Just catching up on this thread and best wishes from me to bootsie and Evan.
It is a bit of a mental jolt to the system isn't it? But that's age for you, for some sooner than others. And for all you young 'uns, I hope you're taking note cos what you do now will certainly influence your medical condition in later years.
This will sound corny and perhaps patronising but: don't smoke, drink in moderation, don't eat crap food all the time, exercise or at least walk a few miles a day, don't smoke.
In 2002 I went through a very stressful period in my life and suffered what they call heart failure which meant basically one heart valve was beating irregularly. When the various crises' in my life finally passed my heart valve started beating properly again and ever since then I've been on daily drugs for my heart.
They are Aspirin, Spironolactone, Bisoprolol Fumarate and Perindopril, all of which are prescribed to ease the heart's workload.
I must confess sometimes I take them, sometimes I don't but I do monitor my blood pressure almost on a daily basis. The reason I sometimes forgo my pills is they seem to induce the occasional optical migraine. An optical migraine is similar to a regular migraine but without the headache, when one occurs I get flashing bright lights in my eyes, a sense of disorientation and sometimes a mild nausea. They usually last about twenty minutes and aren't a biggie, just a nuisance.
When I described these symptoms to my Quack he didn't know what was causing them, it took an optician to pinpoint the malady.
So, just so's you two don't feel left out...
Just think, if we'd suffered these complaints 100 years ago, we'd all likely be pushing up daisies by now