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| Forums: April 2011 Kickstart Forum: Heart Attack | |||
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Dontx
 Posts: 51 |
Heart Attack Posted Friday, April 1, 2011 at 5:37 PM I am a graduate of the January 2011 21 day Vegan Kickstart. It was the third attempt and it stuck. I am a 56 year old male who exercises and is of normal weight. I have watched what I eat for approximately 4 years when a Heart CT (done not because of symptoms, but because my vegan wife encouraged it) showed diffuse calcium build-up. A stress test done at that time was negative. Last summer I started eating a vegetarian diet and this past January started the low fat vegan diet with the help of this program. Two weeks ago I had an Inferior Wall MI while jogging and had an emergency angioplasty and stent placement. My question is: Can reversing heart disease by diet cause dissolving plaque to become unstable and thereby cause an MI? Please know that I realize that having the plaque there in the first place is the actual cause of the MI, but I was wondering if a person who adopts a plant-based diet to reverse heart disease should have heightened awareness of the potential for plaque instability during the period of reversal. In the ER I found out my Cholesterol level on the vegan diet and no meds, was the lowest it has ever been - 189. In the hospital, I was put Zocor to get my LDL below 70. Any vegan heart diet recommendations. Sincerely, Dontx |
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| kiwi
Joined: 01/03/11 Location: New Zealand Posts: 405 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 1:09 AM I can't answer your question but you might want to check out this guy - Dr Caldwell Esselstyn. He has had great success treating cardiac patients with diet alone (vegan, no oils) in place of surgery. He was one of the celebrity tips participants for the January 2011 kickstart. I have ordered his book to read further as I have checked his web site and like what I saw. Although I dont have a problem yet (that I know of - no symptoms) heart disease issues run in my family. http://www.heartattackproof.com/ Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food - Hippocrates. |
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| Dontx
Posts: 51 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 2:19 PM Thanks Kiwi, I have his son's book and his book is on order. I'll try to tweak the low fat vegan diet even more. In this 8 week period after my heart attack I'm looking for some good heart healing food. I had to shame the nurses when I found partially hydrogenated oil in the snack crackers being served, and of course there were no vegan meal options offered at the heart hospital, however they did do special request meals for me. Thanks to the KickStart there were no lifestyle/diet changes to make the experience and recovery even more stressful. I see Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard and Dr. T. Colin Cambell will be the guest speakers on the Holistic Holiday at Sea IX. I know there will be some good food there! |
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| Deb
Joined: 04/02/11 Posts: 4 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 2:39 PM I have wondered about this too! |
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| Bugsmom
Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 6:53 PM Deb wrote: I have wondered about this too! What does happen to all that yuck that is stuck? I suppose that depends on the yuck and how stuck it was (that is, it varies from person to person probably). In theory, the HDL helps clear away the build up as it occurs and moves it along through the system and out. For minor to moderate build up, I'd guess that it would just clean out slowly. For bigger build ups, I suppose it's possible that there could be instability - but then again, the instability could also be caused by a variety of things (including medications to lower cholesterol and such). --Deb R |
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| Dontx
Posts: 51 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 8:57 PM Deb R...my cardiologist told me that the blood clot from the dislodged plaque caused my right coronary artery to be 100% occluded. Evidently the outside of plaque is hard and the inside is gooey. When the outside plaque ruptures, the chemicals in the gooey part as well as the rough edges of the ruptured plaque caused a blood clot to form. He said this typical of many heart attacks. I had asked him If the strict low fat vegan diet might have caused a thinning of the plaque and subsequent rupture. He said there is no way to tell. I had my cholesterol levels under control with diet and was not on a statin. I was on no medications before the heart attack and now am on a boatload of them. My cardiologist said that he will try to wean me off of some of them over the next year. Don in TX |
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| Susan Levin
Joined: 12/26/09 Posts: 1192 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 5:16 PM Such an interesting post. Here's how Dr. Barnard responded when I posed the issue:
I would be very surprised if that were the case. In Dean Ornish’s work, cardiac events were dramatically reduced over 5 years, although I am aware of no data in the first few weeks of study. I hope that's helpful in some way. Susan Levin, MS, RD |
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| Dontx
Posts: 51 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 8:25 PM Susan, thanks for forwarding the question to Dr. Barnard. I know it took many years for the plaque to develop and it will take many to decrease it. I guess there are no studies on how plaque actually decreases...if it breaks off in clumps or wears off cells at a time, or both??? I'm wondering if plaque disruption is dependent on the intensity of the exercise. At the time of this incident, I was running up hill. Oh well, fifty years from now they will have it figured out. I am doing Cardiac Rehab and being monitored while I exercise. Hopefully, I'll be able to start jogging again soon. Thanks for all the great recipes and advice in the Kickstart program. I now feel like I'm not adding to the problem and hopefully decreasing it. Don |
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| veggies4me
Joined: 01/05/11 Posts: 172 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 1:58 PM Susan, Thanks for getting an answer from Dr. Barnard on that one -- I was concerned about that one! |
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| Susan Levin
Joined: 12/26/09 Posts: 1192 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 4:09 PM No problem! Susan Levin, MS, RD |
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| debbie1
Joined: 04/05/11 Posts: 1 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 6:32 PM Dr Dean Ornish has a good book on reversing heart disease.It may answer some of your questions. I found it helpful. |
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| Dontx
Posts: 51 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 6:57 PM It has been 6 weeks since my heart attack and with the low fat vegan diet and statins I have got my LDL to 56 and total cholesterol to 119. Yesterday I finished Cardiac rehab with one hour running on the tread mill (at 5.5) and another 30 minutes on the bike and elliptical. This morning I ran a 5k at a decent 29 minutes. I'm felling good about the new lifestyle and the new low fat vegan diet is easier than the alternative. I feel like I'm doing something good for my life. |
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| kiwi
Joined: 01/03/11 Location: New Zealand Posts: 405 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 7:18 PM Congratulations DonTx, We can be given all the health and diet information in the world but if we, as individuals, are not prepared to make the change then the information alone is of no value. You made the change and deserve to reap the benefits. I wish you all the best for your health and a long and happy life to come. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food - Hippocrates. |
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| Susan Levin
Joined: 12/26/09 Posts: 1192 |
RE: Heart Attack Posted Monday, May 2, 2011 at 8:01 AM Wow Dontx - many congratulations to you!! Susan Levin, MS, RD |
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