Alternative Therapies for Coronary Artery Disease

Therapy	Best Evidence *	Probably Useful †	Least Evidence ‡
Herbals		Ginkgo biloba (40 mg t.i.d.); garlic (900 mg/day or 1 clove); curcumin (400 mg t.i.d.); green tea (3–5 C/day).	Khella (250–300 mg/day); eutherococcus (Siberian ginseng) (2–3 g/day); gugulipid (25 mg/t.i.d.)—lipid-lowering agent.
Diet and Nutrition/Lifestyle	Exercise; eliminate tobacco, caffeine, alcohol; low-fat diet/dietary antioxidants; Ornish program; vegetarian diets; vitamin C (1 g/day); vitamin E (400–800 IU/day); vitamin B 6 (50–100 mg/day); vitamin B 12 (800 µg/day); folic acid (800 µg/day).	Resveratrol (red wine) and other bioflavonoids; consumption of nuts; selenium (100–200 µg/day); pantethine (300 mg t.i.d.).	Evening primrose oil (3–6 g/day).
Mind-Body Interventions	Relaxation and stress management; screen and treat for depression; guided imagery.	Cognitive-behavioral therapy; social support; anger/hostility management; meditation; tai chi; yoga.
Pharmacological and Biological Treatments			Chelation therapy.
Alternative Systems of Care		Acupuncture; traditional Chinese medicine; ayurveda.

^*Therapies with the highest degree of scientific support for efficacy and safety.
^†Therapies that are often helpful but that do not have the highest degree of supporting evidence for efficacy and safety.
^‡Therapies that may be useful but that have limited scientific evidence for efficacy and safety.
NOTE : C denotes the number of times that substance is diluted at a ratio of 1:100.
SOURCE: Sierpina, VS: Integrative Health Care: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for the Whole Person, F.A. Davis, Philadelphia, 2000.