Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

This is to help motivate others who may be facing similar challenges.

Last fall I had quadruple coronary artery bypass graft surgery at age 55. I had/have seven separate stenoses spread among all three major coronary arteries. The worst was 98% narrowing far upstream in my left coronary artery. Yep, a time bomb. My only symptom was chest pain on exertion. (I was lucky; for many, a heart attack is the first symptom.) Except for borderline high cholesterol, I had no risk factors whatsoever and always followed what I used to consider to be a healthy diet (I know better now).

After diagnosis I discovered Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease and have 'wholeheartedly' embraced plant-based nutrition. What a joyful revelation to learn I could actually reverse and stymie the progress of heart disease, purely with diet. I've been on Esselstyn's diet now for about 11 months. Full disclosure: I also began taking 20 mg generic Lipitor, but cut that back to 10 mg--quite a low dose--because my Internist said there's too little data on cholesterol in my range to know whether it's safe. He wanted me to ease on the diet--I said no thanks, I'd like to take less statin instead please. As you can see from these numbers, given the minimal effect of halving the statin dose, I attribute 80-90% of the progress I've made on lipids to plant-based nutrition.

BEFORE Plant-Based Nutrition
Total chol = 214
HDL = 47
LDL = 148
Trig = 95

AFTER Plant-Based Nutrition + 20-mg gen. Lipitor
Total chol = 84
HDL = 28
LDL = 36
Trig = 100

TODAY on Plant-Based Nutrition + 10-mg gen. Lipitor
Total chol = 98
HDL = 38
LDL = 39
Trig = 111

My BP today averages 110/75, and my bloodwork looks beautiful, including two tests for B12 on which my Internist insisted. I lost 20 lbs the first 2 months on the diet and have stabilized at what I weighed at age 19. I walk/hike 60+ miles per month, lift weights, cycle, practice Tai Chi, and basically do whatever I want. I feel fantastic, good energy, improved mental clarity, and positive mood. Though I've had The Big Fix, plant-based nutrition will be my regimen the remainder of my life. I have to take care of my four grafts, and I appreciate the other benefits as well.

My Internist at first tried over several appointments to talk me out of a wholly plant-based diet. ("A strict vegan diet is inconsistent with life.") Now nearly a year later, he's considering adopting the diet himself. Ha!

Thanks for reading, and best of luck!

Wow! Awesome story! I love your story because I wish everyone had the idea that they need to take care of their bypass grafts. My dad had a quadruple bypass 20 years ago and although he did quit smoking after the bypass, he did nothing else healthy. And he gained 20-30 lbs when he quit smoking. Now, 20 years later, he has had stent after stent after stent (he even calls the cardiac cath lab "stents 'r' us"), but new blockages keep forming. His cholesterol is high, he has type 2 diabetes, and I am sure the handful of pills he takes every day isn't doing much to help in the face of his terrible diet.

Anyway, I wish he (and everyone else who has a bypass) would follow your lead! Congratulations!!

Jenna wrote:Wow! Awesome story! I love your story because I wish everyone had the idea that they need to take care of their bypass grafts. My dad had a quadruple bypass 20 years ago and although he did quit smoking after the bypass, he did nothing else healthy. And he gained 20-30 lbs when he quit smoking. Now, 20 years later, he has had stent after stent after stent (he even calls the cardiac cath lab "stents 'r' us"), but new blockages keep forming. His cholesterol is high, he has type 2 diabetes, and I am sure the handful of pills he takes every day isn't doing much to help in the face of his terrible diet.

Anyway, I wish he (and everyone else who has a bypass) would follow your lead! Congratulations!!

Thanks Jenna. People have different relationships with food I think. I'm just lucky that my 'attachment' to food must be weak, because I had no problem at all adopting and sticking to the plant-based diet. I read Esselstyn's book one day, started the diet the next day, and have been happy to be on it since. Your Dad perhaps feels differently about food, so it's much more of a personal challenge for him to change.

This was also my experience with this diet. No real struggle, great feedback in monitoring my weight and bloodwork, and lot's of relief from chronic issues. Your story is typical for those not afraid to jump on board the wagon. Dr, McDougall tells us this is not only the normal progression following this way of eating but that we can EXPECT these changes to happen. I see no reason to doubt that assessment after seeing so many stories like yours play out.
Congratulations on your new-found health and the next chapter of your life. Thanks for sharing.
f1jim

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your story! I hope your doctor DOES decide to start eating this way.

jamietwo wrote:Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your story! I hope your doctor DOES decide to start eating this way.

Me too! He's a good guy, but the sort who goes first to a pharmaceutical, second to natural remedies like nutrition. He told me that's what most patients demand these days--a quick, easy fix. He started out very skeptical of my diet program, but after witnessing the effects on me over nearly a year and repeatedly failing to find any deficiencies in my bloodwork or health, he's seeing the light I think. My last appointment I talked him into letting me halve my beta blocker (metoprolol) dose for 3 months and see what happens. If I'm good after that, I think he'll concur with me dropping it altogether.