Heart disease is well known all over the world, as a killer
disease. However, with the advances made in the treatment & prevention of heart disease, the position is sufficiently rosy now. It is now known that changes in diet, exercise &
smoking habits etc., can alter & even reverse, the course of cases of heart disease. But one must know, the functioning & malfunctioning mechanisms of heart, risks, diagnostic tests, medications & recovery
process, besides the various preventive measures. The reader should get educated in this respect, & be aware of all its aspects, so that he can avoid falling into the trap of unhealthy habits, & if he has already fallen, then to come out of it successfully. This book has 11 Chapters in two parts. Part one is entitled The Ailing Heart & Part two is entitled The Healthy Heart lifestyle. The book adopts a comprehensive approach, & admirably serves the task of making the general public aware of this subject. It emphasizes as to how a person with heart disease can survive, & lead a long & full life, but also have full enjoyment of life.
Chapter 1 opens with the basic information about working of heart as a pump. Chapter 2 explains heart disease, cholestrol, heart attack, stroke, family traits leading to heart disease etc. Risk factors & protective factors for heart disease, which can be divided into life style factors & innate factors, are discussed in Chapter 3. It also gives a test for finding the risk-profile, its interpretation & discusses the various risk factors. Chapter 4 discusses about invasive & non-invasive procedures. It explains ECG, MRI, thallium test, Doppler ultrasonography, echocardiogram, angiogram etc. Medications for heart disease, effects & adverse effects of drugs, working of statins & cholestrol lowering drugs, use of macin as a drug, use of fiber supplements, margarines, blood pressure medications, vitamin-k rich foods etc. are discussed in Chapter 5. The major heart interventions, such as bypass surgery, recovery after a bypass, angioplasty, stents, atherectomy, pace makers are discussed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 takes up the questions regarding the care, one needs after a heart attack such as returning back to normal life, working after returning back, assistance of Cardiac rehabilitation centers, warning signs for, and prevention of second heart attack etc. Chapter 8 discusses about the effect of smoking on heart. It also discusses the ways to quit smoking, and gives a few real life examples to follow. Effect of stress is taken up in Chapter 9. It lists the physical and emotional responses that may lead to stress, and also discusses the effect of chronic stress on body, various strategies to reduce stress such as Yoga, Deep muscle relaxation, Meditation, Exercise, sense of community, stress interventions, Medication etc. It ends up with four steps for stress management. Chapter 10 discusses about gains from exercising, tips to help establish exercise habit, kinds of exercises, designing a safe exercise program etc. One of the most powerful tools is diet, which is taken up in Chapter 11. It lists the foods as per their capacity to increase, or decrease the risk for heart disease. It discusses about saturated & unsaturated fats, cholestrol, plant fats, refined & unrefined grains, functions of anti-oxidants, use of vitamins E & C, and at the end of the Chapter, the design for a healthy meal is given. Finally, the Epilogue lays stress on the fact that the entire life style is important, & all factors work together. The life style for heart disease should be visualized & followed up with joy, & not taken as a burden.
The book is pleasing to read. The strength of the lies in covering this all important topic adequately, and in the (simple & easy to understand) form of questions & answers, using as little as possible of medical jargon, along with some case studies, glossary of words & a total of 50 suggested readings. This work is useful for everyone with a heart, who should have a heart to seriously read this valuable book, from beginning to the end. On the whole, it can be said that the authors have made an excellent effort in writing this book, since it provides almost everything one needs to know, along with friendly advice. With the ultimate objective of learning & benefiting, by proper control & improvement of our health, it is considered a must read book for every one of us