Pitcher's Death Shows Heart Disease Strikes All Ages< July 9, 2002 > Clogged arteries, like AARP memberships and senior citizen discounts, are supposed to be reserved for older people. But the death of a 33-year-old professional baseball player of an apparent heart attack is a reminder that even young people need to watch their cardiovascular health, especially if they are at higher risk, physicians say. "Even though we don't think of heart attacks and strokes as being diseases of the young, they can get you," said Dr. Thomas Bersot, an investigator with the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of California, San Francisco. Darryl Kile, an All-Star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, was found dead in his Chicago hotel room last month. An autopsy revealed that two of his three coronary arteries were 80 percent to 90 percent clogged, and his heart was 25 percent larger than normal. Cardiologists said it is very unusual for a person in his 30s to die of a heart attack. While arteries begin to become clogged in childhood, it normally takes decades for the process to threaten a person's life, they said. According to the American Heart Association, from 1987 to 1994 only 32,000 men between the ages of 29 and 44 suffered a heart attack each year, compared with 218,000 men between 45 and 64 and 418,000 men 65 and older. "It takes time to develop the degree of plaque formation and obstruction so you have a catastrophic event like this. It most commonly presents in mid-40s and on up, increasing as age advances," said Dr. John Morse, a cardiologist at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. In the past, physicians thought that the arteries of heart attack victims become clogged like backed-up sink pipes, Bersot said. The space for blood flow supposedly shrunk until it was entirely blocked. But about a decade ago, researchers realized there is plenty of room for blood flow in the arteries of many heart attack victims. The problem is that the growth of plaque on artery walls creates a friendly environment for blood clots, which can form and block the arteries on their own, causing a heart attack, Bersot said. Four out of five heart attacks happen that way, meaning that the victims usually have no idea they are having any problems until it is too late, he said. Kile "could have walked on a treadmill the day before or gone out and pitched a no-hitter and felt perfectly fine," he added. Several cardiologists speculated that Kile must have suffered from several risk factors for heart attack, such as a family history of cardiovascular trouble. In fact, his father died of a stroke at age 44. Smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are other major risk factors. It is not clear from news reports whether Kile suffered from any of those conditions. Illegal drug use can exacerbate clogged arteries but cannot cause them, cardiologists said. Unfortunately, physicians do not always detect clogged arteries. "There's no good way to pick it up," Bersot said. Even exercise stress tests and electrocardiograms can miss signs of heart disease, possibly explaining why Kile's physicals did not turn up signs of problems. But even though tests are not perfect, young people should undergo cardiovascular disease screening every five to 10 years, said Dr. Arthur Klatsky, senior consultant to the cardiology department at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, Calif. Anyone with multiple risk factors should get checked even more often, he added. Always consult your physician for more information. In Other News About Your Heart: A Skin Test for CholesterolFor some people, getting a cholesterol count from the palm of the hand may be much better than the traditional blood test. Your cholesterol level is a primary indicator of heart health. And if you suffer from coronary artery disease, having an accurate cholesterol count could mean the difference between life and death. That is why the announcement from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it has cleared the way for a cholesterol skin test may be significant. The lab test—called Cholesterol 1,2,3—uses the skin on the palm of the hand to measure cholesterol. Most important, the FDA agrees with the test's manufacturer that the results may be more accurate than a blood test alone. But the FDA is taking it slowly. Made by International Medical Innovations Inc. of Toronto, Canada, the test can be used only on those people with severe coronary artery disease, and it has to be used in addition to the standard blood test. With all that said, the company's research, which was validated by the FDA, found that, "in patients with severe disease or previous heart attack, it could provide 4 percent to 15 percent more information about risk of severe coronary artery disease beyond that already available with blood cholesterol and other risk factors." The palm test involves the placing of a BandAid-like pad on the palm. The chemical solution is then applied, and after three minutes a hand-held "reader" scans the pad and inputs the data into a computer, which displays the results. Always consult your physician for more information. Online Resources:(Our Organization is not responsible for the content of Internet sites.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) |
For more information on keeping your heart healthy, please visit our Cardiovascular Diseases Web module. Statistics Related to Heart DiseaseEach year, heart disease is at the top of the list of the country's most serious health problems. In fact, statistics show that cardiovascular disease is America's leading health problem, and the leading cause of death. Consider these statistics released by the American Heart Association (AHA):
Primary Risk Factors for Chronic DiseaseAt the top of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list of primary risk factors for all chronic diseases are: smoking, poor nutrition, and sedentary lifestyle. Living a healthier lifestyle can help to prevent heart disease. This includes the following:
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