Athletic performance in your 40s?

[Trackhead]

Did you get reperfusion therapy “clot busters” or go straight to the cath lab?

Conrad Anker had pretty scary myocardial infarction at age 54 in the fricking Himalaya of all places, up around 19000ft and somehow survived.

[XXX-er]

Damn you guys, this is tough to read. Best wishes for healing.

I am in my 50s and am very conscious about not over-working my heart. Steady uphill hiking is perfect for me, but no trail running or anything that is going to push me too hard, even though I still feel capable. Even mountain biking gets my heart going more than I would like, so I take it easy and stop on the uphill to bring my heartrate down. It's a completely unscientific approach but I really don't want to jar any of those plaque chunks loose!

get an E-bike , do a very brisk uphill ride for 30 min and your pulse will be zone 2 at 100-110, do it enough and you will lose weight

[Trackhead]

I’ve got a 4cm aortic root which was an incidental finding on echocardiogram during chemo I’m keeping an eye on. It’s on the cusp of upper limits of normal.

[lowsparkco]

Anybody else having the coronary calcium scans conducted?

Just had my first. Outcome wasn’t great. Definitely need to make a plan to improve my heart health.

[phatty]

Did you get reperfusion therapy “clot busters” or go straight to the cath lab?

Straight to the lab. They didn't spend much time messing around. They were shaving my pubes before I was even out of the ambulance. [emoji28]

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[Trackhead]

Straight to the lab. They didn't spend much time messing around. They were shaving my pubes before I was even out of the ambulance. [emoji28]

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Yeah in a metro area, most places have cath labs. We used to have door to cath lab times of less than 20 minutes at Jordan Valley when I worked there. Early identification by EMS makes a huge difference.

Scary stuff, glad you’re doing well.

[zion zig zag]

Damn phatty! Glad you’re ok.

I thought about having a coronary calcium test a few years ago when a very fit peer of mine a few years younger than me died of a heart attack, but I never got around to it. He had an LAD block in the middle of the night and, bam.

[yeahman]

get an E-bike , do a very brisk uphill ride for 30 min and your pulse will be zone 2 at 100-110, do it enough and you will lose weight

All the trails around Helena are designated non-motorized.

[frorider]

All the trails around Helena are designated non-motorized.

I see some trails near Helena that only climb 100 ft per mile, wouldn’t those be a fairly moderate heart rate option?

[Danno]

Damn, phatty! So glad you're still with us!

Anybody else having the coronary calcium scans conducted?

Just had my first. Outcome wasn’t great. Definitely need to make a plan to improve my heart health.

I got one 3 years ago because doc was concerned with my low carb diet, which caused high cholesterol numbers. Score was zero, so doc stopped (temporarily) from pushing statins. I need to get another.

[Harry]

Damn phatty! Glad you’re ok.

I thought about having a coronary calcium test a few years ago when a very fit peer of mine a few years younger than me died of a heart attack, but I never got around to it. He had an LAD block in the middle of the night and, bam.

Glad to hear Phatty is OK. I had my LAD blocked 2 years ago, almost died. Got a stent, did cardiac rehab, got in great shape, just bought a JHMR season pass. Phatty, you are 20 years younger than me and you have kids who depend on you. Best of luck, you’ve got this.




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[::: :::]

Heal up phatty—that’s terrifying, but glad you are still with us!

[lowsparkco]

Damn, phatty! So glad you're still with us!
I got one 3 years ago because doc was no concerned with my low carb diet, which caused high cholesterol numbers. Score was zero, so doc stopped (temporarily) from pushing statins. I need to get another.

Mine was pretty scary. Still processing it, really. Basically said I was in the bottom 23 percentile for my age group 45-50. I’m not overweight. Raced a full Ironman triathlon last fall, so quite a bit of swim, bike, run over the past few years. Taught skiing four days a week last year. I consider myself pretty active. No smoking, very little alcohol for the last 5 years or so. I’ve been on statins over the last couple years but don’t tolerate them very well. Trying red yeast rice currently also don’t tolerate it well.

