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Lately, on the news, we are hearing more and more about people who just “drop dead.” Some of them have been athletes, people who are unlikely candidates for such an event.

I want to tell you a little bit about Long QT Syndrome because before I was diagnosed with this heart condition a couple of years ago. I did not know that I had it. This is often genetically-based, and in my case, that is true. Both of my brothers died of sudden death syndrome, as it is also called, and my sister collapsed in a medical facility where she was able to be resuscitated, lucky for her. My brothers were ages 50 and 53 when they died.

Long QT refers to the intervals of a heart beating. This potentially-fatal condition is easily discovered with a routine EKG. When I saw a cardiologist, he ruled out beta blockers, the medicine usually used to prevent a sudden heart stoppage. Due to other meds I take, I am not a candidate for them. Usually, treatment happens only after an incident has occurred, if the patient survives, and that treatment is the installation of a defibrillator, a device that shocks the heart into beating again, should it stop.

I suppose it is difficult for anyone to live with a dagger hanging over her bed. Perhaps it is the reason I work so hard, and try to make the most of each day. I am never sure just how many more days remain. For more information, the Mayo Clinic website has some details. Just key in “Long QT” in a Google search.

Forewarned is forearmed. So, the next time you visit your doctor for a regular check-up, you might ask him to run an EKG. If you are someone who can take preventative medicine, this advice might just save your life, and that is why I am telling you this story, now.

In the meantime, I hope I am around long enough to see my next grandchild born, … and beyond. I have more to do, God willing, and the creek don’t rise.

All for now.

Patricia Cummings

If you have gone to a restaurant recently, you will have seen the temptations that lurk there. The high fat content in many foods, such as French fries, and rich, deep fried desserts, etc. has health professionals worried, and with good reason. Doctors are concerned about “plaque,” the kind that can build up along arterial walls and eventually lead to heart attacks.

If you have had a physical exam recently, with blood work, you will have heard about HDL and LDL, the “good” and “bad” cholesterols. The goal is to keep the “bad” ones at bay, and also to keep blood pressure in an optimal range. For adults, a healthy blood pressure is 120/60.

On a PBS program yesterday, I learned that some people have high cholesterol due to uncontrollable genetic factors. I also heard the scary fact that more women than ever are developing heart disease and dying from it. Being overweight and/or being diabetic contribute to this growing problem.
Scientists have discovered a way to look inside arteries now, to find out what is going on. This is pretty amazing, since heart arteries are no larger than the lead of a pencil, if I understood correctly. White blood cells race to the arterial walls when plaque becomes attached and the result is inflammation that can lead to a dangerous situation.

Heart disease is something we hear about so often, we are almost immune to the words. That is becoming problematic. Many people who have a heart attack die suddenly. They do not get a second chance.

I was in and out of the room when the program aired, therefore, I don’t know if the condition called long Q T was mentioned. This is a genetically predisposed state. It is an irregularity of heart rhythm can be seen readily, on an EKG. Long Q T is linked to “Sudden Death Syndrome.”

Both of my brothers died from this condition, and my sister also collapsed from it, but was in a medical establishment at the time. With CPR done immediately, she lived to tell the tale.

The simple explanation is that Long Q T is like an electrical shortage. The brain simply stops telling the heart to beat. This comes on suddenly, and if there is no medical intervention, the person dies within six to seven minutes, not even time enough to get to a hospital. I have been tested, and was told that I, too, have long Q T. My mother had angina and arrythmia and died of a sudden heart attack, but had lived to be 92, so that is encouraging.

Sometimes, Beta Blockers are prescribed as a preventative measure. In my case, due to other medications already in place, they are not appropriate. A defibrillator can be installed, but generally one of those units, that electrically re-charges the heart, is not added unless a person has had a heart stoppage.

So, I am on my own, just trying to live each day to its fullest measure, and knowing that this medical issue is hanging over my head, like a dagger on a thread poised over a bed.

Why am I sharing this with you? I just want to make you aware that some heart disease can be prevented. If you smoke, give it up! Smoking can lead not only to cancer, but to congestive heart failure, a situation in which one slowly suffocates to death.

Walk whenever possible. Eat at home whenever possible, and cook healthy, nutritious foods like soups. Eat more vegetables and fruits, and less meat and sweets. Attempt to reach a reasonable weight.

Please don’t become a statistic. The time has come for us all to take charge of our lives. We owe it to ourselves, and also to those who love us and would like to see us around a bit longer. Of course, there are those genetic issues. All we can do is to stay as healthy as we can, and that includes adopting a cheerful outlook. Being calm, and being able to laugh, if only at ourselves, goes a long way toward maintaining health.

Long life!

Patricia