Evelyn's Story
Evelyn was a communications professor at John Carroll University.
While in her fifties, she suffered two heart attacks.
After she underwent an angioplasty and a triple bypass, her cardiologist told her there was nothing more he could do for her and that she probably wouldn’t live out the year.
Soon after, she met Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who suggested she would be a good candidate for a heart disease program he was starting.
Dr. Esselstyn’s program was aimed at preventing heart disease with a proper diet.
Not only did she stop her disease, but she also reversed it and went on to live to be 90 years old.
It wasn’t medicine that saved her, it wasn’t the surgery that saved her, it was her new lifestyle that saved her and allowed her to live a life of vitality.
“Heart disease is a toothless paper tiger that never needs to exist and if it does exist it never needs to progress”…Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s Amazing Long-Term Study
In 1985 Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a surgeon with the Cleveland Clinic took 24 patients, (Evelyn was one of them) of which five were told by their cardiologist they would not live out the year.
These patients had collectively experienced 49 cardiovascular events:
- 15 cases of angina
- 13 cases of disease progression
- 7 bypass surgeries
- 4 heart attacks
- 3 strokes
- 2 angioplasties
- 2 worsening stress tests
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s results after dietary intervention:
- Cholesterol lowered from an average of 246 to below 150
- Disease progression had been stopped and many had experienced reversal
- Angina improved or eliminated
- Exercise capacity increased, sexual function restored
- No further cardiovascular events, drugs, or procedures
Here are the results from 6 patients who DID NOT stay with the program:
- 4 cases of angina
- 2 cases of ventricular tachycardia
- 4 bypass surgeries
- 1 angioplasty
- 1 case congestive heart failure
- 1 death
That’s 13 events in 6 patients who did not maintain the diet vs. no events in 18 compliant patients!
Newest Results from 198 more patients
In a study that was published in the Journal of Family Practice, Dr. Esselstyn did another dietary intervention with198 heart patients.
- Of the198 patients:
- 90% compliance rate
- 6% incidence rate in compliant patients
- 62% incidence rate in non-compliant patients
As the medical expenditures of this nation approach 20% of the gross domestic product and have reached 25% of the government’s budget, we urgently seek relief.
Where can we expect help to come from to ease this burden? It will not come from universal health insurance or increasing Medicare payments. It will not come from a new “pill” or “procedure.”
There is always more to know...
Always dig deeper - your life depends upon it.
Ed Bishop