The Antidote to Heart Disease

The Antidote to Heart Disease

July 1, 2024

Joy Stepinski, MSN, RN-BC

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an antidote is “anything that controls the effects of a poison or disease” [1]. There are quite a few medications that serve as antidotes. For example, Vitamin K counteracts the blood-thinning effects of warfarin, a drug administered to eliminate blood clots. An antidote for acetaminophen overdose is N-acetylcysteine, averting liver failure. Antidotes prevent serious harm if too much of a certain medication is taken. With this concept in mind, what if an antidote reversed or halted the effects of heart disease, the leading cause of death?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five Americans died from heart disease in 2021 [2]. Signs of heart disease are a significant warning to the body. Half of all Americans have at least one of the top three risk factors, which include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. Obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol use, and diet also contribute. The most common form of heart disease is coronary artery disease, which happens to be the primary cause of heart attacks.

Coronary arteries are extremely critical for the heart to function. These arteries supply blood to the heart, providing oxygen and nutrients for the heart muscle itself. Normally, coronary arteries have unique properties. Their elasticity and flexibility allow them to maintain a constant pressure gradient of blood, especially as they approach the pumping heart [3]. Yet, this versatile system cannot perform its role properly with increasing fat. Excess fat and cholesterol contribute to an inflammatory response. The end result is plaque.

Plaque, or atherosclerosis, can amplify until blood flow is impeded, preventing the heart from receiving oxygen. Patients may experience chest pain (angina) when this occurs. A heart attack results when the heart muscle dies because of oxygen deprivation.

In his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Caldwell B. Esselstyn discusses that national spending on the condition [4] is more than any other disease in the United States. The CDC reported a cost of $239.9 billion each year from 2018 to 2019 [5]. This expenditure is calculated for health services, drugs, and lost productivity. This may seem promising. Yet national attention had first focused on heart disease in 1964 when then President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed the month of February as American Heart Month [6]. Heart disease is still the leading cause of death 60 years later.

As Dr. Esselstyn discusses, money dedicated to this health crisis treats the symptoms of heart disease without actually curing or preventing its development. A standard treatment to address an obstructed artery is a mechanical procedure called an angioplasty. The cardiologist advances a small catheter through an artery in the arm or leg to the obstruction. A balloon is inflated to open the blockage. Sometimes a wire mesh device, a stent, is inserted to keep the artery open. At other times, a coronary bypass is performed. The surgeon inserts a blood vessel from another body part to bypass the blocked coronary artery around the heart. While these procedures have helped countless people with their symptoms, they do not cure the underlying problem. Complications and death can also result from the invasive procedures.

So, what is the antidote? The key to resolving symptoms without invasive interventions, reversing heart disease, and preventing it in the first place is nutrition. Dr. Esselstyn advises that by avoiding the excess fat accumulation in the arteries, the buildup of plaque, clogged arteries, chest pain, and heart muscle death will be thwarted. When a diet of 10 – 15% fat is consumed of mostly grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, atherosclerosis can significantly be reduced.

People are vulnerable to heart disease when their cholesterol level rises above 150 mg/dL. By keeping cholesterol under 150 mg/dL, coronary artery disease has little opportunity, even with a family history. Dr. Esselstyn has had great success in treating and helping patients with severe heart disease. In one published study, the results are compelling [7]. Among 198 subjects, 177 adhered to the recommended diet. Although one patient reported a stroke, 93% experienced angina improvement, and 22% showed a reversal of heart disease. The recurrent event rate was 0.6%. On the other hand, 62% of patients who did not continue with the diet experienced an adverse event.

Excess fat and cholesterol in the body are caused by food that contains it. To maintain cholesterol less than 150 mg/dL, Dr. Esselstyn advises avoiding the following: any food that has a face or mother (i.e., meat, fish, eggs), dairy products (i.e., whole milk, skim milk, ice cream, yogurt, butter), oil (i.e., olive oil, canola oil), refined grains (i.e., enriched flour products (pasta, baked goods, most bread), white rice), and high-fat plant food (i.e., nuts, avocado).

The prescription to address coronary artery disease includes:

1.            Vegetables (i.e., sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn)

2.            Legumes (i.e., beans, lentils)

3.            Whole grains (i.e., whole oats, buckwheat)

4.            Fruit

5.            Beverages (i.e. water, plant milk)

This dietary pattern not only prevents coronary artery disease, but also protects against an array of other diseases, including cancer, obesity, stroke, and adult-onset diabetes. In the words of Dr. Esselstyn, plant-based nutrition supports the arteries to “heal and renew itself, and allows once-clogged arteries to dilate and replenish the heart muscle they serve. It makes you heart-attack-proof. It doesn’t get much better than that” [4, p. 75].

References

1.    https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/antidote?q=antidote

2.    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Heart disease facts. www.cdc.gov

3.    Tucker, W. D., Arora, Y., & Mahajan, K. (2023). Anatomy, blood vessels. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470401/

4.    Esselstyn Jr, C. B. (2007). Prevent and reverse heart disease: The revolutionary, scientifically proven, nutrition-based cure. Penguin.

5.    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Heart disease facts. https://www.cdc.gov

6.    American Heart Association. (2021). U.S. commemorates 57th consecutive American Heart Month in February. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/coronary-artery-disease

7.    Esselstyn Jr, C. B., Gendy, G., Doyle, J., Golubic, M., & Roizen, M. F. (2014). A way to reverse CAD?. Journal of Family Practice, 63(7), 356-364.