Change of Heart: Old Habits Die Hard
You're going along just fine, learning to live with the creaks and cracks of advancing age, when suddenly your heart sends you a message just like your parents used to do at the dinner table: Eat your veggies!
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease affects half of older Americans to some degree. After a diagnosis, doctor's advice often includes big lifestyle changes, like exchanging ground beef for green beans.
Vince Catteruccia, a 63-year-old computer technician, was a hard-core meat lover, and like the elder President George Bush, no fan of broccoli. "No way," Catteruccia said of his prior attitude to eating broccoli, "Are you kidding?" He underwent a successful quadruple bypass procedure in April of 2000 and now makes a habit of watching his diet.
Catteruccia had acquired some unhealthy habits over the years and had his first heart operation over 20 years ago. But things were different back then and he didn't receive much advice about making lifestyle changes.
"I was just told to exercise, which at that time meant walking," he said. "They said nothing about drinking and smoking, just put me back out on the street."
His son, a physical trainer, told him to consider a healthier lifestyle. "He was after me for quite some time to change my eating and drinking and smoking habits," Catteruccia said. "To a degree, I listened, but I wasn't enthusiastic about it."
Heart Care Series
Columbia St. Mary's offers a five-class series on heart disease in a supportive and structured setting. Led by health professionals, members learn to cope with the challenges after a heart event. Topics include nutrition and the heart, stress management strategies, getting well and coping with heart disease, smoke free for life and a heart healthy cooking class for which there is a $5. Classes are held at Columbia Hospital, Room C116 from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. For more information and to register call 414-963-9355.
Freedom from Smoking
This is an eight-week smoking cessation program designed and supported by the American Lung Association. Led by an ex-smoker, the program will help the participant understand nicotine addiction, identify smoking triggers and learn the skills to become a non-smoker.
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Catteruccia did manage to make some changes. "I'd eat chicken and fish, but then stop at a bar, have a burger and haul out a big stogie." His heart made it clear to him that more vigilance was necessary. "I just didn't think it was gonna react like that, with the chest pains and all," he said.
He wound up back in the hospital, a common phenomenon among heart patients.
Better information
Today, hospitals are better able to prepare heart patients for the lifestyle adjustments they will need to make. But any big changes can cause additional stress on the heart, so none are recommended for the first month after an operation.
After a month, dietitians recommend the "Mediterranean diet," a vegetable-based diet that allows for fish, a little bit of chicken and a small amount of red meat. Studies show that people on the diet have had lower incidence of recurrent heart attacks.
Back on track
Catteruccia's rehabilitation program included the treadmill, exercise bike, and some weight-lifting and dietary changes. His dietitian recommended eating more fish and chicken, and less beef. She also advised him to stay off liquor, drink plenty of water and exercise regularly.
Making it stick
Finding time to prepare heart-healthy meals can be a challenge, but patients need not rely on fast food. Once you've got that cupboard stocked with the right stuff, it's easy to get a meal on the table in 30 minutes or less.
Catteruccia has integrated the changes into his daily routine. He exercises regularly, and his cooking includes a delicious homemade pizza with turkey, marinated pork, and lots of vegetables for lunches at work. He also takes vitamin supplements and drinks a whey protein drink mixed with fruit and soy milk.
He tells old friends about the changes he's made, and "they look at me like I fell off a rutabaga truck." But he feels everyone around him can benefit from his experience. After convincing his 89-year-old mother to try the protein drink, he says she's improving. "Before, she wasn't walking around too good," he said, "but now she's up and running."
Catteruccia's positive attitude has helped him stay healthy after his heart trouble. He considers taking care of his heart "a hobby" that keeps him occupied finding new recipes and looking into the "50,000 different combinations of vitamins" available.
Best of all, according to Catteruccia, is that the effects are visible. "The nice thing is you can see the results," he said. "I look in the mirror and say 'is that me?' All these muscles appearing out of nowhere. I'm now wearing size 36 pants and they fit!"
Advice abounds
Others can benefit from life-style changes like Catteruccia's even before their hearts make it clear that trouble is on the way. Doctors and dietitians can offer information about heart-healthy eating, and the Internet is teeming with recommendations.
For instance, www.heart-health.org has some good advice for the cardiac-conscious. The Web site offers suggestions from the most basic changes to elaborate dietary transformation if the need is acute.
According to heart-health.org, the five pillars of cardiac health are:
• Omega 3 (acid, fats), found in canola oil and fatty fish like salmon and mackerel
• Antioxidants, from vitamins E and C. Green tea is famous for its antioxidant content
• Potassium and magnesium, the former found in bananas, potatoes, celery, and many fruits and vegetables, and the latter found in whole grains, nuts, and greens
• B vitamins, found in eggs, liver, and vitamin supplements
• Fruits and veggies. A universal recommendation for good health. These contain lots of good stuff and very little or no bad stuff.
Today's produce sections generally offer a huge variety of vegetable choices, from radishes and roots to kale and kohlrabi. Libraries and bookstores abound with books full of creative options for bringing more fruits and vegetables into your diet, and explanations for some of the stranger vegetable varieties.
Change will do you good
Catteruccia admits that at first, making the necessary changes was difficult, but says he quickly got used to it. He's been on the regimen since April of 2000, and says he's doing well. He's dropped 30 pounds, and finds he can still be active in his early 60s. "On New Year's Eve I danced for four hours," he said. "It's really amazing that I could still do that at my age." He says he had "a little wine" but that's alright with his dietitian.
"It's fantastic, really," he says of his new lifestyle. "It's a pain in the butt at the beginning, but after a couple of months, you push yourself into it and it becomes second nature. You don't even think about it," he said, "you just do it."
Even if that means eating your broccoli.
