Had 2 stents last Monday and feel good. I know there are lots of info about healthy eating but I am very confused. I do not have hi cholesterol or blood pressure. I never ate red meat no fried food and do not drink. I have tweaked my diet to include more fruit and veg and fish twice a week. I used to have toast and butter in mornings but now have greek yoghurt and muselli. So now have no butter or white bread . I also used to have a pack of doritos with my lunch but now have nuts. The other things I can and have change is I gave up smoking as soon as I found out my lad was blocked. I have brought a treadmill and gradually increasing speed and distance every day and also going out for a walk every few days (I have MS so excercise is a difficult one) Anyway to get to my question if I have a few doritos or a little bit of coleslaw or a sweet am I in danger of my arteries blocking again ? Do others stick to a strict healthy diet all the time ? With Christmas coming up can I have a pudding Christmas day ?Everyone around me is just eating normally but can we never eat normally again ? In hospital I was offerred a cheese sandwich straight after stents ! I chose tuna on wholemeal but this was a heart ward! I didn't eat cheese before stents and def won't now. I am checking food labels more carefully- have just realised the Greek yoghurt i have been eating is 5% fat so now changed to a 0% one. I forgot to say I am a size 10 so not overweight. It is all a minefield and confusing I am lucky as never had a heart attack and echo showed no damage but had severe blockage in lad and another artery which have been stented and 50 % in the right one which at the minute has not been stented so I want to give myself the best chance of being here for the next 20 years I enjoy eating healthy but would also like the odd treat without thinking I am going to die !
Another question after stents - British Heart Fou...
Another question after stents
go to the NHS website and find their “Eatwell “ plate.
A word of warning though. This suggestion says that you should choose low-fat foods over more natural foods, like you’ve done with the yoghurt. There’s been some recent research to show that this is not necessarily the case. If you look closely at your yoghurt pot it will show all the gubbins that the manufacturer has put in to compensate for the fact that it’s fat free. And it’s things that would not be in your kitchen cupboard.
If food contains ingredients that you would not have at home, try to avoid them.
Also about your Doritos. They have a lot of salt in.
The other website useful for ingredients in your general food intake is Blood Pressure UK.
Lastly, well,done for researching this and posing your questions, and giving up smoking is absolutely the best thing!!!
Thank you I had looked at doritos and was shocked so cut them out as well I have read before about the reduced fat and low fat !,at least with food labels we can see whats in them nowadays but it does seem that a lot of every day foods are not very healthy i will check my Greek yoghurt label as I have both the 5% and 1 % pot in my fridge at the moment so that will be interesting. I am just interested in weather others stick to this 100 percent all of the time or eat healthy most of the time and if the odd treat is a good idea or not.
My partner and I have looked at this closely. What you need to avoid, it seems, are ultraprocessed foods. We ate pretty healthily anyway but have made changes and I'm eating a lot more oily fish now than I used to and less cheese. We do allow ourselves the occasional treat though.
The biggest change for me has to be exercise, I'm taking a lot more exercise and pushing hard considering what I've been through (2 x PCI, AVR and CABG in the space of 5 weeks) since last May.
If you can get hold of test results for cholesterol from your doctor I think you'll find them interesting, I certainly do and I'm surprised as well.
Yes I forgot to say I am having salmon once a week and tuna another day so twice a week as recommended poor you you have been through it I hope you are fully recovered now ?I have been reading some old posts on here asking a similar question and it seems most do have treats sometimes but must admit I don't really want to at the minute as I feel so blessed to be given a new lease of life it has been a shock to realise that I was struggling so much due to my clogged arteries I thought my MS was progressing!Mind you not smoking is probably making a difference too
We are having fresh salmon and tuna from a mobile fishmongers every week, the tuna is twice a week, salmon once. I guess, at the price fish is you could call it a treat each time ...
