Just when I had decided to get real and turn around, my body did it's own turn-around on me. Last Tuesday I had a heart attack. I woke up with a really heavy feeling in my chest. There was pain down my left arm. I was sweating, and was very short of breath. I lay there for two hours waiting for it to go away. When it didn't, I had hubby drive me to the hospital emergency room. They quickly took me into the heart cath lab and did an angiogram. My right coronary artery was completely blocked. So, they put in a couple of stents and then kept me in the hospital until Friday. They did ultrasound, and between that and the enzyme count, determined it was a small event and there is minimal damage to my heart. The cardiologist presumes a piece of plaque broke off and blocked the artery.

It's been quite a week. Hubby is making it his mission to change our diet to minimize animal fats and increase fruits and vegetables. This is Mr. 'Atkins lover' turned 'Heart Healthy' fanatic. I must admit we did love our steaks. But I'm not convinced it was all diet that caused the heart attack. My whole family is afflicted with heart disease. My father had carotid blockage in his early 60's and eventually died from heart disease. My mother had a stroke in her 60's and still takes medication for high blood pressure. My sister had angioplasties done when she was only 47. We don't know about my brother, since he won't go to a doctor. My grandfather died of a heart attack when he was 58.

So, I'm guessing that my artery problems started long before I started BTD. They started several generations before I was born. I wonder if I had known for sure what my genotype was when Dr. D's book came out last year and immediately changed my diet then, if it would have been effective enough to prevent this.