NYT articles on heart disease

[Buckeye]

There are some great articles in the NYT on heart disease.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/health/08heart.html?hp

The article below is especially interesting given the discussion about body scans. Looks like you could have serious risk for heart attack that wouldn't show up in the scans because the artery wall is comprimised but the vessel is not blocked.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/health/08hside.html

Some time ago someone mentioned a PBS program, "The Hidden Epidemic - Heart Disease in America." I ordered the DVD and watched it with DH recently. Very sobering.

 

[dumpster56]

There are some great articles in the NYT on heart disease.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/health/08heart.html?hp

The article below is especially interesting given the discussion about body scans. Looks like you could have serious risk for heart attack that wouldn't show up in the scans because the artery wall is comprimised but the vessel is not blocked.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/health/08hside.html

Some time ago someone mentioned a PBS program, "The Hidden Epidemic - Heart Disease in America." I ordered the DVD and watched it with DH recently. Very sobering.

I watch my friends all on a statin drug, not a one exercises, they still eat a high fat diet and are still carrying the belly fat at 50+ years of age. One has had bypass surgery already at 45 and stents all around his heart now he is 50 still with a high stress job and sons to put through college. I am starting to wonder what is the reason for a statin drug? I mean if you eat a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fats, no trans fats, a healthy lean meat and vegatarian diet and exercise you tail off, because the older you get the more exercise you need in my case my cholesterol numbers are darn great without a statin drug.

There are very few people with high colesterol that is inherited. If I eat a diet higer in fats like from October to New Years with the cheesecakes and high fat foods my numbers go UP! When I stop the foolish eating they go way down without the drugs.

 

[Buckeye]

newguy888 - One of the doc's on the DVD discusses the ineffectiveness of taking statins and then beating the crap out of your body with a lousy diet. That guy you describe has a real death wish. I sure hope he has a good life insurance policy to take care of this family when he is gone.

Can you believe the guy in the one article who blew off the symptoms when he had already had one heart attack at age 35?

 

[dumpster56]

That was crazy. Now I will tell you that it really must be "it can't be happening to me thoughts"

Men in america pospone doctor visits and when the chest pain hits the thought that it could be a heart attack is well far off the radar until that crushing pain that makes it known that this ain't no indigestion.

And hopefully it is not to late. from doctors I know when you have that pain in the chest call 911 and take a 325 mg aspirin!

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Just ordered it on Netflix. Thanks for the tip!

Some time ago someone mentioned a PBS program, "The Hidden Epidemic - Heart Disease in America." I ordered the DVD and watched it with DH recently. Very sobering.

 

[janeeyre]

NewGuy -- I know what you mean about statin drugs.

However, my husband exercises 6 hours a week, he is an umpire, and golfs once a week. His body fat is 19 and he is 5'9" and weighs 155. He eats a healthy diet -- maybe ice cream once a week --- and, recently, he had to start taking statin drugs and his blood pressure has started rising. We were shocked. Both his parents died of heart disease in their 60's. The doctor said this happens. So, now he wants to remove all meat, not just red meat from his diet and see how that works out.

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

For me, a big killer was cheese. I loooove cheese, and that stuff will clog the arteries faster than almost anything else out there.

NewGuy -- I know what you mean about statin drugs.

However, my husband exercises 6 hours a week, he is an umpire, and golfs once a week. His body fat is 19 and he is 5'9" and weighs 155. He eats a healthy diet -- maybe ice cream once a week --- and, recently, he had to start taking statin drugs and his blood pressure has started rising. We were shocked. Both his parents died of heart disease in their 60's. The doctor said this happens. So, now he wants to remove all meat, not just red meat from his diet and see how that works out.

 

[califdreamer]

There are very few people with high colesterol that is inherited.
[/quote

Whoa... not so fast. I agree that those on statins are foolish if they eat poorly, don't exercise and/or smoke. It's important to live healthfully. But I think there is a place for statin therapy to reduce the risks for those with hereditary issues with cholesterol.

Apparently some people inherit fewer or less efficient LDL receptors and tend to have elevated bad cholesterol. Others have a naturally low level of protective HDL and a poor response to exercise in raising HDL. I don't know what the specific numbers are but to imply such cases are a rarity is, IMO, inaccurate.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Oh, nuts. I hate dealing with reality.

 

[Kitty]

reality .... sucks... I had stents put in a few months ago (Oct 06) and I have been on a very low fat diet since, on statin drugs, blood pressure meds, aspirin, long acting nitro, and blood ani-clotting med (Plavix). I still have angina because there are small branch blockages that cannot be reached by the Cardiologist, so I still have reduced blood flow at times. I have been on a no meat diet since October my cholesterol is down to 148, triglicerides down to 98. Still not low enough says the Cardiologist to make a difference. I just wish there was something I could do to clean this goo out of my arteries.

Kitty

 

[Zipper]

Have 1 drink a day. Red wine or dark beer.

Eat Scottish oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon and a cup of blueberries for breakfast.

Drink 6 oz. of pomegranate juice.

Take 3 high potency fish oil caps.

Eat a handful of almonds or walnuts.

Take 120 mg.'s of CoQ.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

My blood pressure was up last time I gave blood, so I am trying to straighten out.

Oat bran with blueberries and soy milk for breakfast.
No oils or fats. (There goes the cheese.)
Seriously minimizing meats.
Tuna or salmon 3 or 4 times a week.
Salads, salads, salads. No salad oil.
No beer anymore. Some cabernet-merlot.
Trying to eat half of what I used to.
Got out the bicycle. (No car up here. Walk and take the C-train.)
Statin.



On the plus side, I have great genes. (Thanks, mom and dad!)

 

[Zoocat]

NewGuy -- I know what you mean about statin drugs.

However, my husband exercises 6 hours a week, he is an umpire, and golfs once a week. His body fat is 19 and he is 5'9" and weighs 155. He eats a healthy diet -- maybe ice cream once a week --- and, recently, he had to start taking statin drugs and his blood pressure has started rising. We were shocked. Both his parents died of heart disease in their 60's. The doctor said this happens. So, now he wants to remove all meat, not just red meat from his diet and see how that works out.

Janeeyre,

I have discovered from personal experiment, and some Internet research , that my blood pressure is very sensitive to caffeine and to alcohol. I was able to lower my BP from 135/80 to 118/70 by severely limiting these two items. The trick for me, which I have not quite mastered, is to be consistent :

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

...blood pressure is very sensitive to caffeine and to alcohol...

You're bringing me down.

Like I said, reality bums me out.

 

[wabmester]

What really brings me down is that diet and exercise aren't likely to reverse heart disease unless you really make extreme changes. And there's no good way to measure the extent of existing plaque levels as far as I know.

The guy in the article had a ruptured plaque. That could happen to anybody even in relatively good shape.

 

[al_bundy]

NewGuy -- I know what you mean about statin drugs.

However, my husband exercises 6 hours a week, he is an umpire, and golfs once a week. His body fat is 19 and he is 5'9" and weighs 155. He eats a healthy diet -- maybe ice cream once a week --- and, recently, he had to start taking statin drugs and his blood pressure has started rising. We were shocked. Both his parents died of heart disease in their 60's. The doctor said this happens. So, now he wants to remove all meat, not just red meat from his diet and see how that works out.

do you eat a lot of processed food? my wife was looking at frozen meals the other day in the store and they all had crazy levels of sodium

unless he has a condition where the liver doesn't process cholesterol chances are he is not eating healthy. here is a tip, stay away from anything that is labeled low fat unless you read the ingredients

and in my experience at least half of all doctors are morons