Anyone here have CAD?

macchiatto

I have PCOS, formerly had prediabetes and MS. My husband was diagnosed with CAD 2.5 years ago. He has super-low HDL and is a little overweight but otherwise didn't have any risk factors. (He was 45 at the time.) He had a 100% blocked LAD and two other major blockages. He now has 7 stents and is on a bunch of meds.

They had him go through cardiac rehab and the nutrition advice there was basically a Mediterranean diet. He's supposed to do low-fat foods (plus they did recommend nuts and fish to help raise HDL), lots of "heart-healthy whole grains," egg whites rather than whole eggs, etc. Basically we're like Jack Spratt and his wife; he's supposed to eat almost no fat and as a PCOS/IR person I should eat no lean.

Having researched LCHF more for myself I'm thinking it would be good for him, too, but I don't think the cardiology practice is familiar with the research on it. Just curious if anyone here has CAD and if so, what diet you follow, how it's affected your health and blood work, and what your cardiologist has said about it.

wabmester

I don't, but at my age, this is one of my main concerns.

Low-carb has been demonstrated to lower some of the risk markers, but the ONE study I'm still waiting to see is whether it can prevent or reverse heart disease. Some very low fat diets do show evidence of reducing plaque formation or reducing the thickness of arterial walls, for example. AFAIK, no such evidence yet exists for low carb.

In terms of risk markers, LC consistently shows a decrease in triglycerides, and usually shows an increase in HDL. Exercise will increase HDL as well.

Dragonwolf

I'm of the opinion that LCHF is good for cardiovascular health, though I'm not about to encourage you to enter that fight with existing CAD, especially since you'd be fighting the doctors, too, just because that's a liability minefield (and I'm not a doctor).

However, here's some information that might beneficial to you:

http://chriskresser.com/can-vitamin-k2-prevent-cardiovascular-disease/ <- Vitamin K2 (a fat soluble vitamin) is known to reverse plaque development. A fair bit of research has been done on this, and only pre-formed K2 (found almost exclusively in animal products) does this. K1 (the version found in plants) does not, and the body does not convert it to K2 well.

Saturated fat intake increases HDL and changes the particle size of LDL (from the more dangerous small dense to the larger buoyant ones). Triglyceride levels are pretty directly correlated with sugar intake (more sugar = higher trigs). The evidence points to reduction in sugar being one of the best dietary changes you can do for CAD/CHD.

Regardless of diet (even ones almost entirely devoid of dietary fat), the body stores excess calories as a blend of the different types of fats (http://www.jlr.org/content/5/3/343.full.pdf) that comes out to about 40% saturated (primarily palmetic acid), 50% monounsaturated (primarily oleic acid), and 10% polyunsaturated (primarily linoleic acid). In other words, even if you consume a fat-free diet, if you're losing weight, your body is using saturated fat for nearly half of its internally-sourced fuel.

http://www.docsopinion.com/2014/03/17/will-the-popularity-of-lchf-trigger-new-epidemic-of-heart-disease/

http://www.docsopinion.com/2013/08/04/accused-of-a-crime-that-never-happened-lchf-on-trial/

http://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-how-to-prevent-and-reverse-heart-disease-naturally/

http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/05/your-diet-and-heart-disease-rethinking-butter-beef-and-bacon/ <- still doesn't really support LCHF, but make note of the parts that do fall in line. You know you're making inroads when places like Cleveland Clinic start agreeing

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/how-did-we-come-to-believe-saturated-fat-and-cholesterol-are-bad-for-us

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-part-i <- a huge series on the science of cholesterol. Nerdy as all get out, but hugely informational. Worth at least a skim

http://eatingacademy.com/books-and-articles/is-a-mediterranean-diet-best-for-preventing-heart-disease

http://eatingacademy.com/how-low-carb-diet-reduced-my-risk-of-heart-disease

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/58/2/228.abstract <- on PUFAs and CAD

I'm of the opinion/belief that CAD, high cholesterol, etc. are symptoms of a more systemic issue. Namely, untreated insulin resistance and/or systemic inflammation. There's a reason people with uncontrolled Diabetes are at orders of magnitude higher risk for cardiovascular issues than healthy people. A1C and fasting glucose numbers won't catch insulin resistance until it's way late, so even if those are normal, it doesn't actually rule out insulin resistance (to compare, I have PCOS+IR, as well, and my fasting insulin at last check was 13 units, glucose was 88mg/dL, and A1C was 5.6, but my C-Peptide was 2.8ng/mL, which is high and indicative of IR). Cholesterol is formed to carry "supplies" to various parts of the body and to heal damage (hence the common firefighter analogy). If your cholesterol is elevated, then it's because something else is wrong. If it's causing congestion within the vessels, it's because the particles aren't getting created in the right ratios (which means the substrates from which they're formed aren't right).

wabmester

Looks like they just kicked off a clinical trial to see how Vit K affects plaque calcification:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26516910

Dragonwolf

wabmester wrote: »

Looks like they just kicked off a clinical trial to see how Vit K affects plaque calcification:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26516910

Nice! I can't wait to see how this one pans out, since the other studies show a strong correlation with it.

