Hi there Candice,

I'm just reading a German book called "Mehr Fett" (= more fat) in which the authors are doing their damnedest to rehabilitate that much maligned substance. I have just got to the bit where they say that the studies out there give no credence to the "butter causes heart attacks" theory. If anything, butter in particular has heart-protective qualities!!!

I'm sorry to hear that you have had such a horrible shock and I hope that you will - with the help of the docs - be able to get to the bottom of this.

amanda

My dh also had an EKG show he had a heart attack. It sent us flying down to a bigger hospital with better specialists. Thousands of dollars and tests later we were told there had never been a heart attack. The person conducting the original EKG had done something wrong and caused a faulty reading. Now who do you suppose paid for all of their faulty EKG? I can also vividly remember the panic of it all. Hope you get to the bottom of this quickly and that it turns out well.

OMG.. if things could be get worse today.. I mean after dh car breaking down on the hwy and I had to drive on the hwy all by myself in over 10 years was not enough?!? In the sense of STRESS..
I get a call from MY dr's office.. I ALREADY have appt set up with cardiologist.. it is NEXT WEEK on the 9th.. Where as this is AWESOME news.. YEAH!!!! I get to get in to see dr QUICK.. But..I'm stressing even more now knowing my friend who is a MOA at a local clinic here(actually the one I went to first before seeing my dr..) told me yesterday that it will take at least 1-2 months to get an appt.. then wait a bit longer till you get to see the dr.. I had told her my dr told me it would only take a few weeks.. she she replied with.. Oh they must of put ASAP/URGENT on your file.. I did not think much of that when she said it last night.. I mean maybe my dr was wrong..dr's sometimes don't know wait time.. WELL I got the call right now that appt is in 1 week..1 WEEK!.. So ya.. I'm STRESSED thinking I'm an ASAP/URGENT case? I'm scared..I'm worried.. I just want to cry. So this is causing more stress

Please someone explain to me if anything I need to ask lab(going tomorrow so please let me know if they will do whatever I need them to do different here in Canada)/dr to look at my blood work different since I'm low carbing???!! I read that when the dr will see it that they will shit themselves and think that is why right away.. I need to get my numbers right! I don't want to be put on meds or something and actually turn out to have FINE cholesterol... HELP PLEASE!
This is the article i was reading and all the numbers make my head spin..

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/foru...sterol-A-Primer

I'm sorry to hear what you're going through, and I wish I had something to tell you to make you feel better/relieved, but you're in my prayers and please keep us posted.
Like other replies, maybe...just maybe...there was some "glitch", and you're fine, but if not, you're doing what you should be doing, breathing.....keep stress as low as you can (easy for me to say), and meeting with your doctors.

One step at a time......you have many people sending prayers your way!

Also, have you been on any bcp's? I know I was having some problems with mine, and after doing research realized there are a lot of horrible side affects with birth control, including but not limited to stroke and cardiovascular problems. You may want to at least research your brand if you are on one, and see what you can find out.

No, never been on BCP..

Look at it this way...you don't have to spend a month or two worrying. You'll see the cardiologist in a week and get everything sorted out. You don't know why you're getting to see the cardiologist sooner than expected, so don't go off the deep end imagining all kinds of scary scenarios. (Disclaimer: I am a BIG worrier and would probably be doing the same thing you're doing now. But stress is not good for heart health, so if you can, take a deep breath and try not to stress over it.)

thanks HappyLC.. I know easier said then done eh.
I know when ds gets up from nap I can relax a bit.. gets my mind off of it kwim.. I have to him watch.. I stop worrying over myself..
And what sucks, I have not been this stressed/worried in a long time.. so I keep thinking of food. I have not eaten off plan.. or any extra food.. but it is lingering in my mind..

I know the thread you're talking about even not having to click on it...it'san excellent thread. Read it over and over if you have to.

Listen to what the doctors say, but remember no one can force you to take or do anything, and make them justify everything they want to do to you. I don't know exactly how things work in Canada, but it soundsl like getting a second opinion would be next to impossible if you wanted one. And again, IMO the Atkins diet had nothing to do with this, and probably prevented it from happening a lot sooner or being a lot worse. I wouldn't cook this way for my 71-year old fiance, who had had a quadruple bypass and has high Lp(a), a dangerous atherogenic element in his blood, if I didn't believe in it. Keep us posted! Sending hugs.

ETA: Have them check for Lp(a) - it's inherited and can't be controlled by diet. My fiance had just lost 40 lbs on Atkins when they discovered his blockages.

So very sorry you're going thru all this stress and fear right now..but take a deep breath and remember all that you've learned.

You KNOW your lifestyle has improved so much in the last year and you are healthier than you were before you started lc-ing. You have educated yourself on the facts about fats and the evils of sugars and you've done yourself a great service sticking to the plan.

Please don't let this fear erase all the positives of your healthy wol!

The attack, if it's even confirmed, happened in the past, and from what you've said, could have been yrs ago. As hard as it sounds, try to relax until you get all the tests confirmed and the facts are in, kay.

We're all here for you..don't let the fear win..you will get thru this and be stronger for it!!
Sending positive thoughts...

Make sure that, included in the lipids profile is the test to check the SIZE of your LDL particles. That way, if your LDL comes back higher than optimal, you'll also know if it's because they're puffy or small (small is bad, puffy is good).

Did they do a cardiac panel to determine cardiac enzymes? That should have been done before freaking you out too.

If they only do some blood tests and come back and say, "low fat diet, cholesterol meds", demand more testing. A heart attack at your age is so very unlikely to be caused by diet, and more likely something congenital (or even viral - an acquaintance of ours had picked up a virus which was causing his heart to fail, and it was caught by and EKG showing a previous heart attack).

Listen, the last thing the docs are going to be thinking about is your low carb diet (just tell them how much weight you have lost- that will shut them up). They are going to be trying to figure out why a very young woman has had a heart attack, and looking for underlying physiological reasons. I just can't fathom that this is related to your diet or weight or anything you have any control over. The labs are the same no matter what. They are going to be way more interested in the labs that show muscle damage and things like that than your cholesterol.

Hi Candice,
A friend of mine has been having to deal with the Canadian health system for years now because he has a spinal ependymoma tumor that is possibly going to kill him when it grows large enough. I won't get into details, but they are unwilling to send him to a place that has the technology which will zap the tumor without paralyzing him from the neck down. I get that the wait time is long and it's probably impossible to get a second opinion which is what another user mentioned.

Have you thought about going to the states and paying for a consultation with a cardiologist there if you can't get any answers up in BC?

Virginia Mason has some excellent cardiologists. If you were to pick any place in Washington state to go to, VA Mason would be it.

I checked your profile and it says you were born in 1980 - this has NOTHING to do with your diet unless you were downing meth with your butter. Just take it one day at a time - it may not be what you think.

Soonest is a very good thing. I have an arrhythmia and I once had my primary care doctor call me at work and tell me he had an appointment for me that day with a cardiologist based on test results he had just received. This fast track should not stress you, it should relieve you that they are right on this---as they should be. Don't stress about tests or what not. I have told my cardiologist I am low carb and he gave me tips about watching how much nuts, cheese, etc. to keep the weight loss going. Not all are against low carb. I wish you the best, please do try not to worry.