Dr. Dean Ornish revolutionized the world of medicine when he proved
that it was possible to reverse heart disease through diet.
exercise, stress management techniques, and group support. Since
then, the first two factors have become part of the medical canon
in treating heart disease, while the last two have been virtually
ignored. In An Open Heart, Dr. Ornish turns the focus back to the
areas that may be the most powerful healing intervention of all:
feelings of love, connectedness, and spiritual transformation. He
has found that there is no other factor in medicine -- not diet,
smoking, exercise, stress, genetics, drugs, or surgery -- that has
such a major impact on quality of life, incidence of illness, and
premature death from all causes. Written directly from his
experiences as a researcher and from his own life, Dr. Ornish
describes the importance of intimacy and social support for his
patients from a clinician's standpoint, but also shares his own
struggles with intimacy in his personallife and techniques and
strategies that he has found for enhancing closeness.
Once again at the vanguard in medical treatment, Dr. Ornish
offers a practical, provocative, and deeply personal book that will
revolutionize the way Americans think about, and combat, heart
disease.