Celebrity trainer Bob Harper didn’t expect the changes that his life would have to take after he suffered a sudden heart attack. The 51-year-old shocked everyone with the reveal that he not only had suffered a heart attack but that he also had a family history. The event led a lot of people to wonder if there was any point in trying to lead a healthy life or not. Nevertheless, Harper hasn’t let that stop him.
Understandably enough, Harper has had to make a lot of changes in his life (sadly no CrossFit). For someone who presented himself as a fitness expert, it’s a large switch to have to go back to easy exercises and always to be monitored (though some argue the fact he’s so fit is what allowed him to survive). That’s not all; he has also changed to what is known as the Mediterranean diet. Mediterranean food consists mainly of vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and peas, unrefined grains, olive oil and fish, with little processed foods, is said to help improve cardiovascular problems.
Of course, Harper hasn’t complained about this one bit, instead choosing to take a more relaxed lease on life. While he always used to stay active, now he makes sure to eat healthily, do some jogging and then spend the nights reading or watching TV with his dog Karl, who has helped and supported him through the event (awwww).
He has even gone on the Today Show to relay his experience during his cardiac arrest and how it allowed him to take a look at his life.
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We’ve mentioned in our previous article about how fitness gurus or athletes have had similar issues to Harper’s throughout their lives, with most of them having to do with family history, stress or just not leading quite a healthy life. The result of these events have in turn made everyone wonder about how we should approach heart disease to reduce the risk of it.
What these events also show us is what we should do to stop a heart attack from occurring again, after all, once it happens its way more likely that it’ll happen once more. Because of that, people who have suffered through heart attacks are made to go on strict diets. Some cases, as in the event of the former President Clinton, have switched to an entirely vegan diet to lower the level of LDL cholesterol that their bodies create.
These approaches as well as new types of tests, such as the Coronary Calcium Scan which can detect how clogged your arteries are, have helped not only diminish the chances of repeat heart attacks but also lower the level of people who experience it. Doctors think that, with luck, we might even be able to see an eventual end to heart attacks someday, whether by our own or through other means, even if it’s still far off.
Our well wishes go to Bob Harper, and we hope he can continue with his recovery, we probably wouldn’t be nearly as healthy patients as he is even if he tried. For the meantime, we should all stock up on those good old whole grains if we want to lead healthier lives free of heart attacks. After all, the only ones that can make a difference to our health is ourselves.
Photo Credits: Instagram, CloudPix
Trevor Klass
Melissa Fann
Guest Contributor
Rui Ting Goh
