When You Have Chest Pains: A Guide to Cardiac and Noncardiac Causes and What You Can Do About Them

Readers seeking first-aid advice will not find it in this disappointing book. Rather, the title serves as a deceptive peg on which to hang a series of superficial pieces, in labored Q & A format, on over a dozen possible causes of chest discomfort, from syphilis to tumors. Lesser, a cardiologist and a medical journalist for National Public Radio, and medical writer Strauss seem on fairly solid ground in describing myocardial infarction, although they erroneously use this term interchangeably with "thrombosis" (clot formation); but their suggestion that a victim meditate, play Mozart and/or "think of funny things" while awaiting the paramedics is startling. Elsewhere, dubious assertions are made (citrus fruits should be avoided by sufferers of "virtually all types of arthritis"), as well as outright misstatements (nutritional deficiencies are said to be a "common cause" of panic disorder). A 40-page final section offers nothing new in guidance on the prevention of coronary artery disease, along with a questionable mega-vitamin and -mineral regimen and further advocacy of the medical powers of Mozart.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.