Hi, my hubby has had 3 open heart surgeries, his 1st at 7yrs old, 2nd 13yrs & his last one on his 21st birthday (he’s now 60) Because he has taken various medication for his heart most of his life, this has now taken its toll on his kidneys. Obviously he cannot stop the medication so we’re looking at the best diet for him. Any tips, suggestions, places to find recipes would be great. I’m finding the info online conflicting. He’s also restricted with certain foods that may thin his blood the warfarin he takes is to keep his blood right(he’s to avoid most dark leafy greens) feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all but also want to learn as much as I can to help him.
Hello Chris. I have stage 4 CKD. The only advice I can give is to restrict or avoid foodstuffs that have high potassium content. For me, Bananas, Tomatoes, beetroots and nuts are a no go area. Potatoes are parboiled 3 times and the water discarded before final cooking and the skins are totally avoided. I agree that the on line information is sometimes contradictory , so I only refer to the iet sheets given by the NHS hospitals. I avoid brown wholegrain bread ,brown rice and wholemeal pasta .All the types of wholemeal foods that used to be healthy for me now are not. Cut down on dairy products or use only the minimum, I now use Oat milk.Keeping well hydrated is important, i can use squash, but not high juice or concentrated, so I stick with Robinsons Barley water. Now this is just me, I do not know what restrictions are in place for his heart problems , I imagine potassium is already on the list of things to avoid. Best wishes B
Hi, Thank you for the reply and the useful information. My hubby was only diagnosed this last week but the nurse just said he’ll have another blood test in a few weeks. We’ve had nothing to help with his diet and kind of feel we’ve been left to just get on with it. Hopefully being on here will help. 
Hi Chis, I’m Stage 4 and have found Kidney Kitchen recipes very useful. They can be found online and often have videos to go with them. You may have to tweak them if there is something in the recipe that wouldn’t be appropriate with the heart condition but it will certainly give you tons of tips for a kidney friendly diet. I’ve learnt a lot online over many years with CKD which you may find helpful particularly with Kidney Care and Kidney Research websites and Facebook. My kidney doctor at the hospital also referred me to a dietitian there when I was first diagnosed. Perhaps that is something you could request as it may give you some extra support too. Hope this helps - it’s just become a way of life for me now and with time I’m sure you’ll gain confidence.
Thank you so much, I will certainly take a look at that. Much appreciated x
Totally agree. .Keep calm and avoid panic , as the situation is manageable and can be further deterioration can be slowed by the right diet and approach. B
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Sorry about the grammar, touch of the wobbles ! B