Are You a Ticking Time Bomb?

Every year, more than 850,000 Americans have a heart attack, and for about half of them, the first symptom is death.

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"I Just Didn't Think I Was At Risk"

Even former President Bill Clinton, treated by some of the best doctors in America when he was in the White House, didn't know he was a heart attack waiting to happen. How could that be, and what does it say for the rest of us?

Determining heart-attack risk is a tricky thing: Each of us has a different susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Some people will live to be 100 on burgers and milk shakes, while a few vegetarian marathon runners will have heart attacks at 35. Your fitness level and what you eat play a role, of course, and so do genes and gender. But gender helps only for a while. Women have fewer heart attacks than men before they reach menopause. They catch up within a few years, however, and heart disease is an equal- opportunity killer after that. Nearly a quarter of the population -- 64 million Americans -- have cardiovascular disease. And here's the shocker: As much as 40 percent of those who have a heart attack have no symptoms at all.

One obstacle to diagnosis is denial. In a TV interview with Diane Sawyer after his bypass procedure, Clinton said that before his surgery, he had been experiencing tightness in his chest after exercising. "I'd have to stop and catch my breath," he said. But he thought he was just tired, working too much, and out of shape. He was convinced it was nothing serious. Sadly, this is a common story.

It never occurred to Dennis Higgins, 56, a freelance product designer in New York City, that he was at risk for a heart attack, either, but it should have. He'd "lived a wild, crazy life," as he describes it, including smoking since he was 12, drinking a lot, eating a diet high in saturated fat and not exercising regularly. At six-foot-two and 238 pounds, he was overweight. He also had a catastrophic family history: Five of his mother's six brothers, and two of their sons, had all died before age 60 of heart-related problems. "I knew all that," says Higgins, "but I just didn't think I was at risk." He had no symptoms, he says, except for some occasional shortness of breath, usually in the middle of the night.

But one day he logged on to a website where an interactive tool calculated that he was going to die at age 68. That did it. "I said, 'Oh, my God!' I have two children, five and six, and I want to be around for them," says Higgins. So he went to a doctor for the first time in 30 years and, after several tests, learned that he had two arteries with blockages. The treatment? Two stents to hold open the arteries, several medications including a statin and a blood thinner -- and a total change in lifestyle.

• What Can Be Learned From a President's Heart?
• Evan a President can't command clear arteries.
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• Dr. Oz's 5 Tips for a Happy, Heart-Healthy Life
• The way you live does make a difference! Here's a pain-free prescription for bypassing heart disease.
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• 10 Easy Steps to a Healthier Heart
• Keep your heart healthy and reduce your heart attack risk with these simple tips.
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• Warning Signs of Heart Disease
• Important symptoms to watch out for.
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• Exercise Your Heart Attack Risk Away
• A healthier heart is as simple as a daily walk.
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• Know the Stages of Heart Disease
• How cholesterol wreaks havoc in your body.
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“ Remove dust and dirt from ceiling fans and air-conditioner vents with a cloth and a vacuum with a soft nozzle attachment. ”

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My father, an Air Force Academy graduate, still retains a strict military code of ethics as well as a quick wit. One day I mentioned that I was thinking about getting my bellybutton pierced. "No way!" my father fired back. "This is an Air Force family -- no navel destroyers are allowed!"

-- Sarah Blomquist