Grilling post heart attack

[Jspan]

My 50 years of eating like "it won’t happen to me" finally caught up with me over the last weekend. I had a very small, just qualifies, heart attack last weekend. 2 days in the hospital, and a new stent later and I’m back home, feeling better than I did before I got my first chest pain.

There’s a lot of unexpected emotions you go through when you experience something like this. One is the acceptance that I must change my eating and cooking habits immediately. The other is the sadness that the pleasure I got from cooking and eating, especially on a grill, smoker and my favorite, a griddle is forever going to be altered. But it doesn’t mean I have to give it up, I just have to change.

I’m looking for any links to sites and recipes for grilling after a heart attack. I have to believe not everything I’m going to eat from now on is bland, tasteless, "meh".

I would never come on this site and preach healthy eating habits and good nutrition. But I will say this…if you ever have chest pains that are past "mild" and don’t dissipate quickly, unlike indigestion, or are accompanied by pain in EITHER arm (mine was in my right arm), eat a couple of baby aspirin and go to the hospital. Let them tell you "it’s nothing". I almost made a huge mistake by trying to tough it out.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Depending on the recommended diet, nothing has to be bland. When I reduced salt in my diet I just amped things up with fresh black pepper or chili powders, or add more fresh herbs. Additionally balsamic, ACV or citrus can add a major pop of flavor without the salt.

Glad you're still with us.

[mrteddyprincess]

So glad you listened to your body! And I'm glad you're considering other options! I am by no means the essence of health. I still have about 40 lbs to go in losing weight, but I'm down 80 lbs from where I started, and I'm visiting the gym regularly.

I love cooking fish on my PK360. I can put some panko bread crumbs on cod or sea bass with a little acid on there for flavor, and my wife and I like that as much as if we're having filet mignon. It has a wonderful smoky flavor and it's a darn healthy way to go.

Best wishes to you on your journey and don't hesitate to reach out to discuss specifics about options to traditional BBQ!

Brian

[Oak Smoke]

I had a very similar experience 15 years ago. I had the chest pain and upper back pain. I ended up with two stents in the back of my heart. After a few months the Dr. said I had no permanent damage at all. I’ve had no pain or trouble with my heart since then. My cardiologist has no problem with me using the keto diet to control my weight. I eat protein, fats, and vegetables, just very few carbohydrates. I turned 70 the other day and feel fine. The cardiologist says my heart is fine. I go see him every 6 months just to make sure nothing has changed. The bottom line is you can look forward to many good years ahead, just take care of your self.

[Murdy]

There are a number of us that have cardiac problems on this site. I am 15 years post heart attack (quad bypass). I find it controlling salt intake requires more planning than anything else. But, it is something you can "budget" for, i.e., a couple very low salt meals followed by a little indulgence when the ribs are done. I mostly make my own rubs and sauces as the commercial ones are usually loaded with salt. I still dry brine with Kosher salt, but I use less and allow more time for the salt to work (based on the recommendation of another member).

Here's a good sauce recipe that lower in salt (use unsalted butter): https://noblepig.com/2010/01/east-ca...r-pulled-pork/ ; and I use Meathead's rub recipes from the free side of the site, that don't contain salt (Meathead's Memphis Dust ( https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...st-rub-recipe/ ) and Big Bad Beef Rub ( https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...ef-rub-recipe/ )).

I used to have a really hard time controlling my cholesterol, but with the new drugs (praluent, etc), it has become less of a concern for me. When I did I had to watch my saturated fat, but again, it's something you can budget for. Keep most meals low, and it's ok to indulge on occasion. I used to keep breakfast near zero, lunch fairly low, and leave a little breathing room for dinner.

Good luck to you, and if you have any questions, please put them out there. There are a few threads on this site you can search for the are about sodium reduction.

[SmokeyGator]

It is about amounts more than it what you eat. You can cut back on salt, and your taste will adjust. When I hit my 30s I realized empty calories had to go, and the two biggest items were beer and sugar. So I quit drinking soda and cut WAY back on sugary stuff, so I still had room for beer. And now a lot of things are just too damn sweet. Like cheesecake. LOVE the stuff, but I eat smaller slices because I can feel the type II setting in. And I LIKE coffee and tea unsweetened, where as before it was always sweetened. Same with salt. I did not have to cut back, I just did. I still like salty snacks, but damn are they salty now. I eat less of it.

