A Vegan Diet Doesn't Reverse Heart Disease After All?

After years of being told that Dr. Esselstyn's heart disease trial wasn't good enough, some in the plant-based community have attacked his work as well. Time to do a statistical analysis to see if his results were remarkable or not.
- Links and Sources -
My New Newsletter Sign-Up:

PSPP Files and Instructions to Perform T-Test:

Esselstyn's Main Trial:

"A low-fat, plant-based diet remains the only dietary pattern objectively proven to reverse CHD":

BMJ Study of 25,000:

Two-tailed Test:

Intro/Outro Song: Sedução Momentânea by Roulet:

[johnbresnik]

I had a heart attack and triple bypass surgery in 2001 - then another heart attack in 2013 and then another one in 2016. Then in May of 2019, I heard Dr. Esselstyn's message and immediately started the WFPB diet. I've been on it since then - never looked back. I'm 80 now and my goal is 88. So, between this new lifestyle and my exercise routine, I think I can make it.

[jwmcneelyIII]

My story is that I was having heart afib issues, and high enough cholesterol levels that the doctor said I was going to have to go on statin meds. Instead I watched What the Health and Forks over Knives, and immediately went on a whole foods plant based diet. I started dropping weight, but the crazy thing is that I had this experience about 5 or 6 weeks in. I got up from bed, and I had this "pins and needles" sensation in my chest like when your arm has gone to sleep and the blood starts flowing back into it. It startled me, and I was thinking about going to the emergency room! But then I realized, I felt fantastic, like a big weight had gone off of my chest. Seriously!!! I had my blood checked again, and my cholesterol was EXCELLENT. The doctor said, keep walking or whatever you're doing. No clue. I've dropped about 50 lbs, not all the weight I need to lose but I'll take it. I have so much more energy. And my sleep apnea is completely gone. And my digestion is a million times better. No way I'd go back to a SAD. Whole Foods Plant Based is the real deal. My dear friend went on a strict keto diet and just had a major heart attack and almost died. I wish he'd have listened to me, half his heart is necrotic now.

[carl]

I had a heart attack 2.5 years ago. My local doctor only thought I was showing signs of a partial blockage, so I was scheduled to see a cardiologist days later. I had major angina following the initial event. When I finally saw a cardiologist, I was already aware of the Esselstyn success stories. I was scheduled for an angiogram. I told the cardiologist to not give me a stent if I was borderline (75% blockage or less). The angiogram showed two 75% blockages, and no stents were given. The cardiologist was skeptical and wrote on my report "He'll be back." Went on the Esselstyn diet. Lost a bunch of weight, reversed my high cholesterol, and over time my angina lessened dramatically. Feeling like I felt in my 20s now, maybe better. Side benefits include an elimination of migraines.

[iamfree]

Im only 19 and i have high blood pressure.😢 I have been vegan for 6 days hopefully I can get better and treat animals and the planet better as well.

[brucejones]

I had a massive stroke in 2018 at 55. it turned out I had a high BP of 165/120 and cholesterol in the really high 300s. I consulted Dr Google from my hospital bed. Found Dr Esselstyn bought the book and immediately went WFPB now almost 4 years on true to form I exercise 10 miles a day BP is consistently below 110 when relaxed it will be, well below 100 95/52 so it's completely reversed my high blood pressure (atherosclerosis) and the high cholesterol. absolutely everything the book said would happen happened. I feel absolutely fantastic with mountains of stamina. I owe Dr Esselstyn for giving me my life back. I hope to meet him one day to thank him.

[jodrew]

As a 62 year old, who changed her diet to help heal after surgery three years ago, I can personally vouch for the dramatic changes in my body. Switching to a whole food, plant based vegan diet that is approximately 80% raw from a fairly good vegetarian has enabled an unexpected 78 lbs weight loss, reversal of edema/inflammation, tiredness, exhaustion and all the other little issue's that most people associate with age but are in fact dietary choices.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food, is very real.

[monster]

Like c'mon if a pill did this it would be WORLWIDE NEWS. Oh yeah....it's because no one can make money off of veggies

[CharGC]

When Nathan Pritikin found out he had severe atherosclerosis, he did the research and switched to a whole food plant based diet for the remainder of his life. He bequeathed his body to science to verify the state of his arteries... (remember he had advanced disease before) and on autopsy the pathologist who performed it said he had "arteries like those of a child and a heart like that of a young man". So yeah, no question arteries can heal, not just dilate. Too many people just choose to believe whatever echos their preference instead of the evidence based science, so all the proof in the world won't sway them. Though imminent premature death often gets their attention... if they're lucky.

