Statin

Had 5x cabg April 2018 .Am on aspirin and bisoprinol in the morning and starting at night.I am very fit for 62 but when out walking my left calf goes really tight.Its been a year now,and it's getting me down.Anybody got any ideas please. x

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Could it be cramp which can be an indication of PAD (peripheral arterial disease). If so it might be sensible to ask for a Doppler. PAD is the narrowing of arteries mainly in the limbs. As you already have CVD PAD is a possibility.

[Hidden in reply to MichaelJH]

Had a Doppler 3 years ago all was fine.Saw a specialist he didn't want to know,because I could walk for a hour with the pain.He said when you can't walk across your living room then come back.I then stopped taking my statin and the pain went.However now that I have had surgery I am afraid to stop taking them.

[Adaboo in reply to Hidden]

Unfortunately it does sound like PAD , surgery isn’t a cure so your specialist was good by saying go away till you can’t walk across your room. All you can do is keep walking to keep blood flowing. I’m sure if it was statins you would have aches and pain elsewhere too, but maybe ask your doctor to change your statin to see if it helps. I’m not a statin fan as there are other ways of keeping cholesterol in check and it’s been proven time and time again it’s not cholesterol that causes heart disease.

[jimmyq]

If you have had bypass surgery you have at least 1 blocked or blocking artery. I have had 5 too. I recommend that you watch the film "Forks Over Knives". It will show you that you can recover from this. It is on a website of the same name, Netflix, YouTube. It is about medical dietary research, including a massive study of 800,000 Chinese people. You might find it helpful, I did.

The ideal BP is 120/80. Mine has been as high as 240/140 but went down to 190/100 with treatment in 2016. I still had a mini-stroke in 2017 though. I started a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) lifestyle in March 2018. My BP is now 120/80.

The ideal cholesterol is below 5. Mine was 6.5 for years, nothing budged it until this diet. It is now 3.7.

I believe that this means that my arteries must be clearing out.

My weight was 14.5st and is now 12.5st, the same as when I was in my twenties.

[denno1957 in reply to jimmyq]

do you have shares in the " FORKS " film as you put the same reply up virtually word for word for everybody you do reply to,,, different answers by people on here help similar problems and similar answers help different problems ,,, i do think its about time you stopped giving out a stock answer for everybody

[jimmyq in reply to denno1957]

I copy and paste the text.

No, I don't have shares but I want all hearties to be aware of the possibilities for us to help ourselves. If I stop posting it the newbies won't ever see it and will not get the information.

[denno1957 in reply to jimmyq]

too much trouble to actually write a reply to the people on here then ,, thats a caring attitude to have ,, your logic being that for all the many different people with different worries and problems there is one answer only ,,, watch the dam film that has such great importance to us all that its on the web only,,,, by the way my cardiologist at the time dismissed it as not good viewing for the "newbies" as you call them,,, rightly or wrongly,,, but at the time his word was law

[jimmyq in reply to denno1957]

I had to write it the first time then re-use it. Efficiency! I had a 30+ career in IT and before that I worked piecework. I have learnt to do things efficiently. Life is too short to type the same thing over and over again. Copying and pasting it does not make it any less useful.

The film has limited availability becasue it was not made by one of the big film studios, so it doesn't have the distribution network that Disney has.

Has the cardiologist watched it? How can he dismiss it if he hasn't? It is about a medical study of 800,000 Chinese people, conducted by Chinese scientists with the involvement of some American doctors. The Amaricans took the findings home with them and put them into practice.

You don't have to watch the film, most medical practitioners advocate lifestyle changes these days but if you want to clear out the arteries the film shows a way of doing it.

Antother medical study: Ornish, D., Brown, S.E., Scherwitz, L.W., Billings, J.H., Armstrong,W.T., Ports, T.A., McLanahan, S.M., Kirkeeide, R.L., Brand, R.J. and Gould, K.L. 1990. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial. Lancet. 336 (8708) 129-133.

