Post CABG hospital meal

[vman]

Just visited a good friend who is recovering from cabg surgery and they brought him his first post icu meal while I was there: cheeseburger, vanilla ice cream, potato chips. My friend picked from the heart healthy options for cardiac patients, and he is a dedicated low carber, so it figures, but it’s so sad to see how little progress has been made even at a high quality hospital in America today. I had shared Esselstyn’s book with this friend almost twenty years ago, and obviously he didn’t pay any attention. I was hoping that maybe the cardiac rehab would help him, but looking at their web page, I doubt it. Just very sad.

I’m glad the good doctors with us never gave up on all of us, but it’s just very depressing to see friends go through this and realizing that they are not open to the kind of information that could really help them.

[VeggieSue]

When my husband had his CABG in 2013, the first "real" meal he had was pork chops, mashed potatoes with margarine pats ("heart healthy" you know), and I think chocolate pudding for dessert. When he was discharged he was told to "eat bloody steaks" because he was still slightly anemic despite 3 blood transfusions during surgery and immediately post-op.

The sad part? His surgeon trained in Cleveland Clinic and knew Dr Esselstyn and his program, but said the surgeons there considered him a "quack" and specifically told him not to follow that food plan. Of course we ignored his dietary advice all these years and hubby has been doing very nicely on the standard McDougall program. For years pre-op he ate the McD meals I gave him, but ate a lot of greasy junk foods as snacks at work and home. He knew his total cholesterol was over 350 but didn't care. NOW he cares greatly!

[vman]

I heard the same thing from a relative who’s a cardiac surgeon and just ignored him. He is also overweight and doesn’t seem like the model of health himself. I do have mixed feelings about these surgeons though. I don’t think they have any clue when it comes to the causes of heart disease, and many surgeries clearly don’t extend lives, but when it’s absolutely needed, I am in awe of what they can do. One of them saved my life when a tumor was discovered inside my heart last year, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for their miracle abilities, but I also would never take nutrition advice from my surgeon. I’m on cardiac watch for life now after having one tumor, and fortunately my cardiologist is all in favor of the Esselstyn and McDougall approaches even though he doesn’t follow it himself. At least he doesn’t denigrate something for no reason like some of these surgeons.

[Daydream]

Just visited a good friend who is recovering from cabg surgery and they brought him his first post icu meal while I was there: cheeseburger, vanilla ice cream, potato chips. My friend picked from the heart healthy options for cardiac patients, and he is a dedicated low carber, so it figures, but it’s so sad to see how little progress has been made even at a high quality hospital in America today. I had shared Esselstyn’s book with this friend almost twenty years ago, and obviously he didn’t pay any attention. I was hoping that maybe the cardiac rehab would help him, but looking at their web page, I doubt it. Just very sad.

I’m glad the good doctors with us never gave up on all of us, but it’s just very depressing to see friends go through this and realizing that they are not open to the kind of information that could really help them.

Vman:
Egads, I am horrified! It's sad that your friend wasn't given a healthier meal right after his coronary artery bypass graft surgery. If your friend had followed the guidelines in Esselstyn's book 20 years ago, he probably wouldn't have needed the CABG surgery.

Out of curiosity, what hospital gave him that meal?

[A Balloon A Balloon]

It's crazy, and it's very sad. I wonder what the standard NHS post-op meals are here in the UK... I'll try to find out and report back, because I'll be interested to know. My guess would be somewhat better but still not good!

[A Balloon A Balloon]

This is from an NHS leaflet, "After your heart surgery"

Change in appetite
Your appetite may be reduced after your surgery and should gradually improve over a few
weeks. It is important you have a regular intake of food and fluids to give you enough energy for
your body to heal and to enable you to be active.
If your appetite is low, aim to
 Eat little and often, aiming to have three meals and two or three nourishing snacks
throughout the day such as yoghurts, cheese, unsalted nuts, milky drinks or smoothies.
 If you are finding it difficult to prepare and cook meals use tinned, chilled or frozen “ready
meals” with added frozen or tinned vegetables.
Try to eat foods to help your recovery, including:
 Protein to aid healing, e.g. lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, unsalted nuts, beans
and pulses. Please note soya milk contains a similar amount of protein to cow’s milk but
oat, rice and nut based milks contain significantly less.
 Carbohydrates for energy - e.g. wholegrain breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals and
oats.
 Fruit and vegetables to provide vitamin and minerals to aid healing. If you cannot eat five
portions of fruit and vegetables a day you may need an “A-Z” type vitamin and mineral
supplement which can be bought over the counter at supermarkets and chemists.


And from the NHS website:

An unhealthy diet can increase your chances of developing heart problems after a coronary artery bypass graft.

To reduce this risk, you should ensure your diet is low in saturated fat and salt, but high in fibre and omega-3 (a fatty acid that can help reduce your cholesterol levels).

Examples of foods you should try to avoid include:

meat pies
sausages and fatty cuts of meat
butter, lard and ghee (a type of butter often used in Indian cooking)
cream
cakes and biscuits
Instead, you should try to eat:

starchy foods, such as wholegrain rice, bread and pasta
fruit and vegetables – ideally 5 portions a day
oily fish, such as mackerel and sardines
Also, cut down on the amount of salt you add to your food and check the nutrition labels on food when shopping to find products with the lowest levels of salt.


I had a look but no menus marked out as specific for heart surgery patients. The general menus are not amazing, but the specific vegan menu of meals looks quite tasty to me! But it doesn't list the specific ingredients.