Page 9 - Final 10th Anniversary PDF For Printer

Our 10th Anniversary Women of Distinction

Dr. Mimi Guarneri’s

PEARLS OF WISDOM

By Judith A. Habert

N THE TEN YEARS THAT I HAVE and every patient she sees. She listens,
Ibeen publishing San Diego Woman but more importantly, she hears. As an
Magazine, I can honestly say that I Integrative Cardiologist, Dr. Guarneri
have never come across anyone quite is often faced with critical and acute
like Mimi Guarneri, MD, FACC, care scenarios. She is called upon to
ABOIM, who is board-certified in make tough decisions, life, and death
Cardiovascular Disease, Internal Med- choices, with little room for error.
icine, Nuclear Cardiology and Integra- What she has learned, and very well I
tive Holistic Medicine. I had spoken to might add, is that more goes into her
colleagues of hers, patients who swore profession than just treating patients
by her, and nurses who had worked in an acute care condition. She has of a cardiologist in an acute situation,”
with her. Even their songs of praise did applied many years of clinical study explains Dr. Guarneri.
not affect me quite as much as the 60 and research on the mind-body-spir- "I became interested in the work
minutes or so that I spent a few weeks it connection for creating optimal that Dr. Dean Ornish was doing. I
ago talking with her and getting to heath, wellness and healing outcome would put stents in and then run
know not only the physician, but the and has incorporated these elements across the parking lot to Dr. Ornish’s
woman behind the title. into her practice to make a difference, Program for Reversing Heart Dis-
Within just a few moments of and most importantly, to save lives. ease, a lifestyle change program, and
meeting, we had ascertained that there The term “Integrative Cardiologist” studied the work he was doing. Rauni
was a common bond in that we were was coined by Dr. Guarneri when her Prittinen King, RN was the Nurse Case
both native New Yorkers and of Italian practice began to change to an Integra- Manager for the research study, and
decent, but that wasn't it. That was but tive approach. we were both realizing the huge differ-
an added plus in that we almost im- Dr. Guarneri came to San Diego ences made by the lifestyle change pro-
mediately understood each other and in 1994 to work at Scripps Clinic as gram for the patients. Rauni had been
communicated as perhaps only two an Interventional Cardiologist. This an intensive care nurse for more than
New Yorkers can, but there was still specialty focuses on acute care, such as 20 years. She, too, was aware of the
something so special and so unique placing stents in arteries. Dr. Guarneri rising population of "frequent fliers"
that it took a while for me to figure out was often faced with very sick patients; that she would see as return patients
what it was. some whom had basically received a with cardiac incidents to the ICU. Dr.
Here I was sitting across from a re- death sentence due to the severity of Guarneri remarked, "We would put
nowned doctor who has accomplished their health condition. Dr. Guarneri these patients on vegetarian diets,
so much throughout her life. Dr. didn’t believe these sentences to be teach them yoga and meditation, place
Guarneri speaks at conferences with true. She learned that by incorporating them into support groups and get
thousands of attendees. She has writ- some healthy habits into their every- them up and moving and doing some
ten wonderful books, published many day life, the likelihood of developing exercise. The results were phenomenal.
articles, appeared as an expert source heart disease could be significantly With these lifestyle changes, we saw
on radio and TV programs and is even deterred. a 91% decrease in chest pain, choles-
slated to be a speaker at the Vatican “I would put in about 750 stents terol levels went down, triglycerides
this coming November at an event per year while at Scripps. I’d see many went down, and they lost significant
sponsored by the World Health Orga- repeat patients. I just knew there amounts of weight. Most importantly,
nization, UCSD and Miraglo Foun- had to be a better way to treat these by and large, their coronary disease
dation. There she sat across from me patients so that they wouldn’t contin- had been reversed.”
when I realized what it was…she cares ue to be in need of my services --and This proved to Dr. Guarneri ex-
from such a profound place, for each possibly never need to be in the care actly what she had believed for a very

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