Does anyone know why eating an indian meal makes my father experience an angina attack?

Question

My father is 60 years of age and has had a triple heart bypass about 5 years ago. The symptoms of angina disapeared for a while after his operation but unfortunately returned. He has angina attacks when very emotional and if subjected to cold conditions. More recently tho, eating a meal such as his favourite chicken tikka massalla have also brought these attacks on. Does anyone know why this is? All feedback would be welcome. Thank you

Answer 1

I can't see why curry specifically should cause it. However any large meal made up of items which take time to digest can bring on angina. This is because blood is diverted away from the heart to meet the increasing needs of the bowel to digest food. This is in the same way as blood is diverted to the muscles when we exercises. Both leave the heart short of blood supply and oxygen if it is already compromised by coronary artery disease.

It could also be as suggested by one of the other answers, that some of the discomfort might be due to acid reflux. Sometimes the symptoms caused by this may be indistinguishable from angina.

Answer 2

i also had triple 5 years ago and my angina is coming back especially this cold weather but why the Indian food should bring on your angina i cant even think! so i suggest before you go out to dine take a couple of sprays say i hr before and i feel that might help you . I daresay you,like me, feel very annoyed for the Angina to return after going through the "op" but good luck to you I'm 25 years older than you so I'm in a more precarious position and live on my own I can think of better things at least you have your loved ones close. Bye and summer will bring the warm weather soon

Answer 3

The spices make the temperature in his body rise as does stress/emotions and the other extreme cold. He is going to have to give up spicy food. I am surprised that the doctors did not warn him about this. There is little you can do about his emotional side, unless he takes lessons on how to calm himself down, but the spices and cold can be avoided/controlled. A checkup might be a good idea too if his angina attacks have increased.

Answer 4

Indian meals are very high in saturated fat. Try making him one out of fruit, veg, and lean meat and use good oils such as vegetable oils. If he still has an angina attack then I will have to assume it is the spices that are causing it.

Answer 5

Not sure only there is something that puts the colour into chicken tikka check it out cause I think some people are allergic to it I'm sure if it's the red colourant but worth looking into, if it's a chilled or frozen one check what exactly is in it, sorry not much help it's something I heard a few years ago.

Answer 6

Your local Indian is possibly using mono-sodium-glutamate (aka MSG) - more usually associated with Chinese cooking and often called "Chinese taste powder" it has long been known for causing an allergic reactions that mimics 'heart-trouble'.

You can ask your local restaurant/takeaway if it is using it - and ask them NOT to for meals cooked for your Dad. Stressing his allergy each time you order will (hopefully) resolve his problem & your worries.

Good luck & bon appetite!

Oops - sorry - I stupidly forgot to mention - as MSG is naturally occuring - it is produced from natural products such as sugar cane, molasses or tapioca - so there is no legal requirement to list its inclusion in the ingredients list - "no artificial flavours or preservatives" does NOT exclude the use of msg!.... so maybe I should wish you more good luck than good appetite!

Answer 7

You say eating a meal such as tikka !, does it happen with just Curry's or normal meals too ? as if its with meals and big portions then he could be suffering from Acid Reflux which makes your heart pound sometimes, i get this and have to take a medicine called Omeprazole.
Get your dad to see the heart and stomach specialists !.
Good Luck :-)

Answer 8

Most probably it is not angina but hyperacidity, that can be caused by spicy food. Indian food is usually spicy (chillies) and can cause acidity, that can mimic angina perctoris (retrosternal pain or burning)

Answer 9

perhaps some ingredient.... preservative or spice in the curry is triggering a kind of extreme shock.. similar to an allergic reaction..
and thats what starts the angina......
he'd be better to avoid curry because it sounds like he's becoming more sensitive..
your GP should be able to tell you what is happening....

Answer 10

Maybe the hotness of the tikka (if it is hot) could be raising his blood pressure.