P5546The benefit of one week immersion in lifestyle-based program for sustainable improvements in cardiovascular risk factors over time

• Published in: European heart journal 2019-10, Vol.40 (Supplement_1)
• Main Authors: Schwartz, C, George, J, Stoll, S, Jain, A, Desai, D, Li, Q, Handberg, E, Aggarwal, M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0195-668X; 1522-9645
• DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehz746.0491

Abstract Background Hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia (HLD) and obesity are traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lifestyle measures for prevention of CVD include exercise, dietary changes such as reducing saturated fats, increasing fruits and vegetables, and limiting sugar intake but most people are not successful at making meaningful changes without support. Purpose To demonstrate the feasibility of a short-term lifestyle-based immersion in improving anthropomorphic measurements, blood pressure (BP) and lipids after one week, and its ability to create sustainable change in a high risk cohort. Methods This was a one-week lifestyle immersion for employees of their company and a significant other who were considered high risk for CVD. Eighty participants went through a one-week, in-house, lifestyle-based program that included daily nutrition education, 100% plant-based food that was sugar, salt and oil free, exercise classes and stress management. Anthropomorphic measurements, BP and lipids were checked at onset and on day 6. Dietary survey (validated 14-point Mediterranean diet survey), functional capacity survey (DASI survey) and quality of life (QOL) survey (SF-36) were administered at day 0 and 3-months post immersion. Results Of the 80 participants, 64% were female, mean age was 47 years (range 21–71), mean weight was 194.95 lbs. and average BMI was 30.47 kg/m2. Risk factors for CVD were prevalent as 71.25% of the participants had HTN, 27.5% had HbA1c >6%, and there were 35% former and 7.5% active smokers. After one-week lifestyle immersion, average BMI improved by 0.50±0.38 kg/m2 (p