Charlie, that's wonderful improvement! One hundred pounds in a year is remarkable. My sister had a stomach banding procedure in 2006. Her weight loss was about 80 pounds the first year. What amazes me is the number of people I've read about recently who have reversed heart failure through diet. My mother was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy when she was in her late 50s. She lived about six years after diagnosis, but her last years were not pleasant. Her ejection fraction fell to 15%. She went on a heart transplant list, but died before a heart could be found. When I got the same diagnosis two years ago, all those memories of my mother came flooding back. I'm so glad to read of your success and of PENNINK's as well. It certainly gives me hope. Thank you for taking the time to write, and best wishes to making that "2" a "1" before your weight real soon! JD

Sorry to hear that about your family. My dad passed away last year from diabetic complications. He was getting a "small pop" of insulin with some meals. Although he always carried extra weight, he walked a lot with his job so I think that kept him in pretty good health until he retired and became completely sedentary. Good for you making better choices in your life while they really make a difference.

Cheers, JD

I knew that but thought there might be things there that could be useful, especially since diabetes and high blood pressure is an issue with the OP. It is also proof that some cardiologists recognize the importance of a low carb diet in the treat of heart disease. Plus, having one form of heart disease doesn't exclude you from having the other as well.

Lets see how many other rationalizations I can come up with!

At any rate, I'm glad the OP stumbled on us. I hope he gets the same sort of positive results Pennick did.

Just quickly before I run out to work. I don't have time to find the link, but one of the CHF forums is run by a guy (I think his name is John) who basically follows a low carb diet.

You're right, Charlie! I found Jon's site shortly after diagnosis. In fact that is where I found my new (and improved!) cardiologist. You're also right about him being on a low carb lifestyle. Here's the site in case anyone is interested:

http://www.chfpatients.com/

Hey Bill, thanks for the post. I followed your profile to your website. Very interesting about L-Arginine. That's something I will have to look into.

Thanks for the post, JD

Hi JD,

I have had a bit of a scary time heart-wise lately too. Thankfully, for me it has all turned out ok, so far. I have a very strong family history of cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure (dad, paternal grandma, an aunt and 2 uncles) so had an echo about a year ago, and thankfully was given the all clear for cardiomyopathy and told to come back in 3 years.

then....

My maternal grandma and my mum died late last year, within 6 weeks of each other. Turns out both had heart disease but neither knew it. My grandma had sucessive heart attacks, but it was on top of emphysema and other conditions and she was 86 and I think her body was just old. But mum was only 65 and her heart attack cam completely out of the blue.

Long story short, I ended up in hospital a few times after mum died, with them doing tests on me. Thankfully it seems I'm just anxious and the chest pains, palpitations and tingly arms and feet are not symptoms of heart attacks or heart disease like the doctors had suspected.

Anyway, my cardiologist gave me the all clear for cardiomyopathy and heart disease, for now, and wants me to walk for half an hour every day, get a full check of my cholesterol regularly and make sure my blood pressure is always perfect. Given that I'm only 28, I'm hoping I can head anything off at the pass by doing as he says.

Now the bit thats actually interesting! I asked my cardiologist about Atkins. His immediate reaction was that it is a fantastice WOE, as long as its not used as an excuse to eat bacon and eggs everyday. He said he thinks lean protein and low carbs is a recipe for a healthy heart and so I have his complete support in doing it. He is a very respected cardiologist at one of the major hospitals here so I feel reassured that I am doing the right thing. Obviously atkins involves a fair bit of fat, and I am still eating that, but where I have a choice I'm making the leaner choice, and feel, and look better for it.

I'm lucky to have been given the all clear, and to be able to put steps into place now to hopefully stop/reverse it happening to me (the heart disease at least). I hope you are feeing ok and that atkins does help you too. Just thought you'd like to know that not all cardiologists are against it.

Shannon

Oh, Shannon, could I have his name? I want to bring him to Louisiana, USA. Give that man a medal.

