Heart Failure in the Young...not all heart failure in young people is drug-induced.

(Image from Pixabay and is free for commercial use)

Nelsan Ellis died yesterday from complications due to heart failure. Of course, the Armchair Army of Experts in Everything are already sneering the word “drugs” around, because only drugs can cause heart failure in the young? Mr. Ellis was only 39, after all, there’s no reason for his heart to be failing him yet, is there?

WRONG!

I did not personally know the man that played a rather superb role when he chose to play Lafayette on “True Blood”, but I loved the man he presented to the world. He was an artist, he was an activist, and, by all accounts, a really good guy. My gut tells me that the man was good in countless ways, but my head says…he was an actor. Still, I know personally that drugs are not the only reason a person’s heart starts to fail.

So why can a person’s heart stop beating at such a young age?

First, there are congenital birth defects. A person can walk around for years with no obvious signs of a heart problem, but still have one. Many babies are born with problems that go undiagnosed, while others are noted straightaway. In my case, it wasn’t until I was in my 30s that a doctor finally stopped dismissing the arrhythmia I had and investigated it.

I have problems with my heart that I did not know about until those problems started to cause symptoms. I have mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation. This means that my heart does not pump blood efficiently, nor does all of the blood go out of one chamber to the next, some of it goes back into the first chambers. This can, and does lead to shortness of breath, preventricular contractions (think of it as your phone on vibrate, right in the middle of your sternum, going off and over and over again), chest pain, arrhythmia, tachycardia, and a slew of other problems. I also have heart disease, but I blame a country diet for that part.

My reality is that I can go to sleep and not wake up. Or I can be laughing one minute, and dead the next. One day I can gain over ten pounds, the next, it will be gone. I live with chest pain, shortness of breath that is still not always controlled, and other symptoms, despite my medication.

I take medicine to control the symptoms and to help my heart work more efficiently, but nobody knows, do they?

Disease and childhood illnesses can cause a host of problems, including damaging the heart. And then, sometimes, there is no explanation of why the heart stopped. Sudden Infant Death syndrome takes many lives, as does Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (also known as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome). The heart just stops. For no reason.

Damage to the heart can come from environmental factors as well. Parasites, chemicals, and pollution can all do damage that you just can’t see. A friend recently told me I looked healthy, what kind of disability can you have? She hasn’t known me very long, so I had to explain about my heart condition. I also have epilepsy, which comes with its own dangers of SUDEP, or Sudden Death in Epilepsy. I look fine, yes, but inside of me, there are so many problems.

Then there is simple genetics. Your genetics may dispose you to heart problems or cause damage to your heart that you don't notice until the problems cause symptoms.

Before we judge, before we dismiss an actor’s death, or anyone’s death from heart failure at a young age, we should know that drugs are not the only reason a person’s heart stops. It’s not only the old that suffer from heart failure or heart defects that can lead to an early death. Nelsan Ellis was a year younger than me. Rather than assume it was drugs, however, I wondered if he had a problem he didn’t share with the world, because when you have a heart problem, you become a liability for insurance companies.

In the end, the man has died from heart failure. Whether he caused that himself through bad living and drugs, or whether some childhood illness caused his problem, or heaven knows what else, I’d like people to know that heart failure is not just a stalker of the old. It stalks us all, of any age. If you, or someone you know experiences any symptoms of heart failure, please, call your doctor and discuss it with them.

Symptoms of heart failure:
-Shortness of breath
-Chest pain
-Sudden weight gain
-Swelling of the legs and ankles
-inability to exercise
-feeling weak or tired all the time
-breathlessness or cough

Links

For more information on heart failure and who can have it, read here .

If you would like to know more about valve regurgitation, you can find it in this link.

For SADS information, you should read this.

And this is a link for more information about SUDEP.