Heart Attack Support Group
Heart attack is a serious, sudden heart condition usually characterized by varying degrees of chest pain or discomfort, weakness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and arrhythmias, sometimes causing loss of consciousness. It occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted, causing death and scarring of the local heart tissue.
Two years ago i had a heart attack . So for 2 hole years i ran scared of fat .salt red meat ... Now its time to rethink the way i look at a hamburger or a hot dog IS IT OK hmmm.
And if you think that is dangerous, why after 2 years you think to take them??
The trick, I think, is to eat in a way that you no longer need those.
Jesus
Like Jesus, I'm not sure what the 2 years implies. However, I don't see myself as running scared of fat or salt or red meat. The way I see it is that avoiding these things may help me live longer, and perhaps have a better quality of life.
That being said, I sometimes 'indulge' in these things. I think of them as special treats that I have on rare occasions. Once a month I eat anything I want. It's usually for just one meal and usually at a restaurant. I truly look forward to this, the anticipation of the meal, and the fun of picking out a different place to go each time.
It's an interesting question, Cardhunter, and I think we may all go through our personal versions of such questions.
My cardiologist (the new wonderful one I sought out and transferred to several months after my heart attack) told me that something like 50% of heart attack patients relapse to their pre-heart-attack lifestyles within 6 months of their heart attacks, so I think there is an effect of time passing that reduces the urgency of change. By the way, I can tell that that's NOT what you're talking about, going completely back to your old ways.
I notice that I've been somewhat less strict about my diet than I was previously. Like for example, before, I would not eat a bite of cake that people brought in for occasions at work, because I was afraid of the trans fats and saturated fats in them. Now I'll eat a few bites, if I'm in the mood. Also, before I ate almost NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cheese. Now I will eat a bit of low fat cheese, or even a small amount of regular cheese. Or I would NEVER eat butter. Now I will eat a bit here and there. I've changed about this for a couple of reasons- one is that my lab levels and blood pressure readings have been fantastic, on very low doses of meds. The other is that I've observed my heart friends being a bit less fanatical about such foods, and it made me think I could do it too. Is it the right thing to do? Time will tell, and hopefully time won't tell me in a very abrupt way. By the way, I still eat what I believe to be quite a heart-healthy diet, and I LOVE my diet, and don't suffer from it at all.
But I do think various people contemplate such changes. Like whether or not to allow oneself to drink coffee, or to drink wine, or how much to allow oneself to eat eggs, etc, and I think it comes with the territory of heart disease.
I've never had hamburgers on my prohibitted list. I eat them periodically, as long as I buy the lowfat beef, the thinner patties, cooked on the grill. I put them on a toasted whole grain english muffin, and I use sliced avocado in place of cheese, along with onions and tomatoes. In fact, that's what I had for dinner tonight, along with romaine salad and corn on the cob. The nutritionist at my cardiac rehab said it's ok to use some lowfat ground beef, in moderation. I know that you're on the road alot for your work, and that restaurant hamburgers tend to be so much BIGGER, thus more fat, etc, so that makes it more complicated. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable eating that kind of burgers, but I understand that each person has to make their own decision. I do sometimes get veggie burgers out, and some of them are quite delicious as well.
I hadn't eaten a hotdog in my first 18 months post heart attack until I was in Tennessee with my heart friends! That allowed me to feel that every so often I can buy some kind of high quality hotdogs that are lower fat, less full of nitrates, etc. I've done it once since then, and I'll probably do it again every so often.
I'll be curious to hear more about your thoughts about this decision, and what you end up deciding to do.