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September 04, 2008

Comments

Ed S.

I think in the absence of a fatal disease or genetic problem you could be trying to control, it is inevitable that you will come off as narcissistic, or at least vain (esp for a man). I don't tweak or control my diet as much as you, and I DO have a life-threatening illness. I could be called foolish or reckless, but for 10 years now I'm still kicking in spite of my genes. It's a crap shoot. But if you feel better and your blood pressure inevitably drops a few points, why not?

jeffrey McMahon

Are you on a Pritikin diet of some variation to keep your arteries clear?


Ed S.

Do you mean Atkins or Pritikin? Atkins sure wouldn't be the way to go, long-term. There are too many factors involved in CAD. At least 30, according to cardiologists. Diet is almost insignificant, as most CAD deaths occur in people with normal cholesterol levels... My condition is mostly genetic. Only brute-force surgery on my plumbing, while a kludge, kept me above the sod this long.

jeffrey McMahon

So your diet is irrelevant? What about medication? I have a friend who has to take medication because his father died early of a heart attack. My friend, though slender, has high cholesterol.

Ed S.

It's complicated. Heart disease's action is only starting to be understood. Drugs, which do drastically lower cholesterol, have only be shown to be mildly efficacious in preventing future heart attacks, but statistically your life (morbity) is *not* prolonged if you have the bad genes.
The old model for heart disease--the "clogged pipe" model accounts for only 20% of heart attacks. Unstable plaques--which don't have to be large enough to block an artery--are now known to rupture and cause instant bloog-clots; these account for 80% of all deaths. What causes these plaques, and what makes them rupture, are still not understood. One main suspect is inflammation. (Smoking boosts inflammation. Smoking was my destroyer, though I quit 20 years ago.) Low-inflammation diets are probably more healthy for me than low-fat/cholesterol, which have had miserable results except in the most extreme Dean Ornish-variations, a less than 10% fat diet which few people can sustain longterm. Still, I'm better off than my old man...30 years ago they couldn't do anything for him and he died at 56 after long disability. (I also think it's too late to try to undo damage done in your mid-forties. Just my opinion.)

jeffrey McMahon

Okay, I'll have to look into "low-inflammation" diets. This is the first I've ever heard of it.

Ed S.

There are books on low-inflammation diets. Also, take a daily aspirin. Have your doc check for your "high Sensitivity C-reactive Protein" level (HsCRP).
My best recommendation to anyone who suspects they have arterial disease: Get a multi-slice EBCT, aka "Heart calcium scan"--it's non-invasive, costs about $300-400, may be covered. Harbor-UCLA does it. I saved my own life by knowing the test score, while my treadmill-stress tests told me and my cardiolgist my heart was in great shape. Good thing I didnt buy that.

herculodge

Frankly, your information is so valuable yet so under-reported I would think you should have a blog dedicated to the methods you've used to save your life. Such a blog may save thousands of lives.

Ed S.

Thanks. It seems we have to have something horrible happen before we pay attention.
I think there's a deeper issue involved....as Americans, we are very very uncomfortable even thinking about our own death, much less doing something proactive about forestalling it. "We all have to die of something" goes the thinking. How many people still smoke, even knowing what they know? "It won't get me" seems to be the thinking. Heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women in the US (it kills even more women than men now). Even armed with all the information available to us today, human nature and habits die hard. Literally.

herculodge

I imagine the denial of death allows people to go on without losing their sanity. But I could be wrong.

Ed S.

Right, if we become *too* conscious of our mortality it could cripple us psychologically, make us annoying hypocondriacs, and generally raise our anxiety levels to debilitating levels. Hey wait, I AM like that!

jeffrey McMahon

Anxiety and Hypochondria are in my middle name.

jeffrey McMahon

Kr, the video was funny but I had to delete the comment and the video link because the link to Smouch could not be stopped or escaped. I had to shut down my computer, unplug it, and reboot to get that video off my screen.

Jeff

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