Don't let heart disease kill you

Heart disease is the American killer.  In 2008 it caused 25% of all deaths – that’s 616,000 people who died at the mercy of their own failing heart.  The yearly medical cost to treat heart disease is over 100 billion.  Before I go any further, it should be said that if you have heart disease, you need to remain under the supervision of your doctor.  But - and this an important but - there may be some things you need to know, things your doctor may not be aware of.  It’s generally thought, even among many health care professionals, that there is no real cure for heart disease.  But is that true?  If you or someone you love has heart disease, are you really just waiting to die?

In 1990, Dr. Dean Ornish, a medical doctor, conducted a groundbreaking study that showed you can actually reverse cardiovascular disease naturally.  Dr. Ornish found by eliminating smoking, and making real changes in your diet and exercise, you can have a significant decrease in chest pain, a decrease in cholesterol levels, and a decrease in arterial stenosis – also called hardening of the arteries.  Note what he found:  his program didn't just halt the progression of heart disease - it reversed it.  Dr. Ornish was the first to demonstrate that not only is there an alternative to our invasive, traditional cardiology, the alternative might actually be superior.  

Following this study, Dr. Ornish published a mouthful:  Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease:  The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery.  Don’t let the title put you off – the book is very accessible, written for lay persons.  It contains numerous recipes and is laden with practical steps for killing America's #1 killer.

A few years after Dr. Ornish’s study, another doctor tackled and even greater hurdle.  Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a Surgeon at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio took 17 pts with advanced heart disease and implemented a change in diet and exercise.  Most of these patients had such sever heart disease that they’d been given less than 1 year to live.  Incredibly, within months of implementing Dr. Esselstyn’s program, every single patient saw a dramatic decrease in chest pain, cholesterol levels, and increase blood flow.  For the next decade there was not one single major cardiac event.  Dr. Esselstyn’s study continued for 20 years, with staggering results.  

As a cardiologist, he argues that conventional cardiology has failed to appropriately treat heart disease – ultimately to the patient's demise.  The problem, he contends, is that the traditional approach focuses on the symptoms, or the effect of heart disease, rather than the underlying cause.  He published a book called Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease.  It offers a simple, nutritional based program that anyone can implement.  I highly recommend it.

The point is, you don’t have to live in fear.  You do not have to be a slave to your heart disease.  With the proper supervision and proper lifestyle changes, you can reverse heart disease and take control once again.  Always remember that health is a choice.  

Empower your health.

Dr. Sam Yoder, D.C.
Chiropractor in Campbellsville, KY