How Big is the Risk

I am a 45 year old, white, American male. I am a bit over 5'11" and weigh around 205 pounds. I have been a vegetarian, non-smoker, non-drinker for about the last 15 years or so. Prior to that I was a pretty heavy drinker and smoked one to two packs of cigarettes a day. I am pretty active, but I do not exercise beyond my daily activity. Just looking at me, you would not think that I was a heart attack waiting to happen. Looks can be deceiving.

I noticed in my late 20s or early 30s that my blood pressure was beginning to get too high. I decided to see a doctor and get checked out. The Dr. read over my family history, did some blood work, and began looking for medicines that could help me get things under control. My triglycerides were over 300, my total cholesterol was around 290, and my blood pressure was as high as 190 over 120 at times. I have been on lots of different medications over the years. Some that would occasionally make me feel as if I was sun burned all over my body, and many that did not seem to do anything at all. I have tried drinking a beer a day (not a fan of red wine you know), exercising (didn't change the numbers so I gave it up), and plenty of supplements to go along with my medications. I have had a couple of stress tests, including one where they injected a radioactive dye and took images of my heart. Somewhere in the middle of all that my doctor moved to an office in Mahomet, and I started with some one new. She quickly got my blood pressure under control and now we are just waiting for that heart attack.

I currently take Diltiazem (a calcium blocker for high blood pressure), Lisinopril/HCTZ (a combination of an ace inhibitor and a diuretic for high blood pressure), Pravastatin (for high cholesterol), and one full strength aspirin per day. In addition I take fish oil, flax seed oil, vitamin b, vitamin d, and glucosamine chondroitin. My blood pressure has remained steady at about 115/70 for several years now. My total cholesterol is 190 and my triglycerides are down to around 150. Unfortunately my good cholesterol is only around 32 instead of the 50 or better they would like to see it at. That also leaves my bad cholesterol up around 150 or so.

What I learned in "Forks Over Knives" is that there is another option. I will talk about that more next time.