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
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
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
If you recently learned you have coronary artery disease, you may worry about whether you can go back to work. For most people, it’s fine to get back on the job. “Treatments for coronary artery disease today are so improved” that more people with the condition are able to work today than ever before, says … Read more
Bill Sylvester has known most of his life that his heart could one day give him trouble. His family’s history of heart disease goes back at least three generations. His mother, three uncles, and two grandparents all died of the illness before age 65. Sylvester, a 63-year-old custom baseball bat maker in Big Bear, CA, … Read more
Jill Shook was 32, a long-time runner who worked out regularly and ate a healthy diet when a year ago she received a diagnosis she never expected: coronary artery disease (CAD). The shock started with her annual physical, where her doctor discovered that her cholesterol was very high. Shook, a speech language pathologist and business … Read more