'South Beach' Heart Program

Latest From Author/Cardiologist Is 4-Step Plan To Keep People Heart-Healthy

(CBS)  Four years ago, cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston first published "The South Beach Diet," which has eleven million copies in print, and led to a series of South Beach Diet books.

His latest is "The South Beach Heart Program: The 4-Step Plan that Can Save Your Life."

The steps? Eat right, exercise, get the latest diagnostic tests, and take medicine if you're found at risk.

Agatston discussed it on The Early Show Friday.

The book advocates what Agatston calls a healing approach to cardiac health, rather than a "plumbing approach."

""What I was taught in medical school and my cardiology training," he told co-anchor Julie Chen, "was that the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle were like pipes, and they built up with sludge slowly, and the clear answer was Roto-Rooter, ream it out before it closed. And we realized, that's not how it happens. It happens with small little pimples embedded in the vessel wall that don't have puss. They have cholesterol. And they're like little ticking time bombs. They can burst any time and cause a heart attack. The approach to those is not bypass surgery or angioplasty. We can heal them with lifestyle and medications. We need to be healing a lot more and doing less plumbing."

The four steps in the book, Agatston explained, are ways to prevent the "pimples" from popping and heal them before they pop.

"We're spending literally billions of dollars going after the wrong type of plaque, these big ones that are already healed," Agatston observed. "We have to see who's at risk, who's harboring these ticking time bombs, and then go after them."

Eating well is the first of the four steps Agatston spells out.

"The diet debates are over," he told Chen. "We're beyond the low-fat versus low carb debates. It's the right carbs, that's vegetables, whole grains, whole fruits, the right fats, Mediterranean oils, omega 3 oil in particular, olive oil, lean protein, plenty of fiber. And America has a society where we are literally undernourished. We are overfed, but we're not getting enough fruits, vegetables and natural antioxidants. The pills don't substitute for that. We have to eat better for our heart, but also to help prevent cancer, Alzheimer's, macular degeneration in general."

Step two is exercise.

The message," Agatston says, "is less is more. Just 20 to 30 minutes of walking a day makes a big difference. … We have to integrate exercise into our everyday life. We have to do it regularly. A little regular exercise makes a big difference for our heart and our general health. It's great to go to the gym but most Americans are not gonna do it and sustain that. And we also talk about core exercise: When we're sitting slumped over a computer all day, our core is weakening, our core muscle. That's why we have back pain and rotator cuff problems. That doesn't take long. You can do it at home and we explain how."

Step three: Get the latest diagnostic tests.

"We have to partner with our physicians," Agatston emphasized. "In general, men over the age of 40 and women who are post-menopausal, often over the age of 50, if there's any heart disease risk in the family, if they have risk factors, should begin with the advanced imaging tests and blood tests. The imaging tells us who's harboring these little ticking time bombs that can go off. The heart scan tells us if we have plack that's developing. It tells us the likelihood that we might have a heart attack and we can start preventing. If you're 45 and you're heading for a heart attack at 55, you are already gonna be having plaque in these potential time bombs, and you can prevent it."

Step four comes into play for people who have the "time bombs."

"One of the best kept secrets in the country," Agatston says, "is that doctors all over America who are practicing this approach of aggressive prevention are seeing heart attacks and strokes literally disappear from their practices. As a society, we have to prevent. If we only treat after the fact, the cost is gonna be prohibitive."

Step four is to take medications.

"If you're at risk," Agatston urged, "you shouldn't be shy about the medications. If you start a healthy lifestyle at a young enough age, you'll never need the medications, but once you're at risk, the new generations of medication are safe, effective, and they really help prevent. … It's usually a once-a-day pill for blood pressure, cholesterol, even for preventing diabetes."

To read an excerpt of "The South Beach Heart Program," click here.

A few years ago I was sitting out on the deck and something told me to turn around and look behind me, It was a woman that weighed (and I kid you not) some where in the neighborhood of 700 pounds, she walking with her little boy of about 2 years old and her husband that was about 100 pounds. As they passed by I had to ask myself how that happened? How do you get a 700 pound woman pregnant? OK I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder....but she had ankles that were bigger than my thighs!! So I really have to ask where do you buy shoes for a 700 pound woman? I mean short of blacksmith...

[dwc2003]

I can attest to the fact that the south beach diet really works. I lost 35# on it a couple years ago. The problem with dieting, even on something like this that works, is my lifestyle and what I have become used to eating. Reach for anything that tastes good whenever I want it. It took me 2 years to get back the 35# I lost and now I am on it again. I am determined to lose it and keep it off this time. I have been before. I just keep on trying. I can only say, great for those of you who are willing to try. It is not easy and doesn't continue to be easy. I am 55 and have worked all my life at a lot of manual labor. At least I have some muscle to help me burn the extra fat. I do exercise while losing weight and hope my health will help me continue that. If anyone hasn't tried this diet and do need to loose weight, what's the harm in giving it a shot. It might save your life. Here's good eating to you.

[lonestartnow]

I agree that eating well has to be the first step. And by now I think we all know that calories in are not calories out. An apple with 100 calories is not the same as a piece of candy with 100 calories. I agree too, that it's not low-fat vs. low carbs, but the right kinds of carbs, proteins and fats. As co-founder of a weight loss/ wellness program, it is clear that we must identify an effective and long-lasting solution for the conditions of overweight, obesity and lack of physical activity. And, we need to respond to these conditions as we would to diabetes or high blood pressure--yet respond before they become drug dependent. We need to consider them as chronic illness whose "treatment" if it is to be successful, is not a quick fix, but a sustainable, ongoing process.

There are approximately 29,000 diet supplements on the market and we spend between $18 and $35 billion a year to try them out. The valid information is often as confusing as the misinformation--yet it all must be sorted, evaluated and internalized by each of us before any of us can make informed health and wellness decisions. The result--the people who need weight loss / wellness programs the most, are often the most frustrated, and in their frustration, end up doing nothing.

[pghlady3]

Well, the south beach diet isn't really a diet. they tell you all the good foods like veggies, fruits, grains, natural things to eat, unlike dr. atkins diet all protien. i did both, felt horrible on atkins, stopped after dr atkins died after his fall, and started south beach. it's been great. i eat healthy, i exercise, walk, enjoy life, and lost 20 pounds.

[bildooreilly]

My stepfather had a heart attack at a fairly young age a couple years ago after participating in some of these fad diets such as this one and the other famous one.. whose founder had a heart attack.. forget the name of it right off hand... . He has always been a big guy and not necessarily grossly overweight or anything, he's just a big dude. I saw the correlation to the fad diet stuff right away.... nothing is going to make you magically lose weight people, it basically comes down to eating less, and trying to eat more healthy foods, and getting off yer ***...