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Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

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Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#161

Post by m_a_g »

lateforwork wrote: post #152
Buttons840 wrote: post #58

I am not a statin skeptic--or rather, I don't want to be a statin skeptic. I've done the research and it makes sense to me, but I still feel some social and psychological pressures to reject statins. When I see that it is widely accepted that ApoB is better to measure than LDL-C, but the industry continues to measure LDL-C, but not ApoB, I wonder why. It makes me skeptical. When I see that the purpose of statins is t…

There are plenty of statin skeptics and for good reasons; see prior discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45430939

> and for good reasons

That prior discussion gives no good reasons. The linked medium posts are, to be frank, trash.

Statins are well-tolerated drugs with little to no noticeable side effects. You might have to try a few. You may need to combine ezetimibe to maintain a moderate statin dosage level, and that's it. (Like the author of this article)

Source: Leading cardiologists worldwide, and doctors of the rich and famous.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#162

Post by portaouflop »

kakacik wrote: post #153
Aurornis wrote: post #97

Going deep on biomarkers, blood tests, and debates about optimal levels is okay for some people who derive motivation from obsessing over topics, but I’m starting to notice a trend where people obsess about these things for a couple years before burning out and moving on to the next topic. The best thing you can do for yourself is to establish healthy diet and lifestyle habits that are sustainable. A lot of people wh…

Right on spot. Find a regime for body and mind that you can sustain without any significant mental effort, after some time lack of good behavior be it sports of healthy food makes one uneasy. Bonus points from getting happy from it / making it a passion, this helps a lot with coming back after some hiatus (ie injury, sickness, long travel etc.). Personal story - I used to be super sporty, 4x gym training during work…

Getting happy from it is 100% the most effective way to change habits. Unfortunately it’s also very subjective and hard to find out what makes you happy…

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#163

Post by bluGill »

dumbmrblah wrote: post #101
throwaway89201 wrote: post #55

I'm not sure that non-medically indicated CT scans are a great idea, as you're at least doubling your yearly dose of radiation in the year of the CT scan. Perhaps it's warranted, but the article doesn't seem to balance that at all against doing a CT scan "every 1-5 years".

I agree. As a physician, this is sticking out to me as bad / dangerous advice. By getting unneeded regular CT scans, you’re dramatically increasing your risk of developing cancer. Beyond the radiation exposure itself, there is also the very real possibility of incidental findings that can lead to further testing, invasive biopsies, and unnecessary interventions, all of which compound your overall risk. You might solv…

You won't die of heart diesease if you die of cancer first. So I guess it sortof checks out, but not what I would choose.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#164

Post by bluGill »

rustman123 wrote: post #91
cogman10 wrote: post #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".

It’s also demonizing doctors and the healthcare system a bit too much for my liking. I’m located in Europe, so I may have a slightly different view, but my doctors clearly care and discuss with me about prevention, risks, tradeoffs, … They praise the methods of the „good“ doctors and stamps the others as driven by financial gain. Who says the expensive ones are any better in this regard? Who says they are more or les…

I'm in the us and my doctors have all done the same. Though it is obvious most people are not listening to them.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#166

Post by m_a_g »

I'd argue that even the CT scan is unnecessary for a lot of people who want to start a preventative regimen to tackle heart disease. Especially if you're in your 20s or 30s with no family history of heart disease and no absurdly high ApoB results combined with really high lp(a).

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#167

Post by toast0 »

Flere-Imsaho wrote: post #139
Aurornis wrote: post #97

Going deep on biomarkers, blood tests, and debates about optimal levels is okay for some people who derive motivation from obsessing over topics, but I’m starting to notice a trend where people obsess about these things for a couple years before burning out and moving on to the next topic. The best thing you can do for yourself is to establish healthy diet and lifestyle habits that are sustainable. A lot of people wh…

I learnt a great trick about exercise: find a podcast or audio book that you really enjoy listening to. Here's the trick: you're only allowed to listen when you're exercising. Also with food and drink: place friction between the treat and yourself. The easiest example is to not have biscuits / alcohol in the house. Bonus tip: alcohol free beer is really good these days.

If you're exercising for cardio, and you're able to follow your book or podcast, you're probably not doing good cardio. OTOH, it's not a bad way to do interval training while watching sports, go hard when they're yammering, slow down when the sports are happening (or, if you're watching soccer, you can go hard most of the time and then slow down for the replay if anything happens, which is unlikely)

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#168

Post by Flere-Imsaho »

portaouflop wrote: post #160
Flere-Imsaho wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learnt a great trick about exercise: find a podcast or audio book that you really enjoy listening to. Here's the trick: you're only allowed to listen when you're exercising. Also with food and drink: place friction between the treat and yourself. The easiest example is to not have biscuits / alcohol in the house. Bonus tip: alcohol free beer is really good these days.

Alcohol free beer was a game changer for me. Also if I can’t avoid it alternating alcohol-containing and alcohol-free drinks. For exercise your tip doesn’t help me at all. I hate audiobooks and podcasts so that would turn me off more from exercising. Also I want to concentrate on the exercise and not do it halfhearted. What helped me was to realise how much better I feel after exercising - since then i kinda got addi…

It's not just sugar. Emulsifiers affect the gut bacteria in a negative way.

I live in the UK and emulsifiers seem to be added to everything: sauces, yogurt, bread.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#169

Post by righthand »

Really surprised at the last few paragraphs! Read with caution this is not Real medical advice!

This was a good read until they recommended using ChatGPT instead of working with your doctor. Also they have some delusion about the actual cost of using ChatGPT.

> Pretty incredible. Also free.

Not free at all. Not a good idea to feed a private corporation your health data!

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#170

Post by bluGill »

lateforwork wrote: post #5

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.

What I want is a long life of doing what I want. when I must die how doesn't matter, but if I can extend my lifespan (well span) by not getting a heart attack that is good: more years to enjoy life. If I can also extend my life by not getting cancer even better. Even if I must die if I can delay that with a good life that is what I want.

note that I said good life. There are lots of bedridden people, I don't want to be like that. I want to be like the old person still doing things in old age.

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