title: A way to reverse CAD?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Plant-based nutrition achieved coronary artery disease (CAD) arrest and reversal in a small study. However, there was skepticism that this approach could succeed in a larger group of patients. The purpose of our follow-up study was to define the degree of adherence and outcomes of 198 consecutive patient volunteers who received counseling to convert from a usual diet to plant-based nutrition.
  
  
  METHODS
  We followed 198 consecutive patients counseled in plant-based nutrition. These patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) were interested in transitioning to plant-based nutrition as an adjunct to usual cardiovascular care. We considered participants adherent if they eliminated dairy, fish, and meat, and added oil.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 198 patients with CVD, 177 (89%) were adherent. Major cardiac events judged to be recurrent disease totaled one stroke in the adherent cardiovascular participants—a recurrent event rate of .6%, significantly less than reported by other studies of plant-based nutrition therapy. Thirteen of 21 (62%) nonadherent participants experienced adverse events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the volunteer patients with CVD responded to intensive counseling, and those who sustained plant-based nutrition for a mean of 3.7 years experienced a low rate of subsequent cardiac events. This dietary approach to treatment deserves a wider test to see if adherence can be sustained in broader populations. Plant-based nutrition has the potential for a large effect on the CVD epidemic.
authors.affiliation: The Wellness Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Lyndhurst, Ohio, USA. Email: aesselstyn@aol.com.
authors.forename: Caldwell B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Esselstyn
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gendy
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.forename: Mladen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Golubic
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Roizen
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000178:diet therapy*; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D016896:Treatment Outcome