My father just had a stent put in. He is 68. My mother also has a stent; hers was put in when she was...68. My paternal grandfather apparently died of coronary artery blockage at 69. I am no rocket scientist, but I see a pattern here.
I suddenly feel like I have a ticking time bomb inside of me. I am, knock on wood, very healthy as a general rule. I don't have chest pains, I don't smoke, I don't drink too much (too often). I eat a fairly healthy diet, watch my weight. I don't get enough exercise, but since we got the dog, I do get some walking every day.
But the number is there now, in my head. 68. Sixty-eight. Programmed somewhere in my DNA... or not. Maybe lifestyle can trump biology. Maybe. Maybe being aware of the land mine down the road can help me avoid it. Maybe.
the problem, as I see it, is, maybe not.
1 comment:
Don't let your genetic heritage dictate your hand, or even your mental image of that hand. It can be risen above, and you're doing most of the right things to beat the pre-programmed odds.
Look at me. I have already outlived both of my grandfathers. One died of a stroke at 29. The other of a heart attack at my current age. One grandmother died of TB at about my age. The other grandmother died of a stroke at 78 (reasonable, but still a CV victim). My mother died just shy of 67, of smoker's cancer.
Odds are not in my favor on the cardio vascular front. My blood pressure is good. I exercise regularly. My weight is about twenty pounds more than it should be. But, I refuse to assume I am doomed.
Predestination is for Calvinists!!!
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