By lowering your risk factors and facing your fears, you can still live a full life despite coronary artery disease.
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Coronary artery disease (CAD) can sneak up on you. You may learn you have it after months of experiencing symptoms such as chest pain, jaw pain, fatigue, or even heartburn. Or you may find out you have CAD after surviving a
heart attack. Either way, once you've got it, you have to learn how to live with it, because while CAD is treatable, there is no cure. And that can shake anyone's confidence, says Paul Kligfield, MD, medical director of the Cardiac Health Center at New York–Presbyterian Hospital and the author of
The Cardiac Recovery Handbook. "Even the executives who say, 'I don't get ulcers, I give ulcers' sit up and take notice where their hearts are concerned. It's scary and it's mortality-confronting," he says.
Karen Sanson, 60, of Cleveland, struggled with fear and anxiety after her heart attack and diagnosis of coronary artery disease. "I had to come to terms with trying to have a relationship with my heart where I don't panic," she says.
"You think you're never going to be the same and you have to tiptoe around everything," says Jim Hayes, 77, of Solon, Iowa, who found solace by volunteering with other people living with
heart disease.
Admit That You're a Heart Patient
More about coronary artery disease
Advances in
surgery and
medications, along with risk reduction, which includes
quitting smoking, a
healthy diet,
regular exercise, and
stress management, have made it possible to live a long and full life with CAD. The key is to get on a program, stay on it, and continue to monitor your physical and mental health.
