Another Shock to the Heart
Life is precious and each day is a blessing to consider
What would you do if you suddenly found death knocking on your door?
This is a story of my friend, just 48 years old, who experienced this last week.
Sudden Death
Death is inevitable but when Death visits you suddenly, what shall you do?
Dr. Kevin Ham
“Give me a heart of wisdom to know the number of my days,” Moses implores the Lord in the beautiful Psalm 90 attributed to him. I pondered this thought a lot in my life, but it’s tough for me to fathom the exact number of my days. I used to think I could reach 100 years old — the equivalent of 36,500 days. I’ve lived for 55 years, so if I reach 100, I have just over 16,400 days. I’ve lived just over 20,000 days now.
I heard a song that moved me deeply. “Our lives are like the sands of an hourglass.” When the last grain of sand passes to the bottom, our life ends. How many grains of sand number my days? And how many of those days will be in health, without suffering? We call this our health span —the span of days during which we are healthy.
During a recent conference, a good friend said he had been sent my newsletter, The Shock of Death, describing my shock at finding out my coronary arteries were clogged 77% etc. He said his brother had done many of the recommendations at the end of this article.
A few days later, he had back pain, which resolved when he rested. This is a telltale sign of angina, a warning sign of an impending heart attack. The next day, he felt uncomfortable in his chest and back when he exerted himself. He went to sleep at 10:30, but the pain did not relent even when lying down this time. He was having persistent angina, in other words, a heart attack. Luckily, my friend, a doctor working in the ICU in Germany, could assess him that night. He called an ambulance and found out his left anterior descending artery, aptly named the ‘widow maker,’ was clogged 95%! He had a stent put in. Just slightly high LDL cholesterol and blood pressure before this. Nothing too alarming. But his blood pressure was over 250 that morning! I was once again shocked at how fragile life can be, so suddenly. If he had gone to sleep, he might never have woken up.
25% of heart attacks present for the first time as sudden death. My friend had narrowly avoided that fate. Just 48 years old with children. I thanked God for my friend. 7 years younger than me. I had considered myself so fortunate for finding out I had clogged arteries. I had seriously contemplated also getting a stent and going on meds, as my condition was very severe as well. But I chose a different path, relying on God for wisdom, thanking God for my medical education and training to discern how I could navigate my health predicament.
Do I Matter?
Each moment is precious but oftentimes it passes by like the wind, unaccounted with no trace. Oh how I wish to capture it.
Dr. Kevin Ham
I often wonder whether I should spend time writing my newsletter. I look at the analytics and see that such a low % opens and reads it. But I remind myself that, through my writings, I may not only help or save a life now, but also in the future. Just how precious even one life is. It’s not merely about numbers but about the preciousness of even just one life.
I find both my results and Fred’s so miraculous. Are our rapid reversals merely a fluke? I know many people are praying and searching for a protocol like the ones I am developing. I wish to write case studies about Fred and me and submit them to medical journals once we’ve completely reversed our diseases. The more case studies I can add, the more powerful. Then, later, conduct studies on larger cohorts of people. I also long to teach these hidden insights to medical students, the doctors of the future.
I wish we had more lives like in a video game, but we have one shot in this life. A lot of the things I thought were important now seem non-essential. “What would it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul?” echoes in my heart as I live each day. I am so grateful for the little moments in nature, the time spent with my loved ones and friends, colleagues and friends of God.
“Does the work I do matter much?” I ask myself. I became a doctor to help save others from suffering, as I suffered from a disease since I was 14. I pray to God to guide my path
To Live or Die? That is the Question
Each thing we put in our mouth determines the number of our days, whether we prolong it or diminish it. Choose wisely.
Dr. Kevin Ham
In the story of Adam and Eve, they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Though they could eat freely of every other tree, they were commanded not to eat of that tree. As a result, sin and death entered them through that disobedience.
Beside the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the tree of life. If they had eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived forever. I think of the metaphor of these two trees and am reminded of the power of food and fruit. In other parts of the Bible, the books of Ezekiel and Revelation speak of the leaves being for the healing of the nations. These leaves can also include the vegetables we eat.
I prayed and contemplated asking my friend not to get a second stent, which he was scheduled for a couple of days later, and instead follow my protocol. But did I want to be accountable for his life? A stent was simpler than modifying one’s lifestyle. I decided just to give him a call and see how he was doing, and to suggest that, despite him having stents, he should still highly consider my heart reversal protocol so that his stents wouldn’t clog and that he should reduce his risk for the future, as he was still relatively young.
I told him it likely took his heart disease about 30 years to clog 95%, but applying my heart reversal protocol, he could potentially reverse that 30 years of disease in under 3 years, but it would need to be very targeted and committed for that duration—extreme focus and commitment.
