Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among men and women in America. However, if we eat right and exercise we don’t have to worry about having a heart attack right?
According to physical therapist Lisa Morrone that might not be the case after all.
“It’s more common than you would think that athletic people who are just out for a jog drop dead of a heart attack.”
Not only those who are unhealthy or overweight are at risk for having a heart attack. It’s not uncommon for seemingly healthy, young, individuals to be surprised by a heart attack.
“Lifestyle issues like smoking, being overweight, or eating bad food, those don’t start to show up in our cardiovascular health until about 60 years of age and older.”
“When we’re seeing people drop dead at 46, they often have this familial history or a genetic predisposition towards cardiovascular disease.
“The thing that shocks us all is that these people are in great shape, how can their heart not be in great shape? There is something that underlies genetic cardiovascular disease and it makes us prone to clotting in our arteries.”
It’s very difficult to find out if you are at risk for blood clots unless you go to the doctor to get checked.
“Their blood pressure might be normal, they might have perfect cholesterol levels, they might look great on their blood work, but unless they’ve had a Carotid Artery Study and someone has gone in with a sonogram and looked at how much clogging is going on in the thick arteries within your neck, you may never know that you’re a ticking time bomb.”
