Knew all this - wasn’t relevant to my post and I was trying to be brief.
First few years my cardio said no stenosis (narrowing of valve opening) was occurring and I may live a full life w/o replacing the valve. That changed quite suddenly in year 4. I became short of breath exercising.
BTW, my avg. BP is now 117/75, resting HR 53, am on LIpitor but cholesterol way below 100 (genetic tendency for being high - mother had cholesterol in the mid-300’s all her life and high BP - but lived to 96!)
My doc put me on 2g of Niacin/day in 2000; it did lower both cholesterol & triglycerides but supposedly many studies show niacin still doesn’t have the same good results as statins. Many, including me, get over the flushing - spread 250mg tabs over the day. I found the non-flushing niacin to not work.
I’m anti-statins, but my cardio has me convinced I need it. I believe plaque build-up in arteries is primarily from inflammation and the primary cause of t he inflammation is sugar. I rarely have sweets, but occasionally did when younger.
The reason I recovered so quickly was multiple reasons, primarily God’s grace. I never had heart issues and had a very strong runner’s heart. In CICU I heard the cries groans & complaints of those around me and determined to get out of there ASAP and followed nurses instructions explicitly regardless of how it hurt. Cardio surgeon was one of the best in Virginia - I told me I was going to be his best recovery ever (he said I was) and I could walk as far as I wanted as long as I didn’t get short of breath.
I never did, and in 6 weeks was walking 9 miles/day......couldn’t do anything else, why not? I live in country, heavy hardwood forests, and it’s 1/2 mile walk through heavy woods to my mailbox. I have 3 mile & 6 mile loops I’d been running for 25 years, and loved walking them.
Exercise and diet are key to recovery.
Since my surgery, I’ve watched many others never leave the hospital and die there. I have good friends who have serious damage to nerves, leg pain (where bypass veins come from), and complications. I was blessed to have none. This is outside my control and God’s grace for which I am daily thankful.
My last primary who made to many medical errors and is now FIRED had me try 5 different statins, to lower a modest 35 pt over 100 count, HDL is 65 or higher, couldn’t tolerate the side effects. Welchol 3 pills in and I had gout pain, 5 pills couldn’t walk for the pain. Older statins have less cramping issues than Crestor or Lipitor, which are the main line choices because of slick ad campaigns. Not that they work better than a generic Provastatin that has less side effects. Crestor’s max dose is 40 MG.
This was suggested from an alternative to meds
for digestive health, but see many other things it works on. Not tried it as I don’t know where to get it. My big issue would be it’s like a spicy pepper. I don’t tolerate them, OA drugs ruined my GI track.
Ajowan Oil
http://ayurvedicoils.com/tag/health-benefits-of-ajowan-oil