[Blackrock]

Does anybody have personal stories of the progression and treatment of coronary heart disease? What are the complication and survival rates (how many years does patient has from the initial diagnostic)? Please share your story. Thnx

[gayleggg]

My mother had coronary heart disease. Mostly they start out giving you medication to keep you arteries from clogging up and lower cholestrol, but if a significant blockage is found they put in what they call a stint to open up the artery. That's usually done I think pretty much outpatient these days. My mother had hers in the hospital after she had a heart attack. I don't know what the effect on lifespan is because it depends on a lot of different things, like how quickly they find it and if stints can be used. My mother's was pretty bad by the time they diagnosed it but she still lived a good while after finding it, but she also had COPD which complicated her prognosis. There are a lot of good websites you can look at that might tell you more, like WebMD etc.

[Blackrock]

Thank you for sharing your story. If u don't mind me asking, how old was ur mom? My dad was 72 and a smoker. We found out too late and took him to er and he was fine. Next day he had a heart attack while in the hospital. I don't know why this happened when he's on medications and has oxygen for breathing. Any ideas?

[MagicsMom]

I have CAD and I'm almost 45. I had a heart attack at 40 and they found 40, 20 and 40 percent blockage. I take cholesterol medicine and heart medication to try and control plaque build up and my blood pressure. My doctor told me as long as I eat healthy I should live a long life. Unfortunately I haven't quit smoking and don't exercise so I don't expect a long life.