Myocardial Infarction after 2 yrs of keto

(Owen d) #1

A 100% blockage of my LAD (left anterior descending) coronary artery after experiencing chest pain during a work out. I’ve been 2yrs into a keto diet. Of course, family members attribute my “brush with death” to high LDL, excessive fat intake, IF ect. While my LDL is high my HDL and triglyceride numbers are outstanding. I have gone from a fit 185-190lbs to very fit 165-170lbs. I could list the myriad other pluses but I am confident those reading this are well aware. Any advice/perspectives welcome

(Bob M) #2

You can try vitamin D, k2 (not k1), magnesium. Possibly other stuff suggested here:

This is only one resource (NOTE: I have not watched this).

If you have stress in your life, take steps to lessen it.

Other than that, I can’t give any advice. Furthermore, I can’t tell you that the advice I just gave will work. There are no long term studies. But I think they could.

Sorry for your MI.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

I doubt it was the ketogenic diet that caused the heart attack. After all, well over half the people presenting in the emergency room with their first heart attack have normal or low cholesterol, which rather suggests that cholesterol is not the cause of the problem.

I’m sorry you had to have this experience. It can’t have been fun. There is evidence to suggest that hearts suffering from arterial blockage do better with ketone bodies, because they require less oxygen than fatty acids to be metabolised (since they are, in fact, partially-metabolised fatty acids). There is a cardiologist on the staff of DietDoctor.com, Dr. Bret Scher, who bills himself as the Low-Carb Cardiologist, and his podcasts are full of great advice for coping with heart trouble on a ketogenic diet.

#4

How high we talking? You ever get a particle breakdown?

(Robin) #5

Glad you’re okay. I truly believe Keto had you healthy enough to survive that. Good for you.

#6

Sounds like either overeating and/or high levels of air pollution that caused the oxidative stress which lead to atherosclerosis.

Increasing nitric oxide via either an arginine supplement or foods high in arginine… Trout, other seafood, nuts, ultra filtered green juice, etc… Will reverse the atherosclerosis.

Also sufficient sleep.

#7

Hi Owen. Wow! Glad you made it through that.

There has been some current chat around the types of fats used in people’s various ketogenic diets. We know that polyunsaturated fats can result in higher blood ketones, whereas saturated fats may not produce as many.

I’d be interested to know more about the keto approach you took, if you’re willing to share more details?

(Joanne) #8

Have you had a calcium test to determine particle size? My LDL went up at my last lab test. Doc said not to worry because my calcium score is so low. It’s supposed to be a highly accurate predictor of blockages. If you don’t mind sharing:

What are your macros?
What types of foods do you eat?
What type of exercise do you do and how often?
Is heart disease in your family?

(Owen d) #9

my approach to keto is to not focus on macros or calories. I eat as clean as I can afford. I prepare all my meals, condiments, salad dressing ect. I do 18/6 IF and twice a week OMAD. I train 4-5 days a week balancing high intensity with low intensity levels of effort. I’m 59 years old.

(Owen d) #10

I don’t pay much attention to macros. I focus on eating as low carb as possible. I eat mainly veg with some meats. Dairy like Greek yogurt, grass fed butter, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese. Frozen/fresh berries. Nuts
I ride a bicycle 4-5 times a week at different intensity levels. I’ll be in the gym doing cross fit when the weather is bad. My father had a 3xbipass in his late sixties. I had a calcium scan that was average as per my GP who would prefer I was on a statin.

(Owen d) #11

High enough that my GP recommended I take a statin. Can I get a particle size and breakdown from my GP?

#12

Thanks Owen. With family history, genetics certainly move up the differential list. Sounds like you are eating low carb pretty well. The shape of the coronary artery at its branch bifurcation is an anatomical consideration for turbulence creation. Also, a genetic predisposition to higher lipoprotein(a) that helps blood cell clotting at damaged areas can also add variables to heart attack risks. Did you ever have a lipoprotein profile test that included Lp(a)?

#13

You could just say you didn’t want to answer. Doctors have cutoffs that they blindly prescribe statins so that tells us nothing. Sure, your doc COULD order a lipoprofile, but a doc that puts you on a statin without doing that first most likely won’t. I’d just do it yourself.

(Joey) #14

@otiswood Notwithstanding this scare, it’s great to know you’re on top of your MI event and are getting good medical attention.

