Unfortunately, the further you go back in ancestry research causes of death become less clear. A hundred years ago doctors just didn’t know what killed you.brian wrote:Well, Elvis would've lived longer than 42 if he had taken better care of himself. That goes without saying. Gladys Presley family members died from different things they didn't all die from heart problems or heart disease. I've read that her father Bob Smith died from pneumonia.
And things we survive today meant certain death 60 years ago.
My paternal grandmother died from a heart attack at 64 due to clogged arteries. In 1964 open heart bypass surgery was rare (first one was 1961). Her diagnosis was a death sentence.
16 years later in 1980 my Dad, her Son, was diagnosed with the same thing but surgery had become more commonplace. (over 100,000 procedures in 1979) I remember seeing him the night before his surgery, our hugs and words of affection carried the feeling of finality. We both knew he might not survive. He did. He was 56, I was 16.
28 years later I have a heart attack due to the same thing, clogged arteries, but, technology has advanced in such a way that I have a short procedure called an angioplasty. Two stents are inserted to open my arteries. I was 44.
It was clear that Heart disease runs along the paternal line in my family. Three of us were affected, that’s all the warning I need. The Smith family has 8 or more young deaths - alarm bells should be deafening.
My Son will need tests every 5 years or so to catch it early as he’s likely to develop it.