I reversed my Coronary Artery Disease

[Faith in DC]

I guess there probably isn't any Brazilian doctor out there that has written a book or has a website such as this, is there? I forgot if you said you were in a large city or not, but Do you have a vegetarian Society? I'm thinking you could combine your efforts at those Farmer's Markets etc.

Sounds like the wife wanted to get you fixed one way or another. Good thing you picked the easiest way.

[Ricardo]

I guess there probably isn't any Brazilian doctor out there that has written a book or has a website such as this, is there? I forgot if you said you were in a large city or not, but Do you have a vegetarian Society? I'm thinking you could combine your efforts at those Farmer's Markets etc. Sounds like the wife wanted to get you fixed one way or another. Good thing you picked the easiest way.

Fith,
I am glad you answered my last post. I am happy.
Let me tell you how lucky I am. I live in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, pop 6 million people and with very good medicine... But no books, nor Programs like McDougall and sites like this. When a doctor here suggested me to have an angiogram and asked if my health plan would pay for stents, I arrived home with these news and my wife said: no way you will do that. She showed me a Brazilian magazine, "Veja", with an article detailing the new procedures about CAD´s. She also got me an appointment with a doctor, whose PhD thesis was about the new pharma, exercise and diet treatment versus mechanical treatment. Tomography and PET tests confirmed that I just had a intermediate clogging disease and that clinic treatment could be enough.

Then I entered in the internet with Google and the words: Reversion, Remission, Cure of coronary disease. The rest you can imagine: sites of Mc Dougall, Esselstyn, Ornish, Gould, Whitaker, etc. (these doctors were a must. Nowadays three of them are even the doctors of Pres. Clinton!).

I bought all the books I liked, from Amazon and started my Vegan and VLF diet, with the support of 3 cardiologists that initially I went. I consulted to a nutritionist and my wife (even thinking I was too radical) made changes in our cooking at home. I was in charge of the Farmers Market... All of the doctors gave me an ok. I learned a lot. But I am from Minas Gerais, where people is considered unbelievers...

The only moment I relaxed it was when after almost 4 years the doctors said I had done something very hard: I had reversed a CAD ! One of them said that I was being promoted to Prevention from Reversion of the disease !

My prize was great. I decided to give back to society what all those people gave me, promoting my new gained knowledge on pharma and nutrition, to help others
.
Your works of encouragement and ideas will help me in this new mission.
Today I went to the farmers market to start the job.
PS: No, we still do not have a Vegan society in Rio, but there are some nutritionist with offices and restaurants. I will visit them also.
Thank you again,
Ricardo

[Melinda]

It's wonderful to hear stories like yours, Ricardo! Thank you very much for posting it! Your story, (along with all of the other Star Mcdougallers' stories) give so much hope and encouragement to other people. Are you going to become a Star Mcdougaller? I wish you all the best!

[Faith in DC]

Ricardo
I didn't want you to think that us Americans' only thought of Rio de Janeiro when we think of Brazil. Though it is the first city that pops in my mind.

I was hoping that you were going to say Rio. I can not believe of all places, that there is no some Vegetarian Society. Yes, this is a need. Do you know how many folks out there try hard to be a vegetarian but fail due to being alone, and lack of support. I went through the 80's trying and failing. It took until the Internet, for me to not feel so alone.

I belong to the oldest vegetarian society in the US http://www.vsdc.org/. Maybe this will give you some ideas. I think the Farmers Market is the excellent first place to promote.

Wouldn't it be great if your Cardiologist gets this connection between what we eat and our health, that he tries it on another patient and another, and then maybe reads studies and writes a book there. Sorry a large run on sentence.

Your wife and yourself have a story to tell also.

Sounds like you have really gained a lot of energy now that the heart is working like it should.

[carollynne]

Great news for you and your family !! It is wonderful that your have reversed your CAD... Not many can say that on earth. It takes guts and determination to stick with the McDougall Plan and you have done that !!

Job well done, and your reward is to have a better healthy life.
I am doing the McDougall Plan, with 2 sons, who are adults, and who got me introduced to the idea and concept of vegan to begin with... about 3 yrs ago. I wish I could convince my dear husband to do the same. So proud of your eating and how you have reversed your heart disease too.
good luck and continued good health to you!!

[Ricardo]

Are you going to become a Star Mcdougaller?

Melinda,
thank you for your words. About your question I would say I will try to update my knowledge on Mc Dougall works. This area of knowledge is too big. Later on I would try to be a Star Mcdougaller... now I am just happy to tell how I did my reversal to encourage others to look for changing life style.
By now from Brazil.

Ricardo

[Ricardo]

It takes guts and determination to stick with the McDougall Plan and you have done that !!

