8 Steps to a Healthy Heart: The Complete Guide to Heart Disease Prevention and Recovery from Heart Attack and Bypass Surgery - Softcover

Kowalski ( The Eight Week Cholesterol Cure ) is a heart attack (at ages 36 and 42) and bypass veteran. In this pep-talk detailing his own recovery, he also provides a comprehensive, step-by-step program for improving cardiovascular health. His positive approach and optimistic outlook for heart patients and former patients is evident throughout. And he also doesn't overlook the fact that heart disease is an equal-opportunity malady, noting that although it's the No. 1 killer of women, it still has not been studied thoroughly in this group. (To his credit, Kowalski chronicles how one woman--former First Lady Betty Ford--courageously coped with both heart disease and bypass surgery.) Readers will find the basics here: how patients should return to work, continue a normal sex life and deal with stress. There are also detailed chapters on how to improve one's mental attitude after a heart attack or surgery; stopping smoking; proper diet and exercise; the medications most frequently prescribed for heart patients; and charts comparing the drugs and their side effects. Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Targeting readers diagnosed with heart disease, Kowalski ( The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure , HarperCollins, 1989. rev. ed.), who himself underwent two bypass surgeries, presents a comprehensive program covering those lifestyle and emotional changes needed for recovery and future optimum health. He is strongest in addressing the often-overlooked emotional aspects of heart disease, and he covers sexual issues in a sensitive manner. He also addresses the special concerns of women, and he stresses the importance of positive thinking and the responsibility of patients for their own health. So much material is covered, however, that some areas suffer from a superficial treatment. A stronger emphasis could have been placed on the need to use professional help, particularly for tailoring Kowalski's program to each individual. This book is for the more knowledgeable patient who has already absorbed basic information. Recommended as a supplement to other texts on heart disease.
-Janet M. Schneider, James A. Haley Veterans Hosp. Lib., Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.