ReviewsAdvance praise for Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease "Revolutionary results...By the standards of conventional medicine the impossible has happened. Dr. Ornish's work could change the lives of millions." -- Newsweek "Dr. Ornish's research offers strong scientific evidence that lifestyle changes alone can actually reverse the progression of atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries. These lifestyle changes can begin to reverse even severe coronary artery disease after only one year, without the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs." -- Claude Lenfant, M.D., director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health "This is more than a book on reversing heart disease; it is a powerful and wise prescription for opening the heart in its deepest sense. Dr. Ornish's humanity, wit and integrity shine through on every page, affirming the best of what medicine has to offer. You don't have to have heart disease to be healed through this extraordinary book and program." -- Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind "In his groundbreaking book, Dr. Dean Ornish demonstrates that even severe coronary heart disease can be reversed. He shows us that when we begin healing our lives, then our hearts begin to heal as well. Dr. Ornish shows us what we are all capable of in this exciting new book. I cannot recommend it highly enough." -- Bernard S. Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine & Miracles "Dr. Ornish's book will be good news for many patients with severe coronary heart disease. As one of his earliest mentors, I am very proud of Dr. Ornish's achievements." -- Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., M.D., president, American Heart Association (1984) "Whether or not you think you'll ever be concerned about your heart, this is likely to be the most useful book about health you'll read this year, maybe ever." -- John Poppy, Esquire "This is an epochal book. It sets a new standard in our understanding of heart disease, and it is the template against which all other books on any disease whatsoever should be judged. For the purity of the science on which it rests, and for the majesty of its spiritual wisdom, this book has no equal in the literature of medicine and health." -- Larry Dossey, M.D., author, Space, Time and Medicine and Recovering the Soul
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal616.123
Synopsis"Dr. Ornish's landmark research validates the advice he provides." -- Alexander Leaf, M.D. Chairman, Department of Preventive Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology Harvard Medical School This is a book about healing your heart. In this breakthrough book, Dr. Dean Ornish presents the first scientific proof that it is possible to actually reverse heart disease without drugs or surgery. Dr. Ornish's internationally acclaimed scientific study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and based on thirteen years of research, has yielded astonishing conclusions: Heart disease can often be halted or even reversed -- without bypass surgery, angioplasty, or cholesterol-lowering drugs -- simply by changing our life-style. Participants in Dr. Ornish's study, all of whom had severe coronary heart disease, followed his extraordinary Opening Your Heart program with amazing results: their chest pain diminished or disappeared; they often were able to reduce or discontinue medications; they felt more energetic, happy, and calm; they lost weight while eating much more food; and in most cases the average blockages in their coronary arteries began to reverse. In fact, the more severely blocked arteries showed the most reversal. In contrast, the coronary blockages of most of the patients who followed their doctors' recommendations became worse instead of better. Dr. Ornish presents the dramatic evidence from his study and guides readers step-by-step through the Opening Your Heart program, which combines a special Reversal Diet (featuring over 150 delicious, all-you-can-eat recipes from such culinary stars as Mollie Katzen, Deborah Madison, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters); a Prevention Diet; meditation; visualization; communication skills and other stress management techniques; and advice on how to stop smoking and how to exercise safely and moderately. More men and women die from coronary heart disease each year than from all other causes of death combined, including cancer and AIDS. Now, since heart disease can be reversed, then it may be preventable for most people. Even more prevalent than physical heart disease are the psychological and spiritual diseases of the