Mum reveals dangers

Barbara Gallagher was diagnosed with high cholesterol aged just 11.But she never thought her hereditary condition would lead to a heart attack at 31-years-old.Barbara, 51, said: “I have a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia [inherited high cholesterol] that’s been passed down through the genes in the family.“At 14, I was found to have a cholesterol level of 11, which is outrageously high. Your cholesterol should be below five.

“Back then, statins hadn’t been invented, so the advice was, ‘Skimmed milk, Flora and cut out the cakes’.“I hated the skimmed milk, never took to the Flora, and I soon graduated back on to full-fat milk and butter again.“It didn’t trouble me because high cholesterol is not something for which you are going to have noticeable symptoms.“My attitude was, ‘I know about it, no need to worry, it’s in the family and nobody’s ever died from it yet’.”

But Barbara, from Ardee, Co Louth, had cause to worry.At the birth of her second baby doctors warned her she could be in line for a heart attack by the age of 30.Barbara added: “In my 20s I was aware of it but I had this notion that no matter what I did diet-wise it would never work.
“And no one had ever had a heart attack in my family so I wrongly assumed we would all be fine.
“I got married and had both my children in the UK and during my second pregnancy a young doctor warned me I needed to do something about the cholesterol figure or I would have a heart attack.”

Barbara tried a drink-based medicine but it was so horrible she couldn’t take it.And then at 31 she fell ill and had a heart attack – which doctors initially diagnosed as the early menopause.
She said: “It was St Patrick’s weekend and I felt a chesty pain as if I had a chest infection.Find gorgeous mother of the bride dresses in Wholesale Cheap mother of the bride dresses. It really didn’t feel like what I had been led to believe was a heart attack.”The doctor gave her a letter to go to Beaumont Hospital for a chest X-Ray and also added in an ECG. Barbara drove herself to Beaumont where she was given an ECG and told a cardiologist would see her.

She said: “I ended up in the Cardiac Care Unit and the next day I was told I had a heart attack.”Barbara’s arteries had narrowed and she needed an angioplasty where a balloon is inserted to widen the artery but also needed a stent to keep her artery open.She said: “My daughters, Kelly and Grainne, were six and three-years-old then, and it struck me I might not live long enough to see them in their Communion dresses,The best place to buy Wholesale Discount Prom Gowns Online for your big day. let alone their wedding dresses.Searching for the Wholesale 2013 Celebrity Dresses to wear on your big night?”

By the time Barbara got home the cupboards had been cleared of all processed foods.Doublting where to buy Wholesale Bridesmaid gowns online?She began exercising and the family changed their diet.Barbara said: “The girls – now 25 and 22 – have the gene but they are aware of it and they take their statins and try and eat healthily.” Barbara was speaking to help launch the Irish Heart Foundation’s Face Fats campaign which aims to raise awareness about the risk of high cholesterol.

Every year in Ireland 100,000 new cases of heart disease and stroke are diagnosed and almost 10,000 families lose a loved one to these illnesses.Too much cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease because it sticks to artery walls to form plaque which can cause potentially fatal blockages of blood flow to the heart or brain.Irish Heart Foundation dietitian Janis Morrissey said: “With four out of five adults over 45 affected by high cholesterol and two thirds of these untreated, it is time to ask, ‘Are you one of them’?”
Now Barbara is fighting fit thanks to a healthy lifestyle.Her cholesterol level is safe at 3.5. She said: “It’s never too late to make a fresh start.Unique Mermaid Spaghetti Straps Ruched New Arrival Mermaid Ruching White Chiffon Prom dresses.”Read the full story at www.dressestmall.com/index.php/prom-evening-dress-1824.html!