Shedding Light on Heart Disease

Packing up for summer road trips is bound to keep you busy, both physically and mentally. You've probably been out to the garage already rummaging through storage boxes, and your mind is bound to be compiling “to do” lists that need attention before pulling that RV out of the driveway.

Most folks will be bringing along a stack of books and magazines for everyone in the family to enjoy. There's just something special about kicking back and relaxing by the pool or at the beach with a good novel or mystery. Just don't forget a visor and some sunscreen when you're out there.

Hopefully, you'll add some nonfiction books to that pile-interesting and important material that will provide pertinent information about your health and wellness.

Here's one you might want to take along, especially if you or someone in your family has suffered with cardiac problems: Taking On Heart Disease by Larry King, the popular host of Larry King Live on CNN.

Fascinating Book
My wife, Cappy, bought this book at the airport last summer, opening it up while going through the long line at security. She continued reading it on the flight to Portland, completely oblivious to everything going on around her, until the passenger in the next seat gently nudged her as everyone began disembarking.

“You've got to read this book,” she insisted that night on the phone, “It's about celebrities who have suffered with heart disease-Peggy Fleming, Mike Ditka, Walter Cronkite, Kate Jackson, Tommy Lasorda, Pat Buchanan, Victoria Gotti, Phyllis Diller, Regis Phibin, and so many others. Even Brian Littrell, one of the Backstreet Boys, has spent just as much time at the cardiologist's office and in hospitals as he has singing on stage.”

“Just reading about their situations brings this topic of heart disease to light,” she said. “It's so compelling, and I just hope you'll read it. I've already packed it to bring back to you!”

She was right. At first I avoided picking it up, figuring it was just another celebrity gossip book, but finally relented after Cappy continued asking me about it. I'm glad she persisted. This book is excellent and definitely worth reading. I have congestive heart failure, and sometimes feel I'm the only one who tires out after a simple stroll in the front yard.

Medical Advice
Larry King, who suffered his own private battles with this deadly disease, has compiled a collection of candid stories that offer hope and practical advice. There's also the latest information on preventing, treating and living with heart disease from the celebrities' cardiologists and other top doctors.

As the back cover states, “By showing how some of the most in-demand, time-crunched people on the planet have overcome heart disease and developed a healthy lifestyle, this book will inspire you to make heart-smart change in your own life.”

The book was published in 2004, before the very public awareness of Bill Clinton's heart problems and surgeries. As soon as that news was broadcast, telephones began ringing off the hook at doctors' offices around the world. People were scared about their own fate, realizing they had ignored warning signs that could indicate heart problems. They made appointments to see cardiologists, to get tested and learn what they could do to live a healthier lifestyle.

Become Aware
Celebrities aren't any different from you and me on the inside. They can get sick, suffer from diseases and be scheduled for surgery. This book wasn't written to put them up on pedestals, but instead to show that they're human. Perhaps by reading and realizing heart disease can affect anyone anywhere, we can better understand that we're all here on earth for a relatively short time.

It's up to us to make the best of that time, and that means taking care of ourselves with good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. It also means getting plenty of sleep, slowing down and pulling away from the stresses in life, listening to your body and paying attention to your gut feelings when you think something might be wrong. It's making those appointments and getting those checkups.

As I always seem to say, knowledge is the best medicine. Visit the library or stroll through the health and wellness section at your favorite bookstore. Books like this one will surely catch your eye. Search the Internet, talk to your doctor, ask questions. Be informed and be interested in what affects you and your family.

Hope you have a great summer-happy reading!