Family history of heart attack - British Heart Fou...

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Family history of heart attack

Rflair profile image
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My dad died of a sudden heart attack aged about 46. I was told that it's hereditary and that it can happen to me. I truly believe i have no chance of living to be old.

I dont think i will live past 45 and even with drastic lifestyle changes not past 55

Its quite depressing

Anyone else had a similar experience of a parent dying younger?

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Rflair profile image
Rflair
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5 Replies
Bager profile image
Bager

Hi my sister died at 53 with a heart attract. She was not on medication as she didn't like to take drugs of any kind. My father and Mother had heart attacts. I think with medication you survive better today. I'm 76 and take stains and blood thinners.

My dad died from a HA at the age of 42, whilst I was aware of the ‘Hereditary Factor’, other than keeping an occasional eye on my cholesterol levels (which where always ~3.5), I never gave it a thought, except for joking with my mum that I had beaten him when I hit 43 😀

I had a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) 3 years ago at age 60, followed by a triple bypass.

And I’m still here, ‘almost’ as good as before.

I do think with the mindset you have, you are not helping yourself, you probably should speak to your GP and ask for a referral to counselling and maybe see if you can have a heart check up.

Hi there. Yes my mum had a heart attack at the age of 46 as did my brother both died suddenly , my father had one at 60 and had a triple by pass he finally passed away 12 years later of a stroke in hospital. All my life I never expected to get pasted 46 cus all my family history points to it not happening. I am 53 now , alas I did however have a heart attack this year , so I guess I came out somewhere in the middle 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

in reply to

Except you’re still here so still counting 😀

unless it’s my 6th sense 🥺 (I read dead people)

Chappychap profile image
Chappychap

"I dont think i will live past 45 and even with drastic lifestyle changes not past 55

Its quite depressing"

There is solid evidence that depression is a major risk factor for both getting heart disease in the first place and also the survival rate from heart attacks. It appears that depression is every bit as serious as a co-morbidity as, for example, type 2 diabetes or obesity.

You can read more here,

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

When you say "It's quite depressing" I don't know if you are using the depression word as a figure of speech or as a diagnosed condition? But if you genuinely are depressed then, for the sake of your heart if nothing else, you should seek treatment in the same way that if you have heart disease it's even more important to lose weight, eat well, or quit smoking.

The other point I'd make is that, based on the comments on this forum, I'm convinced that many people over emphasise their genetic disposition towards heart attacks. The best evidence suggests that about 90% of heart disease is chiefly attributable to life styles. We know this because there are communities of people who share virtually all of our DNA but live very different life styles, and heart disease is almost unknown.

If you have a bad family history then shaking up your life style becomes even more, not less, important.

Good luck!

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