Women
Are Not Small Men:
Life-Saving Strategies for Preventing and
Healing Heart Disease in Women
by
Nieca Goldberg
Nieca Goldberg, M.D., chief of cardiac rehabilitation at the
Women's Heart
Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, believes that
misinformation
about heart health is keeping women from getting appropriate
cardiac care.
Women, on their own or because doctors belittle their symptoms,
often
ignore the warning signs of heart disease, imagining that that
they're too
young or simply the wrong gender to be having a heart attack.
"Heart
disease is a woman's greatest health threat"
Until
recently, heart research was done on men, and women were
considered
"small men." But women are quite different from men in
physiology and patterns,
and require a targeted approach. Goldberg's mission is to help
women prevent
or manage heart disease by understanding their unique symptoms,
risk factors,
prevention options, medical treatments, lifestyle choices,
hormones,
supplements, and recovery methods.
Women
Are Not Small Men... is organized clearly. Each risk
factor is
organized by "the facts" and "your next
step." A chapter on symptoms
and diagnosis includes action plans and questions
your doctor will ask
you. Goldberg discusses the latest research on hormone
replacement
therapy, so you can make your own decision in partnership with
your
physician.
In
Women
Are Not Small Men..., the author recommends exercise,
dietary modification, smoking cessation, and stress reduction,
showing
you how to take easy steps that will result in big changes.
Questionnaires,
tips, and anecdotes personalize the material. Goldberg is chief
of cardiac
rehabilitation and chief of the Women's Heart Program at Lenox
Hill Hospital
in New York City, and she offers in this book a wealth of
information that
will empower women to understand heart disease.
Customer
Reviews...
This is a terrific book. It's clear and to-the-point, with
smart,
sensible advice that should be required reading for any woman
concerned
about heart disease, which--since heart disease is the number
one killer
of women--means all of us. I read the book as someone who has a
strong
family history of heart disease who is, despite being reasonably
fit and
health-conscious, showing some early signs of heart trouble. I
found it
enormously helpful and encouraging. Dr. Goldberg doesn't pretend
that the
answers to fighting heart disease are either easy or painless,
or that you
can prevent heart disease just by taking a pill. Instead, she
gives it to you
straight, laying out just what you must do, along with what your
treatment options are in the event that you already have high
blood pressure or any
other heart problem. She's also very helpful in navigating the
tricky issues
surrounding taking estrogen. I plan to buy several copies of
this to send
to my sisters and several friends.
Many medical books written by doctors are hard to read, dry,
boring, technical. Reading this book is like talking to a friend
who is not
only very knowledgeable but also very concerned. There is good
medical
information, and practical information on how to set up a
personal plan for
preventing heart disease and talking to your doctor. Best of all
it is written
by a woman for women.
|
BOOK REVIEW
