Recently I watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives". I learned a lot about nutrition, how it relates to coronary artery disease, and what you can do to help make yourself "heart attack proof". I am not going to argue with anyone about the science or theories presented in the film, I am only going to tell you that it is worth watching. This blog is going to be about my efforts to avoid the heart problems that run in my family.
My mom passed away from cancer at 57, and most of her life she had high blood pressure. Her mother and her mother's father both died suddenly of heart attacks in their early sixties. My dad's side of the family is even worse. Dad suffers from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and high blood pressure. He is 67 years old and has had two heart attacks, one major stroke, and dozens of "mini" strokes. One of his brothers died of a heart attack while still in his early 40s. All of his other seven siblings have had heart problems beginning in their late 40s and early 50s.
While heart disease is not hereditary, the risk for heart disease certainly seems to run in families. Both of the doctors that I have seen over the past 20 years have had the same advice for me, "Try to stay fit so that you can survive your first heart attack." The movie "Forks Over Knives", and the book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by Dr. Caldwell B Esselstyn Jr, has given me the first glimmer of hope that I might be able to avoid a heart attack all together. That is the goal of this journey.
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