The patient is a 56-year-old male first seen at The Center in August 1997. His main complaints were easy bruising, low back pain, rapidly progressing coronary artery disease and "cold feet." The history revealed that he was a self-employed carpenter, a college graduate, and was married with one son and daughter. Both parents died of heart related problems: the father at 72 years of age and the mother at 77 years. He has two brothers, 51 and 49 years of age; both are in good health. In 1990, he had an aortic heart valve replaced with a St. Jude's valve. In 1995, he required coronary angioplasty. in 1996, due to progressive heart disease, he had triple by-pass surgery. Following the by-pass surgery, he had two mild strokes, one in December of 1996 and the second one in February of 1997. His medications included coumadin 10 mg daily with 7.5 mg on alternate days and aspirin, 8 mg daily. While completing some of his evaluation papers at The Center, he complained of chest pain.

He said that at the time of his visit to The Center, his illness had cost his insurance companies between $120,000 to $150,000 as well as $5,000 to $10,000 of his own money. When asked how he would know if the treatment received at The Center worked, he stated " that his feet would be warm." In the winter they were cold no matter how warmly he dressed. This presented a problem, since much of his work was outdoors as a carpenter.