Make Yourself Heart Attack Proof – by Caldwell Esselstyn MD

This is a lecture presented by Dr. Caldwell, a prominent surgeon and medical researcher from the Cleveland Clinic, one of the leading coronary care institutions in the world. Dr. Caldwell describes the mechanism for a heart attack and the results of a long term research study he conducted with patients with severe coronary disease. His study participants had 49 coronary events in the 8 years preceding his intervention program, and none in the nearly 20 subsequent years when they adhered to his program. He has shown his program actually reverses coronary disease, and therefore reduces or eliminates the risk of heart attacks and strokes.



Dr. T Colin Campbell speaks briefly about Dr. Esselstyn and his study at timeline 15:10 in the second part of The China Study lecture included on this blog here.

Dr. Dean Ornish also has shown coronary disease can be reversed. You can hear a discussion of his program and results in his interview with Charlie Rose on this blog here.

You can buy Dr. Caldwell’s book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, here.

After the jump, I’ve included approximate timelines for discussion topics in Dr. Caldwell’s lecture. His description of how a heart attack develops is near 11:45. He discusses his study and results near 44:53. And he discusses strokes, heart attacks of the brain, around 45:09, and neurological side effects of conventional coronary surgical intervention around 48:00. He explains why improvement happens so rapidly around 53:21.

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Discussion Topics Timelines

1:30 – 50% of men and 33% of women are affected by coronary heart disease

more recent data show females are catching up to males


3:00 – autopsy results show even adolescents in the US have signs of coronary heart disease.


4:00 – coronary heart disease is not disease of elderly

autopsy results on young soldiers – average age of 20 years – show 80% have signs of coronary heart disease

civilian population shows same statistics

Type 2 diabetes in adolescents suggest the current generation may not outlive their parents


5:58 – when meat and dairy was restricted during war years—cardiovascular disease decreased

When consumption of meat and dairy resumed after war years, coronary heart disease resumed


7:10 – absence of coronary heart disease in different population groups

Papua Highlanders how high mortality rates to lung disease because of smoking

autopsy results of people over 60 show arteries are clean

they have a vegetarian diet


9:00 – pictures showing clogged arteries


10:28 – clear coronary angiogram does not imply healthy arteries


11:45 --- discussion of how a heart attack occurs


15:42 – how you can make yourself heart attack proof

moderation; statin in drug studies

coronary heart disease is not like cancer – it is a benign disease – why do you have to die from it


17:20 – conventional treatments for coronary heart disease and risks

benefits erode with passage of time

treatment moderation does not work


20:05 – blood flow measurements show even a single meal can damage cells

this little bit won’t hurt; really?

Must want to actually reverse the disease


22:10 – studies of three diets; 34% fat, 20% fat, 11%-12% fat – only 11%-12% fat diet lost craving for fat


22:51 – Study to Arrest and Reverse Coronary Heart Disease

breast cancer and migration effects

prostate cancer

coronary disease had similar epidemilogic statistics

participants had triple vessel disease


25:46 – patient compliance


27:45 – study goals

eat plant based diet with about 11% fat

get blood cholesterol levels below 150

exercise was not part of study


30:15 – Diet includes – NO OIL!!!

olive oil studies

good results short term in blood cholesterol levels

longer term results are negative for actual progression of disease


32:48 – heart healthy oils? No oil!


34:00 – compliance

patient and spouse

physician leader participation


35:12 - cholesterol results of study participants


35:42 – angiograms in program participants show actual improvements – not just improvement in blood test risk factors


40:25 – how did study participants do?

Of 6 in group who chose not to participate in study

4 had by passes
1 had angioplasty
1 died

Of 18 who participated in study

In 8 years prior to beginning study, they had 49 coronary events
17 of them followed diet guideline had no further coronary events
1 participant started eating “Fat-Free” foods and suffered problems. (He subsequently returned to the diet guidelines and had no further problems.)

“Fat Free” labels are misleading.

Need to learn to read actual ingredient list on food labels – not just nutrition summary


44:53 – Arrest and Reversal Diet Study Results

no mortality from diet
no morbidity from diet
benefits improved with time

added benefit for patient and family – remove fear of another heart attack


45:09 – coronary disease and problems in other organ systems

dementia

small strokes cause memory loss; then cognition goes

MRI and other studies show damage to brain


48:00 – a side effect of coronary bypass is brain damage; reduced cognition


49:20 – improvement in circulation in limbs with cholesterol reduction


50:16 – why chest pain improves –
actual measurements of blood flow in heart muscle in 10 –14 days

effect of lowering cholesterol significantly in 10 –14 days

continued improvement in blood flow with time


53:21 – Explanation of why it is happening

heal yourself in 3 weeks

make yourself heart attack proof

cardiac CT slides show coronary arteries and can show coronary disease


56:12 – emphasizes "No Oil" again! -- shows mortality rates for heart disease by country -- UK, US, Greece, Italy, and China.

Look at how low the coronary heart disease rates are in China compared to the Mediterranean region. The diets in these regions are very similar except the Mediterranean diet consumes more olive oil than the China diet.

American Heart Association and National Cholesterol Education Program recommendations of 30% fat in diet guarantee millions of Americans will perish

57:27 - Compliance is the problem – that’s why they recommend 30% fat content – it is more likely to be adopted by the public

Tell the public the truth; let them decide what to do


58:47 – studies “Blow Away” Bad Gene Myth

disease is cured by lifestyle changes


1:01:15 – just being a vegan is not the solution; need to also be careful of fat content