After Tim Russert dies 6-24-08

It does not feel good hearing that someone died from some disease. Tim Russert's death from sudden cardiac arrest is particularly disturbing.

On one hand, Russert's death reminds others that cardiovascular disease is extremely dangerous and often kills a person without giving any prior warning signs.

Each year in the United States, 250,000 to 450,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest and 95 percent of them die from the event.

On the other hand, Russert's death also means that doctors cannot do much to help reduce the risk of dying from heart disease.   Doctors can give you all types of prescription drugs and advise you to follow a "healthy diet" and exercise a lot and manage stress well. But each year, the death toll is almost the same high.

Russert knew his risk and followed medical advice diligently to a degree that some people reading the news commented that Russert was a good patient. He passed a stress test just a month before he died. He took medications for heart disease and diabetes regularly. He frequently exercised.

He died at age 58 unfortunately.

Is there anything people can do to reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease? Can we still continue relying on drugs to maintain our health? What is the real cause for the cardiovascular disease?

People have different viewpoints, follow different paths and have different outcomes. But the fact is heart disease including sudden cardiac arrest like what Russert suffered can be prevented without any medical intervention.

Dr. Dean Ornish, a Harvard-educated physician came up with a very unconventional method to prevent and treat heart disease.   His clinical trials have proved that his method can control and even reverse adverse cardiovascular condition without medications.

But in a culture where people overly rely on drugs to maintain health, can people accept the fact that a healthy diet and lifestyle eliminate heart disease?

Ornish diet consists of no more than 10 % calories from fat, mo more than 10 mg of cholesterol per day, no meat, poultry, fish and any products made from these animal/products, moderate amount of sugar, unrestricted calories, no caffeine, and moderate levels of salt. The diet also does not encourage alcohol, but permit moderate amounts. The diet also consists of low doses and vitamin supplements, and one serving of full at soy per day.

Trans fat in the writer's opinion is one greatest risk factor for heart disease. Harvard epidemiologists and nutritionists have estimated that each year in the US, more than 100,000 people die from causes related to trans fat. The estimate to the writer is fairly conservative.

But are you ready to challenge yourself to give up the conventional Western diet full of animal-based foods that are high in fat, cholesterol and animal protein?

There is no reporting of what type of diet Russert followed. But it is unlikely that a person who is a good patient would follow a diet like Ornish diet to reduce their risk of heart disease.

Many who have tried to follow a heart healthy diet including the write have had a good experience. Is it time for you to make a change?