He is 49 and not overweight but has a family history of heart disease he just noticed the shortness of breath & tired feeling and by the grace of god he was in for an angiogram and they found all his blockage - he was a walking heart attack. They were going to do open heart but because of his age they felt the stents would work.

Well I follow the LC diet and I'm wondering - would this be beneficial to him? The Dr.'s of course are recommending low fat high fibre lean protein - do I dare get him on board with my menus??

Any ideas with this would be great as this is all new to us. - no previous heart health issues.

His cholesterol was 220 but his good cholesterol is way low

I posted this in the specific health board but just wondering if any of you have had experience with this.

My hubby 49 just started feeling sluggish and having breathing issues when aerobic exercising otherwise felt fine - not overweight no other health issues.

Well after extensive testing on asthma they finally checked his heart and 3 stents later and 1 angioplasty he is home. What I am wondering is of course the cardiac rehab is going to give him the low fat, lean protein, high fiber diet and I am wondering if anyone has done Atkins with these issues? Is it safe to see if he can be on the same plan as me or should he just follow the diet they give him? I just know he would be satisfied with Atkins and low fat doesn't work for me.

His cholesterol wasn't way bad 220, LDL 140, triglyceride 253 and HDL 31

We are both scared now since he was as his cardiologist said "a walking heart attack" and I don't want to add to his heart issues by having him follow atkins but of course if we both ate the same it would be easier.

My personal experience after 2 stents with angioplasty about 5 years ago, is that my heart health improved on Atkins! My cardiologist hasn't wanted to see me again for 3 years and just told me to keep doing what I'm doing. He also admitted that cholesterol and some saturated fat are necessary for proper brain function.

I don't know if my GP realizes how much saturated fat I consume but he's also happy with my numbers so he doesn't question what my version of a healthy diet is. Hope that helps some to put your mind at ease.

I'm so sorry and I wish your husband the best of health. I just posted my blood test results in this forum and I follow Atkins by the book. I believe low-carb/high-fat is the best way to increase your HDL and lower your triglycerides.

If you haven't already, you should pick up a copy of Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories. It explains a lot about the research that went into the low-fat recommendations and why they are so flawed. It is a fantastic book and loaded with facts and studies, etc....it is very convincing that low-fat/high-carb diets fail us in many ways.

Good luck to you and your husband and I wish him a speedy recovery.

I think the question is not "Is Atkins safe," but "is it safe to continue eating a low-fat, high-carb diet with heart disease?" In my opinion, the answer is no.

I'm not a Dr. but....Dr. Atkins was a cardiologist
As for your hubby's cholesterol....LDL of 140, would be considered high, as it should be below 130. Triglycerides of 253 ....I would think hubby's Dr. would be concerned about this, as triglycerides should be less than 150. HDL (good cholesterol) according to the AMA, should be above 40 for men.
I'm sure Atkins would improve all these concerns greatly...but, I'm also sure, unless you are fortunate enough to find a Dr. that is knowledgeable regarding low carb eating plans....your hubby will be put on the typical low fat diet.

They put him on Lipitor and I see that it says to avoid a high fat diet while on this medication due to the fact that it is suppose to help reduce your cholesterol???

So would him being on atkins mess this up?

Just my two pennies: I have had a heart attack and 6 bypass grafts and I continued Atkins. I used to take Lipitor (among others) as well and had no ill effect. I maintained just fine, thank you!

My biggest problem nowadays is that I had an eschemic pontine stroke a few years ago and through the inability to exercise, have gained all my weight back.

Hi, I responded to you in the health forum but will respond as well here. These are my numbers, 4 years on Atkins, 65% fat in my diet (mostly saturated)....the numbers are in metric measurements but to summarize, they are excellent.

LDL 2.66 mmol/L
HDL 1.38 mmol/L
Total: 4.48 mmol/L
Ratio: 3.2
Triglycerides 0.96 mmol/L
Fasting Glucose 4.8 mmol/L

Read Good Calories/Bad Calories by Gary Taubes if you haven't already, it will give you more confidence that low-carb/high-fat is the way to go.

