Is it possible for a skinny health nut to have a heart attack?

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Two local chiros went out of biz last mo. husband is seeing 120 pts a DAY!!!! This has been going on for about 6 mo's and getting worse. Or better, considering the alternative. :)
He already has another chiro in the clinic but needs to open another clinic and hire 2 more. Don't know when he'll have the time. He usually works from 8:25 a.m.-6:45 p.m., and works every other Saturday.
Plus, I'm going out of town to Myrtle Beach for a wk, so he's going to have to shuttle difficult child, provide meals, supervise homework and housework, and put out fires and deal with-difficult child koi.
I am seriously worried about him. He gets up at 5:45, goes to the gym for an hr, volunteers at Rotary Club, the local univ football team (where he gets football player pts, so it's good PR), attends a prayer breakfast/biz mtng once a wk, and comes home totally exhausted. Oh, yeah, sometimes works out twice a day.
And he doesn't drink, except maybe once a yr. It would be fun to sit on the porch and share a glass of wine with-him at night.
He refuses to take any medications for anxiety or depression, no matter what happens to him (when easy child was born, he got shingles. When we adopted difficult child, he got an ulcer).
He's got about 7% bodyfat and a strong heart. He looks like a model and looks great in suits.
But stress is stress, you know?
He'd shoot me if he knew I was typing this, but I just wanted to put something in writing.
In case. Plus, I don't want to feel guilty having fun and sleeping while he's working his tail off. But he could be down there with-me. He's his own boss ...
Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.
:hairy:
 

keista

New Member
I second that yes. It's rare but it does happen. Can even happen to teenagers. The cause is usually an undetected congenital defect or Long Q-T. A friend of mine died of a heart attack at the age of 33. Strong healthy guy. Growing up I was always told his brother wouldn't see 30 because he had juvenile diabetes. His brother is still around almost 20 years later.

Sorry, don't mean to add more stress to you, but if your husband is generally healthy, I don't think the stress alone will do him in. Some ppl thrive on it.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Again... answer to thread question is "yes"...
It is possible to have overall healthy body, and still have clogged arteries...
And the factors there seem to be a combination of exercise, diet, and stress.
As in... lack of exercise, bad diet plus stress = almost guarantee, sooner or later.
But... even with really good exercise... bad diet plus stress = problems, sooner or later.

Worse yet... stress can cause OTHER life threatening problems... stroke or aneurism, for example - but not without other risk factors.

Quality of diet? Quality of sleep? If those are good, risks go down.
 

1905

Well-Known Member
Didn't you hear about that Kennedy who passed away last week at her health club? She looked skinny, very skinny. My father was at his gym and a lady had a heart attack right there and died. Add stress to the mix, and a person who doesn't get enough rest, the answer is a resounding YES. Your body repairs and rejuvinates itself while at rest. I have my own issues with working out twice a day and spreading myself too thin, I feel like it's a miracle I didn't die of a heart attack. I didn't know HOW to stop. Your husband needs another plan. I ended up being hospitalized 3 times. Help your husband if you can. Get help, he may not listen to you, he needs help. How you feel right now is how my family felt about what I did.Tell him how scared and worried you are, he will say nothing is wrong, keep saying it....hugs.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Yes, he'll say nothing is wrong. He thrives on the stress. He is exhausted right now, and knows he needs to open another clinic, but once that's done, he'll move onto something else.
It stresses me just to be around him sometimes.
He goes to bed around 9:30 so I guess he's getting enough sleep.
He eats no red meat.
Makes himself a protein/fresh fruit/pycnogenol concoction smoothie every a.m.
He sees the dentist twice a yr.
His only vices are coffee and Coke.

Maybe I'm just a low energy person and we don't mesh. But his staff is exhausted, too.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
OMG...9;30? He and Tony could go to bed at the same time and we could chat away...lmao. Thats when Tony goes to bed too! Of course, Tony has to get up at 4 to drive a van to work out of town.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Yes, and I'd be concerned also. Working out is a good stress reliever, but just chilling out is necessary as well for someone always going going going.

Will he have any help in getting the new clinic up and running and hiring the two new people? Or will he do that all on his own as well? Any way you can assist?
 

