Ornish Lifestyle Medicine
The Ornish Program is the only one of its kind clinically proven to improve and even reverse heart disease symptoms. We use a comprehensive, patient-centered approach to improve your quality of life.
Find your care
Patients in our program consistently improve their health markers and make long-term lifestyle changes. To learn more about the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine Program, call 310-825-0014.
Why choose UCLA Health Ornish Lifestyle Medicine?
UCLA Health Ornish Lifestyle Medicine is an intensive cardiac rehabilitation program. It’s designed to help patients with heart disease significantly improve their symptoms and quality of life. It is the only program shown by research to stop the progression and even reverse the effects of heart disease.
Highlights of our program include:
Recognized effectiveness: Ornish Lifestyle Medicine has been shown to be so effective that the treatment is available to Medicare members under the benefit category “Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.” It is one of the first integrative medicine program of its kind to receive this level of support from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Proven results: Patients who participate in the program often reduce the number of daily medications needed to manage heart disease. Participants also have a lower chance of needing multiple or repeat procedures to manage a heart condition.
Long-term benefits: Our research has shown that patients experience significant health benefits with an 87.9% adherence rate to the program one year after participation. The lifestyle changes implemented in the program reduce patients’ risk of cardiac events and increase their exercise abilities. Patients also experience improved cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and blood sugar.
Who is a candidate for the Ornish program?
Ornish Lifestyle Medicine is designed to improve or even reverse heart disease symptoms. You may be a candidate for our program if you have had heart conditions or treatments such as:
Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack): A medical emergency that occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked
Coronary artery bypass surgery: A heart procedure that redirects blood flow around damaged or clogged coronary arteries
Coronary stent: A small mesh tube placed in a narrowed coronary artery to help keep it open and restore blood flow
Heart or heart-lung transplant: Surgeries to replace a failing heart and/or lungs with one from an organ donor
Heart valve repair or replacement: Procedures to fix a damaged heart valve or replace it with donor tissue or a mechanical valve
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): A type of heart procedure that uses small, hollow tubes (catheters) and a balloon to open a blocked artery (often called angioplasty)
Stable angina: Episodes of chest pain, often triggered by exercise or cold weather, with an underlying cause of heart disease
What to expect from Ornish Lifestyle Medicine
The program is more than a diet or exercise plan—it is a lifestyle change. We help empower you to make lasting changes that improve your health and quality of life. Our program focuses on four major elements of your daily life:
- What you eat
- How active you are
- How you respond to stress
- How much love and support you have
Our nine-week program meets twice per week on Mondays through Thursdays from 5:00 to 8:15 p.m. Sessions include:
- Educational lectures
- Emotional group support
- Exercise
- Nutritious plant-based meal provided
- Stress management education and tools, including basic yoga techniques
Benefits of Ornish Lifestyle Medicine
Participating in our program can offer you significant health benefits, including:
- Decreased frequency and severity of chest pain (angina)
- Improved blood flow through your heart
- Improvements in health markers such as cholesterol, blood pressure, BMI and fasting blood sugar
- Increased exercise abilities
- Lower risk of cardiac events, such as a heart attack
- Reduced need for heart surgeries or procedures
- Reduction of plaque buildup and coronary artery narrowing (stenosis)
Meet our team
The Ornish Lifestyle Medicine team includes licensed or certified staff who are highly trained in multiple disciplines. Our physicians, nurses, registered dietitians, stress management specialists, therapists and exercise physiologists all have specialized expertise in cardiac rehabilitation. Our passion is helping patients with heart disease improve their quality of life.
Contact us
Call 310-825-0014 to request an appointment with a specialist in Ornish Lifestyle Medicine at UCLA Health.