When someone you care about is diagnosed with coronary artery disease, there’s a lot to learn. Whether they’ve had a heart attack or found out after testing, you may have questions or want to help them manage the condition. Support from family members and close friends means a lot. But there’s a fine line between … Read more
Doug Fugate loves to travel. But going places can require lots of walking and long-stretches of sitting — in cars, trains, or airplanes. And that can be tricky because Fugate has peripheral artery disease (PAD), in which narrowed arteries prevent blood from flowing easily to his legs and arms. Fugate, who’s 58 and lives in … Read more
At first, Douglas Salisbury’s peripheral artery disease, or PAD, crimped his sex life in small ways. “Cramping in my calves during sex was the most obvious related issue,” says the 60-year-old retired chemical dependency counselor. Salisbury managed the cramps by drinking extra water before sex. He also tried applying ancient magnesium oil to the skin … Read more
By Trip Hedrick, as told to Janie McQueen One day in 2000, at age 46, I was in the pool doing a hard set when a jolt of chest pain and radiating arm pain stopped me cold. I’ve been swimming most of my life — I was a member of U.S. Masters Swimming for more … Read more
Michael Capalbo used to subsist mostly on meals in restaurants and takeouts. “I just thought I was immortal,” says the 54-year-old Connecticut salesman. “I was literally living on burgers and wings and pizza and stuff like that.” Then in April of 2020, while at work at Walgreens, Capalbo had a massive heart attack caused by … Read more
Annoyed by constant indigestion and other nagging symptoms, Marybeth Neyhard of Broomall, PA, went to see a doctor in July of 2017. “I said, ‘If this is what 65 feels like, I don’t like it,’” recalls Neyhard, who soon got some troubling test results. A scan of her coronary arteries showed she had several significant … Read more
If you have coronary artery disease (CAD), also known as ischemic heart disease or coronary heart disease, you may wonder whether certain physical activities are safe. Hiking. Running. Golf. Sex? Some people with CAD, as well as doctors, may hesitate to bring up the last subject. But sex is safe for many people with CAD, … Read more
If you’ve recently learned you have coronary artery disease (CAD), you may feel stuck or overwhelmed on what to do about it. “We give blanket statements about lifestyle modification, and people get it, but it’s overwhelming to be told to do all of this stuff,” says Samit Shah, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist at Yale … Read more
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) develops over time. And in the early stages, you may not realize it’s happening. But there are things you can do to lower your odds of ever getting PAD. The first step is to understand how it takes hold, if you’re at risk, and how it happens. PAD happens when certain … Read more
Carolyn Thomas of Victoria, Canada, was out for a morning walk in 2008 when “out of the blue,” the 58-year-old felt sick. Pain engulfed the center of her chest and radiated down her left arm. She was nauseous and sweaty. The emergency room doctor ran a few heart tests, then told Thomas: “You’re in the … Read more