I sat in disbelief as I looked at the report. It was a calcium-scoring report from the CT of my heart. A CT of the heart is a test that people can get (you pay for it) if they want to see if they are at risk for heart disease. My score was over 800! The first time I read the report, I read the values wrong and thought I was sitting pretty. But a second glance through and a better understanding of the values brought a new result to my mind. I'm in serious trouble. How could I have such a high calcium score?
This isn't right, I shouted to myself. This is bull. Obviously, it was a mistake. I don't smoke. I am not a diabetic. I walk and ride my bike. Yeah, I am fat but to have this high of a score? Something is off here. I want to see the video!
I did what any neurotic nurse would do and I ordered a copy of the test. Meanwhile, I had an appointment with my cardiologist. I promptly made him pull up the film and show me my heart. There it was. In black and white. There was no denying it. My gut knotted up and my heart sank.
There on the video was a picture of my heart. It was clear as day. With calcium scoring, calcium shows up as white on the picture. The reviewer even labeled the artery affected. It was my LAD, left anterior descending. It was and still is, lit up like a Christmas tree from top to bottom. The LAD has a nickname. It's called the widow maker and with good reason. Most people who have a heart attack in their LAD do not survive. Ninety percent of the people who have occlusion in their LAD die before they even get to the hospital.
I sat there stunned. confused, and scared. I felt like I had a time bomb in my chest. I felt like a walking dead person. I knew my family history was not good. I had tried to warn my family doctor and the cardiologist for years. No one listened to me. There were no recommendations except to lose weight. No preventative medications were prescribed like statins. Nothing. Now, I am among the walking dead with a time bomb in my chest, never knowing when it's going to go off.
That was back in the spring of 2021. It took me a while to overcome the shock and disbelief. My cardiologist's response? Let's get a stress test. I wanted a CTA. A CT scan with die to show the actual location of the plaque that highlighted itself on my heart. I was told no. Insurance does not pay for that he said. F insurance. I wanted it. Instead, I got the dreaded stress test which can have false positives and negatives. Many people get a stress test that turns out negative only to keel over and die a week later. I was not happy.
The stress test was done. I had a reaction to the chemical they use to speed up your heart so they injected a reversal drug into my veins, making me doubt the validity of the test. I was assured it was fine and the test came back negative. Yeah, as if I was going to believe that. Being a nursing professional, you learn to trust no one. I might as well be working in Area 51 among the supposed non-existing aliens. Everyone lies and tests are never done or read correctly. The medical system is a mess and just plain deadly.
The events that happened during those months left me lost. I was already eating fairly healthily. If I am eating fairly healthy and still ended up with ASHD, my new diagnosis, where was I supposed to improve my diet and lifestyle? Again, nonsmoker, nondrinker, not a diabetic, avid biker, and fairly healthy eater.
Even more, I find it ironic that my health situation now becomes a major medical emergency. Despite years of telling these doctors my family history. Now, it has to be addressed. My cholesterol numbers, not horrific, had not changed in 10 years. Granted, they were much better in my younger years, before I became hypothyroid. But they were not catastrophic. What is catastrophic is seeing my LAD lit up from its top to bottom. I am seeing an open heart in my future if I make it to the hospital in time.
To make matters worse, the cardiology office was worthless in direction, other than wanting to start a statin. When I asked about improving my diet, I got crickets. So, I asked for a dietary consult. The result, I could get an appointment in 8 months at 6:30 am. Waiting 8 months was not the answer, so I went on my own search.
Searching for the right diet for heart health was a nightmare. At every turn, someone had a different opinion. Do keto. Don't do keto. Eat carbs. Don't eat carbs. Don't eat corn or potatoes. It's okay to eat corn and potatoes. Eat fat. Don't eat fat. Follow the Dr. Ornish diet. Do the Mediterranean diet. There was no solid evidence for any type of diet to follow. Not even the American Heart Association matched up with all the information out on the web.
My fear of the ticking time bomb in my chest led me to not eat any fat for months. My labs moved very little. All the denial and worry did nothing to move my numbers. I have not had beef for almost 2 years. Full-fat diet has not touched my lips. Yet, my numbers barely move. I tried several statins without success. Each had its own side effects, leaving me with the prospect of injections that stay in my body for weeks to months. This is not an option for someone who has multiple drug allergies.
I walked away from everything and took a moment to process everything that happened. I needed time to process everything that happened. I needed to accept that no one knew what was right for my body, much less for anyone else. I began to read books again, searching for clues. That is when I found a book by Dr. Sears called Prime Time. It made so much sense. The information was sound and scientifically based. I was doing so many things wrong.
I licked my wounds and continued to soak in the words in each book I read. Then I stumbled across the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute which offers certification in health and wellness. I thought long and hard about taking the courses and then I did it. I made the jump and took the courses and became a certified health and wellness trainer.
I don't want others to go through what I did. What happened to me should not have happened. Having a cardiologist who did not listen and then have no support except medications is not acceptable. Not being able to find nutritional and health information that you can stand on is not acceptable. Back when I was a kid, nutrition was not a topic. I grew up eating fast and frozen food before it became a trend. Nobody knew back then what they know now about fast food. Yet, I could shove 2 Big Boys, a large chili, coleslaw, and onion rings all in one setting at 10 years old.
Caring for the body and for our hearts is not a simple thing. Caring for our bodies and heart is a multi-faceted approach. It involves lifestyle, exercise, attitude, and nutrition. What I have learned has been life-changing and I want to be able to share that with you and the world.
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