You can slow, stop, and even reverse the progression of heart disease - We’re here to help.
Better adherence and clinical outcomes than have ever been reported.
Ornish Spectrum – Reversing Heart Disease Program
Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease was the first program scientifically proven to reverse heart disease without drugs or surgery. Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease, an outpatient experiential program, is a non-invasive treatment option that combines four components to slow, stop and even reverse the progression of coronary artery disease.
Since January 2011, after 16 years of internal and external review, Medicare has been covering Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease under a new benefit category, “intensive cardiac rehabilitation.” Medicare will reimburse certified providers of the 72 hour training program for patients who have coronary heart disease. Many private insurance companies also cover this program, reimbursing for patients who have coronary heart disease and for patients who simply have risk factors for coronary heart disease.
People are empowered with a proven program that can quickly reverse their heart disease and other chronic conditions, allowing them to sustainably transform their lives for the better. Overall adherence to Dr. Ornish’s Program after one year in hospitals and clinics that have offered it has been 85‑90%.
The Ornish Spectrum is a program that helps you make healthy, sustainable lifestyle changes in:
Clinical Team
Each Ornish certified site has a dedicated team of caring professionals to provide support every step of the way:
- Physician / Medical Director
- Nurse Case Manager
- Exercise Physiologist
- Clinical Psychologist
- Registered Stress Management Instructor
- Registered Dietician
The Benefits
In short, our scientific studies have demonstrated that the more people changed their diet and lifestyle and the longer they maintained these changes, the better they felt & the healthier they became.
The primary determinant of the degree of improvement is not age, disease severity or genetics; it is the degree of change in diet and lifestyle.
Adherence and Clinical Outcomes
Clinical outcomes consistently demonstrate that the Ornish participants show improvements in:
- Blood pressure
- Weight
- BMI
- Cholesterol
- Angina
- Depression
- Hostility
- VItality
Patients have better adherence and clinical outcomes than have ever been reported from a program of comprehensive lifestyle changes.
Here are the latest findings from all of the 3,780 patients who went through Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease via Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and West Virginia as of October 2011:
- Overall attendance after 1 year was 87.9%;
- 45.2% of these patients had heart disease– 34.0% had type 2 diabetes, and the others had only risk factors (high blood pressure, cholesterol, or weight), yet adherence was comparable in all categories of patients (85-90% after 1 year);
- The average patient lost 13.3 pounds in the first 12 weeks and 15.9 pounds after 1 year;
- Significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol after 12 weeks were still significant after 1 year;
- Exercise capacity increased from 8.7 to 10.6 METS after 12 weeks (18% increase) and to 10.8 METS after one year (24% increase);
- Significant reductions in depression and hostility (the emotions most strongly linked with heart disease) after 12 weeks that were still significant after 1 year;
- Hemoglobin A1C in diabetics decreased from 7.4% at baseline to 6.5% after 12 weeks and 6.8% after one year (complications of diabetes such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and amputations can be prevented when hemoglobin A1C is less than 7.0%);
- 96.5% of patients reported improvement in severity of angina (chest pain) after 1 year.
