Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

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Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby pocketsand » Sun Oct 14, 2018 12:59 pm

Hey everyone, my name is Donald and I've been lurking around the site and forums for a few months now. I wasn't planning on introducing myself like this but a heart attack definitely has me feeling like time is running out.

Back in September I had a massive dinner consisting of way too much meat followed closely by a weekly game of hockey. Didn't even make it out of the dressing room before feeling a crushing feeling on my chest. Something I thought was just indigestion, so, being an idiot, I played the whole game thinking nothing serious was going on. After the symptoms got worse on the drive home I decided to get it checked out at the local hospital. Chest x-ray showed nothing but blood work showed slightly elevated troponin's and my ECG was a bit weird. Off to cardiology at another hospital where things were somewhat explained to me and yet not explained at all.

In went 2 stents to the LAD(m) and OM1 after a diagnosis of an NSTEMI.

Prior to the heart attack I thought I was pretty healthy and active for a 33 year old. Hockey 1-2 times a week, rowing machine a couple times per week, no history of angina at rest or with exercise, normal blood pressure, but a family history of elevated cholesterol (dads side) and heart disease but longevity (moms side).

But in all honesty, I ate horribly and didn't regulate my high cholesterol levels or weight. At the time of my heart attack I was 6'2 260 lbs with LDL 286 mg/dl and TC 354 mg/dl.

I came to this site a few months ago to learn that I had been feeding a disease that'll no doubt kill me over time. So the question is, am I too late? Before I didn't have too many concerns but now I'm worried that the drug alluding stent will fail, or i'll bleed to death while on the Ticagrelor, or i'll just have another heart attack or go into cardiac arrest.

At the moment I feel worse on this cocktail of meds than I've ever felt at any point in my life so my priority after avoiding another heart attack is to get off these meds quickly. I've made the switch to vegan but was hoping for some advice to maximize the benefits long term.



meds:
aspirin 81mg (lifelong)
Ticagrelor 90mg (1 year)
Lipitor 40mg (lifelong)
Perindopril 2mg
Bisoprolol 2.5mg

and some numbers for anyone interested:

Starting weight: 260 pounds
2 weeks post heart attack: 265 pounds (on cardiologist prescribed "heart healthy diet")
one week after vegetable based diet: 255 pounds
walking 5km/day until cardio rehab begins
BP 107/70 (from meds)

LDL 286 mg/dl (7.41 mmol) and TC 354 mg/dl (9.18 mmol). Possible Familial Hypercholesterolemia but not diagnosed.

EF measured post MI: 40-45% w/ regional WMA, normal RV and valves
100% blockages in LAD(m) and OM1 treated with Xience Xpedition stents
70% blockages remain in diagonal
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby jamietwo » Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:27 pm

Sorry to hear about your heart attack, but you're in the right place! Check out the "how to begin" forum and read parts 1-6. viewforum.php?f=14) That will tell you how to get started. This isn't just eating vegan - its eating whole, low-fat, plant foods with no (zero) added oils.

Also under the education tab, you can look at health-science, hot-topics, and find information on heart disease, cholesterol, etc.

A few years ago, a young friend (late 30's, early 40's) had a heart attack, and followed his cardiologist's "heart healthy" diet to the letter. He was discouraged when, a year later, his numbers had not improved. His wife knew I ate this way, and asked for suggestions. I suggested that he read Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. Its the same diet Dr. McDougall recommends but its written specifically for people that have heart disease. He completely changed his diet and he's been doing great (with good numbers!) ever since! Good luck!
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby Idgie » Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:33 pm

So glad you're here, and so glad you survived your heart attack! I was going to recommend Dr. Esselstyn's book, too. Hope you'll stick around. This way of eating can be joyful, not least because it lets us reduce or eliminate medications we've been told we'll need for the rest of our lives. I'm down from something like 8 medications a day to 1, not counting my thyroid hormone. And I hope to be off the beta blocker altogether soon. We can do this together!
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby viv » Sun Oct 14, 2018 5:07 pm

Well you are in good company, because our good doctor, Dr. McDougall suffered a massive stroke at age 18! As others have said follow the McDougall Diet to the letter, your life depends upon it. Dr. Esselstyn's book on Reversing Heart Disease is great also, both doctors agree on eating a whole foods plant based diet with NO OIL!!

You will find that not all doctors will agree that this is the best way to eat. I will go out on a limb and tell you to ignore them, you know more about nutrition than the average doctor, it's your body and there is over 40 years of solid research on the side of this diet. So have fun educating yourself, become an expert on the McDougall Diet, buy his books, watch the videos, read all the success stories on this website, you have many more years ahead of you to enjoy a new way of life.

