Shyam Aggarwal, a 45-year-old businessman, woke upone morning with a constricting feeling in the chest. After a while, as the pain subsided, he passed it off as a bout of indigestion and went to work as usual. A few hours later his secretary found him collapsed over a cup of coffee, with a cigarette burning a hole through the papers on his desk.
Shyam was moved to a hospital where an ECG revealed a heart attack. A few weeks later a thoroughly shaken Shyam was back at work. He could not believe that he had a heart attack and was totally confused as to what he should do about it. His doctors advised him to have a bypass operation immediately or otherwise he could have another attack any moment.
Rather than being railroaded into surgery he called in a senior cardiologist for a second opinion who told him that as for now, medication would be enough. Later, if he required it, an angioplasty would be enough. He decided to wait and learn more about heart disease by reading on the subject and talking to a doctor friend, who told him about the possibility of reversing his heart disease using a programme of diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. He gave him an article describing the Ornish programme. His cardiologist burst into laughter when Shyam broached the subject of reversing his heart disease with a programme of diet and exercise and said it was a waste of time.
Shyam’s doctor friend encouraged him to try the programme he had nothing to lose and at worse it would decrease the chances of another attack. Shyam went to work on a programme similar to the one in this book. A few months later he went back to see the cardiologist who had initially recommended the bypass surgery. His cardiologist could not believe the changes in Shyam’s thallium stress test, which showed a reversal of the earlier abnormalities, and admitted that there was no need for any intervention at present. Three years on Shyam is back to playing tennis and swims for an hour daily.
Ramesh, a 42-year-old teacher, started feeling breathless whenever he walked a short distance. He ignored this until he also started getting chest pain. A former basketball player, he could not believe that there could be anything wrong. His doctor made a diagnosis of angina pectoris and prescribed medication and asked him to have an angiography to determine the severity of blockages in the arteries of his heart. Ramesh was mortally afraid of medical procedures and said that he would rather leave his life in God’s hand and refused to have an angiography when he heard that there was small chance of serious complications.
Ramesh consulted Dr Nishant, a holistic physician trained in this approach, who had earlier helped him to give up smoking using hypnosis. Dr Nishant had observed that Ramesh was ambitious, power hungry and would get angry at the slightest provocation, simmering for days on end. Dr Nishant educated him of the link between personality and heart disease, starting him on the Pritikin diet and deep hypnotherapy to modify his personality.
Within two weeks, Ramesh noticed that his chest pain had nearly vanished and that he could walk longer distances without discomfort. Within two months Ramesh was able to walk three miles at a brisk pace. A year later his exercise stress test was nearly normal and his physician allowed him to start playing basketball again. Six years later Ramesh is happy and content with no apparent evidence of heart disease.
Till a few years ago, it was believed that once you had heart disease it was not possible to reverse it. However recent studies pioneered by Dr Dean Ornish indicate that it is possible to reverse coronary artery disease by a combination of diet, personality and lifestyle changes. Using sophisticated imaging techniques, he has shown beyond doubt that it is possible to physically reverse the blockages in the coronary arteries. This is not in just isolated cases but over 90% of the patients who stick to his programme demonstrate these changes, saving patients from the risk, trauma and cost of surgery while reducing the risk of a future heart attack to a greater degree than conventional medical treatment.
However, the Ornish programme is not for everyone as it is difficult to follow and requires one to make major changes in diet and lifestyle. It is time consuming requiring about two hours a day for meditation and exercise. In addition, patients need to attend four hour group meetings twice a week and eat a fat free diet. Many patients find it difficult to stay with the programme unless they are part of a group. But the dramatic advantage of this programme is that over a period of time the arteries continue to open up, compared to angioplasty or surgery, where the arteries tend to narrow again over the time.
The Ornish programme is designed to be administered by a team of highly skilled doctors, dieticians and psychotherapists. Unfortunately, there are very few people in India with the skills needed for this purpose and there are many unqualified people practising psychotherapy and healing which is not a regulated profession like medicine. In addition, the Ornish programme is not well adapted as a self-help programme, especially the stress management and personality modification component.
The programme outlined in this book has been designed to enable one to make the necessary healthy lifestyle changes oneself. It is also easier to fit into one’s daily life and will enable you to regain your health and well-being. This is not a substitute for medical treatment. It is designed to supplement your doctor’s treatment to help improve the quality of your life and reduce the chances of a recurrence. Always remember that it is necessary for you to follow this programme in conjunction with a medical doctor. If in doubt please follow your physician’s advice and get a second opinion from a qualified cardiologist.
Changing the quality of your life is the most important aim of this programme. When people discover that they have heart disease, they often get anxious, depressed and in many cases restrict their life. They stop going out and become preoccupied with their health. Some feel that they are living with a time bomb in their chest and become afraid of enjoying life. This programme will help change this and bring more joy and flexibility into your life.
Mind-body healing is one of the new advances in the behavioural sciences. Using psychological techniques, it is possible to positively influence or even cure many physical disorders. There is plenty of research going on in this field and new techniques are being developed every day. This field is gaining acceptance from the orthodox medical practitioners as well as practitioners of alternative medicine.
Cancer is one of the first diseases where the mind-body approach has become popular. Dr O. Carl Simonton, a radiation oncologist, is one of the pioneers in this field. In the 1970s he developed a programme of therapeutic Mental Imagery and psychological change for patients with incurable cancer. Patients in his programme lived twice as long as patients who only received conventional medical treatment. More than the prolongation of life was the improvement in the quality of life that his patients reported. A few of the patients declared to be incurable had a complete regression in their tumours and are alive and well many years after.
Over the years, many more effective and advanced mind-body healing techniques have been developed. The pioneering work of Dr David Cheek M.D utilises hypnotherapy to treat gynaecological and physical disorders. Mind-body healing is now being used in the treatment of a variety of chronic ailments such as irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, ulcers, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain and skin disorders. Patients with psychosomatic diseases are now routinely being offered mind-body healing at some of the better medical centres across the globe.