[littlemisssunshine]

My husband had a heart attack (and a stroke a few days later; bloodclot) last year and his heart had some problems: thickened heart wall, scar tissue from the heart attack, lower pumpfunction. He became plant based after this and things really got better and even reversed! In the hospital I gave him daily celeryjuice, wild blueberries, greens smoothies with spirulina, barleygrass juice powder, spinach etc. He went of meds very quickly luckily. He started with 7 medications, but now he only uses one aspirin daily. Your body can heal if you feed it with the right foods🍋🥬🍌🥒🍊🍎🍉🥑🥥🍅🥕🥦🥔🍇🍑💪🏼

[derek]

Only Esselstyn patients need comment. Had a Quad bypass. 3 years later a heart attack.
Ready to get a Roto blade procedure when I found Dr. Esselstyn.
Avoided mechanical intervention.
All my cholesterol numbers dropped dramatically and reversed my Type2 diabetes.
Working for me.
Started last Labor Day!

[AskBobnFran]

We are both in our 80's and still believe in having a strong body and a calm mind. This was an excellent video and we learned a lot from you. We are doing research for our new YT channel that is all about healthy aging. Thank you so much and keep up the great work!

[reishiman]

The worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades.
The second worst time is before you learn about Esselstyns heart disease studies

[eightybananas]

This study changed my life in a different way. A couple of years after going plant based, I changed careers. I am now a Cardiac Echo Tech. ❣️☺️

[chasmrecords]

Awesome video. I’m 46 years old and I was diagnosed with CAD in July after my CT Angiogram revealed 60-70% (moderate) stenosis in the proximal LAD (aka “the widowmaker”) and 70-99% (severe) stenosis in the distal LAD. I was advised by my first cardiologist to treat it with statins and baby aspirin until I get the usual symptoms that would warrant a catheterization and stent placement. He said, in no uncertain terms, that I’d be needing a stent in the next 1-5 years. I learned about the Esselstyn diet through a functional doctor that I consulted with and have been on it since August 10th. In a matter of 6 weeks my LDL dropped 110 points (142-51) - in 3 months my total cholesterol went down from 217- 87 between statins and the diet. I’m now rolling off the statins and continuing with the diet. I’ve lost around 13lbs (150-137 lbs - I was already in pretty good shape and I’m only 5’5 ish with an athletic build). I got pissed that my cardiologist had nothing to say other than “we achieved our target of getting your LDL below 100, see you in 6 months for a follow up), so I switched to another cardiologist that was covered by my insurance plan. In my initial consultation, he credited the diet as well as the meds, he had never heard of Dr. Esselstyn, and he strongly advised me to get a LH catheterization to determine with certainty whether or not I needed a stent. I scheduled the angiography and then as luck would have it, I got sick so we had to reschedule. Since then I canceled and I’ve been going back and forth about going through with it. Sometimes I’m experiencing palpitations and strange sensations and kind of like a heavy feeling in my chest, and heavy breathing, but no angina. I’ve been working out regularly on the elliptical and I’m not having any difficulty nor am I experiencing any chest pain. I wrote to the Esselstyn foundation re: my predicament, and none other than Dr E. himself called me himself the following day and spoke with me for over 35 min. He was extremely generous with his time and his knowledge. He advised me not to get the LH Cath, it was too risky and he claims that stents won’t really do anything to prevent an incident. I also reached out to another renowned plant based cardiologist, Dr. Joel Kahn, explaining my situation, and he advised to not let my cardiologist push me into getting a stent. In the interim I’m staying the course with the diet, despite some pushback from my wife who clearly just would rather I join the stent flock and eat a diet that at least includes olive oil. She’s miserable, we’re huge foodies and we love to host dinners. The jury is still out as to whether or not the diet is reversing the occlusion, I don’t know when I’ll get another CT angiogram, or a conventional one, I’m hoping to find a cardiologist in South Florida who believes in plant-based nutrition - Dr Esselstyn told me that I’m not gonna find anyone, this will put them out of business!

[matthewmetzger]

" let's take a break from statistics more like let's have more, the science is piling up just like it did on tobacco

[LokiDWolf]

A well needed video. Sometimes making everything 5th grade level just isn't the right approach. Adults need to understand the science.

[veganjones]

After being put on statins and high blood pressure meds, and pre-diabetc, at 49 yrs old, I went vegan. I never took the pills. 3 months later my Cholesterol went from 248 to 178. Blood pressure normal. I even had a coronary ct scan, came up all zeros. I'm convinced....great video.

[jimcolumbus]

I am a diabetic who used to take insulin. I'm type two but doctors thought I was type one due to the amount of insulin I had to take. I got off all insulin with a vegan diet and I did this with out trying!

[terrywhitted]

I went vegan in April and my BP went from 122 / 80 to 93 / 60 after a couple months. I'm having a blast and I haven't felt this good since my early 20s (56 now). Thanks for keeping it real with the data, Mic.

[laurieparis]

Love it when you "nerd out". Those are my absolute favorite videos. 🌱