Drew_ab wrote:It never gets old to hear stories like this. Thanks for sharing yours! I'm curious if you are still followed by a cardiologist and have ever received a repeat angiogram, or an echocardiogram, etc., showing other evidence of disease reversal. Obviously, you only need your experience alone, but it would be neat to hear if you also had that info available.
I was scheduled to do a repeat stress test a year after starting on this path. My cardiologist, a believer in life style changes, eventually decided against it after seeing my progress. I already know I have heart disease. There is not much to gain by repeated tests.
Most tests for heart disease are invasive and/or inconclusive. Stress testing for example only tells you if you have large stable blockages. It misses smaller ones which are more likely to burst. CAT scans expose you to a large amount of radiation and overestimate the disease. A person may pass the stress test with flying colors in the morning and drop dead of a heart attack in the evening!
Carotid Inter Media Thickness (CIMT) test may be the only one that may be useful. It is ultrasound of the arteries in your neck, so non invasive and no exposure to radiation. These arteries have a close correlation with heart arteries: if they are blocked, your heart arteries are also blocked. But I am not sure how accurate is this test and not many doctors are offering it in my area.
I have not seen a cardiologist in 4 years.
Even if they find something, what are they going to offer? An angioplasty? Stronger drugs that make life miserable? I was on these strong drugs for a few months in the beginning and they were awful. ( I continue to take a small dose of a statin (5mg Lipitor) which I may discontinue soon).
I am already on the best treatment for heart disease. I have been a witness to my gradual progress: angina going away slowly over the years. So I am convinced this is the way to go.