Take It to Heart: Your Complete Guide to Preventing and Treating Heart Disease

John H. Gryfe is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon practising in
Toronto.

According to Dr. Rob Myers, “a great deal of the death and suffering
associated with cardiac disease is preventable” provided that patients
take the time to educate themselves about medical and health matters.
The responsibility for education rests with the patient because, as
Myers intimates, fiscally aware physicians haven’t the time to both
pay their personal bills and educate their patients, even those who
already have identifiable risks.

Although you can’t change the influence of your age, sex, or inborn
family genetics, you can effect change with respect to smoking, obesity,
various blood chemistry levels, and the presence of diabetes mellitus
and high blood pressure. Dr. Myers’s belief that the self-educated
patient will automatically make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes
seem overly optimistic, but for those who are committed to positive
change, his book is full of useful and timely data. Separate chapters
are devoted to such topics as diet, exercise, blood chemistry, and
concurrent disease. The book is replete with cartoons, tables of
reference, and reader’s aids. Especially memorable is the acronym
SWEAR, which reminds the patient that Salt-reduced cooking, Weight
control, Exercise, Alcohol moderation, and Relaxation benefit
significantly in the management of high blood pressure.

We are told that Myers is a cardiologist, but we learn nothing about
his current status (academic or private practitioner), locale of
practice (Canadian or American), or professional experience. The lack of
biographical information in unlikely to instil in readers a sense of
confidence.