Coronary artery disease is essentially nonexistent in cultures whose nutrition assures cholesterol levels <150 mg/dl. Patients with advanced coronaryartery disease may abolish disease progression through a plant-based diet and cholesterol-lowering medication to achieve and maintain a total cholesterol <150 mg/dl.

Cardiovascular symptom relief is a major indicator for revascularization procedures. To examine the effects of intensive lifestyle modification on symptom relief, we investigated changes in angina pectoris, coronary risk factors, quality of life, and lifestyle behaviors in patients with stable coronaryartery disease enrolled in the multisite cardiac lifestyle intervention program, an ongoing health insurance-covered lifestyle intervention conducted at 22 sites in the united states.

Vegetarian diets have been associated with atherosclerosis protection, with healthier atherosclerosis risk profiles, as well as lower prevalence of, and mortality from, ischemic heart disease and stroke. However, there are few data concerning the possible cardiovascular effects of a vegan diet (with no meat, dairy or egg products). Vitamin B-12 deficiency is highly prevalent in vegetarians; this can be partially alleviated by taking dairy/egg products in lact-ovo-vegetarians.

The Paleolithic (Paleo) diet is one modeled after the perceived food consumption of early human ancestors of the Paleolithic Era, consisting of mainly meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, eggs, and nuts. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a Paleo diet on blood lipids, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and the ratio between TC and HDL (TC/HDL) in a healthy population.