Another test you should ask your Doctor for is a “Sleep Test”. This test will show if you have sleep apnea, that could also stop your heart. It is possible that Tom Petty had sleep apnea and that could of affected his heart and caused him to have a heart attack.
I found Dr. Esseltyne’s TedX talk “Making Heart Attacks History” very interesting and relevant to this discussion as he shows instances where calcium deposits were visibly reduced via diet.
Dr. Esselstyn doesn’t seem like a guy focused on objectivity and evidence:
Seems like cardio exercise jostles some of that plaque loose - hence the runners, bicyclers, and guys with great stress test results who die within the week!
I’m going to see about this test during fall physical.
three of three - would you care to provide any links supporting that statement?
Isn’t it more like exercise induced heart attacks occur in people with existing unstable plaques who do not exercise much, but then do high intensity exercise, such as shoveling snow on the first significant snow day?
“Isn’t it more like exercise induced heart attacks occur in people with existing unstable plaques who do not exercise much, but then do high intensity exercise, such as shoveling snow on the first significant snow day?”
Possibly true. However, both of the people that I know who had a heart attack while exercising were people who had exercised regularly for many years if not decades. The one who survived (and is fine) was told by his interventional cardiologist “you have huge arteries, you must have exercised a lot, this helped you a lot in this case”. He interpreted “helped a lot” as “probably saved your life”. Of course, a sample size of 2 doesn’t prove much.
I don’t think that any of us can be sure what is going to hit us as we age. It is probably a good thing to be aware that a heart attack is possible, and to not ignore the symptoms when they come up even if vague. An unnecessary call to 911 is a lot better than taking a risk (which is easier to say after someone else had the sense to call 911 and save a life).
“to not ignore the symptoms when they come up even if vague”
good advice, but I think especially as we get older having expereinced so many aches and pains that have come and gone, we just get complacent and blame that indigestion on what we had for lunch.
Bunsen - No, hence the “seems like” preface.
Ah, got it. 
When I hit 60 I am having a DNR tattoo on my chest.
I got my test results today and there was no detectable plaque in any of my arteries. However, my c-reactive protein was a 10.3 last time I had it checked. I have thyroid issues, and this latest test shows all the numbers in a normal range. Once I’m stable for 6 months I’d like to re-do the crp. I’ve switched the a mediterranean diet, while not perfect every minute, I’m eating as clean as possible. I’m even getting used to eating salmon twice a week. The dr prescribed me a statin and I took it for 3 weeks, lost a ton of hair and stopped taking it. I’d really like to avoid a statin, which I’m not convinced reduces the risk for women. I think the key for me and heart disease is managing the inflammation.
Even as a former cardiology nurse, I will say pretty emphatically that I doubt I could ever be convinced to take a statin. Never say never, but most likely never.
^^@nrdsb4, why such a negative response to statins? Although, @eyemamom, I’m sorry you had such a bad reaction with your hair loss. I’m not aware of negative side effects for most people (based on just those that I know, nothing scientific).
The best known undesired effect of statins is muscle pain.
Other potential undesired effects of statins include liver damage and diabetes.
Women may be more at risk of undesired effects of statins.
@eyemamom - From everything I have read and heard, I agree that reducing inflammation is key to lowering the risk of heart disease.
@collage1 - Sadly, I am one of the 7% who is intolerant to statin drugs and this was not discovered or understood by my primary dr. until the damage had been done.
I am on a diet that has my cholesterol almost textbook perfect (was in 260’s when diet was unchecked) and though I haven’t had my CRP tested I can tell by my dramatic reduction in arthritis pain and the once visible swollen arthritic knee that diet really does make a difference in inflammation. The gist of the diet is to remove lectins from your diet allowing your bad gut bacteria to be replaced with a healthier gut bacteria which allows your body to begin to heal itself instead of spending all it energy fighting bad gut bacteria,…so instead of having to medically treat the cholesterol or treat the inflammation, the healthy gut bacteria can focus on eliminating the cause of these issues.
The concept is interesting and it is working for me.
@kajon - what is the diet you are on? I completely agree the gut bacteria is a huge determinent. I take probiotics every day now, as well as a bunch of other things. My hair is also starting to grow back. I’m not all that familiar of lectins, but I’ve heard of them.
In case one doesn’t know it, your body needs cholesterol and makes it in your liver. Sadly for me I have been described as a cholesterol making machine and have been taking some statin since the early 90s and have been taking 80mg/day for some 20 years without any side effects. (I think 80mg/day is the highest prescribed dosage). Although there can be very serious side effects with statins (as with pretty much with every other drug (even OTC like Tylenol)), I would agree that it’s typically best to start conservatively when cholesterol issues are seen (eg diet/exercise), and work your way up to drugs (eg statins) if conservative approaches are ineffective. Definitely if you encounter any side effect, consult MD immediately.
Im trying to avoid statins, as well. Don’t need the side effects (aches.) Really, the jury is still out re: statins. I’ve got knowledgeable medical friends on both sides. You also need to check the Associated Risk factors and calculator. Some reality is genetic, some is your own life choices.
@eyemamom - It is called the Plant Paradox diet by Dr. Steven Gundry and I committed to my H that I would do this along side of him for 6 weeks. The author is a cardiologist, but I have to say that some of his comments and suggestions are sometimes a bit “out there.” (reducing lectins makes sense to me, just not sure about limiting the fruit.) Like every controversial diet, he has friends and foes lining up to write about him. We are approaching this conservatively, but we really do feel better and have gotten the hang of coming up with interesting meals.