Keep clocking up the miles
Adangerous place for middle-aged men (with or without Lycra) can be the squash court. The chance of rupturing an Achilles tendon or a plaque in your coronary arteries is quite high as you lunge to meet the volley of a younger and more elastic component.
The sad fact of life and death is that from the age of 30ish the elastin gene switches off and our tendons become more brittle and likely to snap.
Think about what happened to Sonny Bill Williams at the Olympics in Rio last year.
Years of cholesterol build-up create plaques inside our plumbing, that with vigorous exercise are also likely to rupture, causing problems.
The platelets and fibrin attach to the ruptured plaque causing a clot, which becomes a blockage and heart attack.
A recent episode of chest tightness and shortness of breath landed me in hospital and in the Coronary Care unit having an angiogram.
Dye was injected into the arteries feeding my heart and, while the narrowing was described as trivial, it was enough to warrant a prescription for statins and an aspirin a day.
The feelings of guilt in taking up a hospital bed quickly eased when the cardiologist regaled tales of other doctors and colleagues suffering major heart attacks and irreversible damage because they had neglected the warning signs.
My cardiologist told me I was on the same medication as him to reduce the risk of a plaque rupturing and clots forming – and that was reassuring.
He showed me extensive research on the benefits vs risks of statins and explained why I should take them for the rest of my life.
As I want the rest of my life to be a significant amount of time – as long as I don’t experience side effects worse than a heart attack or stroke – I will be happy to keep taking the pills known as statins.
It’s true, statins can cause side effects such as muscle aches, a rise in blood sugar and liver problems.
However, I can monitor all of those through regular blood tests and there are alternative medications.
At a recent corporate talk I was giving, ‘‘How to Live to 100 and stay out of the Emergency Department’’, I was asked about statins.
The question came from a man who said his wife had done a lot of ‘‘research’’ and found that statins were dangerous. It’s good that people do research, but I would suggest Facebook is not the best place to do it.
Talk to your GP or a cardiologist about your risk, especially if you have a family history of heart disease or stroke. Lower your risk through a number of ways, including not over-exerting yourself.
Think of yourself as the car of 123RF choice of the year you were born in.
For me, I ama 1962 Chevy and I have to drive myself like one. If I cruise and surf, snowboard and ride my bike in a 1962 Chevy fashion I will get many more miles on the clock.
If I throw myself around the squash court like a late-model sports car, my poor old Chevy may just blow a gasket. ● Dr Tom Mulholland is an Emergency Department doctor and GP with more than 25 years’ experience in New Zealand. He’s currently on a mission, tackling health missions around the world.