Phatty glad to hear you’re okay.

[bennymac]

There’s some evidence that a low dose statin once or twice a week still confers benefits - don’t ask me the strength of that evidence but could be an option for those that don’t tolerate taking it daily. YMMV

[Dantheman]

I’ve been on statins over the last couple years but don’t tolerate them very well. Trying red yeast rice currently also don’t tolerate it well.

Red yeast rice is just a statin with poor QC and dosage control (active ingredient is lovastatin), I'd avoid it. I assume you've tried the full myriad of statin options and dosages? Have you talked to your doctor about a PCSK9 inhibitor?

[The Reverend Floater]

Straight to the lab. They didn't spend much time messing around. They were shaving my pubes before I was even out of the ambulance. [emoji28]

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You got insurance to cover manscaping, so that's nice!

Glad you're still here. Heal up mang!

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[EWG]

I've been following this thread for a long time as I'm a solid 48. I work out 4-6 times per week and love hiking/trail running. I do some cycling, but trails are where I prefer to spend my time.

This Tuesday I had a massive heart attack (near 100% blockage of my right coronary artery) while running and was fortunate to have been on the roads near home so people saw me collapse and were able to call 911 and get me help. It was a fluke thing (plaque ruptured and body caused a clot forming the blockage) but just goes to show that it doesn't always matter what you do. All my friends are starting to freak out because if it can happen to me, health and exercise are not going to save them.

For me, I'll be back running again in a month or so and plan to get back to where I was, though I won't push things too fast. I still got a lot of days on the trails ahead of me and kids I need to see grow up. Hug your families and friends and make sure to tell them you love them.

Chiming in late but wanted to send my thoughts. Super glad you are still here Mag!

[alias_rice]

Glad you’re still with us Phatty. We need to keep you around so I can mock you that the Utes will be back to beating your boys annually!

[yeahman]

I see some trails near Helena that only climb 100 ft per mile, wouldn’t those be a fairly moderate heart rate option?

Yep

[Gepeto]

...apparently not chiming in too late, knowing you’re here and not in anyone else's rush… a sobering message phatty. Three decades of not so intermittent vigilance doesn’t mean I don’t need a blunt reminder now and again

more happy returns - switch to the road

[lowsparkco]

Red yeast rice is just a statin with poor QC and dosage control (active ingredient is lovastatin), I'd avoid it. I assume you've tried the full myriad of statin options and dosages? Have you talked to your doctor about a PCSK9 inhibitor?

I imagine my doc is going to refer me out after she gets these test results. I’ve only tried resuvostatin and red yeast rice. Different side effects, neither acceptable. We’ll see what they come up with next.

[XXX-er]

All the trails around Helena are designated non-motorized.

well then you have been saved from the anti-christ

[Gepeto]

...Different side effects, neither acceptable...

nervous leg syndrome, low appetite, less than 4hrs of real sleep, focus minimized

[Trackhead]

Have you talked to your doctor about a PCSK9 inhibitor?

NNT=74 to prevent one adverse cardiac outcome over two years at a price of $2 million/$14k per patient. These drugs are typically only used in the highest risk patients. Basically patients who in the last year have had stroke, myocardial infarction/ACS, etc.

I rarely see patients on these medications and I’m sure they are a damn nightmare to get insurance approval on. They did a price reduction in 2018 and they are still out of reach and under prescribed.

Prior authorization is a time consuming pain in the ass and we do it every day for the popular diabetes meds for weight loss (semaglutide, etc). Being a patient advocate is the goal, but doing it all day long, trying to find pharmacies with meds in stock, arguing with insurance, it’s time consuming and there’s no built in extra time in a workday for that stuff.

[Trackhead]

well then you have been saved from the anti-christ

Meh, I bought e-bikes for wife/kid so we can all ride together on local fire roads and nobody is complaining. My kids watts/kg kick my ass without a motor and it’s fun to enjoy long mtn rides with them.