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I had a heart attack in 2009 at the age of 54. Doing all the stupid things I should not have done, smoking, bad eating habits, working too much. Now I am 71 and although my journey has been up and down, I believe I am in the best shape (body and mind) I have been in 25 years. Exercising and watching my diet (low-carb) has given me great lab numbers and lowered my blood pressure and pulse. It is not easy and I have to work on it every day. I also have to credit my doctors, both general and cardio for staying patient with me in my journey. I did have a stent inserted in 2009, and I think it is still working fine. Good Luck to all.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am glad all the effort you've put into shaping up has shown benefits! Staying active and watching your diet and nutrition are so important to preventing or recovering from cardiovascular disease. How are you feeling now? All the best, Kathy (Team member)
Hi! Went for PAD testing at end of Sept 2025 at insistence from a 1st cousin with CVD. Few more tests indicated an angiogram needed asap. Was done 12/09/25 with 3 stents-1 to abdominal artery, plus 1 to each leg in iliac artery. Got lucky when I had that PAD test as this is all new to me and had no idea my legs were 80-90% blocked arteries only, veins are mostly clear. Quit smoking 5 years ago, quit alcohol 2009, did exercise until last year when became too fatigued after 5 min. walk. Hoping the stents will work and I'll be able to walk again to control weight. Have not done the cardio testing part, that will be in Jan. '026. This is on top of an MS diagnosis. Lot of the symptoms of both diseases overlap, some do not. New med of Xarelto giving me bruises. I do hope this can be controlled, too many strokes in my dad's family and maybe I caught on to this before there is nothing to do for it.
A bit late, ortho docs say YES, primary doc say NO, psych say GO FOR IT! I did and a fun day with a single head bump that helmet handled no problem. Did add extra nylon suit under wetsuit for skin protection with dive gloves and dive socks. Have a safety vest, no ready for it yet. 3 more surf events for the season. Diving sounds amazing! You certainly kept yourself protected. I'm so glad you had a great day. All the best, Kathy (Team member)
Hi everyone. Glad I found this group. I was experiencing shortness of breath and mild chest pain when exercising and my doctor recommended a heart cath. Among other test. It showed the major lad artery 100% blocked and three others 75 and 85% blocked. I'm scheduled for multiple bypass open heart surgery in January. Needless to say, I'm really scared. I would love to hear from others who have had this done.
I love the support here! Thanks for being part of the community! Warmly, Kathy (Team member) I'm glad you found our cardiovasculardisease.net community. It's no small thing to be facing serious bypass surgery. I hope you have a great support system at home, as well as all of our best wishes. Please let us know how you are doing after the surgery. We care. All the best, Kathy (Team member)
Hi everyone. I am diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, small vessel disease, heart failure. Cardiovascular disease runs in my family. My father died at 48 and my son had heart attack at 46. My mom had cardiovascular disease and had a stroke. I am 80 and had cabg 3 in 2017. Nice to meet you all.
Welcome to the CardiovascularDisease.net community! How are you doing today? Was there a topic that you came to the community to learn more about? Warmly, Kathy (Team member)