Carollynne,
was not hard to me as you may think.
The food iin my house is delicius and the feeling of reverting is great. This lifestyle gives me power to manage CAD.
About guts and determination I would say that I did it because I was afraid to leave this planet too soon... just fear and not courage or guts.
Cheers
Ricardo

[Ricardo]

I didn't want you to think that us Americans' only thought of Rio de Janeiro when we think of Brazil. Though it is the first city that pops in my mind.

I belong to the oldest vegetarian society in the US http://www.vsdc.org/. Maybe this will give you some ideas.

Faith,
thank you. I will see vsdc.org. It will help me on Vegan life.

About Rio, it is ok, a fine city, but there are other places in Brazil.
I was not born here, but this is the place I will start tell others on Vegan and VLF.

I may convert some...

All the best,
Ricardo

[Brad]

Many of us start out on the scared side Ricardo. You are smart for researching and finding another way beside medicines.

Faith, scared straight is definitely my story. And Ricardo, my blockages are(were?) similar to yours, 50%/40%/70%. I was one of the lucky ones that was apparently performing my own stress tests while running with my running group (I run with a fast crowd ). Chest pains-->cardiac cath-->med presription. Coronary Artery Disease does not spare athletic types. A friend in the group had several heart attacks before seeing a dr and wound up with stents and is a McDougaller now. I dodged that stent bullet luckily.

I am nervous about my upcoming blood work 6 weeks post op/diet. I did not take the meds and hope my cholesterol results match my feelings of health....

You are right too, this has been easy to give up the animal products and oils in terms of cravings and in terms of not being hungry while loosing weight, but not in terms of more work cooking and hassles eating out.

I wish you continued success in this endeavor and keep in touch.
Brad

[Ricardo]

Many of us start out on the scared side Ricardo. You are smart for researching and finding another way beside medicines.

Ricardo, my blockages are(were?) similar to yours, 50%/40%/70%. I was one of the lucky ones that was apparently performing my own stress tests while running with my running group (I run with a fast crowd ). Chest pains-->cardiac cath-->med presription. Coronary Artery Disease does not spare athletic types. A friend in the group had several heart attacks before seeing a dr and wound up with stents and is a McDougaller now. I dodged that stent bullet luckily.I am nervous about my upcoming blood work 6 weeks post op/diet. I did not take the meds and hope my cholesterol results match my feelings of health....

Brad

Brad,
I was lucky that my wife found information and a doctor that after studying my CAT scan and PET tests, decided that I should be out of stents, but just reducing cholesterol and making exercises. The initial goal it was to stop the CAD. But I wanted to go deeper. Living in Brazil, through the Internet I found information on the american doctors that are for reversal (Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Mc Dougall, Dr. Ornish, etc sites and books). I also entered in Dr. Neal Pinckney support group at Vegsource.com. That helped a lot too, because I was not alone. I had company. I just found this forum few days ago. I see that is very good to have more company. About taking medicines I decided to take them and with periodic blood tests, reducing statins and blood pressure medicines gradually, as cholesterol and BP were going down and checking again if these marks would go higher with medicine reduction. Last year I just did that one time only because my total cholesterol was in a safe mark around 100 and BP that is easier to check it was normal.

[Brad]

Brad,
I was lucky that my wife found information and a doctor that after studying my CAT scan and PET tests, decided that I should be out of stents, but just reducing cholesterol and making exercises. The initial goal it was to stop the CAD. But I wanted to go deeper. Living in Brazil, through the Internet I found information on the american doctors that are for reversal (Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Mc Dougall, Dr. Ornish, etc sites and books). I also entered in Dr. Neal Pinckney support group at Vegsource.com. That helped a lot too, because I was not alone. I had company. I just found this forum few days ago. I see that is very good to have more company. About taking medicines I decided to take them and with periodic blood tests, reducing statins and blood pressure medicines gradually, as cholesterol and BP were going down and checking again if these marks would go higher with medicine reduction. Last year I just did that one time only because my total cholesterol was in a safe mark around 100 and BP that is easier to check it was normal.

Yes, the support is very important. There is little at home or medically although my general practioner did say he wouldn't advise against trying the diet. Although this site is not primarily a CAD support site, the diet, with no oil, is essentially the same as the ones you mentioned above. The support for resources, recipies, information, and encouragement is invaluable as I continue to read and learn tips and tricks to making it work...properly. I'd be interested to know what happened to your cholesterol level when you stopped taking the meds. I only did the meds for a week before suffering very sore legs (similar to post-marathon) after a short run.

[Ricardo]

Brad,
Yes, the support is very important. There is little at home or medically although my general practioner did say he wouldn't advise against trying the diet. Although this site is not primarily a CAD support site, the diet, with no oil, is essentially the same as the ones you mentioned above. The support for resources, recipies, information, and encouragement is invaluable as I continue to read and learn tips and tricks to making it work...properly. I'd be interested to know what happened to your cholesterol level when you stopped taking the meds. I only did the meds for a week before suffering very sore legs (similar to post-marathon) after a short run.

