Diet For Coronary Heart Disease And Angioplasty

By | February 18, 2009

Diet For Angioplasty For Reversing Heart Disease

Can you please tell me a complete food chart for a person who has gone through angioplasty?

Angioplasty is a medical procedure conducted on people who have arteries clogged due to cholesterol deposits or blood clots, which have to be cleared for the blood to circulate freely in the veins. After an angioplasty, the patient is usually advised to take certain medications at fixed times and made a few changes in his or her lifestyle to prevent an occurrence of arteriosclerosis or a stroke. Though the patient is advised against heavy exercises and strenuous work, light exercises and a light load of work is encouraged to allow the patient to get back to the normal routine as soon as possible. The biggest changes appear in the patient’s diet with an immediate and complete restriction on smoking, even of the passive kind. There is a fixed diet chart given to patients who have undergone an angioplasty, in order to help them convalesce faster and also to ensure that the angioplasty remains successful in preventing a stroke in the future.

Diet For Open Heart Surgery

Since cholesterol is the main culprit in such cases, the patient’s diet must be closely monitored to ensure that it is not high in fat and cholesterol, the dietary allowance being restricted to 300 mg of cholesterol per day. Red meat, eggs, butter and full cream, high fat milk should be avoided since they have a high content of saturated fats and increase the levels of cholesterol. Instead the patient should consume more of leafy vegetables, soybean, olives, plant oils and fish which are all rich sources of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. The patient’s diet should contain a high amount of fiber since fibers help to control the LDL cholesterol levels much better than a diet that is low in fat and cholesterol.

The patient should thus consume more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and cereals and pulses which are not only rich in fiber but also in proteins. Foods high in salt content, processed and fried foods and pickles should be avoided at all costs. If the patient is additionally diabetic, then there should also be a strict control of the blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels by reducing the intake of sugar, desserts and carbonated beverages. Angioplasty patients are strongly recommended to increase their consumption of garlic since it helps to control the levels of cholesterol. The patient can either increase the use of garlic in the food preparations of swallow 1 pearl of garlic with 1 glass of water the first thing in the morning. Alcohol intake should also be reduced restricting the consumption to 0.5 ounces of alcohol per day, since it is a well known source of empty calories.