Life and well-being or death and suffering? That is the question I ask myself each time I consider putting something in my mouth.
Will this food or drink heal me or damage me? I often want to eat that sugary cookie or drink. That savoury, fat-filled food. That meat. The seafood I love so much. But I refrain when I remind myself of this question.
So far in the past 5 months, I’ve been very disciplined and thought about how I can accelerate my healing, faster than the 32 months case study I’ve read about, a young surgeon who at age 44 had 100% clog in the LAD coronary artery and in 32 months, reversed it to 100% normalcy, documented in Dr. Esselstyn’s study and book “Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease.” It’s quite remarkable. Yet I aim to accelerate this healing. While I am not 100% certain, with God, I believe all things are possible.
Once I reverse my disease, I want to eat a healthier diet and slowly add seafood, then birds and eggs, then creeping things, then occasional grass-fed animals and dairy. This is the order of life in the six days of Creation. First light, then air, water, plants, fruits, sea creatures, birds of the air, creeping things, animals and humans, then rest.
I’ve helped rapidly reverse Fred’s high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, and he’s lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks, off 4 of 6 medications. In another 6 weeks, he’ll be at a normal BMI and off his remaining two medications.
Now, I pray that I can coach my other friend to reverse his clogged arteries. I’ve learned much from my health ordeal and also from Fred’s. Each person is very unique, but we all have many things in common.
A Second Chance
Prayer is the heart speaking directly to God. Answers come in unexpected ways at times.
Dr. Kevin Ham
I wished my friend a safe recovery, half-wishing I had the courage to ask him to postpone his second stent.
Many hours later, I asked him how he was feeling. He replied, “I really have to do your diet now. I didn’t get the stent.”
“What?” I asked, surprisingly. What happened?
He was on the operating table, and the cardiac surgeon said that it was not as severe an obstruction as they had thought and that he had time to manage it medically. My friend said he had prayed hard about whether to get the stent, but in the end just let things proceed. “He (God) had determined the outcome,” he texted.
Wow, I was thrilled. One less foreign body in his body sounded wonderful, as well as the fact that his 75% obstruction wasn’t as bad as it had appeared five days earlier.
I’ve shone the spotlight on my health journey, then on Fred. And while I am uncertain exactly how I should travel this path that God has set before me, I have a committed friend who will require my guidance. My miraculous reversal, as well as Fred’s, shows people what is possible when you fully 100% commit.
Instead of the sufferings that come with eventual disease, we are enduring such temptations and trials as we try to reverse the many decades of disease that have culminated in our present disease: cause and effect. We pay for the choices we make each day for years and decades. Can we learn the lesson and choose more wisely each day now?
A Life of No Regrets
Did I do my best? That is all I can ask of myself and of God, given what is placed in my heart.
Dr. Kevin Ham
My friend regretfully said many times that he should have known better when he was told his cholesterol was a little high, when his blood pressure seemed to creep higher, and his doctor told him to manage his diet and exercise more. It didn’t seem urgent. But the disease grew ever so slowly and insidiously with time until it showed itself abruptly.
This was the exact same thought I had when I discovered my disease. Why wasn’t I more aware and diligent in preventing the #1 cause of death, heart disease? I even believed, since med school, that I had clogged arteries then.
I thought the same about my eye disease. Many optometrists told me that my retina was thin due to my myopia. I didn’t really know what that meant, but I knew I had a high risk of retinal detachment, so I didn’t look into it more. If I had been more proactive, I could have delayed or even prevented the likelihood of my becoming blind or having a heart attack. Now I believe that I can be even better off than those who have mild heart disease. A full reversal is possible for my heart. But for my eyes …
I realized in 2020 that it was not really a question of whether I would become blind, but of when. That became a very sobering thought. I would one day be blind. So I read and thought more about people who were blind and lived remarkable lives. Helen Keller touches my heart deeply. What a remarkable heart and mind. Her writings move me so deeply. Fanny Crosby and her 90 years of blindness, writing so many hymns of praise and memorizing so much of the Bible, including most of the New Testament, Psalms and Torah. Wow, what life could be like, even blind. They became my hope and inspiration.
Reversal Goals
His stent has a risk of thrombosis or getting obstructed in 5 to 10 years. He can also get new plaques in other arteries.
Immediately after stenting, three major goals:
Prevent clot formation on the new stent (thrombosis)
Prevent new plaque rupture elsewhere (secondary prevention)
Reduce shear stress and inflammation in arteries
To prevent the above, he will be on meds that thin his blood, likely statins and high BP meds.
If he does not change his lifestyle (diet, exercise, rest, stress), his plaques could grow by 5-12% on average each year. His 75% obstruction could progress to full obstruction in as little as 2 to 5 years.