Brad,
My diet is very simple. (it is based on page 5 of Dr. Esselstyn book). I like to have vegetables steamed or boiled. I put no salt to lower BP and I use red pepper sauce instead. I eat a lot of rice with beans or lentils for proteins. I like Kale. I like broccolis, lettuce and cauliflower (sometimes I eat them uncooked, but first submerging them in water with chlorine tablets that I buy at drugstores or a lot of vinegar to disinfect them). I eat sweet potatoes and other starch products (I got it from Dr. McDougall presentation on starches as they have many good nutrients and energy). Starches are very easy to bake or to broil. I eat mine broiled. I use one table spoon of flax seeds most of the days. For breakfast I use soymilk with decaf coffee and whole bread.

( I must confess that I pay a cook to prepare many of these simple meals).

I go to a nutritionist once a year to correct what I am doing.

I used to eat many bananas, oranges and other fruits a day, that are abundant here in Brazil, but my nutritionist said in order to reduce sugar in blood I should repeat more of the non fruit food rather than eating so many fruits. I started that practice since May 23rd

About my medicine: I started almost 4 years ago with 70 mg a week with the statin brand name Crestor, taking 10 mg a day, 7 days per week. After many months the total cholesterol/mg were reduced to 80/50mg, to 100/40mg, and now we are trying to reduce statin to 20mg a week, to see if cholesterol still stays well under 150

I never had the side effects of statin you and my medicine package describe. My doctor prescribes frequent blood tests to see how cholesterol and liver enzymes are doing. My liver and muscles seems that are tolerating well this statin. I may see in the future what could happen if I stop statin at all, reducing step by step.

My priority till today it was and is to reverse CAD, despite statins.

I think that most important is to have a cardiologist that has experience to treat CAD reversals (or at least wanting to control and to arrest it).
I am sad to see most doctors do not understand nutrition at all.

I keep reading all I can on CAD reversal. Now I am very interested on going deeper on Dr. Mc Dougall, to improve my nutrients intake. Dr. Esselstyn provided me with a kickoff toward being heart attack proof and to get cholesterol under 150. Dr. Neil Pinckney from Vegsource support group helped me a lot and I think you would like it too.
For sure with Dr. Mcdougall I could go one step further on nutrition and other health benefits.

Have you got a good cardiologist that can guide you? Did you ask him/her if a different statin would not have the side effects you described? Does your doctor asks for frequent blood tests? Does he/she works with you on your diet? Do you feel that they give you a good support on your objectives? I get from my doctors a good support for all of my questions...except on diets...

[Brad]

Brad,

( I must confess that I pay a cook to prepare many of these simple meals).

I appreciate the confession. I do not think less of you.

About my medicine: I started almost 4 years ago with 70 mg a week with the statin brand name Crestor, taking 10 mg a day, 7 days per week. After many months the total cholesterol/mg were reduced to 80/50mg, to 100/40mg, and now we are trying to reduce statin to 20mg a week, to see if cholesterol still stays well under 150

My priority till today it was and is to reverse CAD, despite statins.

I think that most important is to have a cardiologist that has experience to treat CAD reversals (or at least wanting to control and to arrest it).

I keep reading all I can on CAD reversal. Now I am very interested on going deeper on Dr. Mc Dougall, to improve my nutrients intake. Dr. Esselstyn provided me with a kickoff toward being heart attack proof and to get cholesterol under 150. Dr. Neil Pinckney from Vegsource support group helped me a lot and I think you would like it too.
For sure with Dr. Mcdougall I could go one step further on nutrition and other health benefits.

That sounds like a healthy approach. And seeing cholesterol go down within a couple months is encouraging. There is little data on what one can expect from a heart attack proof (CAD) diet like Esselstyn's on lowering cholesterol. I am thinking it may be related to starting levels and starting body weight. I am contemplating research on this. But I have felt the results in my stamina and overall health within a couple days. Amazing stuff these fat free vegan diets! I am hoping for under 150 on my next test.

Have you got a good cardiologist that can guide you? Did you ask him/her if a different statin would not have the side effects you described? Does your doctor asks for frequent blood tests? Does he/she works with you on your diet? Do you feel that they give you a good support on your objectives? I get from my doctors a good support for all of my questions...except on diets...

I have a cardiologist I am seeing for the 2nd and final time in a couple weeks, mostly to say I told you so. He is not a diet friendly cardiologist. And he suggested I talk to my general doctor about the side effects!! My regular doctor is more supportive. And yes, I get regular blood tests.

Brad

[Ricardo]

Brad,
As you and I know that the Vegan diet and very low fat food (just 10% of calories from fat) works for many people that want to lower cholesterol to safer numbers. Lower cholesterol number, results in lower heart risks. Just not to bring more cholesterol (from animal meat, eggs, etc) than that our bodies already produces is the major reason. The issue may be to select the best statin for each individual or a non-statin drug to help to get cholesterol down. Good doctors know how to do that.