I wouldn't say fully recovered, almost there, still a little delicate at times but I am 71. I was told 12 weeks to recover from surgery and get back to normal, my experience is double that and add a little - make it 6 months. But mine was OHS rather than keyhole as is used for PCI. I had a little wobble post op in hospital having two bouts of AF which probably didn't help.
As for my fitness I've looked back and I was doing a bit of running a few years ago just to try to keep fit but not as much as I am now. However my times for 5k are the same now as 12 years ago so I'd also say don't believe it if/when you are told you'll only get back to 75-90% of your pre HA fitness which is what I was told. The Physical Cardio Rehab is essential, I'd urge anyone to make as much time as it needs.
I didn't really have that much time to reflect on what happened, 5 weeks from silent HA and urgent hospital admission to being sent home with my scars. I'm just grateful I've been given a second chance at life and I've grabbed it with both hands.
Invariably low fat means high sugar plus lots of rubbish to give the thing some flavour.
Its ultra processed food that causes a lot of damage. Such things as cheese in moderation are currently thought to be ok but that could change as it does regularly with eggs and bread. The best motto is probably moderation in all things and check ingredients first.
Yes I have noticed that ! At least now all food had labels on i basically have added more fruit and veg added fish twice a week no butter or salt when cooking I don't eat red meat or anything fried and I don't drink so can't change that I am more aware of everything I eat I don't eat cheese from my dieting days 30 years ago when the lady running them said imagine cheese as a block of lard ! Never ate it since !! I have also been on treadmill every day but having to build that up slowly as its only a week today since having stents fitted. I am looking forward to a little drive to supermarket today ! Happy days !
Yes eat healthy and exercise. But don’t forget to enjoy life as well. I have treats and bits of what I fancy. Had some gin at the weekend. But these things are not regular or everyday. It’s the healthy stuff for that. But please enjoy your life.
Thank you I was getting a bit extreme thinking for the rest of my life I cant even have a sweet 🤣🤣
Hi Mollie, like you I ate relatively healthily, didnt smoke, ran and walked every day yet I was diagnosed with 75% blockage in my LAD in September 2020. One stent later and I am doing well thankfully, just on the usual meds ie Aspirin and Statin (Ticagrelor has now stopped). At first after it happened I ate ultra healthy ie fish and chicken, no red meat, no cheese but I do have red meat and cheese in moderation now. I think as someone else said above everything in moderation. Good luck and keep well
That is my plan too I am 59 and hope to be here at least 10 years !! I have never been one for cheese or Red meat my weakness is more for sweet things. Did you found a difference in energy level after your stent ?
Note, opinions and suggestions only, always check for interactions, and check with your doctor first before embarking on any changes. This is not medical advice
Depends how far you want to pursue your goals, and push the envelope, however something that's so strict that makes you depressed is not a good outcome either.
To do your own research, you should visit Google Scholar, and search the medical journals, nature, circulation, JAMA.
I will summarise, the greatest evidence for complete regression is from either Keto or WFPB, but they are not compatible or congruent, and work through different mechanisms, test at appropriate intervals, blood work, CCA-IMT and CACS, to check progress, as one may work for one person and not for another.
If that doesn't sound appealing DASH/Mediterranean diet is backed up with numerous health benefits and is easier to stick to.
Don't eat UPF's, ultra processed food.
The success of any diet , is not the actual diet, but the adherence and this is what makes most diets fail.
Few tips: Whole Blueberries and Pomegranate juice at breakfast is an incredibly powerful anti atherosclerotic start to the day.
At every meal eat your green vegetables first to nourish the arteries before anything else flows in.
Add cayenne pepper and herbs, fresh if possible to as many meals as possible.
Not that I prescribe to much weight to the information from websites, but I like this nice little post by Dr Joel Kahn:
drjoelkahn.com/dr-joel-kahn...
Its easy to say this though and I can't resist a nice sausage roll from time to time, so just do your best.
