I could write a book on this topic
Having by the grace of God survived a widow maker heart attack and subsequent open heart surgery, I am of course acutely in tune with my heart. I am now 20 years post open-heart, and had zero issues for the first 18 of those years. Two years ago I was sitting in my recliner when I felt something odd. I looked at my wife and said “honey, I don’t know what just happened, but something has changed with my heart”. The next day I could only walk two blocks before feeling that all too familiar pressure in my chest.
Two weeks later I was having a heart cath and sure enough, there was significant blockage in two arteries. The original by-passed artery was still as clean as a whistle though. The most dangerous thing however was that a piece of plaque had broken loose in an artery and had wedged itself at a 45 deg angle in the artery, basically cutting off 95% of the blood flow in that artery. That was the “something that had changed with my heart” I had felt. My Cardiologist told me I might have had three more weeks on this earth had I not been so in tune with what was happening.
Basically, I know my limits with how far I can go with exercise. Some of that is controlled by medicine, as my heart rate limit can only go so high because of a medication I take. The bottom line here is that everyone should pay close attention to their heart whenever they exert themselves. As my father told me when I was a little boy,”if you feel like anything is not just right, get it checked out”. Had he heeded his own advice perhaps he would not have died from heart disease at just 50 years of age. Trust me on this, none of you are Superman or Superwoman. You might wear the cape, but you are still susceptible to the ravages of heart disease, heredity or not.