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Thread: The Cholesterol "Controversy"

  1. #11
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    I'm 55 now and have always been very active either in the gym 5-6 days a week since the mid 70's, sports all through grade school and even into my 20's, marital arts and even now I'm doing 6-8 workouts a week. I don't eat fast food and stay away from simple carbs and sugars. I have never had high blood pressure or high cholesterol. We don't have a family history of cardiac problems either. 5 years ago I ended up having some issues and was finally referred to a cardiologist. Turns out I had 3, 95% blockages and one at 60%. Thankfully they were able to stint the 3 blockages. They left the 60% blockage alone. My cardiologist initially put me on a high blood pressure med, Plavix, 325mg of aspirin and 20mg of Lipitor. After the procedure I asked him when could I get back in the gym and he said give it 10 days and then no restrictions. I came off of the Plavix a year later and never started the blood pressure meds. I asked him why he prescribed them if I didnt have high blood pressure. He said to give my heart a break. I never took them. Right now it's still just the Lipitor and 325mg of aspirin. Last year I asked him about the 60% blockage and if the Lipitor would reduce the blockage or keep it from becoming even more blocked. His answer was "In theory......." I stopped him and said. We are not talking theory here what is reality? He said the studies were not conclusive that cholesterol meds could keep blockages from increasing.

    I'm still taking the Lipitor/atorvastatin and the 325mg of aspirin. I still eat clean and if I'm not in the gym I'm very active in one way or another. Resting for me is sitting in a deer stand or a duck blind or sleeping at night. Blows my mind though that without a family history, no high blood pressure or cholesterol I still end up with 3 stints and very easily could have had a major heart attack.
    ____________________________________
    Duck Tape can't fix stupid but it sure muffles the sound!

  2. #12
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Watrdawg View Post
    Blows my mind though that without a family history, no high blood pressure or cholesterol I still end up with 3 stints and very easily could have had a major heart attack.
    As a medical professional, it is people like you I'm most concerned about. The people with the risk factors, the family history, smokers, a lot of weight, those are easy to identify and control for. It's the people with none of those that end up coming dead on a stretcher into the ED.

    I have a buddy from the Navy, younger than me by about 2 or 3 years (I'm 50), is a marathon runner and an Ironman triathlete. No history, no family history, no nothing. He was on a training run and had chest pain, called EMS, was having a big heart attack. You just never know.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by chuckman View Post
    As a medical professional, it is people like you I'm most concerned about. The people with the risk factors, the family history, smokers, a lot of weight, those are easy to identify and control for. It's the people with none of those that end up coming dead on a stretcher into the ED.

    I have a buddy from the Navy, younger than me by about 2 or 3 years (I'm 50), is a marathon runner and an Ironman triathlete. No history, no family history, no nothing. He was on a training run and had chest pain, called EMS, was having a big heart attack. You just never know.
    Symptoms were not normal for me. This happened during that hunting season. In September of 2014. I would walk to my treestand, nice easy 4-500 yard walk and have to stop 5-6 times. I would get a burning sensation in the middle of my chest and it would go up to my throat. Felt just like acid reflux. This happened almost every time I went into the woods. I was also running field trials with my lab at this time and if we were going to the line to begin our series of retrieves I would feel the same thing. I'd have to calm myself down. However after hunting for example I could fill up my feeder with 50lb bags of corn and the heavy lifting wouldn't cause any pains at all. I'd shoot a deer and get excited and feel the pain but dragging it to the trail wouldn't feel a thing. Sometimes at night in bed I'd feel the same thing. I went to my family doctor and he referred me to an Gastro specialist and at that appointment the gastro guy said it was a cardio issue. He referred me to a friend of mine who is a cardiologist and 10 days after that appointment I was having a catheterization done. Thankfully they were able to stint the blockages!! Overall I got lucky.
    ____________________________________
    Duck Tape can't fix stupid but it sure muffles the sound!

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Louisiana, On I-10 west of NOLA, east of BR
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    I had a triple bypass 20 years ago when I was 54. At that time I was 150 # 5'10" and my TC was 195 and I had been a runner all my life. Running was my early warning when I started to have angina about 1/4 mile into my daily 3 mile run. I was put on a beta blocker and niacin after the surgery and and got my TC down to 175 then the AMA lowered the cholesterol guidelines and I was put on Lovastatin. It almost drove me to suicide, muscle and joint pain, loss of strength from loss of muscle tissue. It took 18 months for the effects of it to finally go away and I feel I have some permanent muscle damage from it.
    Because I refused to take a another statin my cardiologist put me on Repatha, a twice a month injection 4 years ago. My TC is now below 100. Unfortunately I started have angina again during my workouts last January. Time had caught up with me and two stents were installed in my left circumflex artery.

    I do 10 minutes of cardio on an elliptical machine at 8 mets and an hour and a half of lifting twice a week. I feel good and have no side effects from the Repatha. There is some evidence Repatha can remove plaque but it accumulated over a life time and it may take another lifetime to remove it.

    I still take a beta blocker and an ACE inhibitor along with Plavix for a year because of the stents.

    When a doctor was asked how to prevent heart disease his answer was to chose your parents wisely.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Florida
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    Quote Originally Posted by Watrdawg View Post
    I'm 55 now and have always been very active either in the gym 5-6 days a week since the mid 70's, sports all through grade school and even into my 20's, marital arts and even now I'm doing 6-8 workouts a week. I don't eat fast food and stay away from simple carbs and sugars. I have never had high blood pressure or high cholesterol. We don't have a family history of cardiac problems either. 5 years ago I ended up having some issues and was finally referred to a cardiologist. Turns out I had 3, 95% blockages and one at 60%. Thankfully they were able to stint the 3 blockages. They left the 60% blockage alone. My cardiologist initially put me on a high blood pressure med, Plavix, 325mg of aspirin and 20mg of Lipitor. After the procedure I asked him when could I get back in the gym and he said give it 10 days and then no restrictions. I came off of the Plavix a year later and never started the blood pressure meds. I asked him why he prescribed them if I didnt have high blood pressure. He said to give my heart a break. I never took them. Right now it's still just the Lipitor and 325mg of aspirin. Last year I asked him about the 60% blockage and if the Lipitor would reduce the blockage or keep it from becoming even more blocked. His answer was "In theory......." I stopped him and said. We are not talking theory here what is reality? He said the studies were not conclusive that cholesterol meds could keep blockages from increasing.

    I'm still taking the Lipitor/atorvastatin and the 325mg of aspirin. I still eat clean and if I'm not in the gym I'm very active in one way or another. Resting for me is sitting in a deer stand or a duck blind or sleeping at night. Blows my mind though that without a family history, no high blood pressure or cholesterol I still end up with 3 stints and very easily could have had a major heart attack.
    Your experience demonstrates it's much more complicated than simple cholesterol levels, and some of it is still a moving target. If you want to get deep into the sauce on the topic, see also:

    https://brinkzone.com/why-you-need-t...esterol-level/
    - Will

    General Performance/Fitness Advice for all

    www.BrinkZone.com

    LE/Mil specific info:

    https://brinkzone.com/category/swatleomilitary/

    “Those who do not view armed self defense as a basic human right, ignore the mass graves of those who died on their knees at the hands of tyrants.”

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