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My husband and I are new Mc Dougallers and are soaking up as much info as we can from this website, discusssion board, and the books (The Mc D Program For A Healthy Heart, as well as The Mc D Maximun Weight Loss Plan). We went plant-based and no added oil in 8/11 as a result of his having had 1 episode of chest tightness and things were going well. Last month my husband began having consistent exercise induced chest tightness and his labs showed an increase in cholesterol (which had previously dropped 80 points due to our change in diet). We took a hard look at our diet and discovered the following mistakes: avocados, nuts and commercially-prepared oil-popped popcorn had recently become a part of our diet again. We stopped these dietary discretions immediately and my husband was put on a statin and beta-blocker. He is still having this chest tightness and has becomed depressed at his inability to exercise and walk more than 20 yards without pain. My question is this: now that we have removed ALL fats and oils is there hope that his chest pain will go away? I'm very worried about him.

Remember that we are layman, generally, here in the forum. All we can do is relate our own experiences and viewpoints.

First, could you provide more information?
- How tall is your husband?
- How much does he weigh?
- What is his Body Mass Index (BMI)?
- How old is he?
- How much weight has he lost so far, with the McDougall diet?
- Is he willing to be 100% compliant with a narrow subset of the McDougall Regular diet, e.g., a very low fat version (as you have already started to move toward)?

Based on my own experiences, I would say, yes, there is hope of improvement and even enough improvement to allow him to exercise moderately (or more).

Good disclaimer Burgess. That being said, I too had chest pains when excercising which triggered an angiogram and discovered 50, 60, and 70% blockages. I tried the meds for 2 weeks, had muscle reactions so stopped taking them and went on strict plant-based diet with no-oil. It worked for me and I'm running again. The strict no-oil (and no sugar, an inflamitory agent) worked for me. And yes, no oil means no avocados, nuts, dressings, etc. It is strict and tough, but it does work.

Good luck, keep us informed.
brad

Thank you Burgess and Brad for your replies. My husband Hal is thin: 5'7, 155-160lbs. and he's 65 yrs old. He is in otherwise great health. In August (after his first episode of chest pain) we started doing the Engine 2 Diet perfectly (and over time nuts started creeping into our diet in the form of nutloaf and nutburgers--we thought it was okay because we were told Hal did not have a heart attack and that the pain must have been due to another unrelated cause). His doctor pronounced him healthy and his labs were excellent (chol dropped 80 points). In November he had a great stress test, lasted almost 13 min. From Nov to Feb it went downhill. Here's what happened: increase in cholesterol from 180 to 220, his Feb stress test lasted barely 6 min, and now he has chest pain. The only thing we changed in that time is we assumed he was in great shape and we got lazy with the high-fat plant foods and eating popcorn when away from home. Apparently that was enough to make a huge difference. As of March 1st we went on the Mc Dougall Maximum Weight Loss plan and removed all (and I do mean ALL) high-fat plant foods and soy products, etc. Because Hal doesn't need to lose weight, he does eat a whole wheat tortilla (3 grams fat) or pita (1 gram fat) as part of a sandwich for lunch. Is this okay? If not, I can make them oil-free myself. Hal has also given up eating popcorn and peanuts and is willing, now that we know better, to stick with the MWL diet for good. We are just searching for some sort of hope that his pain will go away and he can be active again. I'd appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks!

At 5'7" and 160 lbs., a man is definitely not thin. That is a BMI of 25, if I calculated correctly. Please doublecheck me.

I am 6' 0" and 130-135 lbs, with a BMI of abot 18. I am 67 ("and a half," my grandson says).

The recommended range I have heard on this forum is 18-19 for men. Look at Jeff Novick and Dr. McDougall as examples.

Of course, if a man has very heavy muscles, as weight lifters do, then the BMI might be higher with good health. A lean man has no visible fat.

Of course, BMI is only one "marker" for health, and there may be other factors involved, but I would say your husband can afford to lose another 30 lbs. or so to get down to a BMI of about 19 or so.

By the way, what is your husband's typical blood pressure?

I think eating on-plan makes it highly likely he will see a reduction of the chest tightness and improvements in his bloodwork. I have been free from angina for years now. It took a year to completely be free from my angina. I could watch it diminish as the months rolled by. Mine was at rest as well as during walking or any other exercise. First it went away at rest and finally at exercise. From others with the same experience you can expect similar results. Be stringent on removing ANY added oils or fats beyond what comes within the plant foods themselves. Obviously, the removal of any animal proteins would benefit your cholesterol.
Good luck in regaining his health.
f1jim

I don't mind the blunt speech, as that is how we need to learn sometimes.

Forgive me Burgess, I posted the wrong height for Hal. He is 5'10 and weighs 157lbs, he says. We don't know what his BMI is.

Before being put on meds in Feb, his BP was usually high around 140/90 or so. Now it is getting lower and lower. Today it was 108/72.

It is 22.5, which is median normal.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assess ... lator.html

So he's not overweight, which is great! He will probably find that following this plan closely will cause him to lose some weight--he will gain even more benefits if he's in the 18-20 BMI range, so that won't be a bad thing.

Have you guys read Dr. Esselstyn's book? If not, it's highly recommended!

http://www.heartattackproof.com/

Thank you ETeSelle. Yes, we've read Essylstein's book. It all started with Forks Over Knives and then I went and found info from all the presenters (Essylstein, Barnard, Mc Dougall, Furhman, et al). First we were comitted to a plant-based diet (as we knew it), now we are totally comitted to a plant-based no oils/fats/soy diet as prescribed by Dr. Mc Dougall in MWL plan for the rest of our lives. If we can just get past his pain and and discouragement, I feel our lives will be healthier and happier than ever.

when you wrote your husband didn't have a heart attack, do you mean he had an ekg that didn't show one?

chest pain is a worry. this is not from Dr. McD, but remember it's said to take baby aspirin when any chest pain. just in case.

Yes, Donna, an EKG confirmed he did not have a heart attack. His cardiologist told us that there are 3 electrical "connections" in the heart. One of Hal's has failed. Apparently you can still function normally with even just 1 of these connections, and Hal now has 2 instead of the 3. He takes baby asprin daily and has nitroglycerin for severe pain episodes.

Hi Nwebb and welcome. I've had 2 - 4 heart attacks(depending on who's counting). I've have 6 stints installed, but only one is currently functioning due to the complete loss of my RCA. Since starting this way of eating last September, my angina had been significantly reduced.

I still get it when exercising, when I push myself. That also has improved, I'm walking/jogging further and faster and longer all the time. The threshold where the angina kicks in, keeps getting pushed back as I get healthier and healthier.

My advice would be to stay 100% on plan, keep taking the statin for now and exercise as much as his angina allows. He's lucky to have a woman who cares so much for him.

We would like to thank each and every one who graciously took the time to reply to my post today. I cannot tell you how much better we feel now having read your encouraging words and stories. You gave us hope and strengthened our resolve to keep moving forward 100% on-plan. We feel like the black cloud that has been hanging over us is lifting. Thanks so much!
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Nina

Good Luck, you are in the right place, as this plan does work!!

Good luck, hun. I hope your hubby finds the relief that he needs.

I have had no angina since starting this way of eating. I love it!