[Dan in Pasadena]

Speaking of genetics:
Dad smoked a lot, had a traditional old fashioned Mexican diet including food cooked with lard, etc. He had a massive heart attack in 1970 - just before bypass or transplant surgery, clog busting drugs etc. He continued with cardiac events until he died 20 years later at 66. He was a picture of fitness - flat stomach, heavily muscled from years of construction work, but couldn't wash his own hair or stand in the shower near the end because of insufficient circulation. His heart was shot.
I grew up KNOWING I would have cardiac issues and wishing I had been spared it. Two years ago at age 50 I gulped hard and went to Heartcheck America, had a scan. I have ZERO plaque in my arteries which my doctor tells me for being 50, having a family history, being perhaps 20-25 lbs overweight is like winning the lottery! My BP typically tests at 118/78 and my resting rate is in the upper 60's. All that would be wonderful, except I know I dont eat as healthy as I should. The kicker? My mother's people tend to die of cancer. GULP! I'd rather drop from a heart attack and be dead before I hit the floor than linger in agony with cancer. Guess this says, "Be careful what you wish for", huh?!