Not so sudden after all
Can we please put the idea of a ‘sudden’ heart attack out of our minds? There is nothing sudden about eating a diet filled with animal protein and saturated fat for years and then having it catch up to us. Just ask those close to George Michael, Alan Thick, Carrie Fischer and Bob Harper.
I remember when Elaine Stritch won her first Tony Award at age 77 and the joke being she was an overnight success. Of course, we all knew it was her lifetime immersed in the theater that prepared her for that moment.
Why, then, don’t we understand it is our lifetime at the diner table that prepared us for what some refer to as a ‘sudden’ heart attack, or worse, dying of ‘natural’ causes? With over 1 million heart attacks occurring in the US each year, the scarier statistic is that half of the victims die before getting to a hospital.
What likely led up to the heart attack
Blockages of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood, oxygen and nutrients are caused by plaque from the cholesterol and fats we eat. As fatty deposits or plaque builds up in a coronary artery due to poor lifestyle choices, your doctor may recommend opening up blocked arteries to relieve chest pain with a stent or by-pass surgery. However, stents have not been proven to save lives for those with stable heart disease.
In fact, most heart attacks are actually caused when cholesterol plaque on the inner wall of a coronary artery, the endothelial lining, ruptures due to inflammation and causes a blood clot. Even when someone can get to the hospital in time for an intervention, by-passes and stents do not remove arterial plaques or reverse the coronary artery disease that caused the problem in the first place. And infections occur and stents close up without a change in the lifestyle that is causing the problems.
There is no better time than today to change the course of your health and your life.
