The State Journal: Ornish Devotees Tell Why They’ve Stayed with the Program

  George Hohmann, a graduate of the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program (Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation), profiles two participants who credit the program with “extending and improving” their lives. 

Perry and Linton graduated from the first Ornish Lifestyle Medicine class offered by Charleston Area Medical Center in 2002-2003.

The program involves focusing on what you eat, how you manage stress, how much you move and how much love and support you have.

“Starting out, the challenges are tremendous because it’s not the way we’re used to living our lives,” Perry said. “But the way I used to live my life is what put me where I was. So you have to get your priorities where you want them.”

Perry was a sales representative for a major appliance corporation when he had a heart attack and bypass surgery 19 years ago. His daughter was still in high school. He researched his family’s medical history and the longevity of people who had heart surgery.

His priority: “I wanted to see my grandchildren born and I wanted to have a relationship with them because I wanted them to remember their grandfather. I realized I was going to have to change my ways.”

Read the full article here.