matter what the answer is, you have a much smaller chance of getting a heart attack if you exercise frequently and monitor what you eat. You can get the doctor to make a blood test to check your cholesterols, LDL etc. That will give you a hint of your chances of having a heart attack.

Answer 7

Based on your family history, you would appear to have an increased risk. However, the fact that you are aware of your family history does mitigate your risk somewhat. Knowledge is power, and in this case it may save your life. Make sure your doctor is fully aware of your family medical history. It will give her an excellent starting point for a plan to help you live a full and healthy life. Good Luck!!

Answer 8

I have heart disease and it is genetic I found out I had heart disease in jrhigh and now in college just live with it everyone is going to die sometime or another you will probably be at a higher risk. There are many people doiing research on this if you are really worried you can look into that

Answer 9

You will be more prone to having one for sure, but you can already start to take preventative measures. Watch your diet and exercise regularly, and go for a physical at least once a year. The doctor will keep track of things such as blood pressure and your cholestoral level.

Answer 10

You would be in the high risk group for an heart attack. Even though you are eating healthy you could still have high cholosteral which is one of the leading causes of heart attacks.