Can you be healthy and still have heart disease?

Life contains no guarantees: yes, even if you live a healthy lifestyle you still can develop heart problems — particularly if you have been born with "bad" genes that make you vulnerable to heart disease.

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How can a healthy person have a heart condition?

Eating a diet high in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol has been linked to heart disease and related conditions, such as atherosclerosis. Also, too much salt (sodium) in the diet can raise blood pressure. Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease.

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Can you have heart disease for years and not know it?

10, 2015, Journal of the American Medical Association looked at almost 2,000 people ages 45 to 84 (half of whom were men) who were free of cardiovascular disease. After 10 years, 8% had myocardial scars, which are evidence of a heart attack. Most surprising was that 80% of these people were unaware of their condition.

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Can you be immune to heart disease?

A rare group of people whose genetics make them virtually impervious to heart disease is guiding researchers to new drugs that may help the rest of us, The New York Times reports.

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What age does heart disease start?

Heart disease—and the conditions that lead to it—can happen at any age. High rates of obesity and high blood pressure among younger people (ages 35–64) are putting them at risk for heart disease earlier in life.

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36 related questions found

How do I know if I'm developing heart disease?

Chest pain, chest tightness, chest pressure and chest discomfort (angina) Shortness of breath. Pain in the neck, jaw, throat, upper belly area or back. Pain, numbness, weakness or coldness in the legs or arms if the blood vessels in those body areas are narrowed.

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What is Stage 1 of heart disease?

Based on what a patient reports, they fit in one of four stages: Stage I: You can exercise normally without experiencing heart failure symptoms. Stage II: You don't have heart failure symptoms at rest, but some symptoms slightly limit your physical activity. Symptoms include fatigue and shortness of breath.

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Can you live a long normal life with heart disease?

People who understand their condition make better decisions, live a longer life and feel better. It is possible to lead a normal life, even if you have Heart Failure. Understanding and taking control of Heart Failure is the key to success.

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Can heart disease repair itself?

Until recently, it was believed that the human heart didn't have this capacity. But the heart does have some ability to make new muscle and possibly repair itself. The rate of regeneration is so slow, though, that it can't fix the kind of damage caused by a heart attack.

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Why do healthy people have heart attacks?

Seemingly healthy people are “suddenly” having heart attacks because, as it turns out, their arteries are not perfectly healthy and they don't know it. With the proper noninvasive tests, these diseased arteries would have been identified, and the heart attacks wouldn't have happened.

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Do heart diseases go away?

Can you recover from heart disease? Once you've been diagnosed with heart disease, you can't be cured. But you can treat the things that contributed to the development of coronary artery disease. In turn, this can reduce how the condition impacts your body.

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What age does heart disease affect the most?

Adults age 65 and older are more likely than younger people to suffer from cardiovascular disease, which is problems with the heart, blood vessels, or both.

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Are heart conditions permanent?

Does heart disease mean your heart is “diseased” forever? According to researchers and dieticians, the answer is no—heart disease can be reversed, and one of the best ways to reverse heart disease is through cardiac rehabilitation.

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Can fit people have heart attacks?

In fact, you could be at your ideal weight and still have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or high blood sugar, which can increase your chances of a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.

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How can I be free from heart disease?

Prevention Coronary heart disease
  1. Eat a healthy, balanced diet. ...
  2. Be more physically active. ...
  3. Keep to a healthy weight. ...
  4. Give up smoking. ...
  5. Reduce your alcohol consumption. ...
  6. Keep your blood pressure under control. ...
  7. Keep your diabetes under control. ...
  8. Take any prescribed medicine.

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How do you know if your arteries are healthy?

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of your heart that can help us to assess the risk of heart disease while a carotid Doppler ultrasound allows us to measure the flow of blood through the arteries that supply your brain. The carotid Doppler scan is used to evaluate the risk of a stroke.

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How long can you last with heart disease?

2. About half of people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis. 3. Most people with end-stage heart failure have a life expectancy of less than 1 year.

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How long is life expectancy with heart disease?

Overall, life expectancy may decrease by about 8-10% of your expected life. For example, a person with no heart disease will be expected to die around age 85, but in the presence of a heart attack, the life expectancy will be reduced by 10% or 8.5 years.

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Can early heart disease be cured?

Although heart disease cannot be cured, there are treatments that can manage the symptoms and reduce the risk of additional issues related to the disease.

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How long does heart disease take to develop?

It develops often for decades before one develops symptoms, and so if we could really look inside the heart, we'd see that many people have coronary artery disease at a very young age, even in soldiers killed in battle in their late teen years or early twenties, often thickening of the coronary arteries has already ...

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Does heart disease shorten life span?

For heart attacks alone, more than 16 years of life are lost on average, according to American Heart Association statistics. Researchers estimate people with heart failure lose nearly 10 years of life compared to those without heart failure.

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When should you worry about heart disease?

7. Chest discomfort or angina. Feelings of squeezing, tightness, uncomfortable pressure, or heaviness can be signals that something is wrong with your heart. People commonly describe cardiac distress as feeling like an elephant is sitting on their chest.

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What are the first signs of a weak heart?

Heart failure signs and symptoms may include:
  • Shortness of breath with activity or when lying down.
  • Fatigue and weakness.
  • Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet.
  • Rapid or irregular heartbeat.
  • Reduced ability to exercise.
  • Persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tinged mucus.
  • Swelling of the belly area (abdomen)

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At what age should I see a cardiologist?

By middle age, it's a great practice to begin annual cardiology checkups. But don't let this be your starting point! A study from 2000-2016 has shown that heart attacks are occurring in young patients as early as those in their 20s. Even if you are in your 30s with no symptoms, consider your risk factors.

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What are 5 warning signs of heart disease?

Warning signs and symptoms of heart disease
  • Chest Pain. ...
  • Shortness of Breath. ...
  • Coughing or Wheezing. ...
  • Swelling in the Legs, Ankles, or Feet. ...
  • Narrowed Blood Vessels. ...
  • Fatigue. ...
  • Fast or Uneven Heartbeat (Palpitations) ...
  • When to Call the Doctor.

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