Creating A Successful Cardiac Wellness Program at a University Medical Center – An Interview with Robert Ostfeld, MD

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 21:18:47 +0000

Robert Ostfeld, M.D., MSc. , is a cardiologist and founder and director of the Cardiac Wellness Program at Montefiore ,The University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.  He suggests to all his patients the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet not just for cardiovascular risk reduction or treatment, but also for general health and chronic disease prevention and reversal. He has an initial 40 minute office visit with the patient who can come from his regular cardiology practice or by referral. He gives out several multiple page handouts on diet with some recipes at this initial visit. Patients may be followed-up in 1-3 months. All his patients are encouraged to take his free 4 hour, once a month-or-so, Saturday workshop, where he speaks on heart disease, a registered dietician goes over plant-based diet basics, and they share a plant-based meal with those who come. ( LISTEN TO DR. OSTFELD’S INTERVIEW HERE 48:19 mm:ss) ( Watch Kirk’s Video Overview Here 3:33 mm:ss)

Dr. Ostfeld’s plant-based diet includes whole grains, vegetables, legumes/beans, fruits, vegetables and some avocado, nuts and seeds, but no added oils. He recommends a vitamin B12 supplement 500 mcg of methylcobalamin, but no other supplements. He uses no fish oil. He does use statins on occasion. The two drugs he has most concerns about when he puts people on a whole-food plant-based diet are Coumadin (vitamin K blocker) and insulin. He advises the patient to tell their physician they are going on a plant-based diet taking one or two of these medications so the vitamin K dose can be adjusted to the increase in green leafy vegetables consumed on the diet, and, the insulin dose can be reduced since the patients blood sugar can drop dramatically on a plant-based diet, avoiding a “drug-diet” induced fainting or coma.

Dr. Ostfeld has been well received by his fellow cardiovascular physicians and has been able to work with the heart surgeons at Montefiore to get plant-based meals on the menu in the hospital so this menu is available for heart surgery patients. The cafeteria at Montefiore (the hospital at Albert Einstein School of Medicine) serves excellent plant-based dishes. A usual eating day for Dr. Ostfeld is a large bowl of oatmeal with fruit, oat milk and ground flax seed, chia or hempseed. Lunch is usually two large spinach salads with avocado as a “dressing.” Dinner is a wonderful plant-based dish made by his partner who loves to cook.

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Patient Case Studies of Heart, Stroke, Peripheral Vascular Disease and Diabetes Reversal with Whole Food Plant-Based Approach.

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Reversal of Carotid Artery and Peripheral Vascular Disease Following Dr. Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease “Lifestyle” Program – An Interview with Jim McNamara

“A Case of Reversing Heart Disease in the Heart of Texas” – An Interview with Ken Stone

Other Physician Interviews on Heart/Vascular Disease Reversal

How to Create a Successful Plant-Based, Diet-Driven, Heart Disease Reversal Program in a Cardiology Setting – An Interview with Kim Williams, MD, Past President, American College of Cardiology

How Do You Create A Successful Heart Disease Reversal Program That Anyone Can Do? – An Interview With Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. MD

A Heart Surgeon’s Experience Living and Using A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet – An Interview with Staton Awtrey, MD

Robert Ostfeld, M.D., MSc. Director , Cardiac Wellness Program at Montefiore Hospital , Associate Professor of  Clinical Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Greene Medical Arts Pavilion, 3400 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467-2404, Cardiac Wellness Program, 718-920-5197; Phone: (718) 920-5949 Fax: (718) 231-6257

“ A Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet Reversed Angina without Medications or Procedures.” Case Rep Cardiol. 2015;2015:978906.

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

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