Before the Heart Attacks : A Revolutionary Approach to Detecting, Preventing and Even Reversing Heart Disease - Softcover

H. Robert Superko; Laura Tucker

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405040998 ISBN 13: 9781405040990

Publisher: Rodale UK, 2004

Synopsis

Standard diagnoses and treatment fail to prevent and predict about 60 per cent of all heart attacks. This approach to preventing and reversing heart disease involves cutting-edge medical tests, followed by individualized treatment plans. The book includes four specific diets which will accommodate the needs of most readers; a variety of exercise programmes, with tips for specific problems; and a thorough discussion of prescription drugs and over-the-counter supplements with an analysis of who will benefit most from which. The "one size fits all" school of treatment is firmly rejected.

About this title

Review:

In this lucid and revolutionary book, cardiologist Robert Superko counsels readers about how to outwit their genes by identifying "metabolic markers" that predict future heart attacks. "To make a preemptive strike, you have to know which factors are putting you in harm’s way," he explains. So rather than focusing on cholesterol count, Superko outlines a patient-doctor partnership to create a personal risk profile he calls a "cardiac fingerprint." Here’s the drill: Through a detailed self-assessment, patients identify a series of risk factors (family history, age, physical traits, medical conditions). If the risk profile is high, the next step is a physician- ordered blood test to identify metabolic markers (for example, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and lipoprotein) that indicate high risk for heart attack. Depending on the results, tests such as a carotid or intra-vascular ultrasound can pinpoint heart disease. With this data in hand, Dr. Superko is convinced that patients have the power to change their cardiac destiny. For each significant risk, he suggests prescriptive keys in diet, activity level, nutrition and medication. With writer Laura Tucker, Dr. Superko demystifies complex issues about heart health. His ideas are compelling and optimistic—he believes in a future when every heart attack will be an anomaly. The only challenge may be persuading your cholesterol counting doctor. --Barbara Mackoff

From the Inside Flap:

Before the Heart Attacks

"Are the new screening tests and the individualized programs outlined in this book all we need to prevent or treat heart disease? Dr. Superko's tenacious insistence that we screen for and then treat an individual's specific lipid abnormalities is now paying off. I have collaborated with him in research studies that have made me a believer. Everyone should listen carefully."--Spencer B. King III, M.D., M.A.C.C.

Heart attacks are preventable; fatalities from heart attacks should be virtually unheard of; and heart disease can be controlled, possibly even reversed, says renowned researcher and cardiologist H. Robert Superko, M.D. In his groundbreaking work, Before the Heart Attacks, Dr. Superko for the first time outlines his innovative program to the public.

Dr. Superko was among the first physicians to question why standard screening tests missed so many pending heart attacks, and his search for the answer evolved into an entirely new approach to diagnosing, preventing, and treating heart disease.

The key to this groundbreaking cardiology is a new generation of screening tests that allow doctors to go beyond early detection of heart disease, to predict problems before they occur. Now doctors can step in and give you an individualized action plan that can forestall the disease before you suffer a first symptom! By targeting the metabolic and genetic underpinnings that can lead to tomorrow's heart attacks, you have the power to change your cardiac destiny.

So rather than waiting until you require invasive surgery, you can help to sidestep the devastation of advanced heart disease by adopting today the right dietary and exercise plans and taking the right supplements and, if necessary, medications. What truly distinguishes Dr. Superko's approach is the ability it gives us to customize treatment in a far more patient-specific manner than ever before. That way it is possible to strike the disease before it strikes you!

Read this book, make an appointment with your doctor, and get a new lease on a long and healthy life for your heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
H. Robert Superko, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.H.A., is cofounder of the prestigious Berkeley HeartLab in California. He has published over 100 scientific articles in top peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, American Journal of Cardiology, Circulation, New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of the American Medical Association; is a frequent speaker at American College of Cardiology meetings; and has turned around the lives of countless patients. In the past he directed the medical aspects of the Lipid Research Clinic at Stanford University and was codirector of the American Heart Association Lipid Disorders Training Center at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently director of both the Cholesterol, Genetics, and Heart Disease Institute in San Mateo, California, and the Center for Prevention at the American Cardiovascular Research Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.

Laura Tucker is the coauthor of several health and medical books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Lisa Sawrey-Kubicek, M.S., R.D., is a sports, cardiovascular, and wellness dietitian with 20 years of experience as a researcher, educator, and consultant. Her special area of interest and expertise is heart disease prevention and she has collaborated with Dr. Superko since 1983.

Jacket design by Susan Eugster

About this edition

• Publisher: Rodale UK
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1405040998
• ISBN 13: 9781405040990
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352