Changing Diet Can Help Reverse Heart Disease, Study Finds

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We know quite well that eating a proper diet can help prevent heart disease. But what about reversing of heart disease and damage that's already been done?

Certainly we know some medications can reverse heart disease, but diet? According to research from the University of California, San Francisco, changing diet can have a dramatic impact on heart disease and you can actually reduce buildup of dangerous debris in the blood vessels.

What the researchers found is there could be as much as 400% improvement in what is called myocardial perfusion. Myocardial perfusion, put simply, is the blood flow that goes to the heart supplying it with life giving oxygen.

The major point here is that medications certainly can make a big difference, but lifestyle changes and particular dietary changes can lead you on the path to a healthy heart.