Hi, I had a quadruple bypass back in October 2014, after the op I was really ill and had SVT which required 3 electric shocks. Anyhow to cut to the chase. I was on Amiordarone 200mg for a fast heartbeat, this was stopped in December 2014, a few weeks after this I started getting the odd chest pain, breathlessness and my legs began to swell, never had this before the operation just Angina. I have been back to the doctor and Cardiologist, they are ordering a 48hr mobile ECG and an Echo. I was also told I had Peripheral Vascular Disease and need to see a vascular Surgeon, I am awaiting a visit to have my leg Blood Pressure taken.
Last night was horrendous I had 4 lots of severe chest pain which I know was Angina, had it too long previously for me not to know. I took some GTN spray 2 puffs and the pain vanished after 3 minutes and left me with a banging headache. I am also on numerous Blod Pressure tablets because they cannot get my BP down. Rhe Doctors say I am not getting Angina and refuse to even consider it, although I know from research that some operations do not entirely work. Has anyone had experience of this themselves or in their families?
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spike2512
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I also have PVD so cannot walk too far maybe 4/5 minutes and leg pain takes over. Meds are Raminpril 10mg, Aspirin 300mg until October then reduces to m75mg, Bisoprolol 10mg, Ezetrol 10mg (cholesterol tablet), Amolodipine 10mg. I do a little housework, all the cooking, ironing and a little gardening but have to have help with that. I took my BP last night because I had a fast heartbeat, I had been at rest at least 1 hour, the pulse was 140, that makes me feel ill also, I normally do not feel my heartbeat but do when it is fast, its like it is trying to jump out of my chest, had none of this until after the operation. I was sure I'd feel much better than I do once I had, had the operation. I am back on all my usual meds now so from that point of view it was a waste of time. I admit I am worried and feel a little 'down', to be honest I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel and that also is unusual for me, I am usually so positive in my outlooks.
Hi Spike, What changes have you made to your diet. What was it like before and what is it like now. Have you done much investigation into this side of things as I am sure you will have had minimal advice from the hospital, like I did.
I have always followed a varied diet but not gone overboard with it. I have never taken much alcohol and it is none at all now for the last 10yrs. Since the operation I have quit sugar, still have a treat/cake once weekly but am having more fruit, veggies and salads. I have looked into failed bypasses and can see there is about a 17% chance of failure up to 24% 1 year post op but that is for the USA, it is hard to find these things for the UK. Yes you are right, the hospital and my GP say it cannot be Angina and will not entertain the thought of any sort of failure, I was even told by one Dr that I was having indigestion. Never suffered from indigestion so that MUST be a side effect of a bypass surgery.
It could be indigestion that permeates up to your chest region and if it is then I would bet its your med's that are doing it. I inquired about your food intake because I think in your situation you have to throw the kitchen sink at this and not just hospital meds. Are you familiar with the literature of Ornish, Esselstyn and others ?
I had triple bypass surgery 2.5 years ago at age 52. I was also told that stenting was too risky and I needed the bypass.
After the surgery, the bypass was unsuccessful. The bypass that used the 'vein graft' clogged immediately, while the two that used the mammory arterteries were attached at too acute an angle and the blood wasn't flowing well.
The result? The stenting that was 'too risky' was done successfully two months after my surgery, and now blood is flowing easily in all arteries.
For the record, veins are not as good as arteries for bypass surgery because they cannot handle the pressure as much as arteries and tend to clog up quicker.
I have since, radically changed my lifestyle, I exercise daily for 60 minutes (15,000 steps). 3 days a week I go to a gym to perform high-intensity interval training (alternating sprints) on a treadmill, and I play ice hockey once per week.
My diet is plant-based but I supplement with lean chicken breast one or two meals per week, and have fish for 2 meals per week. I also have egg white omelettes 3-4 days per week for additional protein. I have red meat twice per year, Christmas and Easter. I don't eat any cold-cuts or processed meats or foods. I eat fresh foods only.
I eat lots of spinach and arugula salads and have all natural, unsalted, unsweetened nut-butter (I prefer almond butter) on whole grain toast for breakfast with a drizzling of honey and cinnamon. I have converted to goat milk for my 100% all bran cereal, and for my morning tea, and have 0% plain Greek yogurt after exercise with a little bit of Greek honey.
For the record, organic goat milk is the closest thing in composition to human mother's milk. It is much better for you than industrial cow milk. Sheep milk is also much healthier. You can also have these forms of dairy, whole fat, without skimming due to the smaller fat globules (short and medium-chain fatty acids) that comprise them. They also have much less lactose than cow's milk so they are easier to digest. The only exception I make for cows milk is Greek yogurt due to its high protein content.
I have effectively eliminated all sugars and simple carbohydrates from my diet.
The result is I have lost 40 lbs (over 8-10 months, very gradually), I now weigh 155 lbs (70.3 KG) and am 5'10" (178 cm) in height.
I also play golf twice a week and walk the course instead of taking a cart.
I now feel great, am full of energy and best of all, I have come off of all medications, including the statins. My cardiologist is unhappy about me not taking statins but with my diet and lifestyle and the research I have done, I am convinced that I don't need them. I was taking a handful of pills after my surgery and they have terrible side-effects - specifically anxiety and a feeling of pressure in the chest.
However, I monitor my bloodwork very closely every 3 months (every 6 weeks for the year during which I began weaning from all medications). I have learned about many additional tests (read my posts from the link further down in this post, to learn about these tests) that I take at my own expense that gives me a more complete picture of my cardiovascular health so I'm not in the dark and don't feel scared about not using statins.
If I could do it all over again, I would NOT have had the bypass surgery. However, it requires a COMPLETE AND UNCOMPROMISING DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE CHANGE on a PERMANENT BASIS. If you are not prepared to do that, then you'll have to do the surgery.
Even after such surgery, you still need to make a radical dietary and lifestyle change, otherwise in 10-15 years your arteries will clog up again.
There is some evidence that a plant-based diet can actually REVERSE plaque accumulation when coupled with exercise.
If you commit to this radical lifestyle change for the next 60-90 days then have another angiogram, your doctors will be able to see if there's been an improvement worthy of avoiding the surgery.
I note that my exercise regimen began very gradually and it took me a year to build up the high intensity exercise that I do today. Initially it all began with a 5 minute walk on a daily basis that I gradually built upon as I felt better and learned more.
To learn more about my experience, read all of my posts:
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