The Heart Doctor Will See You Now
My name is Cat. I do three HIIT classes a week, walk 7km a day and get up early for Sunday morning yoga. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink alcohol and I’ve never had high cholesterol. Oh, and I also have premature heart disease – really.
Although I don’t tick many of the risk factor boxes, I do tick one, and it’s a biggie: genetics. My dad died from a sudden heart attack at the age of 50. My dad’s dad also died of a heart attack, as did my dad’s dad’s dad. My cardiologist describes this as “an alarming family history.” Despite knowing this, I didn’t pursue a heart check up until I turned 43. Lulled by the false narrative that heart disease is a men’s issue, I just didn’t think