Steely

Active Member
Ditto what upallnight said. I certainly don't want you to be scared to pieces over this post, though. He is in a bit of danger, but a lot of people lead their lives this way. Sounds like his coping skill is work - move and do all the time - until you pass into bed exhausted. It is a great way to escape reality. I see my Mom do it everyday, and on that note she is 68 - so most people that do this do not have heart attacks - they just miss out on a lot of life.

I am not sure what to tell you in regards to getting him help. Sounds like he is already a Dr so he knows physically what is good for him and what is not. Perhaps just gentle reminders that this workalcoholic lifestyle is a coping mechanism for escaping reality - and you miss him being present in you and the kids life.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
I'm part of the older generation but my husband also does alot of civic work in addition to work. Due to his age I have taken over the majority of the store work so he can go home and chill. Not. He is an avid Rotarian. He is Chairman of two municipal committees and actually forgot that he had a meeting two nights ago...a night where I had prepared a special dinner for him. He goes to bed very early and there is no "chill" time except on Sunday. I "think" that is activity gives him a sense of self worth and a connection to "his youth". It is tiring for me and a bit scarey too. One thing I am trying to accept that "he is who he is". on the other hand, unkindly I think, I resent that his time is focused on proving himself outside our home. Evidently that is what he needs. I, on the other hand, would like to have a partner. Sorry. DDD
 

flutterby

Fly away!
Genetics play a huge role, too. And he's over 45.

I was 33. Up until I started really showing signs of sickness from what we now know was undx'd heart disease, I was a size 4, and always on the go. At my heaviest until then, I was a size 6. I smoked, but was in great shape. I had 2 blockages at 99%, one at 50%, one at 40% (all of those were stented) and various arteries too small to stent at 20% and 30%. So, I smoked but as the cardiologists told my mom, "It wouldn't matter what kind of lifestyle she led; you don't see this kind of heart disease in her person her age."
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
The answer is a huge YES!

Why? Because often those who are both fit and trim, oddly enough don't pay as much attention to some of the foods they are eating. They don't believe it an issue because they are fit and trim. But it still can be because genetics also plays a huge role. in my opinion a much bigger role than diet and or exercise, not that they aren't important.

I like Janet's idea. husband ought to close up shop for a week and go with you, especially with his load getting heavier in the near future.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
DDD, I hear ya! I want a partner, too. Sigh.

Well put, Steely. they just miss out on a lot of life.

I totally agree. Gentle reminders, yes.

by the way, I was a Rotarian for 7 yrs, one of the first women in the oldest club in our city. (Literally; the oldest members were in their 90s and they were still working. Hmm. Maybe husband is doing something right ... ) The yr from h*ll was when I was prez, we got our 4th dog, who was abused and needed major training for her aggression, we adopted difficult child, and invited a Guyanese student to come live with-us for 9 mos, and attend school. I rewarded myself with-Epstein Barr. :groan:I resigned from Rotary after two things happened: A, our Guyanese student, was babysitting difficult child on Tue nights and after a cpl mo's, easy child, then 5-yrs-old, told me, after I asked why difficult child clung to me so hard after I came home from Rotary (and why he was still awake), that A left him screaming in his crib the moment I left. Screaming. Her reasoning was that babies have to learn to put themselves to sleep. That's the way they do it in her country. OMG. I felt SO guilty. I invited another exchange student, from Germany, to stay at the house on Tue nights and STAY with-difficult child and keep A company, too. And easy child. More money, but more peace of mind. The second thing happened a few mo's later. Our club took on a commitment to mentor kids at a school on the other end of town. By that time, difficult child was about 2, and I thought, why am I hiring a babysitter for my own kids so that I can go help other kids for free? Not fair. No sense. End of Rotary.
(Men don't seem to think this way. husband is still in Rotary. He was also on City Council for 8 yrs and their work sessions and televised sessions were--you got it--Tue night.)

Anyway, my point is, I guess, that I can throw myself into a task as well as he can, but when things get to crazy, I quit. The family comes first.
And so does my sanity.
I totI
 
Top