Thread: My Post-Heart Attack Diet

Although I have been perfectly healthy up until now, inside my arteries it was a different story. A while ago (August 4, at 1pm to be precise) I had, what my doctor likes to describe as, a major heart attack.

It seems that fat had been accumulating not around my waist, but inside my arteries and one of my aorta arteries was completely blocked. I had an emergency balloon angioplasty and stent inserted and spent a week in the hospital recovering. My Doctor says that I should be completely recovered in 3 months, and I am mostly recovered now. She also objected when my school wanted me to go back to work after 2 weeks and told them that I should teach online, which I did for 1 week before going back in person.

So, since then I have been on a strict no fat, no chlorestoral diet. No more breakfasts like this:


Now I usually have a breakfast sandwich with a poached egg, sliced avocado, some rocket or raw spinach on whole-wheat bread with a splash of olive oil instead of butter. However, once a week I can have a piece of meat!


My wife and I actually shared this breakfast, we each had one piece of bread, one egg and one piece of ham.

Here are some other heart-healthy meals:

Lots of avocado, rabbit food and bits of chicken:




The diet seems to be working. I have recovered most of my strength and stamina and have lost a lot of excess weight. I have gone from 95 kilos to 86.6 kilos, mostly lost in the first week. My goal is 80 kilos, though I am getting my appetite back, so it may be difficult. (I am 185cm tall, so I wasn't THAT fat to start with)

...a good start...maybe throw in a little regular exercise as well...

Sorry to hear about that Q, but happy to hear you are changing and managing your diet. Hopefully you can incorporate some light exercise like walking on a daily basis. Glad to hear you are recovering well.

You're on the right track. Good to get into natural food and avoiding processed food with its excess of sugar and salt. Don't have to go vegetarian, still enjoy meat/fish, and more roasting/grilling rather than frying. If you do fry food, try and use 'good' oils such as olive. Homemade soups are great for both nutrition and appetite supression.

Su Su, Champ.

Good to hear it went about as well as a major heart attack can.

Some of that health food does look tasty.

I don't think you're female so we should be allowed to ask your age?

Yes I can spell attack, but I can't fix the title! As for exercise, Mrs Q and I have been walking for about 20 minutes every evening (unless it's raining). I also work on the 4th, & 5th floors of a building that has no elevator, so I get a bit of exercise when I climb the stairs 2 to 4 times a day. I've got a step tracker on my phone and I am up to 6 - 8,000 steps a day, with a goal of 10,000. And yes, I'm a 66 year old guy.

My doctor told me to avoid processed foods, which I pretty much do anyways. Mrs Q will feed me grilled or roasted meat once a week with all the fat trimmed off!

Originally Posted by qwerty

I can spell attack, but I can't fix the title!

Sor'id Guv.

Good man on the exercise.


Btw, BBQ 'd meat is healthier than fried, right?

Originally Posted by qwerty

I've got a step tracker on my phone and I am up to 6 - 8,000 steps a day, with a goal of 10,000.

...6-8K steps is nothing to sneeze at...good effort...

Sorry to have to welcome you to my world, and glad to hear you are ok. My major heart attack (three stents) was a few years ago now.

For the first few months after the attack I was terrified I would simply go to sleep at night to never wake up. Weird feeling.

I think it is common to go overboard on the diet immediately after, but I think for most people we do slacken off a bit. I still keep an eye on foods and avoid high salt, processed meats, processed foods etc, and have increased on the veggies and fruit. Lots of meals with beans or lentils. Eat a lot of curry with no/minimal coconut milk.

Are you on statins? I am and that helps. My regular screening puts my cholesterol levels in the safe zone (except previously for the exercise related one, and hopefully that will be better on my next checkup in a few days).

For a while you may be feeling like you are living on eggshells, but it does get better over time. Good luck

Good health to you, qwerty.

It sounds like you're making solid progress.

Originally Posted by PAG

Good to get into natural food and avoiding processed food with its excess of sugar and salt.

This is the single most important thing you will read on this thread.

Originally Posted by qwerty

My doctor told me to avoid processed foods, which I pretty much do anyways.

Good and glad you are still with us.

^ I thought it was your advice on beans and pacific salmon

Hoping your recovery continues, Q. I must say, school lunches where I work are really unhealthy, but mostly delicious. I would do well to bring in a tuna salad to be honest, starting to notice my I'm getting fat and a bit of a gut.

@qwerty - Glad to know that you're on the road to recovery. Your diet is similar to my dad's diet after his major stroke. Before he was released from hospital, the dietitian talked with us (the family) on what he was allowed to eat so that he could lose weight and walk again. (He was bedridden for a few months. He was ~ 10 kilos overweight and for his height, that was a lot.) I lived with my parents then and shared the caregiving duties with my mom. We all ate the low fat, low salt, low carb diet that my dad had. It was a bit tough for the 1st few months (the diet took a while to get used to) but it turned out to be OK.

All the best on your diet & exercise journey!

Originally Posted by qwerty

A while ago (August 4, at 1pm to be precise) I had, what my doctor likes to describe as, a major heart attack.

Nasty, but sounds like you are taking it in your stride qwerty

Jeez, glad to hear you are ok. You still teaching at 66? When do you plan to retire? Sounds like your school didn’t give much of a hoot.

Originally Posted by qwerty

I have been walking for about 20 minutes every evening (unless it's raining)

Buy a bicycle. It beats walking any day.

Originally Posted by DrWilly

Jeez, glad to hear you are ok. You still teaching at 66? When do you plan to retire? Sounds like your school didn’t give much of a hoot.

Bit off topic, but true. A mate of mine was forced to retire at 65 from a government high school he taught at for more than 20 years. The ministry of something or other refused to renew his something or other once he hit 65.


It's kinda easy to realise post heart attack in your 60s, if able to go back, would having switched to a half healthy diet and lifestyle 10 years earlier have likely made a difference?

I think AO did around 10 years ago.

Thanks for all the good wishes all. At 66 I was still healthy, strong and had plenty of stamina before the heart attack. I planned to retire at 70, but will probably move it up a year or two. My father lived to be 91 and my mother died a week or 2 before she turned 82. With that long a retirement to look forward to, I wasn't in a hurry to retire!

Originally Posted by qwerty

The diet seems to be working. I have recovered most of my strength and stamina and have lost a lot of excess weight. I have gone from 95 kilos to 86.6 kilos, mostly lost in the first week. My goal is 80 kilos, though I am getting my appetite back, so it may be difficult. (I am 185cm tall, so I wasn't THAT fat to start with)

Good for you! I have a cousin who had a heart attack and had two or three stents and it didn't take him long to get back to how he was eating. I think he drinks a bit less, but still a lot. Carried most of his weight in his stomach. I eat most of the time like your new diet since the beginning of the summer. I hope to get my bloodwork done soon as the goal was to reduce my BP and cholesterol. I am also losing weight naturally while not even trying (I eat whole foods plant based).

Another yoyo diet...

Originally Posted by DrWilly

Another yoyo diet...

She is the poster girl for wilful ignorance....

Originally Posted by nidhogg

She is the poster girl for wilful ignorance....

In literally all things.

Good to hear you are back to work and coping with the new diet. I try and fail miserably with any kind of enforced lifestyle changes, but I’m just a stubborn bugger.