- Are you a man over 25 with a waist size larger than 35 inches (90cm)?
- Are you a woman over 35 with a waist larger than 31 inches (80 cm)?
- Do you suffer from recurrent chest pain, especially when you exert yourself?
- Have you ever been diagnosed with high or borderline-high blood pressure?
- Do you have high or borderline-high cholesterol or triglycerides, or low HDL?
- Have you ever had coronary stent or bypass surgery?
- Do you have diabetes, or has anyone in your family had diabetes?
- Do you or any of your relatives have a history of heart disease at a young age?
If you’re from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Sri Lanka and answered yes to any of these questions, or if you provide medical care to anyone from the Indian subcontinent, you need to read this book. For the first time, the authors of this groundbreaking, deeply researched book tell you why even lean, non-smoking vegetarians under 40 years who exercise regularly are at high risk of heart disease. They also tell you how you and your family—working with your physician—can prevent, manage, and even reverse this dangerous but treatable killer.
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This book goes be yond the obvious to convey the reality of heart disease to readers in a clear and compel ling way, with startling power points. After reading this book, you should be able to:
- understand the most common medical terms and concepts employed in discussing heart disease, allowing you to better interac t with your doctor or with your Indian patients
- make informed healthcare decisions that go beyond simply achieving conventional cut-points that may not be aggressive enough for your case
- grasp in simple, clear English the latest scientific information about heart disease and its com plica tions—including angina, heart attack, and sudden death
- comprehend the key genetic and lifestyle factors that make South Asians especially vulner able to car diovascular disease, how these two types of factors interact, and what makes the combination of several risk factors multiplicative rather than merely additive
- understand what treatments are used after a major coronary event, the continuing risks that exist after coronary angioplasty, stent or bypass surgery, and how to manage these risks to reduce your chances of repeat procedures and further attacks
Did you know?
- Atherosclerosis begins early in childhood, possibly even in the womb and early control of blood cholesterol level is critically important;
- Plaque acts like a “stealth” agent — for decades it builds up quietly within artery walls, well before it bulges out noticeably from the artery’s inner surface;
- Consuming liberal amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables and substituting them for foods that are high in saturated fat can reduce the need for more medications;
- Daily exercise may be more important than losing weight, and eating the right kinds of fat is more important than the amount you eat;
- Harmful effects of tobacco extend to cigarettes, beedis, and smokeless tobacco
- Abdominal obesity — fat in the midsection — is prevalent in Indians and a dangerous predictor of heart dis ease, even if one is otherwise fairly thin;
- Controlling hypertension early is important, because chronic diseases like hypertension trigger organic changes in the body that later are harder to control.
- Diabetes and heart disease are closely related —that one often leads to the other in a decade or two.
- For Indians, and other people with high levels of certain newly emergent risk factors, such as lipoprotein(a), having low levels of traditional heart disease risk factors is not enough. Thousands of such individuals get heart attacks when they are in their 20s and 30s;