Common questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most, each with a link to the full lesson.
Your questions, answered
Short answers drawn from the lessons. Each one links to the full lesson, where Dr Lome covers the topic in depth with a short video.
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Yes. Every lesson and the full programme are free. There is nothing to buy, no adverts and no account to create.
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No. HeartStrong.com is general education about heart health. It does not replace advice from your own doctor, who knows your situation. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.
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In many cases, yes. The build-up of cholesterol in the arteries, called atherosclerosis, has been shown to reverse with a whole food, plant based diet that is low in fat. No other eating pattern has been shown to do this in more than one published study.
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A way of eating built around whole plant foods: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. It leaves out meat, fish, eggs and dairy, so it contains no dietary cholesterol, and it avoids processed foods.
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It is a big improvement on a typical Western diet and lowers the risk of heart disease and several other conditions. Most of its calories come from plant foods. It has not been shown to reverse heart disease, though, and heart disease can still progress on it, just more slowly.
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The exercise programme is built to meet, at a minimum, the American Heart Association guidelines: at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, plus muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days.
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Yes. Everyone's health is different, especially if you already have heart disease or take medication. Let your doctor know you are starting the programme, and ask what signs to look out for when you exercise.
Read lesson 3.40: How to Get Started with an Exercise Routine
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Online risk calculators, most based on the long-running Framingham study, estimate your risk from your age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and smoking. They assume you make no big lifestyle changes, so treat the result as your starting point.
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High stress disturbs sleep, makes healthy habits harder to keep and is linked with poor eating, weight gain, higher blood pressure and higher cholesterol. Managing stress is a key part of the programme.
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Body mass index compares your weight with your height. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is in the healthy range, 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or above is obese.
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The HeartStrong.com programme runs in four phases over six months. Before you begin, talk to your doctor, write down your goals and take a before photo.
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Dr Steven Lome, a board certified cardiologist who reversed his own obesity through a whole food, plant based diet and now puts lifestyle medicine at the heart of his practice.