jmb3450's Journal, 13 April 2015

Just got back from my cardiologist's office where I had a nuclear stress test. He hadn't seen me since April 2014 which was before I'd started losing weight, he's very happy with my weight loss and exercise.

A little background - I've had 3 cardiac catheterization procedures in the past 4 years, two of them resulted in the placement of 5 stents in my right and circumflex coronary arteries. In the first procedure my right coronary artery was 99% blocked and had a narrow, zigzag path for a small amount of blood flow. At some point earlier it had been totally blocked. Opening it up was risky and the hospital used some experimental tips to break through the blockages. The last procedure one of the branches of my right coronary artery had closed back up and they were unable to get it open so it's gone as far as blood flow. Previous stress tests have shown an area of my heart with restricted blood flow and the cardiologist thinks at some point I had a minor heart attack. I was told that I most likely would require bypass surgery but the surgeons wouldn't do it until my left coronary artery became significantly narrowed. My cardiologist said my arteries were "loaded" with plaque. I felt like a walking time bomb.

Back to today - the stress test shows I have greatly increased blood flow to the area of my heart that was once restricted. I could jump for joy, this is an answer to prayer. It's what I'd hoped would happen, and just shows what a year of eating healthier and exercising regularly can do. I'm actually reversing my heart disease. The results are not just seen in the test - I have increased my strength and stamina by huge amounts in the past year and can do things without problems that before I couldn't.

I write about this to celebrate, but also to hopefully be an encouragement. Stick to eating better, try hard to exercise and expand on what you do as you are able. If you fall off the wagon (and I have a number of times) don't give up, get right back on. The benefits are real. All the effort is worth it!

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1998 kcal

Fat: 89.63g | Prot: 118.41g | Carb: 204.91g.   Breakfast: Florida's Natural 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice, Lance Whole Grain Crackers with Real Peanut Butter. Lunch: Thomas' Bagel Thins - Everything, Taco Bell Triple Chicken Stack. Dinner: Low Fat American Cheese, Cobblestone Mill Potato Hamburger Buns, Kroger Quarter Pound Beef Hamburger Patties, Buffalo Cauliflower. Snacks/Other: Breyers All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream. more...

2476 kcal

Activities & Exercise: Treadmill - 15 minutes, Resting - 15 hours and 45 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours. more...