After a heat attack

[maydaymommy]

What happens?

DH woke up last Friday very uncomfortable and thought he had the flu. I left him alone all weekend & told everyone he was being a grump. Long story short, he'd had a small heart attack.

Spent a few days in the hospital, came home for a few hours & then went to his parents house (2 hrs away) to rest for a few more days. He's very involved with our kids & ds2 is particularly demanding of him, so as much as I don't like it, it was necessary for him to recover out of our house.

Basically, this was a huge wake up call. He will take medicines now and change his diet & excersize & go through cardiac rehab.

Does anyone know anything about the lifestyle changes that will need to take place? I guess I'm mostly concerned about his diet & how to feed all of us.

I do weight watchers & feed the kids healthily. But, he rarely eats dinner w/ us, and I would like him to. He has always been resistant to doing ww with me. Now, I don't know if it will be heart healthy enough. Should he do something extreme like Dean Ornishes diet? Should he just follow the Hear Association diet? Can that be incorporated with that?

I am in a daze about the whole thing, and I guess I've latched onto the food issues b/c I may have some control over it. He is used to eating crap on the run - processed and probably loaded w/ sodium & hydrogenated fats.
Cooking is a challenge for me.

Thanks for any advice.

[mackmama]

I'm really sorry to hear about your DH. I'm glad he is recovering okay.

A family member had a heart attack last year, and I know a little about his recovery process. He was registered for a post-heart-attack nutrition and exercise program through his hospital. I think the program was 3 months long. The program basically consisted of him meeting with a nutritionist weekly, meeting with a physical therapist a few times per week where he did exercise while monitored, and they also offered some stress reduction classes. He drastically changed his eating style (his diet now focuses on protein and veggies and low-carb). He now exercises regularly following the exercise program that the PT had taught him. This program really helped him both feel confident about the changes he needed to make and also helped him feel safe while exercising again.

Can you inquire with your DH's doctor about whether your hospital offers such a program for people recovering from heart attacks?

[larig]

I'm really sorry to hear about your DH. I'm glad he is recovering okay.

A family member had a heart attack last year, and I know a little about his recovery process. He was registered for a post-heart-attack nutrition and exercise program through his hospital. I think the program was 3 months long. The program basically consisted of him meeting with a nutritionist weekly, meeting with a physical therapist a few times per week where he did exercise while monitored, and they also offered some stress reduction classes. He drastically changed his eating style (his diet now focuses on protein and veggies and low-carb). He now exercises regularly following the exercise program that the PT had taught him. This program really helped him both feel confident about the changes he needed to make and also helped him feel safe while exercising again.

Can you inquire with your DH's doctor about whether your hospital offers such a program for people recovering from heart attacks?

this is what my father and FIL had to do too. My mom bought Heart Association cookbooks and used that to help. I will say this, however, I think my mom went a little too far with the fat cutting out and my dad loaded on carbs (he's thin), but ended up diabetic. Fat helps with blood sugar spikes, but is bad for the heart. Anyway, the hospital should have those cookbooks available.

[brittone2]

this is what my father and FIL had to do too. My mom bought Heart Association cookbooks and used that to help. I will say this, however, I think my mom went a little too far with the fat cutting out and my dad loaded on carbs (he's thin), but ended up diabetic. Fat helps with blood sugar spikes, but is bad for the heart. Anyway, the hospital should have those cookbooks available.
The science on fat being detrimental to the heart is actually fairly weak. Fat in addition to carbs is definitely not desirable.

OP, one thing to consider is the impact of insulin on heart disease. Gary Taubes offers some great reading on the topic. Does he have any markers for prediabetes, insulin resistance, etc? Has he ever had his hemoglobin A1C checked?

You can't go wrong with cutting out any and all transfats (realizing even those products who label themselves as transfat free can have fat. If it is below a certain threshold per serving, they can say they are transfat free. If you eat a few servings a week, and in most cases people eat more than one serving size, you run into dangerous levels of transfats very quickly, even with products that say they are transfat free. If it contains partially hydrogenated oils, it has transfats). If he eats on the run a lot, that would be a significant concern.

eta: back w/ some links. OP, I would urge you to discuss w/ the medical personnel you meet. I think the advice handed out today isn't always very consistent w/ the actual science. I'll link these as food for thought for things to discuss w/ cardiologist and any nutritionist he meets with, but don't take this as medical advice, obviously. The links below are more about the concept of fat being horrible for the heart in a general sense. You obviously have to work with your medical personnel to figure out what is best for your DH, but it might give you some things to discuss w/ them.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbs-against-cardio
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116724/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/what-if-bad-fat-isnt-so-bad/

Particle size, carb consumption, cholesterol:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35058896/ns/health-heart_health/t/bad-cholesterol-its-not-what-you-think/ (you can delve into studies on this. Taubes does a good discussion of this topic in his books, but this is a good primer if the topic is new to you).

Sugar and heart disease:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all

Hate the title, but this book is excellently researched. If you like science reading, read this version:
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Science/dp/1400033462/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321045632&sr=8-2

If you get intimidated by science-heavy stuff, this one is supposedly a little easier to digest
http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307272702/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321045632&sr=8-1

Both of those books are IMO are about way more than weight loss. THey aren't "diet" books. They are about the science of heart disease, diabetes, etc. and how we got to where we are with recommendations (that are often not very well founded scientifically)

Again, this isn't medical advice, but things to maybe consider as you work through this and talk with his providers.

eta: I'm so sorry that your family is going through this. I hope your DH has an excellent recovery.

[ahisma]

(((hugs)))

It will be okay. My DH had a heart attack while we were engaged - at 34! Scared the crap out of us. He had 99% blockage in 2 areas and got 2 stents. He had crazy high cholesterol after years of pizza, cigarettes and beer. He was physically active, but that wasn't enough. He had biked 30 miles the day before the heart attack, thank goodness it didn't happen there.

More than anything remember, it WILL be okay. If it helps, my DH has never, ever had chest pain since the heart attack.

We tried the Ornish Diet. It was hell. DH revolted by sneaking grease laden subs, etc. I don't blame him. I'm a vegan and Ornish was too much for me. Seriously. I think trying it launched both of us into a depression.

Now - 8 years out - he's pretty much vegan. That's not necessary. I already was and he slowly transitioned. I will say that I think it would be worth it to get a few good vegan cookbooks. If you want to add meat - go for it. Add it, substitute it for the tofu, etc...whatever you need to do. But, vegan chefs excel at creating heart healthy meals that TASTE GOOD. That is huge. If he feels like he will never eat anything that tastes good again...it's not a good thing.

Some recommendations are:
http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-Reduction-Filling-Low-Fat-Recipes/dp/1600940498 (book)
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/ (blog / website)
http://www.theppk.com/blog/ (blog, from the author of the book I posted)

Beyond the diet - exercise. Cardio, ideally. DH runs and bikes. It makes a huge difference in his lipid counts.

The meds were an issue with us. DH had massive issues with statins - horrible side effects. Many people don't, but please be aware of the possibility. One made him lose all short term memory (while we were buying a house!), one gave him muscle cramps so bad that he could barely climb the stairs, one created dangerous kdiney function issues (they monitored for it). We found a solution, it's all good. It took time though.

It does get better. He has NO restrictions now. Since the heart attack he's gone mountain climbing and scuba diving. He bikes 80+ miles / trip a few times in the summer. No chest pain. His cardiologist says that his back will go before his heart ( he has no back issues). He's probably healthier now than he has been in his entire life. We're not health nuts. We're having nachos for dinner...it's not all broccoli and granola by any stretch of the imagination!