Progress Report 

The exciting news about this post is that nothing much happened, and in this case that’s pretty darned good.   We’re talking about Bill’s latest checkup.  The big event in this un-event was Bill’s labwork, the first since Dr. Crandall let him off the last of the prescription meds eight months earlier.   So what was the report card going to show?  For those of us like me that want to know the nitty details on these things it went like this:

The first order of business was an EKG.   No surprises and all was good.

Next we waited to see Dr. Crandall  and I used this time to review my list of questions (I always have questions and blessfully Dr. Crandall is very patient with every one.)

Dr. Crandall was pleased Bill is maintaining a healthy weight and looking fit and  strong.  And now it was time to review the results from his blood workup.

His Lipid Panel reflected all of his numbers were within a healthy range for a person who has never been diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD), however his LDL was a teeny bit more than the desirable range for someone with CHD.  For most people it should be below 130, but with CHD Dr. Crandall wants it to be below 100 and Bill’s was 109.

We discussed what had changed, and of course the obvious thing was that Bill is no longer taking a statin.  But our diet has changed too.  Now that we’re following more of a Mediterranean Diet as Dr. Crandall had recommended, we’re eating whole eggs now instead of just egg whites, and more fats in general (nut butters, olive and coconut oils, avocado, etc.).

Nonetheless, Dr. Crandall was not overly concerned and the rest of his results were fine, including his cholesterol/HDLC ratio.  We decided to keep a closer eye on the fats, plus we cut back a little on the whole eggs,  and we’ll see how things look on the next visit.  When we come back, it will have been two years since Bill’s heart attack and Dr. Crandall has prescribed a new nuclear stress test to see how things look.  I’ll keep you posted!