PubMed · 2014 · 118 citations · 0 references
Skepticism remains that plant‑based nutrition can succeed in larger patient groups, despite its potential to substantially impact the cardiovascular disease epidemic. The study aimed to assess adherence and outcomes in 198 patients counseled to adopt a plant‑based diet and to evaluate whether this approach can be broadly sustained. The authors followed 198 consecutive CVD patients who were counseled to eliminate dairy, fish, and meat and add oil, with 89% achieving adherence as defined by these dietary changes. Among 198 CVD patients, 89% adhered to the plant‑based diet, yielding only one recurrent stroke (0.6%) among adherent participants and a low overall cardiac event rate, while 62% of nonadherent participants experienced adverse events.
Plant-based nutrition achieved coronary artery disease (CAD) arrest and reversal in a small study. However, there was skepticism that this approach could succeed in a larger group of patients. The purpose of our follow-up study was to define the degree of adherence and outcomes of 198 consecutive patient volunteers who received counseling to convert from a usual diet to plant-based nutrition.We followed 198 consecutive patients counseled in plant-based nutrition. These patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) were interested in transitioning to plant-based nutrition as an adjunct to usual cardiovascular care. We considered participants adherent if they eliminated dairy, fish, and meat, and added oil.Of the 198 patients with CVD, 177 (89%) were adherent. Major cardiac events judged to be recurrent disease totaled one stroke in the adherent cardiovascular participants—a recurrent event rate of .6%, significantly less than reported by other studies of plant-based nutrition therapy. Thirteen of 21 (62%) nonadherent participants experienced adverse events.Most of the volunteer patients with CVD responded to intensive counseling, and those who sustained plant-based nutrition for a mean of 3.7 years experienced a low rate of subsequent cardiac events. This dietary approach to treatment deserves a wider test to see if adherence can be sustained in broader populations. Plant-based nutrition has the potential for a large effect on the CVD epidemic.