In a prospective, randomised, controlled trial to determine whether comprehensive lifestyle changes affect coronary atherosclerosis after 1 year, 28 patients were assigned to an experimental group (low-fat vegetarian diet, stopping smoking, stress management training, and moderate exercise) and 20 to a usual-care control group. 195 coronary artery lesions were analysed by quantitative coronary angiography. The average percentage diameter stenosis regressed from 40·0 (SD 16·9)% to 37·8 (16·5)% in the experimental group yet progressed from 42·7 (15·5)% to 46·1 (18·5)% in the control group. When only lesions greater than 50% stenosed were analysed, the average percentage diameter stenosis regressed from 61·1 (8·8)% to 55·8 (11·0)% in the experimental group and progressed from 61·7 (9·5)% to 64·4 (16·3)% in the control group. Overall, 82% of experimental-group patients had an average change towards regression. Comprehensive lifestyle changes may be able to bring about regression of even severe coronary atherosclerosis after only 1 year, without use of lipid-lowering drugs.

[orangefish in reply to jimmyq]

efficiency,,,, more like laziness ,,, thats why they have machines, to churn out endless statistics and drivel ,, have you ticked the ," i,m not a robot box ",,,, the Chinese also eat with chopsticks maybe we should all do that as well , that could be beneficial to us

[jimmyq in reply to orangefish]

Machines were invented to make life easier.

[Maisie2014]

I find not drinking enough water brings on cramps in the legs and toes, especially if exercising. Since my HA I stopped drinking water (taste buds have changed) and I’m taking statins so had horrendous cramps. Now I make sure I always have a drink with me and have been ok since.

[Hidden]

Thanks all for your replies.Think I'll have to go back to doctors.I drink plenty of water try to eat healthy like a beer,not too much and like to keep fit.Must be old age.ah ah x

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Hidden]

Yes, you need to go back as things can change quite notably with PAD. Also if the operator is not concentrating large errors can be made as you have to sync the Doppler with the BP guage. A nurse told me the circulation was fine, my podiatrist disagreed and a check by a different nurse agreed with my podiatrist. So you really need to get it checked.

It can also be treated up to a degree. The femoral artery is typically treated first either by balloon angioplasty or stenting. Just below the knee thus artery splits into three and these three arteries can be treated in a similar way. This is usually carried out by an interventional radiologist. These three arteries split further but like MVA are to narrow for treatment. Walking does help but is often easier said than done!

Very occasionally bypass surgery is performed. Gary Mabbutt, the footballer, had this done some years ago. It does, however, leave scarring that can be along most of the length of the leg.

Sadly the UK lags behind the US and Western Europe in the treatment of this condition.

[denno1957]

i have found far better answers to questions on this forum than any i got from the GP,s as they are what their title suggests whereas its all related on here to the specific heart problems and those associated ,,, its reassuring to get replies to questions from the members and has the feeling of being personalised rather than the reply from jimmyq , which seems to be the same answer word for word for whoever he replies to and to be honest doesn,t carry any sincerity

[Handel]

We wish you the best of luck. 62 is no age!!! xxx

[DavidG1971]

Could be purely physical and unrelated to heart / meds. I’ve had tight calves since my early 20s. Constantly tweaking my left one - would spasm/cramp regularly. My solution was swimming - which made a big difference. Plus Cycling to even out the hips. A massage might even locate a knot / bit of scar tissue. Maybe go straight for the problem area and see if there’s a more direct fix?

[Hidden]

Thanks again for all your help,will try to make appointment with doctors tomorrow.x

[Hidden]

Been to doctors good examination they are baffled.Said it could be vascular or muscular.Told me to try physio for a few weeks if not happy they will refer me.x

[Prada47]

Hi Jack you sorted out now 3 years on ??

Once Navy Always Navy lol

[Hidden]

No still the same I'm afraid.I still walk every day trying to ignore the pain.The pain hasn't got any worse or better.Just something I've got to live with I suppose.Cheers for asking shipmate