Interesting story about adherence,
Dr Agatston a pioneer in the field of remote sensing heart technologies, introduced CAC screening, and hence the unit of calcium in your coronary arteries is called an Agatston,
In his book he wrote that grains were acceptable, where as another prominent cardiologist William Davis who wrote the program "Track your plaque" suggested not to eat grains in your diet, when Dr Agatston was asked about the difference in the programs , he said he too believed that we shouldn't eat grains but that it was a step too far to ask people not to eat grains and that adherence to the program would be low.
I certainly wasn't overweight and thought we had a healthy diet. I always cooked from fresh ingredients but after my HA cut down on meat ( which I don't like anyway) vastly increased veg and stopped all cake biscuits and crisps. I was staggered that I Lost 2 stone without even trying. Yes I do now have an occasional bag of crisps or piece of cake but they are occasional, not every day. My special treat once every few months is cheese and onion pie. I believe the biggest thing for me, which you have already done, that will make a difference is stopping smoking. Enjoy life, eat healthily and have your occasional treats.
Good to know the occasional treat is good and well done on loosing 2 stone I am not overweight and ate quite healthy anyway my biggest problem is increasing excercise with MS but am doing my best I must admit some of my symptoms I thought were ms were prob my blocked LAD ! And of course stopping smoking must of helped I am on my third month now and have no urge at all to smoke
I didn't even know I'd lost weight until my GP commented the following summer and I got o ut my summer skirts and they all fell off. I loved baking but it was my husband who was addicted to cakes and biscuits and was brought up on pies, dumplings and suet pastry. Obviously I ate them just not as much. Smoking was my biggest problem. I got down to one a day and built up a gain several times. I'm housebound with severe spinal pain; disintegrating discs, a slipped spine , fibromyalgia and scoliosis so exercise is next to impossible and despite knitting sewing and painting constantly, my hands have to do something to stop the boredom so with me it was cigarettes. That's what killed my mum and almost got me. I don't drink, can't go out, never see anyone so I had to do something . So I'm on a healthy diet and treats in moderation .
I had a stent done 6 years ago now and I do eat some things that we should not, like biscuits.
I do make my own cakes with low fat or just found a recipe for make made with yoghurt and no fat at all, instead of apple pie I make crumble with oats use more apple and less topping.I eat a lot less cheese than I uses too.
Sounds like you are doing well, but do have a treat now and then, all the best to you,
Ooo the cakes sound lovely
It's lovely and easy to make.
Yoghurt cupcakes, makes 26
175 g plain white flour, 2 tsp cornflour, 1 tblsp baking powder, 175 g natural yoghurt, 175 g golden caster sugar, 3 eggs beaten, 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Sieve the sift the flour, bp and cornflour in a large bowl, add the other ingredients, mix well, put in cupcases, bake 15 - 20 minutes on 190C .
I did half the amount with one large egg instead of 3 medium ones and did them in the microwave in small plastic cups only takes 2 to 3 minutes on high. Give it a try.
I on the other hand eat mostly what I have done all through my life, red meat, chicken, fish etc as I believe my problems are genetic so eating an amazonian plant diet at my age is unlikely to extend my lifespan any more than it was genetically mapped out to be. I also eat cake and a few beers at weekends albeit about 6 units a week. I dont smoke, eat crisps or that type of rubbish and I dont add or take any added salt. I get loads of exercise and expect a few scathing remarks for this post. I had an elective stent in 2019 at 69yrs old so work on the theory that if it took 69 yrs to block to 80% with no other high degree of blockage in any arteries then I am good to go. What I am saying to you is do not be afraid to enjoy your life, eat a little of what you like best, take your meds, exercise and enjoy it. Whether you live for 5 or 30 years more try to enjoy your life and dont get too bogged down with so called strict rules. You will be fine.
I agree life is for living my sister in law actually said it all sounds miserable it sounds like you have found a good balance which is what I aim to do i have had 2 stents in 2 arteries and still have a 50 percent blockage in the right artery which at the moment is not causing problems so hopefully all the changes I have made along with my meds will mean I can have the occasional sweet treat
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