The American Heart Association

AIn my journey with coronary artery disease I have found a real supporter in the American Heart Association. For a long time I never really gave AHA much thought. That was before I got involved and started to find out that they were about helping people and not just about raising money. Oh, they raise money, lots of it, but it's what they have done and continue to do with the money that really got my attention. It wasn't that long ago that I found out that the heart lung machine was developed thanks in large measure to research grants from the AHA, and without that machine no bypass surgery, and without that machine I don't think I would be writing this now. That realization has helped me to get involved with the Memphis area AHA. I wish I could give them more of my money, because in a real sense I owe them my life.  

Keeping Your Doctors on the Same Page

Yesterday I got a call from the office of my Family Practice Doc. I had gone there last week for a problem unrelated to my heart. In the process of the visit he ordered some blood work. The call yesterday was to inform me that my CPK was elevated and I needed to lower my dose of Crestor in half. My over all cholesterol and my LDL and HDL numbers were the best ever. But there is a problem. I am not about to change my dose of Crestor without the advise of my cardiologist, and I am still wondering why the blood work was done in the first place since I was not fasting. I am saying all of this just to illustrate that it is our responsibility to take charge of our health care. I just cannot assume that doctors communicate with one another. I also cannot assume that every test that a doctor gives is administered correctly. I love my family doctor, but I don't mind at all making sure things are done correctly.

Free Gym

I was visiting someone in the hospital the other day and was standing waiting for the elevator when I noticed a sign. It was posted on the stairwell door. It simply read "Free Gym." It worked, at least for me. That day I took the stairs. Those of us who are battling CAD have got to keep moving. It's just that simple

A New Year

I have spent a good deal of time reflecting on this past year. All in all it has been a good year. I took a group of medical folks to Ghana, West Africa. These trips continue to be so therapeutic. My wife and I had a wonderful trip out West. There really is no way to describe the Grand Canyon.  Spending time with our son was a real gift. We are so proud of him. He is an officer in the Air Force and is now stationed in Minot, ND. I talked to he tonight and he mentioned that it has warmed up.  The current temperature is all the way up to a balmy zero.  I think that is a strong case for relativity. After the trip I had total knee replacement surgery. As I said in an earlier there was no comparison between the knee surgery and my heart bypass. My knee is getting a little bit better every day. Of all the events of this past year without a doubt the news of the coming of our first grandchild tops the list. I feel so blessed. 

My biggest challenge for 2009 is going to be deal with my weight. I have put on a few pounds. Exercise and eating well is tough for me. I try not looking at this as some kind of New Resolution, but just a decision to do better. I want to live long enough to enjoy our granddaughter.  I can now say with certainty that life after bypass surgery can be fantastic.

Women and Heart Disease

In my journey with coronary artery disease I have been made very aware of the sometime lethal discrepancies between the diagnostic protocols used to treat men as opposed to women. The sad reality is that many women just do not receive the same level of care that men normally receive. I have been privileged to become acquainted with the woman who wrote the book on women and heart disease, From the Heart: A Woman's Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease. Kathy recently wrote an op-ed for the Memphis newspaper, The Commercial Appeal. Click here to read the article, and if you know a woman who has been through bypass surgery or any heart related issue her book is a must read. 

Motivations for Heart Healthy Living

The beautiful red head in the picture is my daughter, Heather, standing next to her husband, Tim. In February of next year she is due to deliver ourfirst grandchild. They know she is carrying a little girl who will be named Savannah. Knowing that she is on the way is a real motivator to me to make good lifestyle choices.  I have found that the further I am removed from my surgery the more I need to be motivated to eat right and exercise. I have also found that my yet unborn granddaughter, Savannah, is proving to be a great incentive to live heart healthy. I want to be around to spoil her. I want to be around to hear her call me grandaddy, and I want to be around long enough for her to remember me for the rest of her life.  I am truly a blessed person with so much to live for. Having a loving supportive family, I am convinced, is on of the main reasons why I am doing so well today.  I love my family and appreciate so much what they have done to help see me through a really tough time. 

Food and the Holidays

Well I made it through Thanksgiving sort of. If a person is trying to eat heart healthy the holidays can be a killer. This seems especially true in the South where I live. In the South even spinach can be considered junk food. You see, in the South spinach must be "seasoned" correctly which usually involves the adding of about two tablespoons of bacon grease during the cooking process. In my path to recovery food has been a challenge. Right after surgery I was so afraid that I didn't want to eat period. I went for a full six month and had oatmeal for breakfast every day. At some point though I fell off the wagon. I remember well one day making sure that no one I knew was watching before I pulled into Wendy's for a double with french fries. I felt so guilty, but it tasted so good, and what was worse was that I didn't have a heart attach, not even a slight chest pain. What you eat can kill you but with a person with heart disease it's not like you have a food allergy. Nothing happens, in fact for me those bad foods, like deep fried catfish, taste just as good as they did before bypass surgery.  

As I have encountered people like me who have had serious issues with CAD I have seen three very different reactions to food. Some go radical and totally change everything about their diet. I have a friend who is a doctor that took this route. He also rides his bike to work every day. He has lost over 50 pounds and looks great. Others make some modifications to their diet, but find sticking to those lifestyle changes to be a constant challenge. Then there are many who just eat what they ate before they knew they had a problem. Some of these make a feeble effort to change their diet with the key being feeble.  From my own personal observation most people I have known who have had bypass surgery or angioplasty just don't eat right. 

The sad thing is that while genetics seems to play a real role in the development of heart disease so does diet. I have a strong family history of heart disease, but I also never met a fried food that I didn't love.  Eating the right kinds of food is a struggle for me, but I just cannot cease to struggle.