Today is the day! April 7th: National Start! Walking Day!!!!!

Wherever you are, sometime before the clock strikes midnight, get out and walk for  thirty minutes today - even twenty minutes if it comes down to squeezing it in while you're at work (on your morning or afternoon break?!).  Start walking for a healthier lifestyle (yup, I stole that last phrase from the American Heart Association website, but it's soooo true and simple).  You have to make the time for yourself.  Your well-being and health are priceless; you'll even feel a little less stressful after going for a thirty minute walk (I can pretty much guarantee it).  The American Heart Association even has a nifty online tracker, if you're like me, and prefer to see your progress in the days and months to come.  There is no time like the present!  I'll be doing the same thing today - I confess, I've slacked off ;-)  Begin the change today.  

Me, Myself and I vs. What, Where, When & Why

The article below peaks my interest since I still have no other reason for my blood clot/heart attack other than being told that I had "a lot of stress and bad luck". I wonder how the doctor officially wrote that sentence!? In fact, I am hoping to get something official in writing at my next appointment. It's a horrible feeling not knowing why. I always wanted to be a journalism major - the who, what, when, why and how is the first thing I learned (I didn't get very far in that journalism endeavor!). Anyhow, in this situation, the only answer I have pertains to who. The answer is, me. 

I went through all sorts of genetic tests following my heart attack (lupus, leukemia, I can't remember them all...) yet everything came back negative. The reason I want to know isn't just a need to know based upon reaction, I want to know so I can try to prevent it from happening again. So, for now, I still mention every little thing I can think of as it comes to mind to my doctor, no matter how silly it may seem. I think I've been in the room to many times when my husband is watching the t.v. program 'House'! Probably more ridiculous is the fact that I still have a shoe box sized box with the empty bottles of the vitamin supplements/medications I was taking when I had my heart attack - as though some recall will occur and I will have the bottles with the manufacturing information that link the mysterious contents to my heart attack (again, too much 'House'). I need to begin to accept the fact that I will never know; that I have to look at people and say "stress and bad luck", and believe it myself.  Well, on with the article (below):

Genetic Link to Heart Failure

ScienceDaily (Jan. 1, 2010) — A team of researchers, at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, has identified a group of 12 genetic variants in the HSPB7 gene that is associated with heart failure in humans.

The research is reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The team, led by Gerald Dorn, used an approach they have recently developed that allows ultra-high-throughput targeted DNA sequencing to identify genetic variation in four genes with biological relevance to heart failure. They identified in a large group of Caucasian individuals with heart failure, 129 separate genetic variants in the four genes, including 23 that seemed to be novel.

Further analysis of 1117 Caucasian individuals with heart failure and 625 nonaffected Caucasians indicated that a block of 12 genetic variants in the HSPB7 gene was associated with heart failure. Confirmation of this association was provided by analysis of an independent group of individuals.

The authors hope to use the same approach to identify further genetic variants associated with heart failure, a disease that is influenced by multiple genetic factors.

How Does Stress Affect A Cardiac Condition After A Heart Attack?

Question: How does stress affect my cardiac condition, is it dangerous when I have angina, and how about stress after a heart attack?

Answer: There has been an awful lot of research documenting that if you already have heart disease -- if you already had a heart attack or have been diagnosed with heart disease by angiography or other tests -- that stress puts you at a higher risk for having some bad events happen to you.

People who've had a heart attack, who have low levels of social support, are more likely to die in the next few years. People who meet criteria for depression following a heart attack are actually four to five times more likely to die in the next six months following the heart attack. People who have chronic stress at work -- high demands, low control over how you meet those demands -- when they're followed up over two to four years, are about twice as likely to die as people whose jobs do not impose that kind of stress.

So once you have heart disease, I'm afraid I have to tell you that the stress story is even more dire than before you develop heart disease.

Redford Williams, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Director, Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Duke University Medical Center

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