Hawk, my thoughts and prayers are with him
My 82 year old Dad just had open heart to fix a leaking valve. All went very smooth and they did a single bypass of an old stent while they were there.
He's six weeks post op and chompin' at the bit for more freedom. He's back in rehab, starting with light exercise and feels great. He was off the pain pills in week three.
Be of good cheer! They're pretty good at this stuff now. But I'll remember him anyway.
RPM... Is there a history of intervention in your family? High cholesterol isn't the "dead certain" marker although it is can be closely associated with it.
If your family has a "clean" history, you may dodge the bullet.
Also, Dr. Cooper the aerobic's guy has some good tips that are working for me and my family. His inexpensive paperback is called "How to Lower Cholesterol the Natural Way".
The short version is:
Dr. Cooper's recommendations on how to naturally lower your cholesterol:
Lose Weight. For every five pounds of weight loss you will lower your cholesterol by 8-10 points. Also remember, for every 1% you can lower your cholesterol, you will lower your risk of heart attack by 2-4%.
Exercise, especially aerobic (endurance) exercise. Both aerobic exercise and strength training will help with weight control. Aerobic exercise will help increase your HDL, or good, cholesterol.
Reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet. The Cooper Clinic recommends the standard American Heart Association Diet or Weight Watchers. For more information refer to, "The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution, " by Georgia Kostas.
Take advantage of foods that impact cholesterol (nutraceuticals). For instance, the soluble fiber in oatmeal has been shown to help lower cholesterol. Try replacing your butter or margarine with Benecol spread. If used twice a day, the stanol esters in Benecol help lower cholesterol by up to 10% and the LDL cholesterol by as much as 14%. Benecol can be found in most grocery stores or" visit
http://www.benecol.com.Vitamin B3 (niacin) will help lower your cholesterol but you should always consult your physician about its use. It's also very important to increase your consumption of fiber. That can be done by simply increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables. Our motto regarding servings of fruits and vegetables per day: Five is fine, but nine is divine! (edit: Metamucil
will also lower your overall cholesterol significantly, on the order of 7% if taken as directed on the jar. It's all in the book.)
