‘Follow’ Puts the Heart First : Benefactors of Saddleback Memorial Cardiology Center Take a Stab at Healthy Fare

Dr. Michael Mullin has some advice for you dine-till-you-drop types: “Dip and stab!”

“Order your salad dressing on the side,” advises Mullin, director of cardiac services at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center. “Then dip your fork in it,” and stab those lettuce leaves.

It’s a great way to cut back on fat intake at formal dinners.

“Basically, we call it the ‘wet-fork method,’ ” he said on Tuesday night at the “Follow Your Heart” benefit for the Saddleback Memorial Heart Institute at the Four Seasons hotel.

Mullin and a slew of other doctors, including Doug Lyle, president of the Orange County chapter of the American Heart Assn., were among guests at the annual benefit that features a heart-healthy, 1,000-calorie dinner. On the menu: charred tomato and cilantro soup, bibb lettuce with sunflower vinaigrette, roast breast of chicken or grilled swordfish and homemade apple tart.

While they agreed that a low-fat diet, abstention from smoking and regular exercise are great heart-helpers, Mullin and Lyle were at odds over how much alcohol one should imbibe daily. Lyle thought “one glass of any kind of alcohol” was enough. Mullin thought two was OK.

During the cocktail reception, where crunchy vegetable spring rolls were served, guests talked about the medical procedures that saved their lives. (Later, several heart patients would stand and pay tribute to their caring doctors.)

Ruben Ingram, for one, was glad to be alive. One afternoon last October, Ingram experienced severe chest pain and drove himself to the Saddleback emergency room. “I don’t remember much after I got there,” he said. “I was in a lot of pain, and then I began passing out.”

“They found that his main artery was 99% blocked,” said his wife, Marj. “The artery was so narrow that when they put in the catheter wire--which is about as thick as one of our hairs--it shut off the entire blood flow to his heart. They did an angioplasty to open it up.”

Ingram has never smoked. Never drank excessively. Never been grossly overweight. “They think my problem was caused by a lesion in one artery,” he said. “They don’t know if was the result of a blood clot or heredity.”

But one thing doctors do know. Ingram did the most important thing a person can do to prolong his life: He went to a hospital when he had chest pain.

“Don’t fool around with it,” warned Mullin. Don’t deny it. “Get to a hospital as fast as you can.”

Event proceeds of about $45,000 will be used to purchase cardiology equipment for the hospital. Also among guests were event co-chairwomen Nan Owen and Karen Stevens, and Carol Dolan, recipient of the hospital’s first aortic valve replacement.

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Contest for nonprofit groups: Orange County RSVP, a bi-monthly publication that serves as a master calender for local charity events, is sponsoring a subscription contest that will bring winning nonprofit groups the chance to have a fully underwritten benefit with amenities provided by vendors such as Tiffany & Co. at South Coast Plaza (invitations) and Roger’s Gardens of Corona del Mar (event coordination).

For contest information, call (714) 661-9266.

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Dinners Across Laguna: Ten Laguna Beach homes were the sites of 10 special dinners when Dinners Across Laguna was staged recently to benefit the Friendship Shelter for the homeless.

The $100-per-person benefit, chaired by Kathleen Abel, drew more than 200 guests and profits of $20,750 for the Laguna Beach shelter, founded in 1988.

The fare in Abel’s home was one of the highlights: phyllo-wrapped blackened chicken with chevre cheese. Guests included Colin Henderson, executive director of the shelter.