Can Your Reverse Heart Disease?
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Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 700,000 Americans every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A report published in 2019 by the American Heart Association (AHA) found that roughly half of adults in the United States have some type of heart disease.
If left untreated, cardiovascular disease can lead to potentially fatal complications like heart attack and stroke. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to manage the condition, including medications and lifestyle changes like a healthy diet and exercise. And while it may not be possible to eliminate every type of heart disease, many can be fully or partially reversed.
What Is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is an umbrella term for a number of health conditions that affect the heart. These include coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, valve disease, and heart failure.
Most forms of heart disease are related to atherosclerosis, which occurs when deposits of fat and cholesterol build up in the walls of the arteries.
“Inflammation and high blood pressure can wear away at the lining of the blood vessels, causing the cholesterol and fat to ooze out into the bloodstream, leading to a heart attack,” explains Majid Basit, MD, medical director of cardiology at Memorial Hermann Medical Group in Houston.
Once heart disease forms, it’s very unlikely to completely eliminate it. “This is why prevention of heart disease at an early age pays dividends later in life,” Dr. Basit says. “But it is possible to reverse some of the heart disease. By lowering the circulating cholesterol and fat to extremely low levels, we are able to shrink these deposits.”
Lifestyle Changes to Reverse Heart Disease
Lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet, exercise, quitting smoking, and managing stress can help reverse heart disease and significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attack.
Healthy Eating — What’s the Best Diet for Heart Disease Reversal?
There is no single diet that is recommended for heart disease reversal, but the AHA advises sticking to a healthy dietary pattern that focuses on the following:
- A variety of fruits and vegetable
- Whole grains, such as whole wheat flour, brown rice, and oatmeal rather than refined grains like white flour, white rice, and white bread
- Healthy proteins like nuts, legumes, fish, nonfat dairy, and lean and unprocessed meat and poultry
- Nontropical vegetable oils
“We should avoid fried and processed foods and avoid simple starches as much as possible,” Basit says. “Starches like rice and pasta raise blood sugar, triggering the release of insulin, which can promote the development of fat and cholesterol deposits.”
The Mediterranean diet, which is high in fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and fish, and limits processed meats and foods, is often touted for its many health benefits, including heart health. A meta-analysis published in The BMJ found that adhering to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 24 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and a 23 percent reduced risk of death.
Of course, overhauling your diet is often no easy feat, but starting out with small changes can go a long way. Margie Junker, RDN, a registered dietitian specializing in cardiovascular nutrition at UC Davis Health, recommends establishing one goal at a time that focuses on the easiest change you know would best benefit your health. “For example, change evening snacking to one preplanned snack at 8 p.m. like apple and 1 teaspoon peanut butter or whole grain toast with avocado or hummus,” she says.
Exercise
Getting regular physical activity is paramount to reversing heart disease.
“Exercise helps to burn fat, grow muscle, and improve lung and heart function,” Basit says. “During exercise, our blood vessels stretch, which helps us regulate blood pressure better. It is essential to create routines that incorporate healthy eating and exercise.”
The AHA recommends getting at least at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity (or a combination of both).
Moderate physical activity includes brisk walking, gardening, dancing, water aerobics, and cycling slower than 10 miles per hour. Vigorous physical activity means exercises like running, swimming laps, hiking uphill, jumping rope, and cycling 10 miles per hour or faster.
In addition to aerobic activity, aim to add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening like resistance or weights at least twice a week.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Weight management is one of the most important aspects of reversing heart disease, Basit says. “I have seen a dramatic improvement in blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels after significant weight loss,” he says.
One study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that women who lost 10 percent of their body weight and sustained that weight loss for two years reduced their cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, glucose and inflammation markers — all risk factors for heart disease and heart attack.
Other research suggests that significant weight loss can improve heart health, even if some of the weight is gained back. An analysis published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, which included more than 100 studies, determined that people who lost weight through an intensive weight loss program had lower blood pressure and cholesterol compared with those in less intensive programs or no program at all. The benefits remained even if participants regained some of the weight back, although these benefits did diminish the more weight regained, the authors note.
Talk to your doctor about what a healthy weight means for you and for help developing a plan to get there.
Quit Smoking and Limit Alcohol
Smoking cigarettes causes damage to your heart in a number of ways.
“Smoking increases the inflammation in our blood vessels, promoting heart disease and increasing the risk of heart attack,” Basit says.
Smoking and secondhand smoke exposure contribute to more than 30 percent of coronary heart disease deaths, according to a review published in the Journal of Thoracic Disease.
If you don’t smoke, don’t start, and if you do smoke, talk to your doctor about strategies to quit.
Excessive alcohol intake can also lead to increased blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and alcoholic cardiomyopathy, per the Cleveland Clinic. To reduce alcohol-related health risks, the CDC advises abstinence from drinking or drinking in moderation, which is defined as up to two alcoholic drinks per day for men and up to one drink per day for women.
Focus on Stress Relief
“Stress is an underappreciated cause of heart disease,” Basit says. “Stress raises blood pressure and can cause us to overeat unconsciously.”
Stress reduction techniques like counseling, exercise, and meditation can lead to a significant reduction in the risk of future cardiovascular events, he says.
The Role of Medications in Heart Disease Management
When lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough, medications can help manage heart disease and heart-related issues. These can include statins to lower cholesterol and blood pressure medications like diuretics, beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors.
If you’ve been prescribed any of these medications, it’s important to take them exactly as directed by your doctor. However, for optimal health, the goal should be to reverse heart disease with lifestyle changes, Basit says.
“Medications are like a crutch,” he says. “We should only need the crutches until our injury heals. We need to ask ourselves what we are doing to make ourselves better in order to remove our medication crutches. Next time you are at your doctor, ask what you can do to eliminate some of your medications and prevent starting new ones.”
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