I come to this subject from a very different direction. I was in a ten
year study of treatment for heart disease using no conventional
treatment at all.
Pretty much everybody here will recognize the phrase "Type-A behavior".
Older folks may remember where it came from, a book, "Type-A Behavior
and Your Heart", by cardiologist Meyer Friedman and his partner. Dr
Friedman came to the realization that he and virtually all of his
patients shared behavior patterns that were not generally typical of all
the other folks he encountered. He theorized that these behaviors were
predictive of CHD and further that modification of them might lower the
incidence of CHD.
Subsequent to his best selling book, the phrase "Type-A behavior" became
a part of the contemporary lexicon, with the usual reaulting
misunderstanding of its correct meaning, and Dr. Friedman disappeared
from the spotlight. In subsequent years, he did some small scale studies
to see if his theories would be supported by more rigorous data.
The first major study was of patients who had already suffered a first
heart attack, and were thus at high risk for further events and death.
Planned as a six year study of a group given behavior modification
treatment vs. a control group, it was ended early:
"Although this study was initially designed to continue at least six
years, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute insisted that since
we had been able to demonstrate that TAB modification decisively acted
to prevent coronary recurrences, we should immediately give such TAB
modification to the control groups. This we did and found that after one
year, the percentage of recurrence dropped dramatically in the
heretofore control group(10). As far as we can discern, /this abrupt
transfer of a treatment modality from the experimental to the control
group has never before been done in a cardiac study/. G. Burell and
associates(11) have confirmed the results of this study."
After this study, Dr. Friedman and his assistant wrote a follow-up book,
"Treating Type-A Behavior and Your Heart", which lays out the
physiological and psychological basis of their theories and reports on
the study. Unfortunately, it never made a blip on the public radar. I'm
not sure all the reasons, but it is more clinical than the first book
and doesn't measure up to the felicitous quality of writing that we've
come to expect from popular books on medical subjects. I nonetheless
found it an interesting and sometimes moving book.
His next effort was a 10 year study of people old enough that a
significant number would be statistically expected to develop CHD during
the study period and young enough that not too many could be expected to
die of other causes during the study. To be in it, one needed to be
between the ages of 45 and 65 and have no symptoms of existing CHD. I
just made the lower age limit and was lucky enough not only to be
accepted into the study, but to be in the randomly selected treatment group.
Although the thrust of the treatment is behavior modification, the
nature of the small group work seems to inevitably lead many
participants into introspection and various sorts of spiritual growth
and change. It was certainly an important part of my path through life.
I don't know if the results of that study have been published. Dr.
Freidman died near the end of the project and that may have delayed
things. And I don't even know where to look; these things don't seem to
show up in web searches. Probably only on subscription services? I do
know that some results were shared with us during the study and they
were clearly showing that the treatment group was doing better than the
control group.
I offer all this in support of my personal conviction that it is
possible to have a major positive impact on one's own heart health
through actions that don't involve drugs, surgery, etc. At the time
results of the first major study were published, it was statistically
the single most effective treatment for people who had had a first heart
attack.
Of course, such treatment is completely outside of conventional
modalities for CHD, relatively expensive appearing (I don't know how it
conmpares to long term drug treatment and otherwise avoidable
hospitalization.) and requires special training for those administering
it. So the chances of insurance paying for it are nil. And it flys in
the face of the current movement towards drug treatment of everything,
including the older "talking therapies" of the psychxxxy discliplines.
Anyway, I've nattered on too long. Anyone who would like to know more is
welcome to contact me off list. Usual disclaimers apply; I am not a
purveyor of goods or services mentioned, nor do I have any financial
interest in any. Only a very satisified participant. I had no symptoms
of CHD when I left the study and have none now.
Moose
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