Yoga Program for Heart Disease

Medicare Covers Ornish Program for Heart Disease

Published on March 16, 2012

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and in many parts of the globe. In a landmark move that may positively impact US citizens with heart disease, Medicare approved the Ornish Program for Heart Disease as a form of intensive cardiac rehab in 2010. The Ornish program teaches participants the importance of a meatless, plant-based diet, regular exercise, yoga, meditation, and social support.

Created by Dean Ornish, the Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease is based on decades of accumulated scientific evidence that show the components taught in the program synergystically reverse heart disease. Ornish comments that despite heart disease’s status as a number one killer, “it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t need to wait for a new breakthrough … we simply need to put into practice what we already know.”

The program’s primary focus is stress management through yoga, meditation, and exercise, in addition to nutrition sessions which emphasize the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Support groups to break down emotional barriers that contribute to isolation and loneliness which in turn drive stress and bad habits are also offered, in response to study after study that links stronger social ties to longer, healthier lives.

Medicare, the government’s health insurance company for citizens above 60 years of age, now covers the Ornish program alongside traditional cardiac rehab. Traditional cardiac rehab was developed in the 1950s and focuses almost entirely on exercise to re-establish blood-flow and cardiac health.

Medicare coverage and integration of this paradigm into western healthcare did not come without a lifetime’s work. Ornish devoted the past four decades to conducting high quality clinical research which tested the impact of dietary changes and stress management on health. In addition, he spent 16 years working with Medicare and Medicaid Services directly to integrate his research findings into the leading health insurance provider, knowing that with Medicare coverage other insurance companies would likely to follow suit.

Ornish comments, “I was once naïve in thinking that solid science alone would be enough to change health care policy. Reimbursement as well as science are primary determinants of medical practice. If it’s not reimbursable, it’s not sustainable.” This is sound advice for the field of yoga research, which is currently in its infancy and hopes to one day achieve insurance coverage for yoga classes and yoga therapy. While yoga is a part of the Ornish program, it is only covered by insurance as part of the 12-week Ornish program for heart disease.

While Ornish has been a trailblazer in achieving this much, much more work remains to be accomplished. In particular, the broader effects of yoga bear validation and replication. Yoga has shown preliminary promise for a much broader range of health concerns than heart disease alone, and integration of rigorous clinical research with public policy efforts may one day render yoga classes insurance reimbursable as an adjunctive/standalone complementary or alternative treatment.

Have you found yoga to be helpful for you or someone you know with heart disease?

Share with

Friends

Our Latest

Yoga Articles
  • Best Time to Meditate

    Finding the Best Time to Meditate: Tips and Advice on When to Sit

  • Purusharthas

    Purusharthas: The Four Goals of Life

  • Trimurti

    Trimurti: The Hindu Trinity of Brahma Vishnu Shiva

  • Brahman

    Brahman: Definition, Meaning, and Philosophy

  • Yoga Nidra

    Yoga Nidra: Meaning, Benefits, Videos and Tips

  • Living Like a Yogi

    17 Rules for Living Like a Yogi

  • heart opening yoga poses

    The Best 16 Heart Opening Yoga Poses

  • Negative Energy in a Person

    18 Clear Signs of Negative Energy in a Person

Remove Ads with a

Premium Membership

Viewing ads supports YogaBasics, which allows us to continue bringing you quality yoga content. Sign up for a premium membership to remove all ads and enjoy uninterrupted access to the best yoga resources on the web.

Explore More

Yoga TipsAdviceArticlesPracticesBasicsTechniques

  • yoga etiquette

    7 Tips For Minding Your Yoga Manners

  • Best Yoga Products for Beginners

    The Best Yoga Essentials for Beginners

  • Yoga Intentions, Goals, Resolutions & Affirmations

    Choosing Intentions, Resolutions & Affirmations for Positive Change

  • yoga skin care tips

    7 Essential Skin Care Tips Every Yogi Should Know

  • A yoga community

    The Importance Of Having a Practice Community

  • yoga teacher giving asana assist

    Don’t Doubt the Magic of Hands-On Adjustments

  • daily yoga practice

    The Importance of a Daily Yoga Practice

  • Skillful Yoga Student handstand pose

    8 Qualities of a Skillful Yoga Student

  • Ways to Realign Your Chakras

    11 Ways to Realign Your Chakras

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tosca Park Avatar
About the author
Tosca Park, a 200-hour Kripalu Yoga instructor and 500-hour Integrative Yoga Therapist, is a doctoral student in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Connecticut, where she conducts research on yoga, mindfulness, and health with her mentor, Dr. Crystal Park, and collaborators. Prior to UConn Tosca spent five years as a research intern and project manager with Kripalu’s Institute for Extraordinary Living, an organization devoted to the scientific study of yoga-based curricula. She holds bachelor’s degrees from Reed College and SUNY Empire State College in history and health psychology, respectively, and has more than 2,000 hours of training in yoga, Ayurveda, and the mind-body connection.
Yoga Basics