But what about whole plants? They beat drugs almost every time!

By far the best solution.

The New York Times reported on a new review of randomized controlled trials on 2-27-12. The title: No Extra Benefits Are Seen in Stents for Coronary Artery Disease, an article by Nicholas Bakalar. The article states:

The common practice of inserting a stent to repair a narrowed artery has no benefit over standard medical care in treating stable coronary artery disease, according to a new review of randomized controlled trials published on 2-27-12. (Link to complete article at end)

"Standard medical care" ---Inferior Solution #1

Of course we all know what “standard medical care” means—taking some kind of drug for the rest of your life. Not surprisingly, the article made no mention of the plant-based solution to the same problem. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Dean Ornish of UCSF would argue that a plant-based solution would trump the “standard medical care” almost every time.

Despite the personal experience of President Clinton and the recent airing of Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s “Last Heart Attack” special on CNN, we still hear precious little about the powerful heart-disease reversing benefit of simply eating a diet rich in whole, plant-based foods.

The WORST Solution, yet we spend $40 billion a year in the USA on this third-best solution.

According to the article, the stent surgery ranges from $30k to $50k and that more than one million are performed every year in the United States. That’s a $40 billion dollar business that is the third best solution to a totally unnecessary disease.

As Dr. Esselstyn says in every lecture, “Heart disease is a toothless paper tiger that need never exist; and if it does exist, it need never progress.” And not only is the popular stent procedure expensive and unnecessary, it also carries a great deal of risk:

The procedure has certain risks. According to Dr. David L. Brown, an author of the analysis, the risk for death is about one in a thousand, and complications can include stroke, heart attack, bleeding, kidney damage and serious allergic reactions…

So why are we doing so many stents?…More than half of patients with stable coronary artery disease are now implanted with stents without even trying drug treatment, Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown tells it like it is. It's all about the money.

The reason, he believes, is financial. “In many hospitals, the cardiac service line generates 40 percent of the total hospital revenue, so there’s incredible pressure to do more procedures,” he said.

“When you put in a stent, everyone is happy — the hospital is making more money, the doctor is making more money — everybody is happier except the health care system as a whole, which is paying more money for no better results.”

I mentioned President Clinton, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and the CNN special earlier. Take a look at an excerpt of that great special in this 2-minute video—let’s invite Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn to have the final word on this topic today.

Click here to Purchase his Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease on Amazon.

Link to the NY Times article provided below.

 Stents Show No Extra Benefits for Coronary Artery Disease – NYTimes.com.

Know anyone with heart disease? You may want to send them a link to this blog. Oh, by the way, Dr. Esselstyn says that if you’re over 30 and have been eating the Standard American Diet your entire life, you DO have heart disease now; you just may not have had your first heart attack yet.

Want to receive some occasional special news from us? You may wish to join our periodic mailing list. Also, for help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

And if you like what 4Leaf eating is doing for you and your family, you might enjoy visiting our new “4Leaf Gear” store. From the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

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J. Morris Hicks -- Member of the Board of Directors -- Click image to visit the foundation website.