Congratulations on the considerable improvements in health and weight you’ve made during the past 2 years! (Who knows what condition you’d be in now had you not made those changes?)

But having noted you’re approaching 60 yrs old, I’m wondering what kind of health and eating habits you had engaged in prior to going keto? :vulcan_salute:

(Owen d) #15

SAD…15yrs ago I was 210lbs 72" tall; got into fitness lost the weight(same height) but did nothing about my diet. Regardless how I worked out I was puffy, tired and hungry all the time. Keto IF got me to another level. “I thought had cracked the code” is what I told the ER doc while he tried to convince me I was in the midst of an MI. This refurb on my ticker will be a game changer :wink:

(Joey) #16

You’ve clearly taken what may prove to be the best course correction available. Good to be alive in this era… you’ve got access to the modern cardio technology to address your acute issues - along with access to the wisdom of carb-restriction that will likely be your key to dealing with years of impairment.

Best wishes for more improvements to come. Please keep us posted.

(Fernando Aramburo) #17

Hey Owen. My 2 cents: Testing, testing, testing! I know that in general, as a whole, most of us dont think about doing consistent, intermittent testing but is so essential. How can we know our progress or digression if we have no idea where we started? As a personal anecdote, I have been on Keto for about 6 years (started at 39 now at 45)- initially very strict 50 grams or less a day for the first 1.5 years and have since transferred to what I consider a "metabolic flexible" diet where I am in ketosis about 4-5 days a week and out 2-3 (the weekends I eat any whole food regardless or carbohydrate content, however, 6 years in I dont have much desire or taste for high sugar, starchy foods or flours/rices). Throughout this time, I have been very consistent doing a battery of testing every 3-4 months; so I can see if my numbers are where I want them and if something in my body is changing and requires some dietary adjustment.

About 3 years ago, I did my first Calcium heart scan. It was the first time I heard about it really, so I had it done about a month after understanding its importance. Thankfully it was 0, but it could have been higher and it would have really put a mental strain on "where did that come from, my diet or the other 42 years of my life?". This year I did another Calcium heart scan and added carotid intimal thickness ultrasound testing (they did ultrasound testing on my main leg artery and hear as well). In this test, my carotid artery on my left side came back as slightly above 1MM which means some stenosis has occurred; the question is when!? Given my excellent inflammation blood work for the last 6 year and my consistent body composition and overall health I assume this damage occurred before my lifestyle change. However, I will confirm this when I do my next test a year from that date and see that either there is no change, better, or worsening of all the areas tested.

I am not a doctor, but I would find it very odd if your diet, which has positively effected almost every parameter of health somehow caused your blockage, and in 2 years no less. This type of damage is slow and steady over many years/decades, excluding possibility of some sort of genetic anomaly that could exacerbate that type of damage in your body (some sort of hereditary familial issue).

If your situation happened to me, I would take the opportunity to get really great testing on all cardiovascular metrics (calcium heart scan, artery ultrasounding) and test every 6 months. Or if you can afford it, every three months; the point being that you can see conclusively if your situation is being worsened by your diet, improved, or without change. My guess is that most medical practitioners will say that "Improvement" is not possible, even with medication; so the fact that you can see that you would not be worsening these scans would give me and likely my doctor, a real measurement of how your lifestyle is affecting your health.

My last bit of suggestion is for you to look into Vitamin K2. On the fringes of the internet, some say that a sufficient amount can reduce cardiovascular plaquing and on a minimum, its an essential nutrient that without sufficient amounts, is a likely cause of plaquing since it helps direct Vitamin D and calcium, among other things.

Good luck keto buddy.

(Bob M) #18

The “normal” progression with these tests is supposedly 10% per year. Don’t know how they developed that, and it seems high, but that’s what I’ve seen.

So, if you’re below that, you’re doing well.

Also, note that every test has an error range. The exact value is probably not as important as the trend.

(Joey) #19

:+1:

And if interested, here are links to a couple of fringe studies :wink:

(Bob M) #20

The second one is an epi study, so it’s tough to know what to do with that one.

The first one has a section on RCTs, though, which all seem to be beneficial for bones anyway. Similar results of benefit for most of the coronary tests, though some of those are epi and I selected one RCT, but it’s not done yet.

This is it:

Seems like a great study, but I don’t see results.

I’m hoping vitamin k2 helps, as I am taking it along with vitamin D most mornings.