Cardiovascular risk reductions associated with aggressive lifestyle modification and cardiac rehabilitation

BACKGROUND: Patients who have been treated for coronary heart disease can enroll in traditional cardiac rehabilitation, the Ornish Program, or no rehabilitation at all. No study has compared the impact of each on cardiovascular disease risk (CVD) factors. METHODS: The current study compared CVD risk changes in post coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous coronary intervention procedure patients who participated in the Ornish Heart Disease Reversing Program, a traditional cardiac rehabilitation, and a control group that received no formal cardiac risk-reduction program. This was a longitudinal, observational study of 84 patients receiving CVD standard of care who elected to participate in 1 of the 3. study groups. Assessments of CVD risk factors and anginal severity were obtained at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. RESULTS: Ornish program participants had significantly greater reductions in anginal frequency, body weight, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, dietary fat, and increases in complex carbohydrates than were documented in the rehabilitation or control groups. The control group experienced the greatest reduction in anginal pain severity, but also had significantly higher systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that CVD patients who choose to participate in the Ornish program can experience greater improvements in CVD risks than patients who choose to participate in traditional cardiac rehabilitation or no formal program.