In other hand you are right to say that there is not “real” evidence on vegan diet (trials with large numbers of participants?) that it works to prevent hart attacks comparing to the big pharma new drugs trials. It is a pity we don’t have in the whole wold a major study with thousands of people.

I got the message of getting heart attack proof from the study described in Dr. Esselstyn with small but very ill patients. If you like, please read Dr. Esselstyn book pages 19 to 28 chapter Seeking he Cure and 46 to 56 Breathing, Living Proof. This is the study that gave me relief that before getting reversal, my priority would be to avoid a heart attack. That risk would cause much trouble to my family and other people that depends on me. I have seen many persons that after a heart attack and bypasses, they keep eating the same food that made them sick. Some already died and majority got worst. I did not wanted that for me, so just this hope (based in studies even with small number of participants), that Dr. E and our other vegan doctors brought in books would be a kick off. It worked for me. (My wife had very high cholesterol marks. She lowered her numbers after having statins. But she does not want to go vegan, what I am sorry but I can also understand and respect. But I got CAD reversed. Possibly she did not need it).

In my early meetings I was curious and having a lot of questions to bring to my actual doctor. We were not much ambitious. He kept saying that if I just could get my CAD arrested it would be suffice. Those words became a challenge for me. I kept inside me that I could reverse CAD. The result you know.

Other decision I made in the beginning it was to fire a very good cardiologist, but that I thought he was not so supportive in my objectives, as the one that I keep till today. Both are well updated with statins and they could also switch medicines, even without statins to low cholesterol, if all kind of statins would not work for me. I really needed a doctor that could give me the best support available to get reversed. I wish in the future we could have here in Brazil the McDougall, Ornish and Esselstyn Programs in place, to complement the work of the good cardiologists that are too busy with surgeries, stents, bypasses and very busy to treat a mass of clients that refuse to give up fat food and to exercise.

I wish you the best in your challenges. Please see them as a good chance in the future to help other members of you family and friends. Show your good results as an example so they may give up this terrible western food that makes people sick. And I wish you to get the best treatment you deserve.

PS: Yes, we have a study with very large numbers of participants that shows that total cholesterol under 150 protects against heart attacks. A reference is at pag 30 of Dr. E. book, that is the Framingham Mass. for 50 years with the whole population of that city. Please check also in the internet.

[Brad]

Brad,
The issue may be to select the best statin for each individual or a non-statin drug to help to get cholesterol down. Good doctors know how to do that.

That is so true. The first didn't work for me and I only gave it a week. I didn't bother trying others though after reading about them and went straight to the no-fat diet.

In other hand you are right to say that there is not “real” evidence on vegan diet (trials with large numbers of participants?) that it works to prevent hart attacks comparing to the big pharma new drugs trials. It is a pity we don’t have in the whole wold a major study with thousands of people.

I got the message of getting heart attack proof from the study described in Dr. Esselstyn with small but very ill patients. If you like, please read Dr. Esselstyn book pages 19 to 28 chapter Seeking he Cure and 46 to 56 Breathing, Living Proof. This is the study that gave me relief that before getting reversal, my priority would be to avoid a heart attack.

I'm sorry if I gave the impression that there was no real evidence. I have Esselstyn's book and his study was published in the AMA journal and is a very legitimate study. I was thinking it would be nice to add some information as to what might be an 'average' reduction in cholesterol on the diet and what factors also are the most important, like caffeine, alcohol, excercise, etc.

(My wife had very high cholesterol marks. She lowered her numbers after having statins. But she does not want to go vegan, what I am sorry but I can also understand and respect. But I got CAD reversed. Possibly she did not need it).

My wife also is on statins and has no intention of changing her SAD diet and giving up her meats and icecream. She is starting to recognize me in her cooking though which is nice. And she is starting to eat some of mine...but only the good stuff .

Other decision I made in the beginning it was to fire a very good cardiologist,

I'm doing that too. He was very negative about diet and kept pushing the pills. I'm thinking a nutritionist would be better than a cardiologist at this point.

I wish in the future we could have here in Brazil the McDougall, Ornish and Esselstyn Programs in place, to complement the work of the good cardiologists that are too busy with surgeries, stents, bypasses and very busy to treat a mass of clients that refuse to give up fat food and to exercise.

Well I'm glad you have this site to give and get support!

I wish you the best in your challenges. Please see them as a good chance in the future to help other members of you family and friends. Show your good results as an example so they may give up this terrible western food that makes people sick. And I wish you to get the best treatment you deserve.

And the same to you. And if your cook every wishes to vacation in Florida, I'm sure we can work out a cook-for-room arrangement!!

Brad