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5'8", Started March 2013
Starting weight: 217
Current weight: 157
60lbs gone--for good!
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby Lyndzie » Sun Oct 14, 2018 6:41 pm

I’m so glad you found this site! It’s chock-full if helpful info. I find it so inspiring to hear stories about people completely turning their lives around by simply changing what they put on their plate. It is definitely not too late, it’s just the beginning. Best to you!
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby pundit999 » Tue Oct 16, 2018 3:26 am

Sorry to hear about your heart attack.
The silver lining is that you have come to the right place.
You still have another 60 years to live and the only way is to adopt a whole plants only diet.
Buy dr esselstyn book and follow it 100 percent.
You will see tremendous improvement in a few short weeks.
You are likely already on a high dose statin and should continue taking all the medicines your cardiologist has prescribed.
A whole food plant based diet with no added oil helps in lowering cholesterol but it also helps in myriad other ways people are generally unaware of: reduction in tmao and thereby inflammation, effects similar to aspirin, generation of nitric oxide to help make arteries flexible etc.

Heart disease is one disease that this way if eating addresses very well. You may never have another episode if you follow it in addition to taking the usual meds.

Good luck and many of us are here to give more details . We have travelled this path. You are not alone.
Last edited by pundit999 on Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby gracezw » Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:14 am

Pundit, you have said it very well. Thank you!

Can you tell me more about reduction in tomato and thereby inflammation? Did Dr. McDougall or other authorities say that? Please point me to the links. Thanks!

pundit999 wrote:Sorry to hear about your heart attack.
The silver lining is that you have come to the right place.
You still have another 60 years to live and the only way is to adopt a whole plants only diet.
Buy dr esselstyn book and follow it 100 percent.
You will we tremendous improvement in a few short weeks.
You are likely already on a high dose statin and should continue taking all the medicines your cardiologist has prescribed.
A whole food plant based diet with no added oil helps in lowering cholesterol but it also helps in myriad other ways people are genertunaware if: reduction in tomato and thereby inflammation, effects similar to aspirin, generation of nitric oxide to help make arteries flexible etc.

Heart disease is one disease that this way if eating addresses very well. You may never have another episode if you follow it in addition to taking the usual meds.

Good luck and many of us are here to give more details . We have travelled this path. You are not alone.
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby gracezw » Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:44 am

I generally don't like tomatoes. But currently I have been enjoying sweet cherry tomatoes. I eat them as fruit. I wonder whether I should reduce eating them or not eat them at all.

What about oranges and other citrus? Do they cause inflammation as well? Do you have a complete list of inflammation-causing food items?
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby Lyndzie » Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:49 am

Grace, I’m guessing the word “tomato” above was an autocorrect typo.

Donald, here is a small dose of what is possible: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=58583#p589230
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby pocketsand » Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:31 am

Thank you everyone for the kind words and great advice! I had read Dr. Ornish's book shortly before the heart attack and have ordered Dr. Esselstyn's book. Definitely a lot of information to take in but I think I'm on the right track. The diet, so far, is remarkably easy as I don't miss eating animal products at all.

The only problem i'm having is finding supplementation that doesn't affect the medication prescribed. Even vitamin B12 has some possible interactions!

Example: Large doses of vitamin C neutralize Lipitor's anti-inflammatory effects and may interfere with anticoagulants.
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby pocketsand » Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:02 am

Also, thanks to the people that reached out via PM. I'll respond as soon as the PM restriction is lifted from my account.
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby jamietwo » Tue Oct 16, 2018 2:37 pm

Pocketsand, as you read through the information, you'll find that the only supplement Dr. McDougall recommends is B12. We get the rest of our vitamins and minerals from our food! :) Maybe you can postpone taking a B12 supplement until you're medication free (a real possibility if you embrace this way of eating!)!
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby pocketsand » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:01 pm

Vitamin B12 is tricky at the moment since I haven't yet found reliable information about whether or not B12 on it's own may be dangerous for a person with stents (via narrowing) or if that's only for people taking folate, B-6, and B-12 together. Holding off until I see the cardiologist next week for an exercise stress test.
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby gracezw » Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:02 pm

I don't know but my hunch is to consult with at least one whole food plant based cardiologist about this.

pocketsand wrote:Vitamin B12 is tricky at the moment since I haven't yet found reliable information about whether or not B12 on it's own may be dangerous for a person with stents (via narrowing) or if that's only for people taking folate, B-6, and B-12 together. Holding off until I see the cardiologist next week for an exercise stress test.
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Re: Missed it by that much. MI and 2 stents at 33.

Postby QubitBob » Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:05 pm

Hi Donald,

I am sorry to hear about your heart attack. As everyone else has said, you have come to the right place, for the low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet promoted by Dr. McDougall (and his peers: Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Ornish, Dr. Fuhrman, Dr. Barnard, etc.) has been demonstrated by solid science to reverse heart disease.

In your post you ask the question, "Am I too late?" No, I don't think you are. Just this very evening I watched this wonderful presentation by Dr. Esselstyn on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GPo8Ir0yn4 . I've seen a number of presentations by Dr. Esselstyn, but this is the longest and most detailed of them all. I strongly advise you to watch it, for he discusses many topics which pertain directly to your situation. For instance, in the section in which he discusses how a WFPB diet can help the body dissolve athrosclerotic plaques, he discusses a number of factors which determine how well a particular body can accomplish this. (Hint: your young age and {relatively} short time of suffering from heart disease are strongly in your favor.)

Good luck. I am pulling for you to completely recover, reverse your disease, and live a long and very healthy life from this point forward.
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