Blocked Arteries..........now what?

i feel sick after eating leafy salads so havent touched them in years, but love fresh tomatoes, onions, cukes in a bowl with a vinegrette, maybe change your idea of what a salad is. you say no fish but seared tuna steak i consider a steak. for those times you eat a good steak, maybe walk an hour to maybe make up for it

I make my own rubs and either leave out the salt or drastically reduce it. I know you won't believe this now, but you WILL get used to lower sodium. Really, you WILL.

I never was much of a sauce guy. About all I use now is Eastern NC vinegar sauce. And these days, I don't even use that very often. But I refuse to give up the occasional pulled pork sandwich! I smoke a butt a couple of times a year.

I eat a lot of chicken, beef or pork on occasion (as lean as possible). I need to eat more fish. Last night, I had some chicken (spatched on the egg) and a large salad. Quite good actually. 

I really don't believe you have to say goodbye to brisket, etc., just eat smaller and leaner portions. 

Almost forgot... here's a no sodium seasoning that's quite flavorful. My bro got it for me at Costco. Don't know where else it's available, though I think I saw it on Amazon. Very good, even if you're NOT on a lo so diet! Huge bottle!

I had a stent put in back in 2012. My L.A.D. (The Widow maker) was 99% blocked and I was hours from a fatal heart attack according to my cardiologist. 

I was/am a runner and had run several half-marathons in the months leading up to "the event" as we call it around the house.

I wasn't overweight by more than 5 lbs and ate pretty much whatever I wanted to but skewed towards a healthy mix of fish, chicken, etc. 

My cardio guy, post stent, told me that my problem is heredity. My Mother has many, many heart/blood pressure issues.

Anyway, he told me to enjoy life, exercise regularly and make smart choices. Don't have a burger for lunch and a steak for dinner, etc.

If fish and salads are off the table for you, I wish you luck. Just quitting smoking isn't enough. You need to become one with non meat meals.

Ribs are packed with fat but I'm having them tomorrow night after my salmon tonight and my chicken last night.

Congrats on quitting smoking but please work on the fish thing. 

There are many leans cuts of any meat.

Beef - sirloin, tri-tip, tenderloin
Pork - tenderloin
Chicken - the whole dang bird!
All fish

Fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for you.  You should be able to eat any kind of fish unless you are allergic.

Limit beef to once a week.  Grill some sirloin filets.  Grill fish a couple times a week.  Grill chicken however you like as much as you like.  Toss in some pork tenderloin or a lean chops and you are good to go.

Want brisket or pulled pork?  I'd make it once a month.  No more.  No less.  It's about moderation.  Meaning pulled pork or ribs this month.  Brisket next, and so on.

Dizzy Pig makes a couple No Salt rubs.  Dizzy dust and Raging river.  That's what I would use for rubs.  I actually use those on just about everything anyways.

Tuna steaks are almost a mirror to regular steaks if cooked properly.  

Portobellos have a nice steak-like quality to them as well.

Caprese salads are nice too, no leafy greens besides the basil.

Sorry to hear about the health issues but glad to hear of your success with the smoking and trying to make some healthy changes. Best of luck to you. 

Sorry for your loss @TigerTony   Diet is certainly part of the cause but smoking has a HUGE role in plaque formation snd artery clogging. The nicotine basically causes a thinning of the artery walls snd almost a perforation of sorts, so that the cholesterol more readily enters the artery walls snd forms these plaques. Due to the walls being thinned they are more likely to rupture snd release a chunk of it into the blood which forms the clot and causes the stroke or heart attsck. Most people worry sbout lung cancer, but smoking is a major contributor to your cardiac heslth. 

Good to hear you avoided a bad event. I've been treated for congestive heart failure, and have to watch my blood pressure.

Smoking is a major contributor to heart/circulation problems. I have a friend who is as skinny as a rail, and he was told he absolutely had to stop, which he did after almost 40 years of heavy use.

I've been doing a lot of cooking for me and the family for some years, and it started when my father had to go on a low salt diet. After just a few months, I noticed how very salty many processed food were just from the taste. Now, too much salt is actually very unpleasant. Don't think you will have trouble getting used to less. More likely it will be finding things that don't have a ton added.

There's lots of change going on in the opinion on consuming fats. There was even an article in Time magazine within the last year saying "go ahead, enjoy your butter..." A recent study in Sweden showed that the rates of cardiac disease have been declining for years, but the rate has decreased even faster as butter consumption went up.

There is evidence that the problem with beef is that the common practice of corn finishing messes up the ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats in the animal. Grass fed beef is not quite as good for one as salmon, but is much better. Evidently, the US diet has been (very) high in Omega-6, but low in Omega-3 for years, and that is part of the problem.

Stay away from transfats, such as hydrogenated vegetable oils found in margarine of old fashioned shortening. Turns out lard is a much better choice for baking.

Reduce sugar content. Evidently, a spike in sugar, or even a sugary flavor, leads to fat formation in the body.

As mentioned above, moderation is key. Another area to consider is CV and muscle resistance training after getting are review from your physician.
Whenever I  not in training for smit events, I use a low impact training regimen 4x/week for about 45 mins. Walking/hiking and Bowflex. I eat lean proteins and low on the carbs, specifically white carbs.
I also try to keep sodium to a minimum, 
Using herbs and other seasonings.

I am glad things are better for you. I am glad you have quit tobacco. I have lost two very close friends, young men, and the cause was tobacco related.

Stay the course, you can do this, and it will be good not only for you, but to those that care for you too.

Fortunately, I need to,stay low on carbs so any kind of meat works for me and in great abundance too. If I was you, I'd eat lots of,chicken and moderate amounts of everything else.