Is the reversal of heart disease possible without drugs or surgery?

In 1977, when I was a second-year medical student, I began conducting research to determine if the progression of even severe coronary heart disease may be reversible. At that time, the idea that heart disease was reversible was considered impossible by most doctors. It was hard even to get funding to do the research - "Why should we waste our money funding research that we know can't possibly work?" It was a catch-22: Without the funding, we couldn't do the research to see if it was possible to reverse heart disease; since most funding agencies thought it was impossible, they didn't want to support the research.

Now, this "impossible" idea has become mainstream. Why heart disease is reversible, though, has been the subject of much debate.

In a series of randomized controlled trials, my colleagues and I used high-tech, state-of-the-art technology to assess the power of ancient, low-tech, and low-cost interventions. We found that even severe heart disease often can begin healing in only a few weeks, without drugs or surgery. Using tests such as thallium scans, radionuclide ventriculograms, and cardiac PET scans, we measured overall improvement in blood flow to the heart and in the ability of the heart to pump blood; using computer- analyzed quantitative coronary arteriograms, we found that even severely blocked coronary arteries became measurably less blocked.

Find out more about this book: Love and Survival: 8 Pathways to Intimacy and Health

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