MDAPebbles67

I just need to say that this need for vitamin K to stop plaque build up scares me. I am on Coumadin for life due to past pulmonary emboli and a family history. Coumadin blocks the action of vitamin K in the body. Sorry, just venting. I worry every time I see this topic come up.

macchiatto

Thanks so much for the responses! Very helpful. I'll check out the links and share them with DH as well. I know he might not be able to go full LCHF at this point but we might find some changes we can make.
Plus trying to cook for both of us (plus our kids) can be challenging now ...

One of our 6y/o twins inherited DH's super-low HDL (his is 17) so I'm going to try to see if I can get him (and his brother, to be fair ) on a lower carb/higher fat diet, too. There's hope for him at least! I try to get him to exercise as well but it's challenging b/c he also has hypotonia, fatigues very easily and hates sports. I'm always trying though, and I've finally found a few forms of exercise that are fun for him.

Dragonwolf

MDAPebbles67 wrote: »

I just need to say that this need for vitamin K to stop plaque build up scares me. I am on Coumadin for life due to past pulmonary emboli and a family history. Coumadin blocks the action of vitamin K in the body. Sorry, just venting. I worry every time I see this topic come up.

Which variation of it, though? K1 and K2 might as well be completely different nutrients, since they're not really converted in our bodies, and they serve drastically different functions. K1 handles blood clotting more than anything, while K2 deals a lot with calcium and Vitamin D, and tells them where to go and whatnot. Most meds that interfere with vitamin K seem to do more with the blood clotting action of K1.

MDAPebbles67

The worry is that I can't seem to get a straight answer.
Is coumadin preventing the k2 in my food from doing it's job? Can I safely supplement k2? My docs say no.
I have also heard that long term Coumadin therapy contributes to plaque build up. Is this because it blocks k2 as well as k1?
Unfortunately, going without blood thinners is probably akin to playing Russian Roulette.

KarlaYP

@MDAPebbles67, is actually the other way around. The K vitamins prevent the Coumadin from working, instead of the other way around. Vitamin K is actually used when Coumadin causes bleeding issues (too thin). We give it to shorten the time it takes for the blood to clot (hence stopping the bleeding, ideally.
OP: CAD is a result of inflammation (usually) and the LCHF woe is super for that! I recommend it, despite the low fat recommendation from the cardiologist, though at some time (once improvements are seen) the doctor needs to know, so they can help others with this woe.

Best of luck to your husband, and you! Hang in there!!

DelilahCat0212

This is a sore spot for me too. My boyfriend had a heart attack in 2002. 2 stents. Then quadruple bypass in 2008. Thin (almost underweight at times) and athletic his entire life. Cholesterol (high total and low HDL) the only risk factor, along with the stubborn man unwillingness to take medicine for 20 years (learned his lesson after the bypass *eyeroll*). No way in the world that his GP or cardiologist will go along with LCHF. I just try to do what I can for him, not lowfat but not excessive fat, reduced but not super low-carb. Good thing he'll eat whatever I put in front of him, he doesn't miss the rice/bread/potatoes and likes things like zoodles. I just can't get the sweets to stop. He thinks it's ok because he's thin.

I might bring dark chocolate into the house and see if he'll eat that instead. I can't stop what he does when he leaves the house.

MEN!! LOL

macchiatto

Thanks for the responses!
@karlottap, that's encouraging!

macchiatto

@DelilahCat0212 ah I hear you, it can be frustrating! My husband is pretty open to healthier choices and he's said he wouldn't be surprised if LCHF turns out to be better. I need to find more research to show him to see if he wants to really give it a try.

Cheesy567

MDAPebbles67 wrote: »

I just need to say that this need for vitamin K to stop plaque build up scares me. I am on Coumadin for life due to past pulmonary emboli and a family history. Coumadin blocks the action of vitamin K in the body. Sorry, just venting. I worry every time I see this topic come up.

I worry about the impact of warfarin on Vitamin K2, also. I haven't found answers to wether warfarin blocks K2 uptake the same way it blocks K uptake. K2 is important in bone and tooth health, too.