Daniel Coda lay in bed, scared to fall asleep. His heart was jerking and fluttering in a way he knew wasn't normal and he hurt all over. He'd been feeling exhausted for weeks, but he'd been too afraid to tell his parents or friends. He was too young to die, wasn't he, at only 23?
As the sun back-lit the horizon, Coda called his mom and they sped to the emergency room. He was shaking with fear. No relief came with the diagnosis: cardiomyopathy -- a weakened heart unable to pump the normal amount of oxygen-rich blood. That's why he was fatigued and swollen with extra fluid. Without treatment, the doctors said, his heart would continue weakening until it gave out.
Never a skinny kid, Coda was obese at 312 pounds. He'd abandoned sports right after high school and developed a habit of bingeing. "My friends and I would have drinking contests," he says. "Then we'd go to a fast food restaurant and I'd eat a huge meal right before going to bed. I wasn't happy with where my life was going, but I just tried to deal with it by drinking and eating more."
Coda, a financial specialist, is comfortable as long as he's talking numbers. He can tell you the percentage of blood his heart pumps with each beat, his blood pressure, cholesterol, and anything else that involves digits. But when asked about that day in the ER, he falters often, grasping for composure. He never thought he'd be one of the rising number of people suffering consequences from obesity, and especially not now.
But the repercussions don't always wait for old age. Even without a history of heart disease, the American Heart Association finds, some children are developing the fatty deposits and hardening of the arteries that are precursors of heart trouble. Obese kids are experiencing numerous health problems, the AHA says, including early puberty, abnormal skeletal development, sleep apnea, and skin problems, in addition to social exclusion at the age when peer approval is most valued.
And heavy kids become obese adults, with children of obese mothers most likely to become heavy. Genes have an estimated 65 percent influence over body fat and body fat distribution patterns, but mom, usually the family shopper and cook, also controls the family food supply.
When he left the hospital, Coda took home a heart monitor to record his heart rate and any irregular beats for the next three days. "My heart misfired 20 to 30 times a day," he says. His physicians prescribed medications to regulate his heart beat and lower his blood pressure. Then, under the guidance of his doctor, nurse practitioner and HMSA's Care Connection, he eliminated alcohol and junk food, and began to exercise.