I wish I had started taking care of my heart sooner

As I’m writing this today, I’m overcome with a tremendous sense of relief. For 3 long years, I endured the weight of dealing with a failing heart. But for the first time since my diagnosis, today, my blood pressure tested normal without taking Norvasc, Toprol XL, or Prinivil.

My name is Mary, and I hope my story can help you avoid the worst of what happened to me. Because even though I came out of the other side healthier, I wouldn’t wish the journey I had to endure on anyone.

It started with hearing my heartbeat in my ears

“You’re overweight, don’t move enough, and stress too much,” is what my doctor told me. My blood pressure had just tested at 142/93. And though my total cholesterol was borderline, my HDL was lower than it should be. 

“Your readings are elevated but nothing to really worry about. However, if you don’t change your lifestyle, I may need to prescribe drugs to you,” he said, as he advised me to start walking daily and get on a low-salt diet. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t take his advice as seriously as I should have.

Trial and error

I’m not a great cook. I won’t lie. The first thing I did was walk around my kitchen, paying special attention to the sodium content of everything I had in my pantry and freezer. My first thought was, is this even possible? 

Everything seemed to have sodium, even foods I never thought would. After a few days of trying to eat healthy but not really knowing whether I was eating properly or not, I decided to see a nutritionist. 

In our first appointment, she explained how our food choices play a critical role in the development of heart disease. How our age, physical activity, and even stress levels all play a role in how much we should eat each day.

I felt extremely relieved when she gave me my diet plan after a few days. She promised me that for as long as I followed it, I would be good. 

Struggling to abandon the flavor

My nutritionist recommended a variety of spices and herbs to keep some flavor, but if I’m honest, the food simply wasn’t the same. 

I felt like I was eating hospital food every day. At first, I soldiered on. But as time passed by, I started cheating here and there. I also experienced similar issues with the walking routine my doctor recommended. Initially, I would wake up in the morning, grab my headphones, and start walking. Over time, however, I started switching some of my morning walks with evening walks, then skipping some walks, and eventually going for no walks at all.

At that point, I was experiencing fewer hypertension symptoms, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. Up until I fell off the wagon completely. 

In the span of a few weeks, my symptoms came back with a vengeance. My heart would beat erratically in the most inconvenient of hours. I woke up exhausted and burdened with intense headaches. 

It didn’t take long before this started affecting my family life. 

I had multiple fights with my husband, who thought I wasn’t “taking proper care of myself.” Our kids picked up on this, and though they didn’t talk openly about it, I could tell they went out of their way to interact with my husband rather than me.

I started spiraling down into an increasingly darker mood, and my anxiety went up, which further worsened my symptoms.

Nowhere else to turn

My doctor eventually prescribed me drugs. He reassured me they were for “my own good,” and perhaps he was right, but I also saw that they came with a list of side effects a mile long.

I looked at user reviews on multiple drug websites, and I read more than I ever wanted to know.

Yes – of course, Norvasc did lower my blood pressure. But it also sucked any leftover joy out of me and caused me to feel perpetually flat.

This went on for years. 

Up until 6–7 months ago… When I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat.

I am not a superstitious person. I don’t believe in fate. But what happened to me couldn’t have been an accident. 

My mouth felt completely dry, and both of my hands and feet were cold. 

I had forgotten to take my medicine, and my blood pressure had elevated to really high levels, causing my body to sweat profusely. 

That night my husband gave me an ultimatum. I would either fix this, or else, we’d be finished. 

He knew that was the only way to get through to me.

And it did.

I went back to a low-salt diet. And to make it easier for me, both my husband and kids started eating the same foods I did. 

Light at the end of the tunnel

One morning, my husband called me over and showed me a website.

It asked probing questions about my heart health, and I felt skeptical about answering them, but my husband urged me to give it a try and answer them honestly.

Based on my answers, the cardiologists and nutritionists of that website created a customized six-month meal plan, claiming it would allow me to manage my condition and possibly reduce my medication too.

Their system would also help me monitor my heart over time, sending me reminders to remember my medicine, while also taking note of my readings so I could show them to my doctor in an organized and complete way.

It sounded useful, and since I had the option of trying it out for free, I signed up and gave it a go.

Now I’m not going to sit here and say that things changed overnight. They didn’t. 

It took me around a month until my blood pressure started showing signs of improvement. In hindsight, this feels like a drop in the bucket compared to the years of frustration and banging my head against the wall before that.

But results did come, and my health changed in a way I never thought possible.

Wrestling control of my blood pressure

What this program did, essentially, was give me complete clarity on what I had to do each day in terms of diet, exercise, and monitoring my heart.

Every day I knew exactly what and when to eat. And the best part is, they included many foods I already liked, so following the meal plan wasn’t particularly hard.

It was as simple as following a checklist. And because it was so simple, I actually managed to stick to it, and the pounds started coming off. 

Finding a simple way to reduce my weight changed my perspective about everything. For the first time ever, I felt like I was wresting control of my heart health. 

This motivated me to start being more active. I followed the short exercise routine included in my program. Similar to my meal plan, the exercises didn’t feel particularly hard. They were designed to fit my schedule and included enough variety to keep me interested over the long term.

But what’s perhaps most valuable of all is how this program gave me the option to track my readings and medication all in one place. I no longer had to worry about wasting time, forgetting things, or writing my blood pressure on a piece of paper every day.

My doctor was extremely surprised to see how organized this was. And he actively encouraged me to keep following this plan because it clearly worked.

I started at a profoundly unhealthy place, but now, after following Cardi.Health’s action plan for 6 months, I’m proud to say I’ve managed to stop taking medicine.

Of course, I’m still working very closely with my doctor. And I know that if I stop following my plan, I may have issues again. 

Consistency is always key. But Cardi.Health gave me a daily action plan that made me consistent. 

To think it all started thanks to a simple quiz!

If your heart health journey is even a little bit similar to mine, please don’t snooze this. 

I personally wish I had started taking better care of my heart sooner. I would have avoided years and years of frustration and banging my head against the wall. 

Click below to take Cardi.Health’s introductory quiz. Your custom-designed heart health action plan will be ready in just a few minutes. 

You have the option of giving it a go without paying a penny, same as I did. For me, Cardi.Health changed everything. Maybe it will for you, too. 

There’s so much to gain and so little to lose by giving it a try.

Best of luck on your journey!