Becoming a grandmother was the greatest joy of my life, aside from having my own children. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes me the happiest grandmother in the world. It’s exactly because of those smiles and that happiness that I went to see my doctor about my cardiac health. I knew that even though I didn’t have a family history of heart disease, I did have high cholesterol, and that every year I am in my postmenopausal period, the risk of coronary artery disease increases significantly. I wasn’t going to allow a possible heart attack keep me from seeing my smiling grandchildren. Sitting in my doctor’s office, my doctor and I discussed my situation and what I could expect. As he reviewed my case history, he said he was a little surprised. “You are actually underweight, which is good, so your food consumption doesn’t seem related to your elevated cholesterol level. Eliminating any more fat from your diet will be tricky. You have to be careful not to deprive yourself nutritionally, due to the fact that you already have a hard time maintaining your weight.” |
