Lifestyle or genetics?

[Redfloyd]

Hi everybody, I've been attending cardio rehab for a few weeks and over that time I seem to be the odd one out. The rest of my group vary in age some younger than me, some older but what they most have in common is that they lived a healthy lifestyle in that they went to the gym,went running or swimming, were careful with whatever they ate and as far as I'm aware never smoked. I on the other hand, didn't do exercise although I have an physical job and would walk my dog or heavy gardening. I ate what I wanted but didn't have takeaways every week like some people do, I live in a rural location so it's not practical anyway. I'm not overweight, 5ft 10 11st max, currently 10 1/2. I have smoked for 40+ years, not heavy but 40 years is a long time. I drink very little alcohol, 1 glass of wine and I'm falling asleep. I've been type 2 diabetic for 5 years, like every member of my family on my father's side and siblings. I recently had an AVR and CABG. I've had a heart murmur for years which has been monitored but all of a sudden it became severe and had to be replaced urgently.So it got me thinking, I haven't looked after myself as well as I could of done but here I am in the same place as all these people who have. It's not really a question, more of an observation.

Hope you all have a happy Xmas and a healthy new year.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

My take is that there is a group of people who are genetically pre-disposed to heart conditions, just like there are for many other medical conditions. And so if you have the genetics in place that increases your risk. But for others who haven't got the genetic link then lifestyle comes into play. So for heart disease if you have any of a poor diet, don't exercise, are overweight or worse obese, drink excessively and smoke then you have increased your risk of heart disease. And if you have the genetics as well that makes things even worse. In your case, you can do nothing about your genetics, but you can do something about your lifestyle as you no doubt found out at cardio rehab. And if I were you if I changed only one thing in my life it would be to stop smoking if you have not done so already, since that will bring several benefits to your well being in addition to those related to your heart.

[Redfloyd in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

I have given up smoking which wasn't too difficult partly because I was in hospital for 4 weeks pre and post op and now I'm not in the work and social environment that I was, very rarely smoked at home. The point I was trying to make was I am surprised that I am the only one in the group who has "not taken care" for want of a better expression, of myself or maybe I'm the only one being honest with myself. I admire people who have the time and discipline to eat carefully and exercise, unfortunately I tend to work at least 50hrs a week over 6 sometimes 7 days and eat as and when, not ideal but needs must.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Redfloyd]

It's good you have given up smoking. When I stopped many years ago I didn't really notice the benefits until a few months after, and the addiction craving lasted for sometime after that before it died away, but I was able to ignore it as hopefully you will. Otherwise it sounds like you have identified things you could be doing to improve your lifestyle to reduce your heart health risk, but striking a work-life balance is proving difficult as it does for many especially as they get older perhaps with a health condition. All I can say is whilst I am sure there are benefits you derive from your work which sustains your standard of living, the counter to that is it's no good trying to keep going in the knowledge that you should be doing more to help your health, especially when it could lead the possibility of an early grave. But I am sure you know that anyway. Anyway I wish you well and hope you can sort out your requirements and achieve a satisfactory outcome.

[Redfloyd in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Working like I have is a double edge sword, I am able to retire now at 61 if I wanted to although I'm not sure I can stop just like that but will probably find a local part time (3 days a week) job to ease myself into retirement.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Redfloyd]

You don't have to find a part time job. When I retired I started volunteering and have carried on for some time now and recently added another organisation to my volunteering 'portfolio'. After a working lifetime of being indoors it is a refreshing change to be outside and do something useful.

[Redfloyd in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Ive spent my working life outdoors, quite fancy an indoor environment now. Point taken about volunteering though.

[Stentsandrun in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Agree with most of your comments wholeheartedly. However, I would just like to respectfully ask you on what evidence you are citing excess alcohol consumption as a cause of Heart Disease? I presume by excess you mean more than 14 units per week for men. It would seem that just about everything these days is getting blamed on this? Obviously, alcohol is very calorific so could contribute to excess weight, which is a factor, plus it could lead, in excess, to preventing exercise, which again is a factor. However, I have not seen much if any evidence that in itself (unless we are talking very serious excesses) it is a particular factor?

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Stentsandrun]

If you look at my comments from an earlier post this week linked below, you will see that I am quite relaxed about the alcohol guidelines our health authorities pass down to us.

healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

However I do recognise that heavy drinking can cause health issues but quite apart from whether the 14 units per week is sense or nonsense, every one of us should know whether we are drinking 'excessively' but our perception of where our own limits will be will vary, but nonetheless that is where common sense should kick in as it does for me.

I hope this clears this up

[Redfloyd in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

14 units a week, I'd struggle to do 14 units a year 😂😂

[Stentsandrun in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

I have read through your previous comments and the article linked to, and mostly agree to be honest, my attitude is the same as yours. Personally I also feel alcohol is blamed for just about every ailment known to man, and the benefits derived from it totally ignored. Personally, as one of many of us who may be deemed to have the sword of CHD hanging over us, I am certainly not going to deny myself something that I personally believe does not pose anything like the danger, heart disease wise, some would have us think. I agree that if a cardiologist or GP had ever said it was definitely a contributory factor to Atherosclerosis then I would stop, but none ever have.

[Happyrosie]

any of us, however healthy, can get heart disease. Because we are an aging population our hearts wear out.

It’s up to us as individuals to look after ourselves (and our families if appropriate) by eating a healthy diet, exercising as well as we can, and other lifestyle issues.

[PadThaiNoodles]

Keep in mind that your sample (people in your rehab class) is somewhat self-selecting. It doesn't include all those people who didn't survive their event, or who survived it but aren't fit enough for rehab. Those cohorts might lean much more toward unhealthy lifestyles.

My cardiologist recommended that I stop going to high altitude for skiing. I asked if it was going to make my leaky valves worse. He said no, it was just that if I happened to have an issue, I'd circle the drain much faster at altitude. So even if people's heart conditions were a result of genetics, their lifestyle choices might still very much affect their outcomes.

[Redfloyd in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

That is a very good point and one that I hadn't considered, maybe it is only the previously fit and healthy people that are able to attend cardio rehab. My surgeon did say that if I hadn't been so fit I wouldn't have survived my operation, his words not mine. Maybe just being naturally active and not eating the wrong foods rather than eating the right foods is good enough.

[Skiffrower]

My cardio rehab group were mostly people who hadn't done formal exercise and were not previously v fit, a lot had smoked and most were overweight and/ or had diabetes. But it was a day time class so a lot were retired and with some of these conditions age played a part. Lifestyle, genetics ? In my case , it's accepted that COVID may have been a factor.

Infections can also play a part.

[purpleflame]

I think I had heart problems in my childhood already. In my opinion the broken heart syndrome is real, I had severe trauma caused by my parents throughout my childhood. My heart was under constant physical and emotional stress. It is not always the case that smoking causes heart disease, the environment plays a role as well. Thank you for bringing up this question.