Dr. Akil Taher’s Rebirth at 61: From Having Bypass To Running Marathons and Climbing Mountains

17 May 2021

On this World Hypertension Day in 2021, it is clear that for South Asians, the statistics are grim. We make up 25% of the population, but suffer over 50% of the world’s cardiovascular deaths. Hypertension or High Blood Pressure is a major factor for heart disease which has the highest mortality rate. 

Meet Dr. Akil Taher, a practicing physician born and brought up in Mumbai and currently living in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Taher is the author of the book Open Heart where he speaks, quite literally, from his heart about his transformation from a 61-year-old bypass patient in denial to a confident marathoner, mountain climber, cyclist and fitness enthusiast.

“DOCTORS MAKE THE WORST PATIENTS”

Dr. Taher was a well-placed 50 something physician who thought he knew it all. That is until he noticed something wasn’t right with his heart. Early one morning during a stroll, he felt a pain radiating from his heart to his right shoulder and lightheadedness. It kept coming back, he knew they were classic symptoms of angina, but he was in denial. A few days later, after struggling at the gym, he relented and got a stress test. His fears were confirmed. He needed to have stents put in.

During his first surgery to add stents to his narrowing arteries, his heart stopped while he was on the operating table. He had pushed his body to its brink. 

After having two stents put in, he was anxious, angry and upset at what life had thrown at him. Thoughts about death loomed in his head and he alienated himself from his closest friends. He continued to work, seeing patients, but something wasn’t right.

He suffered severe bouts of chronic illnesses and his heart wasn’t done yet. The arteries around his heart had gradually re-narrowed and he was told that he would need open-heart surgery at 61 years of age.

The next five years were difficult, but he turned a corner and got in touch with the pioneers of disease reversal. He learned from doctors like Dr. T Colin Campbell, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Michael Gregor, and Dr. Dean Ornish who had already shown what was working to prevent and even reverse chronic lifestyle diseases. 

“They convinced me that the only diet that can not only prevent heart disease but can reverse it is a whole food plant-based diet” he adds.

THE TRANSFORMATION

To avoid spiraling into depression and not take the same path of a sedentary lifestyle as most other heart disease patients do, he decided to do what he feared the most - strenuous exercise.

Without a set plan, Dr. Taher went ahead and started with walking, then jogging, and running. He started being in tune with his body and realized he was physically and mentally happy.

Eight months after his open heart surgery, he ran his first Half Marathon and never looked back. In his book, Open Heart, he has shared his personal journey to fitness over the years and journals all the ups and downs of the preparation that went into it. He went on to run more full marathons like the Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon, Mumbai Marathon. 

He did not stop there, he even went on to expand his horizons to then train to be a mountaineer. He describes in detail his ascents of Mt. Kailash in Tibet, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in his book. He also went on to compete in a Triathlon, a very interesting Mud Race, and completed a 100-Mile Biking Expedition.

YOUR DIET IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU THINK

As a person who has undergone intensive surgery and tried a plethora of diets, Dr. Taher says, “lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, are all man-made and can be avoided or reversed with diet.

Doctors are treating the consequence of the disease (after it has happened)  and not the cause and we are very good at it. We make you live longer but not healthier. Changing to a plant-based diet can prevent you from these above-mentioned lifestyle diseases.”

The transition is the toughest part for some, especially since food is such a big part of the Indian cultural identity and experience. In Dr. Taher’s own words, “transition is not easy but worth it. People think that Heart Disease won’t happen to them. I did not go cold turkey. I was a hard-core carnivore eating everything at sight. So I did it gradually, giving up one item at a time.”

Eventually, the goal should be to eat as close to a whole food plant-based diet as much as possible. Thousands of people like Dr. Taher are experiencing the benefits of making the switch, it’s never too late to start.

You can find Dr. Taher's book- Open Heart on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press Store