A letter from Dr. McDougall

[Guest guest]

Sunny Kierstyn, RN DC

Fibromyalgia Care Center of Oregon

59 Santa Clara St.,

Eugene, Oregon, 97404

541-689-0935

>From: " Cohen " <notmilk@...>

>Reply-notmilk-owner

>notmilk

>Subject: NOTMILK - Bill Clinton's Heart

>Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2004 11:09:27 -0000

>

>I've been following the Bill Clinton heart attack

>story with great interest but decided not to add my

>commentary, as the subject was so widely covered by

>the media. Then came along this most intelligent column

>written by one of my favorite physicians, Dr.

>McDougall. Please send a copy of McDougall's letter

>to President Clinton and wish our ex-President a

>speedy vegan recovery! Clinton's email address:

>

>info@...

>

>Dr. McDougall's letter:

>______________________________________________________

>

> Jefferson Clinton

>The J. Clinton Foundation

>55 West 125th St.

>New York, NY 10027

>

>Dear Bill:

>

>The chance you will ask for my opinion on your pending surgery

>this week for blockages of your heart arteries is about the

>same as you escaping the heart bypass business. Regardless,

>for the sake of others and to clear my conscience by at least

>trying, I will take this opportunity to share ten challenging

>thoughts with you.

>

>1) Don't be rushed into making a decision – think about it –

>they gave you several days already – so immediate surgery is

>obviously not critical – you have time to learn more.

>

>Over 80% of men in the USA by your age (58 years) have

>coronary artery disease which can be found by an angiogram,

>and over half with your cholesterol level (233 mg/dl) have at

>least one coronary artery already closed by 50% or more – in

>other words, they are fair game for bypass surgeons.

>Fortunately, coronary artery disease is not very deadly –

>the over-all risk of death from this disease for people with

>affected arteries is less than 2% per year, untreated. Compare

>these facts with what you have been frightened into believing

>this past weekend.

>

>2) Nearly four decades of scientific research show coronary

>artery bypass surgery fails to save lives in most cases. This

>is because the goal of this surgery is to go around very

>stable (rock hard) blockages; however, these firm, partial

>obstructions to heart blood flow are not the life-threatening

>problem – and your doctors know this well-established fact.

>These big blockages rarely close down the arteries and almost

>never cause heart attacks. However, most of the attention is

>focused on these pseudo-villains found on your angiogram

>because the result of their discovery feeds money into the

>heart businesses.

>

>3) The culprit lesions are tiny – invisible to the angiogram –

>\sores (volatile plaques) which explode inside your arteries –

>suddenly forming an occluding blood clot (thrombosis). Surgery

>does nothing to stop these lethal events. Fortunately, because

>the lesions are recently formed, soft, and active, this deadly

>side of heart disease is also easily amenable to simple methods.

>

>4) These little time bombs (volatile plaques) can be quieted

>down quickly with a healthy diet and judicious use of

>cholesterol-lowering medications. Plus, a baby aspirin will

>immediately thin your blood and make the formation of a

>potentially lethal blood clot much less likely if a plaque

>were to burst.

>

>5) You have a reversible disease, Bill – this is not concrete

>in your arteries. Living tissues heal and your body will fight

>to stay alive. Now is the time to talk to your friend Dr. Dean

>Ornish. Regardless of whether or not you have the surgery,

>you are going to have to change back to the low-fat,

>no-cholesterol diet Dr.Ornish taught you several years ago.

>Read my June 2003 newsletter article: Cleaning Out Your

>Arteries.

>

>6) The real indications for bypass surgery are:

>a) incapacitating chest pain and/or damage to your left

>ventricle (heart chamber) so that you eject 50% or less of

>your blood with each heart beat. Every cardiologist and

>bypass surgeon knows this. From what I have read you have

>neither of these legitimate indications for surgery.

>

>7) You are known for your wit and intellect. This surgery

>causes brain damage. Measurement of chemical products

>released into the spinal fluid during surgery shows that

>100% of people suffer brain damage. In most cases the changes

>are subtle – like personality disorders, or you may not be

>able to remember names and numbers as well. A study in the

>February 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine

>found 42 percent of patients five years after surgery had a

>20% decrease in brain function. My experience has been that

>doctors mislead patients into believing this is not an

>important problem.

>

>8) There is a real possibility that bypass surgery could

>interfere with another of your well-known attributes.

>Erectile dysfunction has been reported to be caused by

>bypass surgery. (Don't you just hate it when people hit

>below the belt?)

>

>9) Your most recent attempt at weight loss, the South Beach

>Diet, contributed to your present troubles. Steak, chicken,

>eggs, and Canadian bacon consumed without limitation are

>bad for your arteries, Bill. Even the author, Arthur Agatston,

>MD, must know this – after all he, himself, takes statin

>drugs to lower his cholesterol, and fish oil and aspirin to

>help reduce his personal risk of a heart attack.

>

>10) You have always been interested in better healthcare for

>Americans and now you have an opportunity to make a real

>difference – stand up to this big business and demand the

>truth before you make your decision to have or postpone

>surgery. Right now you are being lied to – mostly by omission

>of vital information from doctors – you can verify everything

>I have written to you within a few short hours on the Internet

>(http://www.nlm.nih.gov). Your example could save more lives

>and people from suffering unnecessarily than any action you

>could have ever taken while you were in office. Make the

>most out of this apparent set back in your health.

>

>Sincerely,

>

> McDougall, MD

>drmcdougall@...

>___________________________________________________________

> Cohen

>http://www.notmilk.com

>

>

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