Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

My husband, Tim, had a coronary calcium heart scan done two years ago. There is heart disease in his family. His father died at 72 of his third heart attack and his brother had his first at age 50 and his second around age 65.
Tim is in his late 40's. He wanted to be proactive and had a scan done in 2015 which showed a very high score of 591.23 "Implying extensive atherosclerotic plaque and a high likelihood of at least one significant coronary artery narrowing". He talked to 4 cardiologists and had 2 stress tests which he was told he "aced". He was also told that he had nothing to worry about.
We decided to at least do something proactive so we did our research and found FOK. We became plant-based whole food eaters and began an exercise program. Tim lost 40 pounds in 3 months and his bad cholesterol reduced by something like 60%. We have been living like this (not perfectly but consistently) since August 2015.
To see if this lifestyle was working, Tim had another scan done last week. He was hopeful for all his efforts, but couldn't believe the test results when they came back higher. His new scan was 912.74 How is that possible?
We have researched the scan for validity and it seems to be a proven tool.
Do you have any insight or wisdom you could give us at this point? He is very depressed and feels hopeless.

Thank you for your time.
Roz

that's just one marker
hows his cholesterol, bmi, bp?
does he exercise comfortably?
does he feel good?

ultimately, whatever the numbers,
the best course of action is to continue on the diet.
its what is best to prevent a heart attack even after a heart attack.
so no need to despair,
take it as motivation to be even more strictly compliant
no exit ramps on this freeway
the situation certainly will not improve
by abandoning the diet.
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2016nl ... rgeons.htm

Is he on Statins?
Statins increase calcium. Though they do help in making the plaque more stable by doing so.

The FoK diet is NOT the same as the food plan Dr McDougall advises. I know the Forks over Knives web site sends people here for discussions, but this is the McDougall Program specifically, only one of the food plans covered in the movie and established long before FoK decided to put out their own cookbooks and get-togethers.

Dr Esselstyn was another contributer to the movie and what *he* advises isn't the same, either, and he's the heart disease expert.

So, I strongly advise you to read on the main site here, not just these forums, all about what the McDougall diet entails. Since your husband already has known CV disease, I suggest the restrictions of the Maximum Weight Loss version of the program, the one that limits certain food items that will help keep the cardiovascular system a bit clearer and is closet to Dr McD's heart disease diet. Dr. McDougall's Program for a Healthy Heart book is out of print but you can still buy copies of it as a PDF on this site at Dr. McDougall's store:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/shopping/ebooks/mcdougall-program-for-a-healthy-heart/

or in paperback or hardcover used in many places. On Amazon you can now find it as low as $1.25 plus shipping:

https://www.amazon.com/Mcdougall-Program-Healthy-Heart-Life-Saving/dp/0525938680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522064728&sr=8-1&keywords=the+mcdougall+program+for+a+healthy+heart



But the ultimate would be to grab a copy of Dr. Essesltyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease book, watch this video from Dr. Esselstyn where he talks about his latest protocols and the reasoning behind them, such as no added sweeteners and greens with balsamic vinegar 6 x daily:

https://www.happycow.net/blog/leafy-greens-six-times-a-day-no-oil-the-recommended-diet-for-2014-for-1874/?fref=gc

and maybe join the Esselstyn Nutrition Program Roundtable Facebook community, which has as members a few people who not only have gone to Dr. E's monthly seminars but who have been speakers at it. The moderator and members are very strict there in keeping with Dr. E's guidelines, because when you come down to it, it *is* a matter of life or death:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164403017026933/

Incidentally, are you taking the vitamin D and Iron for a deficienies in D and Iron?

Dr. Esselstyn: You must forever remove from your vocabulary the phrase: "This little bit won't hurt"

100% adherence to MWL (and time) could halt coronary disease. Anything less, and it could progress.
Don't be a 90% McDougaller who starts suffering from angina, or worse.

Very good advice from Veggie Sue, above..

TnR Smith wrote:My husband, Tim, had a coronary calcium heart scan done two years ago. There is heart disease in his family. His father died at 72 of his third heart attack and his brother had his first at age 50 and his second around age 65.
Tim is in his late 40's. He wanted to be proactive and had a scan done in 2015 which showed a very high score of 591.23 "Implying extensive atherosclerotic plaque and a high likelihood of at least one significant coronary artery narrowing". He talked to 4 cardiologists and had 2 stress tests which he was told he "aced". He was also told that he had nothing to worry about.
We decided to at least do something proactive so we did our research and found FOK. We became plant-based whole food eaters and began an exercise program. Tim lost 40 pounds in 3 months and his bad cholesterol reduced by something like 60%. We have been living like this (not perfectly but consistently) since August 2015.
To see if this lifestyle was working, Tim had another scan done last week. He was hopeful for all his efforts, but couldn't believe the test results when they came back higher. His new scan was 912.74 How is that possible?
We have researched the scan for validity and it seems to be a proven tool.
Do you have any insight or wisdom you could give us at this point? He is very depressed and feels hopeless.

Thank you for your time.
Roz

You could look/read through some of the articles at this link: https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... t-disease/
There's also this: https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2016nl ... rgeons.htm

TnR Smith wrote:My husband, Tim, had a coronary calcium heart scan done two years ago. There is heart disease in his family. His father died at 72 of his third heart attack and his brother had his first at age 50 and his second around age 65.
Tim is in his late 40's. He wanted to be proactive and had a scan done in 2015 which showed a very high score of 591.23 "Implying extensive atherosclerotic plaque and a high likelihood of at least one significant coronary artery narrowing". He talked to 4 cardiologists and had 2 stress tests which he was told he "aced". He was also told that he had nothing to worry about.
We decided to at least do something proactive so we did our research and found FOK. We became plant-based whole food eaters and began an exercise program. Tim lost 40 pounds in 3 months and his bad cholesterol reduced by something like 60%. We have been living like this (not perfectly but consistently) since August 2015.
To see if this lifestyle was working, Tim had another scan done last week. He was hopeful for all his efforts, but couldn't believe the test results when they came back higher. His new scan was 912.74 How is that possible?
We have researched the scan for validity and it seems to be a proven tool.
Do you have any insight or wisdom you could give us at this point? He is very depressed and feels hopeless.

Thank you for your time.
Roz

I found this in the Dr Esselstyn round table face book group today and it might shed some light on it for you!

"My husband is 77 & his calcium score was 900. Dr. E. said that some of the people who had high scores after eating the Dr E way for about a year repeat CT scores went up. He said that the diet will heal the arteries & the ct does not pick up the new layer. He said do not have a repeat ,his score would probably go up to 1100"