This is the first program scientifically proven to reverse heart disease. For more than twenty-five years, Dr. Ornish and his colleagues have conducted research demonstrating that comprehensive changes in diet and lifestyle can slow, stop and even reverse heart disease. This program is available at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, WV.

The Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease is a unique and innovative program that treats coronary artery disease, providing an alternative to conventional treatments that use invasive procedures such as arterial bypasses or angioplasty. The Ornish Program has four components:

• Improved physical conditioning through low impact aerobic exercise and strength training

• Relaxation techniques to help cope with and reduce stress

• A low-fat, whole foods nutrition plan (less than 10 percent of daily calories from fat)

• Group support to enable participants to deal with the emotional issues that contribute to, or result from, heart disease.

Participants in the Ornish Program must commit to a lifestyle change for a full year, which includes: a vegetarian diet, regular exercise, stress management and group support. Participants learn to use these tools during an intensive 12-week program. Following the initial three-month period, participants are assigned a program schedule based on the extent of their risk for significant cardiac events and their 12-week outcomes. Following completion of the 12-month program, ongoing support is available as needed.

The Ornish Program is designed to help three primary groups

• Men and women who are contemplating bypass surgery or angioplasty but are seeking an option that may reduce the need for these procedures

• Patients who have previously experienced one or more heart procedures and want to minimize the chances of repeating the process

• People with significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high serum cholesterol, high blood pressure, a strong family history of heart disease or diabetes.

Our professional team works with primary care physicians and with specialists such as cardiologists to identify candidates for the Ornish Program. Candidates are carefully screened to ensure that the program is right for them. Once becoming a participant, you continue to be treated by your physician, who receives regular reports on your progress.

Contact information

To learn more about the program or to receive information, call 
(304) 388-9411.

Directions

There is a Dr. Dean Ornish Program at Charleston Area Medical Center. It is located on the second floor of the ambulatory care building in the cardiac rehabilitation department at Memorial Hospital campus in Kanawha City.

Frequent questions

1. How does the Ornish Program work?

The Ornish Program works by addressing the lifestyle factors, or behaviors, that are proven risk factors for developing heart disease.  The objectives of the program are:

• Reduction of blockages in coronary arteries

• Improvement in blood flow through the heart

• Reduction in chest pain (angina)

• Reduction in serum cholesterol levels

• Improvement in exercise capacity, sense of well-being, and satisfaction with life.

The program is designed to address one or more risk factors associated with to the onset and development of coronary artery disease. Participants - who are screened and approved following consultation with family primary care physicians and cardiologists - are taught to treat key risk factors of heart disease through nutrition, exercise, stress management, and group/emotional support.

2. Is the Ornish Program a fad or is it based on scientific fact?

The Ornish Program is the result of more than two decades of research by Dr. Ornish. The results of his studies have been reported in the Lancet, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), and other respected, peer reviewed medical publications. Dr. Ornish is among the best known researchers of heart disease in the United States and is the author of the best sellers, Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease and Eat More, Weigh Less.

And, yes, the program produces remarkable results.  Dr. Ornish’s studies show that 78 percent of participants were able to avoid bypasses or angioplasty.

3. Is there any risk for participants?

The components of the Ornish Program - a low fat whole foods nutrition plan, exercise, and relaxation to reduce stress - are rooted in common sense.  When the program guidelines are followed, there is no significant health risk to participants.

4. Why should someone participate when a bypass or angioplasty offers a faster solution?

A bypass or angioplasty is not an experience that people willingly undergo if there is a better alternative available.  Second, in addition to the risks inherent in any surgical procedure, a bypass or angioplasty does not treat the underlying risk factors associated with heart disease - a diet high in fat, a sedentary lifestyle, or stress.  If these root causes are not addressed, there is a significant chance that a bypass or angioplasty may turn out to be only a temporary solution.  In fact, studies show that up to 50 percent of bypass recipients must undergo an additional bypass in five to seven years, while 30 percent to 50 percent of angioplasty recipients must repeat the procedure within six months.

For people who are committed to changing their lives for the better and taking an active role in managing their own health, the Ornish Program can be the best decision they will ever make.

5. What are physicians and specialists such as cardiologists saying about the Ornish Program?  Do they support the Program?

As with any treatment, the Ornish Program is bound to have its skeptics. Invariably, physicians who recommend patients to the program come away convinced of its exceptional value and impressed by the results. The Ornish Program offers tremendous benefits to patients with no risk. The doctor gains the support of an Ornish Program team that includes a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, stress management instructor, behavioral health clinician, nurse case manager, program director and medical director. And participants remain under the care of their physician, who will receive regular progress reports throughout the program.

Additional resources

Charleston Area Medical Center Dr. Dean Ornish Program
(304) 388-9411

Lifestyle Advantage website
www.lifestyleadvantage.org
www.CHASOC.org

Meet our staff

Ed Haver, MA
Program Director

Denise Chiartas, RN,BSN
Nurse Case Manager

Kelly Anderson, RN,BSN
Nurse Case Manager and Recruitment Specialist

Caroline Charonko, RN,MSN, MA
Group Support Facilitator

Matt Herridge, PhD
Group Support Facilitator

Susan Poindexter, RD
Nutrition Educator

Betsy Greer, MS, EP
Exercise Physiologist

Alice Cook, Certified Yoga Instructor, 500 RYT
Stress Management Specialist

Carolyn Miller
Administrative Assistant

Loretta Lamb
Ornish Chef

Calendar of events

Taste of Ornish:  April 7, 2005

New Cohort/Group Starting: May 23, 2005

New Cohort/Group Starting:  Sept. 19, 2005

Taste of Ornish:  Nov. 10, 2005

Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease testimonials from program participants at CAMC

“ A major improvement to my physical and mental health has occurred and it has left me with an improved sense of well-being. It has allowed me to do tasks that were previously impossible.  The improvements have also opened up many hopes for future activities that I thought were no longer possible for me to achieve. And of course happiness in not only derived from what I can now do but from what I hope is yet to come”
Robert Scalise, CAMC

“ Through group support and stress management, I have rediscovered myself.  A greater inner joy, a calmer, more energized person, better able to cope with the every day stress of life and business. I have learned to enjoy life and my family to the fullest…And that daily living is not practice for tomorrow, but is life right now…today…and today will never come again.” 
Patricia L. Laughlin, CAMC

“ My blood tests reflect a decrease in LDL to 36, total cholesterol to 116 from 170.  I no longer take four different blood pressure medicines. My blood sugar level is down to 100 from 150. I have lost 55 pounds over the past seven months on the program. I have more energy, strength, and more flexibility. I have gone from size 52 pants to size 40 and from XXL to large shirts.  I feel healthy and more active in my lifestyle.
Danny L. Massey, CAMC  

Cardiac rehab