I am also on statins. Went on them before anything happened, other than setting the high score at the cardiologist office for cholesterol. I asked if there was a board I could put my score and initials on, and he said "this is not Donkey Kong, this is serious". It was that bad, I made the doctor make a classic video game joke. I had a calcium score test done, and it was very low - meaning no buildup of significance. And I was told I could eat nothing but broccoli and I would still have high cholesterol, because apparently some people have lazy livers. The stupid thing is SUPPOSED to eliminate excess cholesterol, by changing it into something that is deposited in poop. And your body makes the stuff, because it needs it. However in my case my body makes the stuff, and I eat more of the stuff - but it just builds up. My body hoards the stuff like it is still 2020 and cholesterol is toilet paper. The statins unlazy my liver, and so my numbers are now acceptable. BUT still, I probably should not eat delicious bacon triple cheeseburgers daily. I can still have a bacon double cheeseburger sometimes. Not as often, but it is not like they are forbidden lest I eat one then keel over like the 17th century Swedish warship Vasa less than 1 mile into her maiden voyage. I just have to leave off that second gun deck, or maybe add more ballast to the hold. Something to lower the center of gravity.

But there are TONS of things you can grill. Chicken. Vegetables. Fish. All kinds of low fat heart healthier stuff. Smoked salmon is loaded in those omega 3s (allegedly good) and tastes great. Also grilling is a "healthy" way to cook. Fat grips into the fire, as opposed to hanging out in a pan. What really has to go is the deep fried stuff. Cut WAY BACK on that.

Nothing is over until it is, but until then we all work around situations and find the best balance. Unlike the 17th century Swedish warship Vasa, which had serious design flaws that everybody noticed, but nobody dared tell to King Gustav. That did not work out too well, although we do have a wonderful very well preserved example of shipbuilding from the time when naval tactics were starting to change from ships fighting alone or in small groups with the goal of boarding enemy ships to take them over to "ships of the line" tactics where gunnery was used at greater distances to smash the enemy into toothpicks. I guess in the long run it DID work out - so maybe that is a bad example?

[Murdy]

Lazy Liver: At one time I was taking 4 or 5 cholesterol lowering medications and I could barely get it under 200 (with watching diet as well). Praluent and/or Repatha (I've been on both due to insurances) took it down to almost zero, with nothing else but a lower does statin. If yours gets out of control, ask about them.

[Finster]

2 stents here. One in 2011, a second one in 2014. Watch out for the post heart attack blues...it's a real thing.

I was a smoker (cigs not meats).
Doc said quitting was a bigger factor than diet in preventing a future event. As long as I'm not smoking, he doesn't worry too much about my weight, and the only diet advice he gives is to limit salt.

Fat isn't the boogeyman it's made out to be. Highly processed food is. Guess what highly processed foods are full of?
salt and sugar. That's the stuff that causes the most damage..
just make sure your mixing "good" fats into your diet regularly, and don't stress the "bad" ones so much...
Best of luck on your road to better health. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Baby steps. You got this👍

[HotSun]

+1 on the good fats and reducing processed foods.

[Mosca]

I had quadruple bypass 30 years ago. I take a lot of pills, but otherwise I eat what I want to.

I’ll be 68 in a couple weeks. I saw my cardiologist yesterday. He said, "Well, you didn’t die in the last 6 months." He’s a funny guy, my cardiologist.

More to the point: my last stress test (Oct ‘21) was acceptable for someone my age and demographic.

I don’t drink regular soda, or any fruit drinks. I don’t use sugar in my cooking. I avoid white bread, and try to eat less pasta and potatoes. My cardio guy says meat is okay, but to be careful with bbq sauce.

I should exercise more… let me rephrase that. I should exercise. But exercise is boring. Maybe I’ll start tomorrow.

My neighbor ran half marathons. He had a heart attack, and died, while running, in 2020. Great guy. Skinny as a rail. I think his life was very austere, but he liked it that way. Who knows when the reaper will strike?

[CaptainMike]

Every evening I tell the Reaper "Not today, my faithful companion. Someday, but not today"

[hoovarmin]

I would recommend that you do a bit of research before you drastically alter your diet. The low-fat diet for heart health was not supported by solid studies. Participants weren't randomly selected and the results could not be replicated. A lot of cardiologists got their ideas of nutrition decades ago and never updated them.

[Finster]

Fat tastes good. If you remove fat, you have to put something else in to make stuff taste good. That something else is most often salt and/or sugar, or something artificial. Far worse for you than fat....even saturated fat. Trans fat is the one you do have to keep in check

[Finster]

Mosca
Never heard of the Ornish diet.
But, no way no how.
A life without those foods isn't a life worth living...

[Mosca]

Finster look it up. It’s supposed to reverse heart disease. I was okay with it to a point, mostly because I’d just had quadruple bypass at age 37. Some things were tough, especially no butter/margarine, no cheese, and no oils at all. No meat wasn’t that hard, surprisingly. Tofu isn’t bad at all, and seitan is okay enough. I made a lot of vegetable soup, and I learned to make a decent vegetarian chili. But it wasn’t working for me, my cholesterol wasn’t dietary but metabolic. Hence, medication,

[CaptainMike]

A two-timer here (the second one was a stent failure so not my fault!). After the first one I went all bonkers on exercise and diets and drove everyone, including myself, crazy. It took a couple of years, but I found a routine that works for me.

