If it isn't, what are the possible heart ailments that ladies this age can get?
2007-01-05 14:26:09 · 4 answers · asked by bluewarrior 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Heart Diseases
Yes it is but you don't "get" CHF. It's the end result of other diseases or conditions.
2007-01-05 15:24:41 · answer #1 · answered by TweetyBird 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bluewarrior,
I hope that you're not 22.
Yes, it is possible for a youth of 22 to have congestive heart failure, but it is also important to know that the nurse is right: CHF is not a disease, it's the result of other diseases, including coronary artery disease, alcoholism, leaky heart valves, viral infections of the heart, and certain arrhythmias.
It is not just a disease of the elderly any more. Back in the Viet Nam era, the '60s and early '70s, soldiers in the hospital for chest wounds were often found to have coronary artery disease teat could be seen with the naked eye. They had streaks of cholesterol plaques in their arteries, and these men were 19 and 20 years old.
Since then we have had the PDAY study and the ARMY study which have corroborated those findings. The young are getting coronary artery disease.
So perhaps we should not be surprised that some of them will develop congestive heart failure, too.
From the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio comes this report:
"The investigators examined young people aged 15 to 34 who had died in a car accident, homicide, or suicide and found that even in men as young as 15, over 2% of them had advanced cholesterol plaques in the arteries of their heart. More than 20% of men aged 30 to 34 had these advanced plaques. Such plaques can turn into atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. That can lead to complete blockages, heart attacks, and strokes."
It's far less common among young women, but it can happen.
And, of course, other pathologies can exist in young women. Lupus, for example, can lead to a greatly weakened heart and even to heart attacks. Obesity in women can cause heart disease just as it can in men, too. Smoking can harm the heart, high blood pressure, and inactivity can damage it, too.
Any of these can lead to CHF even in a young woman.
2007-01-06 02:29:09 · answer #2 · answered by eutychusagain 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is possible. Get her assessed for the primary cause. It is not common in this age group but it does occur.
2007-01-06 06:21:33 · answer #3 · answered by oracle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's possible.
2007-01-05 22:33:27 · answer #4 · answered by Muga Wa Kabbz 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