HD how to manage it.

Hey all, Well, I started my journey with heart disease i guess earlier than I thought. My first symptoms were elevated blood pressure and lack of wind. Then during a divorce I had chest pains, which caused me to get some tests, at which point I found out I had some problems. I didn't find out till much later, because of medical standards at the time which said that anyone with less that 50% blockage was to be given a false positive assessment. It turned out at the time i had 38% blockage in some of my heart arteries. This was 1987 or so. In 1997 I had a seven way bypass operation done at the UMass Medical Center in Worcester Ma. by a doctor Okike. A week later I was back in the hospital for another evaluation which showed they had missed one artery on the back of the heart. Then in 2002 I had a carotid artery operation on my right side for a 90 percent blockage of that artery. I've had 3 catherizations. I have been to a number of Doctors including, Dr. Sinatra, who didn't really help me. He gave me some blood tests which cost me $1800. and told me that everything looked quite good. I didn't go back. A doctor who gave me an outline of what my lipids needed to be but not the method to accomplish this was Dr. Castelli of the Framingham heart study who suggested I get my Total cholesterol below 150 mg, my ldl below 70 mg, and my triglicerides below 80. I appreciate his candor and also for telling what I needed to accomplish. I struggled but did not acheive these numbers eating a diet which consisted of no white flour or rice and whole grains and nuts and fruit and lots of vegetables, but with occasionally white meat chicken and some fish, and also some eggbeaters and skim milk. I never attained the desired numbers. For two of those years I did a diet almost like Dean Ornish's without meat and fish, but with egg beaters and some breakfast spreads and with skim milk. Over time my heart disease continued to progress. One of the indicators which I used to daily monitor my condition was the color of my toes. With proper exercise my toes stayed pretty pink and only got purple when I didn't exercise. While on the diet like Dr. Ornish's I did not experience any eschemic attachs, so this diet seemed quite good but as Dr. Ornish says it's a lifestyle not just a diet that needs to be accomplished. Dr. Ornish does acheive some reversal with some of the people on his regimen.  I hoped and hoped for something that would help me reverse my heart disease. My Cardiologist said this was not something to strive for as it would frustrate me. I did not accept this idea. At present I am trying to do a regimen outlined by Caldwell B. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Institute. On his regimen my toes turn pink and stay that way as long as I apply myselft to doing the regimen carefully, even if I don't exercise. I don't have eschemic attacks either once I have instituted his regimen. I have met Dr. Esselstyn and would recommend anyone setting up an appointment to see and talk with him. His method gives such almost instant results and you begin to feel like you are getting better almost too soon. I believe this is due to the increase in Nitric Oxide because of the diet regimen(as Dr. Esselstyn told me) which helps the arteries relax and allows for a better blood flow. Another side benefit of doing his regimen for 3 months is a clarity of thought and thinking I had not experienced before. My mind seems to be sharper and clearer, and I do not seem to need to search for words while in conversations as I had previously. Dr. Esselstyn has a book out called How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, I believe is an absolute must for anyone with HD. Please take the time to get it and read it.