Diet and heart disease.

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cerise_noir
cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all!

My mother lost her battle with heart disease a few days ago. Heart disease is hereditary (my sister currently has it) in my family, and I noticed quite a few 'heart friendly' diets floating around. What I'd like to know is are these diets faddy, or is there some substance to them? I do know GPs aren't really a great source for dietary information. Is there a specific macro setup that is heart-'healthy'? I'm currently on a c30,p40,f30 split and haven't cut any foods out. Is it necessary to cut foods out, or is that faddy thinking?

Yes, I will be getting checked out soon.

Replies

  • Troutrouter1968
    Troutrouter1968 Posts: 122 Member
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    When I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, the only thing that my cardiologist told me diet wise was to cut back on sodium to 1500mg/day and to lose weight. I eat pretty much eat whatever I want as long as it isn't loaded with sodium and fits in my daily calorie goal. So far so good. BP is improving and my blood work was excellent at my last appointment.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Fantastic. Thank you for sharing your experience. I generally do have a little too much sodium at times.
  • Troutrouter1968
    Troutrouter1968 Posts: 122 Member
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    It's easy to go above 1500mg/day. I have on numerous occasions. Be aware of hidden sodium in foods, so read the labels. After awhile your taste will change and you won't even miss it.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    What is the diagnosis? What does your cardiologist recommend? I do not think a GP is the right person to monitor someone with a heart disease !
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    The American Heart Association has a web site you may want to check out.
    Loaded with a lot of useful information.
  • ivanfawcettgibson
    ivanfawcettgibson Posts: 193 Member
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    Have a read of this resource.

    http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/causes-of-coronary-heart-disease.html
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited April 2016
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    What is the diagnosis? What does your cardiologist recommend? I do not think a GP is the right person to monitor someone with a heart disease !
    Mum had valvular heart disease for many many years and was not able to receive a donor heart. My sister has it, my grandfather and his mother had it. I was just asking since I do know mum was on a rather restrictive diet and wanted to have some understanding on whether a restrictive diet was necessary. She didn't have a cardiologist, but her family doctor was collaborating with cardiologists. Mum lived in a very small town and was unable to travel due to her condition. Heck, they couldn't even airlift her to a major hospital. I'm on the other side of the world, too.

    I haven't seen a cardiologist yet, but am definitely planning on it. My mother was diagnosed around my age. My reason for seeing a GP first was to get a referral to a specialist. All I was asking if those 'diets' had any stand.
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    The American Heart Association has a web site you may want to check out.
    Loaded with a lot of useful information.
    Thanks a bunch. I'm checking the site out now.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    cerise_noir wrote: »
    aggelikik wrote: »
    What is the diagnosis? What does your cardiologist recommend? I do not think a GP is the right person to monitor someone with a heart disease !
    Mum had valvular heart disease for many many years and was not able to receive a donor heart. My sister has it, my grandfather and his mother had it. I was just asking since I do know mum was on a rather restrictive diet and wanted to have some understanding on whether a restrictive diet was necessary. She didn't have a cardiologist, but her family doctor was collaborating with cardiologists. Mum lived in a very small town and was unable to travel due to her condition. Heck, they couldn't even airlift her to a major hospital. I'm on the other side of the world, too.

    I haven't seen a cardiologist yet, but am definitely planning on it. My mother was diagnosed around my age. My reason for seeing a GP first was to get a referral to a specialist. All I was asking if those 'diets' had any stand.
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    The American Heart Association has a web site you may want to check out.
    Loaded with a lot of useful information.
    Thanks a bunch. I'm checking the site out now.

    I understand your concerns and why you are asking, but what is recommended depends on the illness and the patient. Get to a cardiologist, get a diagnosis or a risk assessment, and then ask questions. Write down in advance any important questions you can think of, especially if it turns out there is a problem or retesting will be needed, you might be too emotional to remember everything.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    To give an example, I was diagnosed as an adult with mitral valve prolapse, the dr believes I had since birth. There is nothing I can do, other than take some precautions, not related to eating. If I were overweight, I would have to lose weight too. My cousin has the same problem, she too has no dietary restrictions, as long as she remains at a healthy weight.
    Two of my kids have a slight problem with their tricuspid valve, which again does not add any dietary restrictions.
    As far as I understand, usually these conditions require monitoring, and the only treatment is surgery, if the condition progresses.
  • keepupwithjack
    keepupwithjack Posts: 44 Member
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    cerise_noir wrote: »
    aggelikik wrote: »
    What is the diagnosis? What does your cardiologist recommend? I do not think a GP is the right person to monitor someone with a heart disease !
    Mum had valvular heart disease for many many years and was not able to receive a donor heart. My sister has it, my grandfather and his mother had it. I was just asking since I do know mum was on a rather restrictive diet and wanted to have some understanding on whether a restrictive diet was necessary. She didn't have a cardiologist, but her family doctor was collaborating with cardiologists. Mum lived in a very small town and was unable to travel due to her condition. Heck, they couldn't even airlift her to a major hospital. I'm on the other side of the world, too.

    I haven't seen a cardiologist yet, but am definitely planning on it. My mother was diagnosed around my age. My reason for seeing a GP first was to get a referral to a specialist. All I was asking if those 'diets' had any stand.
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    The American Heart Association has a web site you may want to check out.
    Loaded with a lot of useful information.
    Thanks a bunch. I'm checking the site out now.

    I have valvular heart disease. I had open heart surgery to replace my valve at age 36. It is a structural defect. It isn't caused by high cholesterol, being overweight, etc. Being overweight can make the strain on your heart more pronounced so I'm losing weight. Unfortunately, all the diets in the world won't correct the problem, but getting to a healthy weight may prolong my next surgery.

    I've actually had people tell me that a certain diet (usually the newest diet craze) will fix heart disease. It's a pet peeve of mine. Not all heart disease is lifestyle-related.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    A "heart healthy" diet should assist with lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol. Personally I found losing weight and increasing exercise did more to improve these numbers than any particular diet. The diet I've heard of most often in regard to heart disease is the DASH diet, and it's not faddish. It is quite restrictive however, requiring quite a significant lifestyle change.

    http://dashdiet.org/default.asp
  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Yes, what jgnatca said. Check out the DASH diet and the AHA web sites. Also, google or bing "Cardiovascual disease and diet." And eating less than 1500 mg of salt a day is easy if you truly care to do so. You can also google why. It matters.

    Here's a link to an article from ahajournals, "Nutritional Advice for the Patient With Heart Disease": http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/124/10/e258.full
    Please see the breakout towards the bottom.

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