Regarding your condition... I have a horrible family history, as well. Take it seriously, as you now are. As for your cholesterol, be sure to read up on the alternative viewpoints. Such as what Dr. Michael Eades would say, or Malcolm Kendrick. It's not total cholesterol that is the worry. Make a post if you need help on that.

P.S. I was determined to beat heart disease. I began preventive measures in my 30s. Failed. Why? Low-fat diet. I'm convinced of that. I was hard-core low-fat. What they taught and are still teaching. Thank goodness for docs like yours. Give him this post! He's an asset and needs to be told that. Low-carb is the answer IMO.

It just occured to me that some doctors prescribe Atkins, or some form of low carb, WOE in preparation for open heart surgery. This is something interesting that I found although the usual knuckleheads are in this.
http://www.theheart.org/viewArticle...imaryKey=115927

Glad to have you here, JD. Great folks with a lot of wisdom to be found here (such as the awesome pennink).

Wow reversal of heart disease....so terrific to read about. Keep up the good works and congrats to all!

Bless your heart, Shannon. I'm so sorry to hear you lost your mother and grandmother so close together. I know that must have been a hard time for you. I'm glad you have a clean bill of health, and I'm especially glad to hear you have a cardiologist who supports your low carbing. What a blessing that is. I guess there are a number of enlightened doctors out there. Thanks again for sharing your story. Have a blessed day, JD

You're so right! Just being on this forum this past week, and hearing of the successes (and challenges) has made a difference in my life already. This forum is feeling like home.

I'm very happy you found us JD.

I remember when first being diagnosed how that moment felt. The doctor showing me the little model of a heart and explaining it all to me. I was in the Twilight Zone, not really believing I was there, it was like watching a movie.
I remember going for months, waking up and suddenly remembering.. "oh, I have heart disease"
I still watch things like work out stuff and wish I could do that ... but... I never expected to get the news I just had.
That I don't have that death sentence hanging over me.

If I hadn't met that doctor who told me to save my life on low carb. I don't know if I'd even be here now.

Good luck!

I understand, Pennink, I understand. For me, the news came in waves. My family doctor took an EKG in his office and recommended I see a cardiologist. As I was leaving the office, the nurse handed me a slip of paper with a referral for the next day to a heart clinic. I thought it was a bid odd that they had made the appointment so quickly. (wave 1) The next day I went in for an echo. The technician doing the echo kept looking at me like she felt sorry for me. I asked her what was wrong. She said she wasn't allowed to say. (wave 2) The doctor took me in his office and told me my ejection fraction was 25% and a lot of my heart muscle was damaged. (wave 3) Within a week I had the uranium echo and mri, then an angioplasty to determine the extent of damage. That's when the doctor told me to get my things in order...that 1/3 of the people with my degree of heart failure would die in six months, another 1/3 would live about two years and 1/3 may live as long as three to five years. He said I would probably fall in the middle. (tidal wave 4)Thankfully, that's been almost two years ago now and after a lot of coreg my heart is doing better. I've always believed in the saying, "as a man thinketh so is he". It took me nearly a year to get out of the funk. Like you the thought, "I've got heart disease" was a mantra that seldom left my mind that first year. Now I understand it really is about living each day to it's fullest. The reality is none of us knows the number of our days, and that we only have the present moment given to us to live. Why should we waste it thinking about negative things. I remember a meditation retreat I took many years ago in Santa Fe. During the guided workshop the facilitator told us to imagine from some distant point in the future we were allowed to return to the earth for one hour. We were then told to fan out in the mountains to spend our one hour and return to share what we experienced. To a person, we all experienced tremendous joy at observing the flowers, clouds, rocks, gentle breezes....not one person came back worried about bills, or relationships or anything else that normally weighs us down. It was a moment of freedom I will never forget.

Forgive the foray into metaphysical exposition....it's that kind of day!

Thanks for the kind post. Cheers, JD