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I got a stent a year ago. I go to a big church that has a Tuesday morning senors group of 100 people and many have a stent, or some even have had open heart surgery and some have had mini strokes.
I try to eat heart healthy but it's hard. They have a snack table with mostly sweet stuff witch I can skip easy enough but if I'm somewhere where ice cream is offered I always take some because I really like it.
A lady sometimes brings biscuits and gravy that is really good and i always take one serving.
A life long meat lover I now eat mostly chicken or turkey which is OK. I remove the skin.
Sandwiches with cold cuts,(lots of salt) and cheese I sometimes take, I remove the cheese.
I see friends with stents eating donuts or other artery clogging things regularly and other sweet or greasy stuff.
So, my husband has 3 stents. The cardiologist made the mistake of telling my husband that stents do not prolong life. It is the medication he is on that is keeping him alive. I wish the doctor had never told us this, as now my husband has given up his heart healthy diet and claims he would rather eat what he wants and have a shorter life, than give up all the stuff he likes.
Hopefully, once this rebellion has run its course, he will return to better choices.
I continuously make plans for being widowed young twice as nothing I say has any impact.
I don't have any stents but my late husband did. (He died at age 78 of unrelated causes.)
I am a huge believer in prevention. I'm 65 and I do over an hour of cardio every day. I weigh less than I did when I graduated HS- in fact, I'm hoping to put on a few lbs. over the Christmas holidays. I'm on only one prescription and it's related to a symptom of menopause. My BP is at the low end of normal but I have to watch my cholesterol and a1c (latter is currently 5.7).
I look at my contemporaries and those a little older. They're on expensive prescriptions and dealing with side effects, they've stopped traveling (my trips this year included India and Nepal and taking an energetic 4-year old on an overnight to Chicago). The heavier ones are having issues with their backs, knees, hips, etc, and some are on replacement parts. A dear friend with whom I had a passionate physical relationship had a stroke at age 64- and it turned out he was diabetic as well. He didn't take care of himself. He's learning to walk again.
And that's what motivates me to eat healthy. I have fish maybe twice a week, rarely eat chicken, pork or beef, avoid potatoes, rice, pasta and refined carbs and anything fried. I love vegetables and my protein comes from yogurt (which I buy plain and sweeten with honey) and whole grains and legumes such as lentils. I can pass up just about anything not on my "list" other than the occasional piece of pecan pie or a piece of cake loaded with frosting. To me, it's absolutely worth it.
My husband had a heart attack on November 29. He had a blockage of 99%! Yikes!
He had symptoms for at least three days before he told me about them and I insisted we go to the emergency room. They airlifted him to the nearest cardiac hospital and the doctor there put in a stent. He is much better now even though he will be on medications for the rest of his life.
He has drastically changed his diet. No more bacon and sausage and gravy and foods like that. He eats a heart healthy diet now and so do I. I need to lose weight. My husband has always exercised more than me and now we walk more together.
We are both eating less meat and more fruits and vegetables. He says it is hard to not eat ice cream because he loves it so much but the soft drinks and ice cream and sweet stuff is in the past. If he doesn't eat it, it is easier for me not to eat it.
We joke with each other that his heart attack made us wake up! We are both worth more to each other alive than dead. We need each other's retirement and social security checks. (I am thankful for the ER staff and the surgery staff that took care of him as well as the nurses that took care of him for the two days he was in the hospital.)
With poor genetics and a lifetime of a bad diet, some people decide it is time to eat "healthy". Big deal. By that time the damage is already done. I wonder if a change in diet has any effect at that point. The idea of a healthy diet is generally to reduce cholesterol. A whole bunch of people have normal cholesterol and still get heart attacks.
I don't think it's ever too late. I'm pretty sure (not that I plan to test it) that if I switched to a diet of ice cream, steak and products from the local grocery store bakery department that I'd feel bloated, lethargic and constipated. I'm also pretty sure that if I gained 50 or 100 lbs. It would be FAR harder for me to get up and down stairs, bicycle or walk long distances. If I try to carry my beloved 40-lb granddaughter too far I find myself huffing and puffing. What's it like to carry that load 100% of the time and what does it do to your willingness to take a long walk or use a stair climber? What does it do to your back and your knees?
I think that at the very least, eating healthier and dropping excess weight can greatly increase the quality of life at any age.
Agreed on the cholesterol number being too simplistic. A friend had a nice, low total cholesterol level and had a heart attack anyway. Turned out his "good" cholesterol level was zero. Oops. I pay more attention to the components.
With poor genetics and a lifetime of a bad diet, some people decide it is time to eat "healthy". Big deal. By that time the damage is already done. I wonder if a change in diet has any effect at that point. The idea of a healthy diet is generally to reduce cholesterol. A whole bunch of people have normal cholesterol and still get heart attacks.
I struggle with taking statins and we should know by now if they prevent heart attacks. I am thinking no and maybe high cholesterol is not the bad boy it is made out to be.
I struggle with taking statins and we should know by now if they prevent heart attacks. I am thinking no and maybe high cholesterol is not the bad boy it is made out to be.
It's enough of a hot topic that there's a Sticky under Health and Wellness stating, "No statin threads for now!" As I noted earlier, the total cholesterol count is pretty useless IMO. My total is 238 but my good cholesterol is 94 (anothing over 60 is good) and all the standard ratios/differences among the components are good. I don't feel a need to treat anything.
And.. to get back to the OT- I live in an area with mixed demographics and I hate to see people who are grossly overweight and on scooters in the grocery store, filling their baskets with LIttle Debbies, 6-packs of 7-Up and fatty meats. Why is it my business, you ask? Well, when I'm going to be paying over $200/month next year in extra Medicare premiums (IRMAA adjustments) to keep Medicare solvent, yes, people incur extra medical costs because they have preventable conditions and aren't taking care of themselves ARE my business.
Once we know for sure, what a healthy diet is, I will consider it. Right now, there are too many different opinions of "healthy" diet.
I try to eat lots of fruit & veg, & my protein is mostly chicken or fish.
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As I noted earlier, the total cholesterol count is pretty useless IMO. My total is 238 but my good cholesterol is 94 (anothing over 60 is good) and all the standard ratios/differences among the components are good. I don't feel a need to treat anything.
