Fwd: Star McDougaller Robert Cross - Formerly Dying From Heart Disease

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Read this Star McDougaller online: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009stars/robert2.htm

Star McDougaller: Robert Cross

Formerly Dying from Heart Disease

 

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Dr. McDougall's Comments:

Solid scientific support for the correct decision Robert Cross made in

January of 2008, to refuse heart surgery, is in this week’s New

England Journal of Medicine report on the BARI 2D Study Group. The intention of

this research was to show that the early treatment of people with

diabetes with heart surgery (angioplasty with stents or bypass) would

result in a better chance of survival than from no surgery. The

results were no benefit from surgery. Add this study to the long

and consistent list of trials that show no survival benefits and

tremendous harms to patients from aggressive medical interventions for

coronary heart disease, and you must wonder why this approach

continues essentially unchallenged.

 

 

Many of you ask why I (Dr. John McDougall) aggressively confront

doctors who continue to practice “traditional medicine.” The

reason is that almost all pharmaceutical and surgical treatments for

chronic disease fail—and everybody in the “business” knows this

but no one seems willing to do a thing to change the practice—and

that is because there is too much money at stake.

 

 

The facts are not debatable—they are simply hidden from public

awareness. Much of the dishonest reporting is done by

spin-doctors. Spin-doctors are real MDs who have lost their

moral compass, who work for vested interests—the pharmaceutical

companies and themselves (heart surgeons and cardiologists).

 

Realize, I have so far mentioned nothing about diet or

exercise. I am writing to you about prescriptions from

your trusted doctors that do harm to people, and no one seems to be

willing to right this wrong. These treatments are maiming

and killing people who eat the standard American diet far more often

than affecting you and me, who have taken corrective measures to stay

well.

 

Now add this injury to the fact that almost no patient receives

honest effective dietary advice from any doctor or dietitian, or any

health organization. Some of you may think this is a conspiracy—but

there is no conscious collective effort behind this injustice. This is

just business as usual. Expect no change to take place until

conservative care becomes more profitable than doing wrong. Or

legislation, such as AB

1478, proposed in the state of California becomes law. This Assembly Bill will force physicians to tell their patients about

the undisputable failures and harms from heart surgery and diabetes

treatments. Plus, if I have my way, doctors will have to tell their

patients about the miraculous benefits of a delicious starch-based

diet. In the meantime you will have to protect yourself and your

family by becoming educated like Robert did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009 John McDougall

 

McDougall Wellness Center

P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

http://www.drmcdougall.com

 

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When my chest pains began I was in fairly typical health for a

man of 61 years of age who eats the Standard American Diet. My body

had gradually deteriorated over the years and I had become a frequent

customer of doctors and pharmacists. Several times a day I swallowed

pills for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and recurrent kidney

stones. Worst of all, it seemed that every few months I needed higher

doses of these medicines, and none of the lifestyle suggestions made

by my doctors or the dieticians seemed to be doing me any good. I was

resigned to watching my health deteriorate, while hoping that I would

avoid the serious consequences that loomed on the horizon. My

250-pound body weight was another forecaster of the future soon to

come.

 

Everything changed in January of 2008. I saw my doctor, an

internist, for what I thought to be a flare up of my frequent

indigestion, which I noticed particularly while kayaking. With the

intensity of the pain and a history of a cholesterol level of 294

mg/dL (my LDL cholesterol was 210 mg/dL), my doctor insisted that I

undergo an exercise nuclear heart scan—an indirect test of the blood

flow to my heart and an indication of the presence of serious

blockages in my heart arteries. I reluctantly agreed.

 

I knew that I was in trouble during the test because my

“indigestion” got worse and the pain became more focused in my chest

the faster I moved on the treadmill. I could not get my heart rate to

the predicted maximum for my age because of the pain. I could

only exercise for six minutes, and had to be injected with some

medication in order to increase my heart rate to maximum. My

pain went away very shortly after I got off the treadmill. I was not

surprised, only depressed, when the results came back positive for

coronary artery disease.

 

My internist referred me to a cardiologist, and explained that I

would certainly be undergoing some type of surgical

procedure—probably an angioplasty with a stent. Here are some quotes

from that first report:

 

“Review of stress and rest myocardial perfusion images

demonstrates a large region of mild-to-moderate perfusion deficit

extending along the inferior and lateral walls at stress, not apparent

at rest. There appears to be wall motion abnormality in the lateral

wall at stress which appears less prominently during rest. . . .

ABNORMAL MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION STUDY HIGHLY SUGGESTIVE OF REVERSIBLE

ISCHEMIA IN THE LEFT CIRCUMFLEX TERRITORY.”

 

I was frightened and concerned for my wife and teenage son, who

depended upon my love as well as my income. My fears were

intensified because my dad had died of complications from bypass

surgery. My cardiology appointment was still several weeks away, and

in that time I researched everything that I could on the internet.

 

I learned of Dr. Esselstyn, who claimed that heart disease could

be reversed. I was skeptical because I have a medical background

myself and had never heard of such a claim. My wife bought a

copy of his book, Prevent

and Reverse Heart Disease , which contained very powerful evidence

that heart disease could be reversed. I started the program that

very day.

