Coronary artery disease reversal programme is a name given to advice and tests offered to patients who have the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis, including those who have undergone bypass surgery or angioplasty. However, they should not be viewed as an alternative treatment for those in immediate need of these procedures. They operate on the premise that heart disease must be addressed on several different levels simultaneously tackling the risk factors affecting a patient. Some risk factors cannot be affected. For example, atherosclerosis occurs more frequently in men than in women. Its incidence increases with age. Women appear to be protected until they reach menopause. The disease appears to be hereditary. Control of risk factors that can be altered are hyperlipidemia; smoking; hypertension; obesity; physical inactivity; stress and diabetes mellitus. Changes in these areas are brought about through a combination of:
- General medical care (including appropriate drug therapy, if needed, for hypertension and hyperlipidemia)
- Dietary management
- Exercise
- Smoking cessation
- Stress reduction
- Behavior modification
This is generally the advice given by all cardiologists/ cardiac surgeons to their patients. It is not a procedure per se.