Can Diet or Niacin Reverse An Aortic Stenosis?
by Ben Brown, MD
Photo Credit: -Sharon Sinclair, via Flickr Creative Commons
Aortic stenosis is a disease affecting the aortic valve where due to scarring or calcification the valve gets smaller, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood out to the rest of the body. It’s common for people to live with this condition for many years before developing any symptoms. Later, as the valve opening gets smaller, people may become short of breath, have worsening of angina (chest pain with exercise) and can faint when they exercise. When someone has worsening symptoms, the valve is generally replaced through a delicate surgery with either a valve from a pig heart or a mechanical man-made valve.
Reducing the factors that can cause aortic stenosis with lifestyle changes may help to slow aortic stenosis…
What Causes Aortic Stenosis?
The three main causes of this condition are either calcification (presumed due to small amounts of damage over time like a scarring), a congenital issue (something that people are born with) or rheumatic heart disease (scarring following an infection).
Can One’s Lifestyle Reverse Aortic Stenosis?
Reducing the factors that can cause aortic stenosis with lifestyle changes may help to slow aortic stenosis, but it has not been proven to reverse it. The factors that can be changed with lifestyle include high blood pressure, insulin resistance/diabetes and smoking.
Niacin does not appear to have a role in aortic stenosis except in extremely young people with a family history of severe cholesterol problems.
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Paul Spring April 15, 2015
I’ve been on an Ornish reversal diet for over two years. No added oils, salt, no coffee. Veggies, berries, whole grains, a few nuts with my salads. Dramatic reduction in LDL (to 72 from 180). Yet a recent retake of a Calcium CT scan after two years shows an increase in my calcium score (152 to 221). So discouraging! What am I doing wrong?
Ben Brown, MD April 20, 2015
Hi Paul, I am guessing that you know this, but the diet is just one of 4 parts to the Ornish program. SO some questions: are you doing an hour of stress management a day? Are you doing 3 hours of exercise a week? Are you in some kind of group support? How closely are you following the Ornish diet? Thanks!
Brenda Llanas April 15, 2015
I have two conditions needing a better eating plan. These are Celiac disease and Stage 3 renal disease. I want to keep the renal disease at Stage 3. Could you please help me? Over three years ago I stopped eating red meats and dairy. The reasoning behind quitting dairy is lactose intolerance. Small amounts of poultry and some fish is eaten also. Thank you.
It is common for people with Celiac to also be lactose intolerant, especially for the first few years of giving up gluten. After a while the intestinal lining can grow back and make some food intolerances go down or away. But not the gluten issue. Renal disease has some benefit shown with Soy protein and not with animal protein, higher vitamin D levels, good fluid intake, good BP control, good Blood sugar control, staying well hydrated, lower salt consumption. Most would recommend a diet very similar to the Ornish Diet for kidney disease.
Andrew April 15, 2015
Have followed Dean Ornish diet and health recommendations since the 1990’s. get better at it every year. Work and live in a medical community and general community that does not embrace this, and even opposes this to a certain degree. So am eternally grateful to have you as a source of inspiration and guidance. Can’t thank you enough. This is my chance to say so.
Gordon T Mann April 16, 2015
My question is what diet or life style will reverse high blood pressure?
The Ornish program has been very successful in lowering blood pressure. There are also other diets that have been shown to do that: the DASH diet and others.
Glenn Mutch April 18, 2015
During a ct scan of my heart I was found to have a very high calcium score and because of that they also did a CT angiogram that showed a major blockage in a coronary artery (85%) but no symptoms. Since then (2003) I have had a stress echo 1x per year with good results. I do show pvc’s and I have had a depressed st for quite awhile.
So to the point, I have done the low fat vegan diet about 75% of the time and I know it works for me. When I first did this diet, my total cholesterol dropped 50 points in 5 weeks. Just very hard to follow this diet.
A friend said that k-2 and d3 will reduce the calcium in the arteries. Anything to that? Also do you know any MDs or cardiologists in NorCal (mother lode if possible) that support your program?Hi Glenn, There is some interesting research coming out about the interplay of D3 and K2. Vitamin K2 is likely to be the next big thing as it appears to help both with bone health and vascular health. It is also difficult to get in the diet as it is normally made by the gut bacteria. I have only seen one study that showed that it can decrease calcium in the arteries of animals. To the best of my knowledge this has not been done in humans. The research on the fat soluble vitamins has been an interesting one to watch (these are A, E, D and K) and much is made about their effects and it almost always appears that food and nature (i.e. sun exposure for vitamin D) are the best sources. IF that is not available then we are learning that we must be careful with these supplements as they have powerful interactions. There will be more research available on this in coming years.
marie April 18, 2015
I have hypothyroid and all my test come out normal with the level of unithyroid that I take but I am always freezing cold and my hair is falling out (becoming noticeable) my fingernails are getting ridges and splitting. i am: 65, female, obese, have some artery blockage; was vegan for the last 4 years but doctor tells me I need to eat meat to stop hair and nails issue so I have agreed to add back chicken to my diet but in 4 months nothing has improved. Got any suggestions?
