Twenty years ago, Harvey Ashman’s doctors told him that he could not survive the bypass surgery necessary to heal his heart. For fifty years he had worked hard and played hard, eating a rich diet, drinking alchohol and smoking cigarettes. The fast-paced, unhealthy lifestyle had taken its toll on Harvey. He had experienced two heart attacks, and could barely walk. He was in constant pain from his chest to his heart. His wife Vera had to make a special effort to care for him. Harvey says, "when I would try to get out of bed in the morning. . . Vera had to take my legs and bring them out onto the floor and help me to stand up."

Harvey’s doctor encouraged him to sell his business and move to a warmer climate. But Harvey was so weak that there was not much he could do except take his medication and wait. He remembers, "I thought there wasn’t much chance for me to do anything but get worse and to die." Then, on one of his daily visits to the post office, Harvey picked up his mail, and discovered a magazine that he’d never seen before. He opened it to an article called "You and Your Ailing Heart." Vera recalls, "I think that was the wakeup call he had."

The article convinced Harvey to take control of his own health. He read every book he could find about natural remedies for heart disease. He discovered a diet designed to lower cholesterol. It included unrefined carbohydrates, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. With the help of a local health organization, Harvey designed a vitamin and mineral supplement program for himself. It included some antioxidant vitamins like Vitamin C and E, and was approved by Harvey’s doctor, Dr. Ronald Forth. Dr. Forth says, "Vitamin E and Vitamin C . . . I would advise most heart patients to take."

Harvey and Vera began to incorporate exercise into their lifestyle – slowly. Harvey says, "it took me a long time to get to a point where I could walk a mile. I went from walking a mile to walking up to fifteen miles in a day." As his strength increased, Harvey began to decrease his medication. Dr. Forth says, "there was a reluctance on Harvey’s part to take conventional heart medication . . . he preferred to concentrate on the lifestyle factors." Harvey’s attention to these lifestyle factors has made an incredible difference. He became strong enough to survive his bypass surgery, and then recover from it. Today he’s healthier, happier, and more active than he was twenty years ago. He says, "I’m seventy-four going on forty-seven – I feel so darn good about myself."

"I thought there wasn’t much chance for me to do anything but get worse and to die." – Harvey Ashman

"I’m seventy-four going on forty-seven – I feel so darn good about myself." – Harvey Ashman