Be Heart Smart: Understand, Treat, and Prevent Coronary Heart Disease

If you have coronary heart disease, this book could save your life. Coronary heart disease (CHD) takes the lives of 2,000 Americans every day. But you don’t have to be one of them. If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with CHD or suffered a heart attack, there a still ways to live a long, heart-healthy life. Be Heart Smart shows you how. In this definitive guide to CHD, cardiologist Waqar Khan, MD, MPH, answers your questions and gives you easy-to-follow advice for preventing heart attacks and keeping your heart in tip-top shape. It’s like having your own personal cardiologist on call. Using real-life patient stories and the latest evidence-based science, Dr. Khan: • Explains what CHD is and how it affects the body • Explores the root causes and risk factors for CHD • Describes the different types of heart attacks and their warning signs • Walks you through the tests used to diagnose coronary problems • Discusses the medications prescribed to combat CHD, including their side effects • Reveals the latest surgical advancements in surgical and non-surgical interventions to open clogged arteries and prevent heart attacks • Offers simple approaches to eating better, exercising, quitting smoking, and losing weight Dr. Khan even includes a glossary of commonly used medical terms. Plus, he shares online resources that can help you with everything from assessing your risk level and setting health goals to cooking heart-supportive meals. Written in easy-to-understand language, Be Heart Smart will help you (and your loved ones) gain a better understanding of CHD and give you the knowledge you need to take charge of your heart health.

"Be Heart Smart is a comprehensive analysis of the risk factors, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment of coronary heart disease. It should be read by anyone with a family history of a heart attack or a fear of experiencing one. If everyone in the United States followed the recommendations, tens of thousands of lives would be saved each year." --Robert Pearl, MD, bestselling author of Mistreated: Why We Think We're Getting Good Health Care and Why We're Usually Wrong

"Dr. Khan has distilled the complexities of heart disease to make them easily understandable by the layperson--our patients. It is well-written, informative, and fun to read. It offers excellent advice, which reflects the experience and good judgment of the author. I highly recommend this for all patients with heart and vascular problems." --Mahesh Ramchandani MD, FRCS, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center at Houston Methodist Hospital

"Dr. Khan is a terrific writer, and his book on heart health is the best I've read--clear, focused, and friendly. I intend to read it regularly to maintain my heart. I was especially happy to see him point to depression as a problem. As I would put it, the soul, not just the body, can have a heart attack." --Thomas Moore, author of the New York Times bestseller Care of the Soul

"A writer's most challenging task is to take a complicated, angst-ridden subject, and render it simple and even enjoyable. Dr. Khan has accomplished this feat with the human heart. Consider this book the essential owner's manual for that life-sustaining machine." --Jay Heinrichs, author of the New York Times bestseller Thank You for Arguing

"Be Heart Smart is the practical, pragmatic, down-to-earth book for patients that every cardiology patient should read, and every cardiologist wishes they had written. I'm definitely purchasing copies for my family!" --Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, CEO of the Medical Group Management Association and bestselling author of Back to Balance

"Be Heart Smart is written by a very experienced physician who has been diagnosing and treating patients for many years. This book shares real-life experiences that Dr. Khan has had with patients with different forms of coronary artery disease and informs patients about causes, consequences, optimal treatments, and efforts to prevent them. I recommend this book to all patients who have coronary artery disease and for their family and friends." --James T. Willerson, MD, President Emeritus of Texas Heart Institute, former editor of the American Heart Association journal Circulation, Past-President of the University of Texas Health Science Center, and author of numerous books, including Coronary Artery Disease and Cardiovascular Medicine

"Be Heart Smart is easy to read and well-directed at the layman--very comprehensive for the patient concerned about CHD." --Morton J. Kern, MD, Past President of Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and author of The Cardiac Catheterization Handbook

"This is a practical guide to help individuals understand the signs and symptoms of heart disease and the approach to both treat and prevent heart disease." --Christie Ballantyne, MD, Chief of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research at Baylor College of Medicine

Waqar Khan, MD, MPH, is a board-certified interventional cardiologist who has helped thousands of patients overcome CHD and improve their heart health during his 20-plus years in private practice. A fellow of the American College of Cardiology, he is in private practice in suburban Houston, Texas, and is an affiliate faculty member in cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine.