Healing from the Heart: Dr. Mehmet Oz

March 2002
Volume I, Number 9

Editor's Note: In his busy practice at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, heart surgeon Mehmet Oz artfully blends state-of-the-art Western medicine with the best of Eastern therapies. The following excerpts are from his book, Healing from the Heart, published by Dutton.

Hypnosis
Preoperative hypnosis and meditation training can help a patient feel more in control before, during, and after surgery. We did a study in which patients, selected blindly and randomly, were taught these techniques a few days before surgery. The patients who learned and practiced them needed less pain medication than those who refused the treatment--and, indeed, some needed no pain medication at all after leaving the intensive care unit.

All hospitals have psychiatry departments with staff members or psychologists trained in hypnosis, so you may want to ask for a referral.

Yoga
My favorite therapy is yoga, since it allows meditation in conjunction with physical activity. Meditation alone is difficult for many Westerners, so focusing on the breathing and body first in order to center the mind can be much more effective.

Better yet, virtually all patients, however ill, can perform some form of yoga, even if limited to deep breathing. Many yoga texts are available, but exercise tapes are easier to use and can be adapted readily to individual patients. I personally use the Brian Kest series.

Music Therapy
In our center, all patients are encouraged to listen via headphones to tapes playing the music of their choice or material we provide (Monroe Institute Binaural "Hemisync" Tapes, Faber, Virginia). Whichever option is selected, the patient begins listening to the tapes from the time of the first visit to the physician's office, and similar tapes are played during surgery. There is strong evidence that patients are subconsciously aware of what happens during surgery. As a side benefit, the audiotapes also allow patients to block out the disturbing "illness" noises of the operating room and the intensive care unit so they can stay focused on healing.

Religion
We recognized early in our studies that more than 50 percent of patients think of religion as not just a spiritual guide, but also as a healing force. Our polls confirmed previous findings that 90 percent of hospitalized Americans are religious and would like to discuss the spiritual aspects of their care with their physicians.

The most important study arguing for a positive therapeutic effect of intercessory prayer was conducted by Randolph Byrd in 1988. Almost 400 intensive care unit patients were randomly chosen to receive either prayer or no prayer. The prayed-for patients had less need for respirators, antibiotics, and water pills. As no risk is apparent, I would make religion a part of my own therapy, especially if I were very ill.


M.A.N.T.R.A. Study
Dr. Oz is principal investigator at the Columbia site for the M.A.N.T.R.A. (Monitor and Actualization of Noetic Training) study designed by cardiologists at Duke University. There are six prayer groups, ranging from Baptists in North Carolina to Tibetan monks. The groups are notified if a patient randomizes to prayer, and they start praying for the best outcome possible for the patient.

Currently a multicenter phase II study, MANTRA II has a projected enrollment of 1,500 patients. Interested individuals can contact the following sites about enrollment:

Learn more about the Neighborhood Heart Watch program at www.neighborhood-heart-watch.org. This article © American Foundation for Preventative Medicine. All Rights Reserved.