Hi Marie, since we are an online magazine, I am not allowed to give medical advice online. What many providers check symptomatic patients with normal TSH to see if they are converting T4 to T3 effectively, this can be done with a Total T3 to reverse T3 ratio (T3/rT3 ratio), should be 7 or more, if it is not many providers would add selenium and split patients thyroid dose in half and give it twice a day. If you have not had a B12 level checked I would do that as well.
Joe Mueller May 13, 2015
Do you still believe that adopting a plant-based / vegan diet can reduce arterial plaque?
And also, what are your thoughts about the new report that suggests that dietary cholesterol does NOT contribute to arterial plaque/arterial cholesterol.
Thank you for your advice.
Hi Joe, the answer to your first question is a definite yes. This has been shown, actually it is not just the diet, but all 4 parts of the Ornish program. The thoughts about dietary cholesterol are actually talked about in a New England Journal of Medicine article. Here is the link. Smith S. N Engl J Med 2009;361:2286-2288They appear to affect vessels not through traditional risk factors but through endothelial progenitor cells (EPC’s) and non-esterified fatty acids and oxidation of LDL making it more sticky. Ben
Patrick May 15, 2015
My 86 year old Father has been diagnosed with Aortic stenosis. He has some angina but never had a Heart Attack. His gallbladder was removed over 10 years could this cause symptoms of his heart disease not being able to emulsify fats properly. lastly my Family is Considering Heart Valve Replacement for him TAVR device I am not impressed with its Technology as risks remain substantial. My Family has given me a very short time to provide them with credible evidence that the Ornish Program can reverse or even reduce his need for Surgery I feel it can.
Respectfully
Patrick
Natural Health AdvocateHi Patrick, I wish I had some better information for you about reversal of aortic stenosis with lifestyle, but that is not something that has been shown. If he has angina, then the lifestyle changes are very helpful for that. I like your question about the gallbladder, I do not know if that does or not, but might be a great topic for another article. Best of luck to you, your father and your family. Ben
Harvey Gandler August 27, 2015
Drinking wine good or bad for you
Sam Barbary October 30, 2015
One thing I’m not seeing here is the recommendation of a Magnesium. Magnesium deficiency can cause calcium to leave the bones and enter the blood stream. This can exacerbate arterial calcification. Also, stay away from flouridated and chlorinated water. Chlorine will bind to calcium and will stick to the arterial walls. Chlorine is so bad that showering with chlorinated water is dangerous too. Get a shower head filter. During the Korean War young soldiers who drank heavily chlorinated water and died in combat had one thing in common. They had sever cases of atherosclerosis.
Thanks for your thoughts on this Sam, though there are several causes for aortic stenosis calcification is a major one and you have mentioned some good information about Magnesium. To your health, Ben
Pam Brick January 12, 2016
Hi, Dr. Brown:
Re: The role of vitamin K in aortic valve disease, here is a study done IN HUMANS that appeared in the medical journal Circulation in 2013: http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/128/22_MeetingAbstracts/A10572.
In Circulation.2013; 128: A10572
Thanks.Professional Patient – Vin March 20, 2016
Read your book about reversing heart disease. Wanted to know if you had any specialized suggestions for aortic stenosis caused from radiation 40 years ago? Can it be reversed?
This is typically caused by scarring, though you can control risk factors that may make it progress, this has not been shown to be reversible in any of the studies I have reviewed.
To your health, BenJennie May 6, 2016
Hi, I love in Australia and would love to participate in your programme. As there doesn’t seem to be one here is there a forum where I could chat to people going through your programme for support and encouragement. I’ve committed to the diet, exercise regime and stress reduction but lack the emotional support of fellow participants. I have carotid artery stenosis and an trying to hold off on surgery while I see how this amazing change effects me. Thank you so much. I feel in charge and I love the food.
Rachel Lehmann-Haupt August 9, 2016
Until we have a program in Australia, we recommend Dr. Ornish’s book, The Spectrum. https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Scientifically-Proven-Program-Better/dp/0345496310. We hope you continue to enjoy our on-line resources, http://www.OrnishLiving.com and http://www.OrnishKitchen.com
Rachael July 14, 2016
There are many studies with both Pomegranate (Israel Study) & Vit. K2 (Life Extension publication) with success in some reversal of calcification. I know others have asked (posted here in 2015) but now a year later, I’m wondering if you have come across anything new about it? Also, importantly, coumadin seems to also be a possible factor in contributing to aortic calcification. What do you know about that?
I appreciate your question as there is some evidence suggesting that vitamin K has a role in vascular calcification progression and potentially prevention, the evidence for reversal of something like aortic stenosis though is different and is not something I have seen. Since warfarin is a vitamin K antagonist it would stand to reason that it may promote calcification in someone who was vitamin K deficient, this appears to go away when people eat enough vitamin K (same study above). Pomegranite functions both as a powerful antioxidant and may have some other properties that help out blood vessels affecting Nitrous Oxide metabolism (relaxes blood vessels). I have not seen anything that supports this reversing aortic stenosis.
KATIE FLEEK October 20, 2016
I just found out I have aortic stenous is tere any food or drink you can take to reverse this narrowing.
I have just commented on a few nutrients that have been touted to be helpful for calcifications, to the best of my knowledge, though they (vitamin K and pomegranate) have not been shown to lead to reversal or stabilization of aortic stenosis. To your health, Ben
beatrice aarena February 9, 2017
what foods help the heart specifically aorta stenosis