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Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

myticker.com

11–20 of 501 posts

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#11

The title of the article says "don't die of heart disease", but given that we all have to die at some point, if you could choose what natural cause to die of, wouldn't you pick heart disease? It is the best way to die. The worst is stroke. So once you cross a certain age, say 60, don't worry about heart disease, worry instead about stroke.

Why is heart disease a “good” cause of death?

Less suffering. Stroke on the other hand... you become partially disabled, which causes suffering not just for you, but also for your loved ones.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#12

Tl;dr be affluent enough to be able to afford great medical care and have enough free time for preventative actions

Walking and eating sensibly is free. Even a balance oatmeal, rice & beans with infrequent meat servings would defend against heart disease better than expensive medicine, at less than $1 / day.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#13
I might just be tired, but this seems highly repetitive. The author mentions friends in the field and concierge doctors multiple times in as much as I read.

Feels like the whole thing could be shortened to just say "here's the tests you run, the drugs you might take, the lifestyle changes you should consider".

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#14
post #9

The title of the article says "don't die of heart disease", but given that we all have to die at some point, if you could choose what natural cause to die of, wouldn't you pick heart disease? It is the best way to die. The worst is stroke. So once you cross a certain age, say 60, don't worry about heart disease, worry instead about stroke.

Funnily enough, the things you can do to prevent stroke line up entirely with the things you can do to avoid heart disease.

The article doesn't mention antioxidants at all, which help prevent atherosclerosis.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#15

The title of the article says "don't die of heart disease", but given that we all have to die at some point, if you could choose what natural cause to die of, wouldn't you pick heart disease? It is the best way to die. The worst is stroke. So once you cross a certain age, say 60, don't worry about heart disease, worry instead about stroke.

If you have a massive banger and die immediately that is a pretty good way to go.

However, many people suffer from heart failure which, despite the name, means partial heart failure. The permanent breathlessness gives them a terrible quality of life. They can live with this for decades sometimes but it's not much fun.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#16
post #6

Fabulous information, but lacking information isn’t the issue. The behavioral changes are obvious and well evangelized : lose weight, regular activity (walking), and if necessary, take meds. (Yes I know your marathon runner cousin who died suddenly of a heart attack, but these are still your best odds) Telling people what to do rarely fixes anything. People need dozens of impressions for those changes to sink in. Fri…

Managing stress shouldn't be overlooked

“Stress” is so abused and nebulous that it’s impossible to define. Nearly every condition is worsened by “stress” but there’s no way to measure it. And there’s no conclusive way to manage stress either. Medication, psychotropics, self medication, meditation. Nearly all of those are more broadly abused and yet stress “worsens”.

One person may run an intense soup kitchen 15 hours a day and feel little stress, and another can sit at a computer for 9 hours sending pointless emails and feel tremendous stress.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#17
Very interesting, but do the numerous mentions of taking action in your 20s, 30s and 40s mean it's too late for someone in their 50s?

Nitpick: he mentions LDL-C but the test results don't mention that at all. Only later do I see that is "LDL Cholesterol".

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#18
post #12

Tl;dr be affluent enough to be able to afford great medical care and have enough free time for preventative actions

Walking and eating sensibly is free. Even a balance oatmeal, rice & beans with infrequent meat servings would defend against heart disease better than expensive medicine, at less than $1 / day.

And not smoking or drinking saves you money!

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#20

The title of the article says "don't die of heart disease", but given that we all have to die at some point, if you could choose what natural cause to die of, wouldn't you pick heart disease? It is the best way to die. The worst is stroke. So once you cross a certain age, say 60, don't worry about heart disease, worry instead about stroke.

> worry instead about stroke.

You say that as if stroke is orthogonal to heart disease. Much of what prevents one prevents the other.

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