Competing in sports all your life, eating super healthy food and still being affected by a heart problem. How is that possible? There is only one answer for Paul (47): hereditarily he has drawn a bad fate. Just try to deal with that. Especially when you are back home after treatment and are left with so many questions and fears.
Why is this happening to me? How do I make sure it doesn’t happen a second time? Does it mean that your healthy lifestyle makes no sense at all? Paul: “By living a healthy lifestyle I actually gained a lot of time before I was affected. I keep exercising because it just feels good. But my wish is to be able to do that again without clenching my buttocks. Now you throw everything you feel on the scales of the heart. That won’t go away, but as soon as I accept that it will weigh less heavily.”
Always busy with heart problems
His father was struck by a serious heart disease at the age of 32, something that had a major impact on the entire family. “Since I was a child, we were always concerned about heart problems. We were waiting for the Sword of Damocles, especially when my brother also developed a heart condition at a young age.”
Suddenly my condition deteriorated
Paul himself has been very sports-minded from an early age. “I work as a sports instructor, I have always practiced top sports myself and everything always went well.” And precisely because of his healthy lifestyle, Paul assumed that he would not be burdened. Until he noticed that his performance in sports was declining. “While I had always been able to keep up well as a 40-year-old, my condition suddenly deteriorated.”
You are young (<55 years) and have cardiovascular disease…
… do your family members also have an increased risk?
You can also go to the consultation hours of the Vascular Medicine outpatient clinic with this question. Find out more about a possible hereditary factor and whether it is wise for your family members to have themselves examined.
Contact outpatient clinic >
Schokmoment
He went to the doctor with extreme back pain and chest pain. An MRI of his back showed nothing, but an ultrasound by a cardiologist showed calcification (plaque) in the carotid arteries. ‘With your sporting history, I am not going to let you take a cycling test, you have a very strong heart. But because of your family history I want to do a CT scan’, that was what the cardiologist said to Paul. That CT scan showed three blockages in the anterior coronary artery. “It was a complete shock moment. I am 47, have been exercising all my life and eat vegan. How is that possible?” Paul was immediately referred to the hospital, where a cardiac catheterization followed.
Sir, you are done and can do everything again
“Sir, you are done and can do everything again. With your heart you can now run ten marathons,” the cardiologist joked, after Paul had a stent in his coronary artery and was sent home with medication. But things turned out very differently. When Paul started exercising again at home, he collapsed.
I didn’t dare to exercise anymore
In the ambulance, the drug to lower his heart rate, a beta blocker, turned out to be the culprit. Paul’s heart rate became so low that he almost fell unconscious. “I no longer dared to exercise, I no longer trusted my heart rate. That gave a huge blow to my confidence.”
He was the first to hear me and do something
All those questions and fears also led to sleep problems. “I couldn’t handle it, it really went in the wrong direction. Asked the doctor for help, but he did not see it as a trauma. The psychologist had a waiting list of a year, so I didn’t get any help.” Ultimately, a check-up appointment with the cardiologist was Paul’s salvation. “I live with so many fears,” I told him. He was the first to hear me and do something.”
Lp(a) cholesterol very high
The cardiologist agreed to a blood test. This showed that the lipoprotein A level in Paul’s blood was very high. This Lp(a) is a form of cholesterol that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and can accelerate the process of arteriosclerosis. “So it’s not about diet or lifestyle, I immediately thought.” The cardiologist referred Paul to the UMC Utrecht, where Lp(a) cholesterol measurements are part of the UCC-SMART study into risk factors that can explain the development of cardiovascular disease at a young age.
All in the same boat
Paul received more help at the Vascular Medicine outpatient clinic in UMC Utrecht. During an intake with the nurse specialist, he shared his fears. “Sometimes I’m so scared that I turn on ‘location sharing’ on my phone when I take out the trash. If I crash, at least my family knows where I am.” The internist registered Paul for a rehabilitation program. “The rehabilitation has brought me a lot, because I exercise in a group with people who are all in the same boat. Everyone has so many questions, you share them with each other.”
Through the Social Work department, Paul was also able to join a support group for people under the age of 55 with heart problems. “You can be really honest there and notice that you are not the only one with fears. We learn to deal with it with coping mechanisms.”
Genetically bad fate
Paul is now doing a lot better. “I’m not there yet, but I feel so much better mentally. A world of difference. All I want is to stop worrying about my heart all the time. The bottom line is that I can exercise all I want, but my veins will eventually clog. That is genetically the bad fate I have drawn, you have to deal with it.”
Exercising again without a clenched buttocks
Medicines prevent the slippage and Paul is being monitored. With his story he wants to make others aware. “I hope that other young people with heart disease in the family will also sound the alarm to their GP about having such a blood test. At least then you are prepared and you can take steps. I am very happy with the Vascular Medicine clinic, where I now really get all the help, and with the UCC SMART research.”
The UMC Utrecht Heart and Vascular Center offers help
Cardiovascular diseases are rare in people under the age of 55. When young people do suffer a heart attack, stroke, aneurysm or peripheral vascular disease, there are often many questions. What type of vascular disease underlies it? What are the risk factors? Is there a hereditary predisposition and increased risk among family members? And above all: what treatment options are available to minimize the risk of recurrence?
Are you younger than 55 years old and affected by cardiovascular disease and do you have any questions? Then you can go to the consultation hours for premature vascular disease of the vascular medicine outpatient clinic of the UMC Utrecht Heart and Vascular Center. Ask your GP or cardiologist for a referral to our outpatient clinic.
Contact outpatient clinic >
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2023-12-05 12:52:36
#exercise #clenched #buttocks
