Dr. Gupta on CNN Diet corrects Heart Issues incl. mine !

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2011/08/25/2011-08-25_guptas_got_a_stateoftheheart_update.html?r=entertainment

Sanjay Gupta's got a state-of-the-heart update! CNN doctor examines ways to stave off heart attacks

BY Richard Huff DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR Thursday, August 25th 2011, 4:00 AM

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta doesn't want his life to end with a heart attack, and doesn't want yours to end that way, either.That's the thinking behind "The Last Heart Attack," his special Saturday at 8 p.m., which looks into the latest research. It suggests that with lifestyle changes, folks can stave off the dreaded, potentially fatal, pain in the chest.

"I don't want to be felled by a heart attack," says Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent. "I could could get hit by a double-decker bus tomorrow. That I can't control. This [health] I can control."
The program was a year in the making and looks into a variety of diet and health changes that can help prevent heart attacks. Gupta reports on research that shows a lot of what people - and doctors - think about heart health may be wrong.

"The way we think about heart disease, that my cholesterol is low, I'm all right, is almost archaic," says Gupta. For example, he says the main factor is not so much the "bad cholesterol" level, but rather the size of cholesterol particles in the blood.Throughout the special, Gupta talks to former President Bill Clinton, who has had bypass surgery, about his own heart and how he's changed his diet because of several health issues.

Gupta also features a doctor who believes people can be heart-attack-proof by following a proper diet. Given that news viewers tend to be among the older demographics, there's a good chance many watching have already gone down a McDonald's-laden path to adulthood.
"I don't want to sound Pollyanish here, but the reality is, it's never too late," Gupta says. More important, drs have learned that some heart issues thought to be irreversible, like plaque buildup in the arteries, can be alleviated.For a show like this, Gupta says he tries to balance scientific information with simple facts viewers can easily digest.

"I just want to make sure people understand it," he says. "But I don't want to shy away from the science."
While researching the special, Gupta also went through the tests many viewers might have had to test their heart health. It was a wakeup call of sorts, and forced him to change his diet as well.
"I thought I ate a pretty good diet," says Gupta, who participates in triathlons. However, even eating fats and oils in moderation can cause some damage .
"When you start to visualize that, you automatically start to modify," he says.
As a father of three young children, it can be difficult to cut out out all meats and unhealthy foods.The test of whether the special's message gets to viewers, he says, will likely be found in emails and on social networks.

"Nowadays, we get direct feedback from Twitter and social media," he says. "I get some idea of what interest there is in this, or if people were impacted by it."