I pretty much eat what I want, but I'm always mindful of what and how much I eat. I stay away from most processed food and have never been a "sweets" guy. Be wary of inflammatory foods and beverages. If you eat something that makes you feel crappy afterwards (like fast food) then avoid it. I take my meds religiously and have my cholesterol and BP right where they need to be. Exercise and weight control are essential!!! I went kinda ape-shoot at first because I didn't want to take a disability retirement, but that was unsustainable for the long haul. Now in my retirement I have a moderate exercise routine that is centered around daily 4 - 6 mile morning walks. My Dr has recently taken me off of a BP med because of the great results with that. I have a buddy who's an Ironman triathlete and all he says is just keep moving. That has become a daily mantra for me. The upshot of the 2nd event is that when the cardiologist was fixing the stent, she, in her words, took a walk around my heart and told me everything looked great. She said something else will probably kill me!

The biggest issues for me were mindset, achievable goal-setting, and adopting a well rounded, sane and enjoyable lifestyle. My first cardiologist told me that I now needed to make myself an expert with my cardiac condition with the caveat of don't believe everything you read and double/triple check resources. It is a constantly evolving science that we should try to keep up with and have those conversations with our cardiologists. Be your own advocate. Your cardiologist is your partner, not your boss, so never be afraid of asking questions or questioning advice you deem dubious.

The key factors for me are retirement from a high stress job, quitting tobacco (except for an occasional stogie), regular moderate exercise, a conscious approach to nutrition, and an active lifestyle. And don't let the blues creep in. It's a normal, even necessary human reaction, just don't let the blues start moving in furniture and measuring for drapes in your head. It's okay to feel it, but get over it. And be kind to yourself! It's something that happened, own it and just keep moving!

One other thing my first cardiologist shared with me: if you feel like taking a nap, then take a nap. That's the best danged medical advice I've ever had!

Good luck in your quest.

[LA Pork Butt]

My daughter is a dietician, and one of her biggest frustrations is that when it comes to making adjustments to eating habits many patients want to continue with the diet that contributed to there problem. It sounds like you wouldn’t be one of her frustrating patients. I think it is more about the volume and type of fats. You should be free to use whichever spices you like, Today I grill roasted indirect at 375 sweet potato rounds and cauliflower flowerets sprayed with a little olive oil and lightly sprinkled with Jamaican Jerk seasoning. They came out quite good

[FireMan]

Ok, I might be really stepping in it, when someone recommends do the research, well………
check out the research on stents. Oh, BTW, fat is ok, salt is ok, just not salt from manufactured food as in box, bag or a can. Fer that matter, check out how much sodium is in one of our beloved brats. Me sprinklin it on a burger, steak or chicken doesn’t really amount to much.

[DavidNorcross]

Heart attack 18 years ago and 2 stents. I really eat all of the meat that I want and try my best to exercise and maintain my weight. Aside from watching my sugar intake, I eat what I want to eat. I agree with others the whole low fat thing has really turned out to be a myth. Sugar/carbs is the silent killer. Not a doctor, this is what works for me.

[hoovarmin]

You don't have to be a doctor to see the data clearly shows that you are correct. I cringe when I hear someone telling me that they are going low fat in the belief that it will benefit them from a health perspective. A low fat diet is by definition high in carbs and sugar.

[Stuey1515]

After my diabetes journey I learned that you can still eat whatever you want, but the key is how much of it you eat.
Just my two bobs worth

[Allon]

You nailed it!

[Bkhuna]

All things in moderation, even moderation. I lowered my lipids and my blood sugar / A1C, not by removing things from my diet, but cutting back on treats. I still eat full fat ice cream for example, but save it for special occasions. I don't use as much salt, but I compensate by using Marmite, MSG, and other things that are high in umami.

Ignore about 99% of the web sites you read. There is a predominance of BS on the web.

[HotSun]

Thanks Bkhuna. I started using fish sauce recently (very easy to find here with all the Asian markets nearby). I now keep that next to my range with a bottle of low sodium soy sauce. I also keep tamari around, which is very nice to use. I'll have to pop the cap on the Marmite and give it a try.

[Murdy]

Bkhuna -- I saw a low sodium version of Marmite on Amazon. Do you use that, or regular?

[Bkhuna]

Murdy - I've never seen it. The original doesn't seem to have too much salt, but I suppose "too much" is up for each individual
.