At the tender age of 29, my mom passed away from heart disease, so it has always been on my radar. I was told she was very pretty and kind, but I was so young, I barely remember her at all. At 64, my only brother also died of heart disease and early onset Alzheimer’s. When I’m tempted to lay in bed and not exercise, I think of them and immediately jump out of my bed and head for the track or treadmill.
Matters of the Heart
I’ve been through a lot, but I’m very thankful to be alive and as well as I am. I’m 64 and was diagnosed with heart disease almost seven years ago. I had just lost 15 pounds, jogged 5 miles a day and was feeling and looking great! Then out of the blue, I couldn’t navigate the gentle hills in my neighborhood without getting out of breath.
So I went to my doctor and discovered I had cardio-myopathy and enlarged heart from almost 20 years of high blood pressure (HBP). I had gone to a couple of natural doctors and was on several vitamins trying to lower the HBP. At that point, I could barely walk 10 steps without having to sit down and my teen daughter sometimes had to help me.
I’m still fighting to keep my weight and blood pressure under control, but I feel good and try hard to encourage people to never give up on having good health. I believe it’s a matter of keeping the faith, eating healthy most times, doing the right thing and daily exercise.