What is the Ornish Program?

The Dean Ornish Program 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.

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.

-- Excerpted from the CAMC Dean Ornish Program website:
http://www.camc.org/cardiacservices/deanornish.htm