Following my Heart Reversal Protocol, he could reverse his plaque in ~3 years or less. Since he is 7 years younger than I am, I believe he can reverse it faster than I can, if he adheres to it like I have, 100% fully committed, as he will also have the power of medications along with targeted foods, fasting and exercise.
Mechanisms of Plaque Regression:
Lowering LDL <55 mg/dL (1.4 mmol/L) I’m 61 mg/dL
Lowering inflammation (CRP <1.0) I’m at 0.2
Normalizing insulin, fasting glucose: HbA1c <5.4% I’m at 5.3%
Triglycerides <100 mg/dL (1.1 mM) I’m at 61
BP < 115/75 mmHg I’m 105/65
Increasing nitric oxide (endothelial repair) - I’m very diligent about this.
Fasting and autophagy (foam cell clearance) - I’m doing 16:8 fasts with weekly 24-36h fasts. I’m planning to try a 19:5 fast with weekly 24-36h fasts to accelerate healing.
Reflection
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.
Helen Keller
It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.
Fanny Crosby
I have lived a full life, and I am prepared to go, but I asked the Lord to allow me to live so I can see my family grow and mature in the Lord. That is my personal prayer, for my children to know the Lord God intimately and to live their lives fully for Him, glorifying and praising Him.
My personal faith, when I discovered the love of God through Christ who died for me, changed my life forever at the age of 15 years in 1986. God has blessed me so tremendously beyond all that I can think or ask.
I ponder that moment when Count Zinzendorf in Germany looked upon a painting called Ecce Homo, which depicted Christ with a caption that read, ‘Ego pro te haec passus sum; Tu vero quid fecisti pro me’— “This have I suffered for you; now what will you do for me?” At age 17, the Count realized he had done little for Christ and decided to dedicate his life to him.
I ponder that question now and wish longingly to do what the count did.
Ecce Homo by Domenico Feti.
May you ponder the number of your days and ask for a heart of wisdom to know their number and become wiser and more grateful as each grain of sand in your hourglass passes each day.
Ease the Heartache of Loved Ones
Please forward my newsletter to your friends and family and ask them to sign up.
I’d love to help a lot of people prevent, reverse, heal and ease the suffering of disease.
Life-Changing Question
What have you been procrastinating about that you should start today for your health, especially your lifestyle of diet, exercise, stress, relationships or rest?
Mine is better sleep. I have averaged less than six hours the past four months and last week averaged just over four hours, which was what I averaged in my 20s and 30s and likely a key factor in my eyesight and heart problems.
I decided that I am going to do my best to go to bed by 11 pm and be in the dark until 6:30 am so my eyes get 7.5 hours of rest and hopefully at least 6.5 hours of sleep. I will start researching and developing a protocol for better sleep for the next several months. May God give me wisdom and sweet rest.
Next week—
The Strategy of Breakthrough for Health and Wealth
Just 5 Principles for Remarkable Growth and Renewal.
Recommended Tests
If you are 35 years+, get these test to establish a baseline and risk assessment for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Calcium CT heart scan
Assess how much calcium in the heart arteries to assess risk of heart attack
Score >100 = moderate risk.
Score of >400 = severe with likelihood of heart attack in 2-5 years.
My calcium score was 505!
If your score is >100, consider getting a CT Angiogram Cleerly to map out your coronary arterial plaque obstructions.
US costs $100-$200 and low dose radiation
Carotid CIMT ultrasound
Assess risk of plaque in the neck arteries to assess risk of stroke. Plaque can rupture and lodge in the cerebral brain arteries
It is also a way to screen for heart disease, as a low cost, with no radiation
I had plaque (~25% blockage with CIMT of 1.8mm) which I reversed in 3 months to 0.84mm and no plaque. Almost miraculous.
Cost ~ $150 USD
Lipid blood tests
HDL, LDL
If LDL is high, then get
Oxidized LDL. This will assess risk as oxidized LDL is what causes damage and plaques in your arteries
Fractionated lipid profile (NMR) so that you can see size and number of your lipoproteins
Triglycerides
Apolipoprotein B (a better measure of risk for heart disease than just LDL)
Lipoprotein a (special type of LDL that is more genetic based and much harder to modify by lifestyle)
Insulin Resistance & Diabetes Risk
HbA1C (to assess risk of diabetes, prediabetes)
Fasting insulin and glucose (assess insulin resistance)
Inflammation
CRP
Homocysteine and
Omega 6: Omega 3 fat ratio
Heavy metals (Iron, Ferritin, Arsenic, lead, mercury)
Hormones
TSH (assess thyroid)
Cortisol (assess stress)
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin D (usually low)
Vitamin B12
Magnesium etc
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