 

My blood was drawn on the day of my cardiology appointment, and

the cardiologist recommended an angiogram (pictures of the arteries),

which would probably be followed by an angioplasty and stent

placement. He asked me to take Plavix and aspirin, which I would

be on for life. He dismissed my questions about lifestyle and

reversal.

 

Further research led me to Dr. McDougall, and registered

dietitian Jeff Novick. All these people gave hope for arresting, and

perhaps reversing, my condition through diet and lifestyle

modifications. In contrast, neither my internist, nor my cardiologist,

was aware of these doctors or their programs or any significant

benefit to lifestyle modification. They discouraged me from delaying

the surgery, but accepted my decision to at least give diet and

“medical management” a try.

 

My early results were promising. My first blood test on the diet

showed my cholesterol was now down to 120 mg/dL and my LDL was 60

mg/dL. My internist was astounded. Medication had only lowered my

numbers slightly. I was on Dr. Esselstyn's exact program, which is

virtually identical to that of Dr. McDougall, and I hired the

McDougall Program dietitian, Jeff

Novick, RD , as my coach. I found that everything I needed was

available immediately and for free through Dr. McDougall's website . I

learned that my results would directly reflect my compliance with the

program. I resolved that I would do this program 100 percent.

If I could not be 100 percent on my own or failed to get my doctors'

support, then I was going to go to the McDougall Live-in Program

without delay. (I still plan on going.) I owed that to

myself and my family.

 

Almost immediately, my chest pain went away. My internist asked

how I had accomplished this and my dramatic cholesterol drop, and then

became quite interested in my program. I needed his help because of

the side effects of the medications that occurred once I changed my

diet. I had to quickly get off my blood pressure medications because

my readings were extremely low and I was feeling light headed. My

blood sugars came way down and I had to terminate my diabetes

medication. I eventually stopped all of my Lipitor, yet my total

cholesterol stayed at 160 mg/dL (my LDL cholesterol remained at 60

mg/dL). I have lost over 60 pounds since beginning my new diet and

exercise program in January of 2008, and I continue to lose as my

energy increases. I have had no more kidney stones.

 

After following my progress for almost a year and a half, the

cardiologist wanted to repeat the nuclear heart scan. My internist

agreed. He was also sure that I was wrong when I had told him that

many clinical trials have shown no important benefits other than pain

relief for the surgery they had proposed for me more than a year and a

half ago. Despite my many obvious improvements, the cardiologist

still believed that coronary artery disease is always progressive, and

told me not to get my hopes up about the new test. I

repeated the exercise nuclear heart scan on May 5, 2009.

 

This time, I felt great running on the treadmill. I took my heart

rate beyond the maximum expected for my age, and had no pain. The

monitors I was connected to indicated no problems. Immediately after

the test, I spoke with my cardiologist, who seemed somewhat perplexed.

He chose his words very carefully. He wanted to know if I had felt

chest pain on the first exam in 2008. I think he did not believe the

previous test results, because this time my heart showed only a single

mild abnormality. Most noticeable was that the large area of

obstruction found on my first test was not seen at all.

 

He seemed to not want to confront the possibility that the both

tests were accurate—that I had actually reversed my serious

condition with a simple change in diet and a little exercise.

How could he question the obvious: my weight loss, the reductions in

medications, and the changes in my blood pressure, blood sugar, and

cholesterol levels? Right before his eyes I went from sick and

symptomatic to feeling and looking great. His skepticism continued as

he explained to me that despite the fact that the occlusion could no

longer be seen, it did not mean that I was totally cured. But at least

he now accepted my decision to avoid surgery as responsible.

 

Here are some excerpts from the cardiologist’s report of my

second test: “He comes in today and underwent exercise myocardial

perfusion imaging. He was able to exercise almost 10 minutes on the

standard Bruce protocol. There were no reported symptoms consistent

with angina pectoris. He denied chest pain or chest discomfort. (He

denies any symptoms of congestive heart failure—shortness of breath

and extreme fatigue).”

 

The myocardial perfusion images showed there was still a subtle

inferior wall perfusion defect…[that is it]. My cardiologist’s

recommendations: low dose aspirin and a nine-month follow up

visit.

 

I look back on this lifestyle change as one of the most

significant things I have ever done. The improvements have gone far

beyond the reversal of the disease in my heart’s arteries. So many

everyday problems have vanished – high blood pressure, diabetes,

high lipids, indigestion, obesity, kidney stones, etc. More important,

this is a treatment that I can feel and see. Before, those pills and

my old diet made me look and feel awful. I now have a new lease on

life.

 

 

 

I am proud to be a Star

McDougaller because I can share and help others. I would like everyone

to have the same chance for health and happiness I have. But, there is

really nothing “star-like” about me. I just follow Esselstyn’s,

McDougall’s, and Novick’s recommendations. That is all it

takes—it is so simple. Although it was not easy at first, I

cannot imagine anyone who tried this program for 30 days, who would

not decide that it is a far better way to eat and live than what is

commonly called the Standard American Diet.

 

As a footnote, my internist recently referred a colleague of his,

a surgeon, to me. The surgeon had similar problems to my own,

and I invited him and his pathologist wife to dinner and a movie

consisting of Dr. McDougall’s DVD’s. I recently received an

email that he has dropped over 100 points off his cholesterol and LDL,

and over 120 points off his fasting blood sugar, and is feeling

great.

 

Robert Cross