ETA - DH eats a Zone diet (moderate low-carb because he doesn't have weight issues, but I would say he eats like an Atkins maintenance for someone who is active. he eats very little sugar, processed foods, breads, etc.) Anyway, his lipid profile is almost identical to mine, mine is even slightly better in the HDL but his triglycerides are lower. He has been eating like this for many years, more than 8.

ETA2 - And both of us have a parent who is on cholesterol medications and they each eat low-fat/high-carb and cannot control their cholesterol, but we have given up trying to convert them....so we both have hereditary bad cholesterol in our families.

This is because _they_ believe that fat (like the fat in eggs, cheese, red meat) causes high cholesterol but the scientific proof is actually opposite to that. Those are the foods that raise your HDL (good cholesterol).

That recommendation is probably based on the fact that saturated fat can raise your total cholesterol. So saturated fat won't have a bad interaction with the statins, it just might cancel out their effect a little.

But here's the dirty secret:

Saturated fat raises your HDL, the "good" cholesterol, at the same time as it raises LDL. So even though your total cholesterol goes up, your ratio stays about the same. In addition, it doesn't raise triglycerides, which are a much stronger indicator of heart disease. Your hubby needs to lower his triglycerides, and cutting carbs is the most effective way to do that.

Also, watch out for signs of memory loss. It's a side effect of statins.

http://www.statinanswers.com/effects.htm

My DBF was told his cholesterol was high....total cholesterol was 275. Dr. never asked him about his diet or exercise habits....immediately wrote him a script for 20 mg per day of Lipitor due to there "being a family history of high cholesterol" I bought him Dr. Malcolm Kendrick's book "The Great Cholesterol Con" and told him to start eating low carb and not to fill the Lipitor script. He listened He also takes supplements like Fish Oil, Garlic, Niacin etc.
There are his before & after results:

Before:
Total Cholesterol: 275
LDL: 191
HDL: 47
Triglycerides: 184

After:
Total Cholesterol: 195
LDL: 123
HDL: 50
Triglycerides: 114

Do yourself & your hubby a favor, get Dr. Malcolm Kendrick's book & read it....as well as Gary Taubes "Good Calories-Bad Calories" as Brpssm mentioned.
Avoid statins if at all possible...they are bad news!

Here is a blog by Tim Ferris, it is based on his new book Seven Reasons to Eat Saturated Fats. I am posting this because the question isn't is Atkins safe...it's is eating all that fat safe?

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blo.../saturated-fat/

IMHO, it is more dangerous to be on statins than to be on low carb and his cholesterol didn't warrant statins. But, this is just my opinion.

Atkins is a high-fat diet.

If you ask the question "is eating all that fat safe" I would have to say, "it depends on how many carbs you are eating." Saturated fat (or high fat in general) outside of a low-carb plan like Atkins I don't think it is safe (meaning high-fat/high-carb is deadly), but eating high-fat/low-carb, like Atkins, is safe.

So I think the question really is "is Atkins safe". Just my 2 (Canadian) cents

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents here.

Had a cardiac event last week (wallking up hill, chest pain, left arm, left side of neck and jaw) and have been testing since (it stopped as soon as I stopped walking up hill). Tests were 'inconclusive' so now we're on to a cardiac cath as soon as he can sked it.

I don't mind having a cc/angiogram/angioplasty, what I do mind is having stents put in that are emitting medicines, being put on Plavix for a year and statins and lord knows what else.

I will not take a statin...period.

My cholesterol is only 142 for gosh sakes! When Iasked the dr about that, because even my internist thought I was doing great, he said that even tho 142 might be good for alot of people it might not be good for me.

When I was eating Adkins very strictly, my cholesterol was 120.

Has anyone had such an incident or been told they should have an angiogram and not do it OR did do it and they found nothing?